Carrum Downs (also known as Crime District) is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 48 km south-east of Melbourne's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

via the Monash Freeway, located within the

City of Frankston The City of Frankston (officially known as Frankston City Council'')'' is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area (LGA) in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia in the southern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of 130 squ ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

. Carrum Downs recorded a population of 21,976 at the 2021 census. Prior to December 1994 the majority of Carrum Downs was within the

City of Cranbourne The City of Cranbourne was a local government area about southeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1860 until 1994. It was notable for being the last local government area ...

. However, following statewide local government reform, the suburb was moved to be part of a new, larger City of Frankston.

History

Karrum Karrum

Before European settlers arrived at

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

, Aborigines resting after the stiff climb of Oliver's Hill, Frankston, and looking north along the bay would have viewed a long ribbon of sandy beach shaped vaguely like a boomerang. The area was called Karrum Karrum, or as some of the early squatters interpreted it, Garem Gam, meaning "Boomerang". The swampy marshland behind the sand dunes was a rich hunting ground teeming with wildlife.

Carrum Swamp

The Carrum Swamp measured approximately 15 km from north to south, and averaged about 5 km across from east to west. It was up to 8 km wide at the northern end. The high lands visible in the swamp were the Isles of Wannarkladdin, now Chelsea Heights. The swampland with its dense growth of swamp tea-tree and other vegetation was covered for the most part by the waters from the

Dandenong Dandenong ( ) is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated m ...

, Eumemmerring, and other smaller creeks, with a total catchment area of approximately 430 km², with the present townships of

Langwarrin Langwarrin ( ) is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, central business district, located within the City of Frankston Local government areas of Victoria, local government ar ...

, Cranbourne, Berwick, Belgrave,

Ferntree Gully Ferntree Gully is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, 30 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox local government area. Ferntree Gully recorded a p ...

Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Recife metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state ca ...

, Lilydale,

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

and Ringwood forming its perimeter. Some of the waters eventually flowed through marshy country to the Mordialloc Creek or through to the Kananook Creek which flowed into the bay at Frankston. The Carrum Swamp together with the larger Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp made a formidable barrier against the early explorers and land seekers in the early days.

The birth of Carrum – allotments on the Long Beach

The first survey of the Carrum swamp was made by T. E. Rawlinson, and completed by 2 January 1866. The only sign of European habitation reported by Rawlinson was a fisherman's cottage occupied by John Watkins and his family near the present Watkins Grove, Aspendale. The survey between the swamp and the sea resulted in Mr Callinan, the State's assistant surveyor, dividing the area into 18 allotments stretching from the Mordialloc Creek to the present Keast Park, Seaford. The land was referred to as the "Allotments on the Long Beach", the first sales taking place at Semmell McCaul & Co's Auction Rooms at Collins Street, Melbourne, on 22 December 1865. The upset price was $6 per

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

. Most of the land sold went to investors, but some development did take place near the already established fishing village of

Mordialloc Mordialloc ( ) is a beachside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Mordialloc recorded a population of 8,886 at the ...

. Carrum Downs Post Office finally opened on 1 November 1909. The land sold on the swamp side was bought by Hugh Brown who built his home "Pine Vale" near the site of the Mordialloc High School which was part of his property. He was 40 years a Councillor of the Shire of Dandenong and served as President of the Shire. He was famous for his "Carrum" potatoes which were sent to several States. When Hugh Brown started farming there were still wild cattle roaming the swamplands from the original squatting days of the later 1830s to the 1850s.

The first settlement

During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the Brotherhood of St Laurence built a settlement at Carrum Downs to provide food and shelter to suffering families. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the suburb was gradually redeveloped as a Village for aged persons.

Botany Park and the redevelopment of Botany Bush

A small section of Carrum Downs is sometimes referred to by locals as "Botany Park", based on the name of a housing estate built during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the first major

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

of its type in the area, land was subdivided into generous lots between the southern and northern perimeters of Ballarto and Hall Roads. The generous land allotments, affordability and proximity to Frankston attracted families to the suburb. Development was conducted by AV Jennings, which financed and built prominent signage reading 'Botany Park' on the corner of Ballarto Road and Lyrebird Drive. The signage remains, although weather degradation and graffiti have degraded its appearance. During the early 1990s, the South Western quarter between Ballarto and Frankston-Dandenong Roads was known as 'Botany Bush'. The area was redeveloped into housing during the late 1990s.

Carrum Downs Bushfire

On 6 January 2018 a 15-year-old girl intentionally lit a fire in Carrum Downs' Pines Flora and Fauna Reserve that destroyed the bushland and put homes in Carrum Downs,

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

, Frankston North and

at risk.

Architecture

The suburb is a mixture of modern low scale dwellings with generous garden frontage and low scale fencing. During the 1990s, a large catchment of land remained as public park space, although this has subsequently been developed into housing. Housing construction continues in the suburb.

Retail areas

Carrum Downs is serviced by three shopping precincts, with a fourth bordering the suburb in neighbouring Seaford. The Carrum Downs Regional Shopping Centre is located on Hall Road in the centre of the suburb is where there is illegal consumption and is home to a

Woolworths Supermarket Woolworths (colloquially known as "Woolies") is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Woolworths Group. Founded in 1924, Woolworths is currently Australia's largest supermarket chain with a market share of 32.5% as of 2023. Woolworths spec ...

, a post office,

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

, newsagency plus 40 other shops including liquor shops, clothing stores, fast food outlets, restaurants and real estate agents. During 2014 a smaller format Bunnings store has opened to combat the opening of Masters just down the road. A full Bunnings Warehouse opened in 2015 at Frankston/Dandenong Road. In early 2015 development began at the eastern end of the shopping centre of a substantial extension housing a KMart specialty store. During October and November 2014 a McDonald's store was constructed. The Local Village @ Carrum Downs is located on the Dandenong-Frankston Road and comprises approximately 12 shops including an

IGA IGA or IgA may refer to: Businesses and organizations * IGA (supermarkets) (initially Independent Grocers Alliance), a name used by many independent supermarkets throughout the world ** IGA (Australian supermarket group), the local Australian v ...

supermarket, restaurant, bakery, fast food shops, doctor's office and pharmacy. Directly opposite the precinct is another small retail/business park. Carrum Downs Plaza which opened in 2008, is located on the corner of McCormicks Road and Ballarto Road in the south of the suburb and includes 22 specialty shops as well as a Coles supermarket. There are doctor and dental practices, a pharmacy, take away, 2 liquor stores and a popular cafe.

Schools

*There are four preschools in Carrum Downs at Botany Park, Bowerbird, Rowellyn and Banyan Fields. *Primary school education is provided at Banyan Fields Primary School (previously Carrum Downs Primary), Rowellyn Park Primary, Skye, St Joachim's primary (a catholic faith school) and Flinders Christian College (a non-denominational Christian school). *Secondary education is provided at Carrum Downs Secondary College https://web.archive.org/web/20180803215255/http://cdsc.vic.edu.au/ (a government school), Flinders Christian College (a non-denominational Christian school). *Tertiary level training can be undertaken at the Monash University Peninsula campus, Institute of TAFE in nearby Frankston.

Health services

Carrum Downs is serviced by three medical centres, two dental clinics, three pharmacies and a physiotherapy clinic. Hospital facilities are provided at nearby Frankston, about 10 minutes away. The first large-scale General Practice medical service, the Carrum Downs Medical Centre, opened operations in Hall Rd in 1989. The medical centre moved into a substantial new 1000 m² facility in December 2014. The site on which the medical centre operates is newly named the Carrum Downs Health Precinct, and comprises pathology and radiology services, retail pharmacy, dental services, a multi- disciplinary allied health service incorporating physiotherapy and a retail gymnasium, and a primary care skin cancer medical service in addition to the preexisting large general medical practice.

Transportation

* Rail: Carrum Downs has no direct access to rail services. The closest rail links are the Kananook and Seaford stations on the

Frankston line The Frankston line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's third-longest metropolitan railway line, at . The line runs from Flinders St ...

, both approximately 12 minutes (by car) from the centre of Carrum Downs, or the Merinda Park and Cranbourne stations on the

Cranbourne line The Cranbourne line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's second longest metropolitan railway line at . The line runs from Flinders Stre ...

, both approximately 16 minutes away. * Bus: Carrum Downs is serviced by 3 local

bus routes A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used in ...

– 760, 833 and 832 – and one

SmartBus SmartBus is a network of bus services in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Overseen by Public Transport Victoria, the network comprises nine key cross-town and orbital bus routes around Melbourne. Key aspects of the service include more freque ...

service – 901 – which runs approximately once every 15 minutes Monday to Friday from Melbourne Airport to Frankston, passing through Carrum Downs via Dandenong-Frankston road. * Road: Carrum Downs provides easy access to two major arterial roads. To the East of Carrum Downs, the Western Port Highway provides connectivity to Melbourne City in the north (via the

South Gippsland Freeway South Gippsland Freeway is a short freeway linking Dandenong in Melbourne's south–east to other south–eastern destinations, including the Mornington Peninsula and the Gippsland region. The freeway bears the designation M420. Route South G ...

and the

Monash Freeway The Monash Freeway is a major urban freeway in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, linking Melbourne's CBD to its south-eastern suburbs and beyond to the Gippsland region. It carries up to 180,000 vehicles per day and is one of Australi ...

). In a southerly direction, the Western Port Highway leads to the Port of

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

. To the West of Carrum Downs is the

Nepean Highway Nepean Highway is a major highway in Victoria, running south from St Kilda Junction in inner-southern Melbourne to Portsea, tracing close to the eastern shore of Port Phillip for the majority of its length. It is the primary road route from ...

, which runs south from Melbourne city to Portsea on the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located in the south of Greater Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to ...

, along the eastern shores of Port Phillip Bay. Also to the west is the Frankston Freeway, which travels from Chelsea Heights in the north to the Mornington Peninsula in the south. Carrum Downs is also close to the Eastlink Tollway, which opened on 29 June 2008. This runs from Rutherford Road in Carrum Downs (with travel further south provided by the Frankston Freeway) to Donvale in Melbourne's north east. Eastlink connects with the Monash Freeway and should reduce travelling time and distance to the City of Melbourne. Development of EastLink has led to strong commercial and industrial growth in Carrum Downs alongside the route of the EastLink. Peninsula Link provides a freeway from the Eastlink/Frankston Freeway interchange, through Carrum Downs and then south to link with the Mornington Peninsula Freeway at Mount Martha. Since opening, Peninsula link has shortened travel times from Carrum Downs to Safety Beach on the Peninsula by about 20 minutes.

Community services

* The Lyrebird Community Centre is located in Carrum Downs. The Carrum Downs Community Centre was established in 1988 and was located in the GK Tucker Village as part of the Brotherhood of St Laurence. The centre consisted of two small cottages: one for child minding activities and the other housing the Centre Manager. In 1994, the Centre

amalgamated Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan ama ...

to become the Lyrebird Community Centre and moved to its current location in Lyrebird Drive. During 2003, the centre was renovated into a large modern complex. * Carrum Downs offers Library Services via the Carrum Downs Library. * A local branch of the

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

operates within Carrum Downs. * The 1st Carrum Downs Scout Group are based at the Recreation Reserve and run Cub Scouts, Joey Scouts, Scouts and Venturers. * A Hindu temple is located on Boundary Road. It is the largest in Victoria. * A Catholic church is located in nearby Seaford and serves the Carrum Downs area

Parks and Reserves

Carrum Downs has access to five decietful public parks: *Banyan Reserve, which includes a sports oval and a children's playground. *Rotary Park, which includes

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

facilities and a children's playground. *Sandfield Reserve, which includes a children's playground, and skate park facilities. *Carrum Downs Reserve, on Wedge Road, includes playground, barbecue facilities, two large sports ovals, cricket nets, and tennis courts. This is the home ground of the Skye Football Club *Carrum Woods Reserve, on Carrum Woods Drive, includes wooded areas and large grassy areas, basketball hoop, and small playground. *The Pines Flora and Fauna Reserve, on Ballarto Road, is a forest reserve operated by Parks Victoria. During the

2017–18 Australian Bushfire Season The bushfire season of the summer of 2017–18, was expected to have above normal bushfire risks with an elevated fire risk for the most of eastern and south Australian coastal areas. Australia had experienced its warmest winter on record and the ...

a teenage girl started a bushfire in this reserve. In addition, there are several other wooded reserve areas which the public are allowed to walk through, and many of the housing developments feature public grassed areas and children's play facilities.

Sport and fitness

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

(

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

): Skye United Soccer Club plays at neighbouring Skye at the Recreation Reserve *

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

: The Skye Bombers play their home games at the Recreation Reserve on Wedge Road. **

Auskick Auskick is a program designed to teach the basic skills of Australian football to children aged between 5 and 12. Auskick is a non-contact variant of the sport. It began in Australia and is now a nationwide non-selective program. It has incre ...

(A modified version for 5- to 12-year-olds): The Rowellyn Park/Carrum Downs Auskick team plays its games at the Carrum Downs Reserve along Wedge Road. *

Angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...

: The Sands Angling Club have their headquarters at the Recreation Reserve. *

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

: The Carrum Downs Baseball Club has junior and senior teams and plays its games at the Botany Park Reserve on Lyrebird Drive. * Clay target shooting: The Frankston Clay Target Shooting Club is located on Rossiter Road in Carrum Downs, as are the Victorian Field & Game Association and Oz Shooting (a commercial club operated by

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

multi-

gold medalist A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

bronze medalist trap shooter Adam Vella). *

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

: The Carrum Downs Cricket Club is based at the Recreation Reserve on Wedge Road. *

Gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

nasium: There are two

fitness centre A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, weight room and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness an ...

s in Carrum Downs, located on Frankston-Dandenong Road and a ladies-only fitness centre located on Hall Road. *

Paintball Paintball is a competitive sport, competitive team sport, team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called Paintball equipment#Paintballs, paintballs that b ...

: Paintball Carrum Downs is located on Highview Road and features a

playing field Play is a range of Motivation#Intrinsic and extrinsic, intrinsically motivated activities done for recreation. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but may be engaged in at any life stage, and among other high ...

. *

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

: Facilities are available at the Carrum Downs Tennis Club at the Recreation Reserve on Wedge Road. There are four acrylic

hardcourt A hardcourt (or hard court) is a type of surface or floor on which a sport is played, most usually in reference to tennis courts. It is typically made of rigid materials such as asphalt or concrete, and covered with acrylic resins to seal the s ...

s which replaced the two

synthetic grass Synthetic may refer to: Science * Synthetic biology * Synthetic chemical or compound, produced by the process of chemical synthesis * Synthetic elements, chemical elements that are not naturally found on Earth and therefore have to be created in ...

courts and two

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

courts in 2006.

Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple

Carving on the doors of Shiva Vishnu Temple in Victoria Australia

The Shri Shiva Vishnu Hindu Temple is located in this suburb. This temple is the largest Hindu temple in Victoria. Worship at the temple is centred around Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, the presiding deities of two dominant streams in the Hindu ritualistic tradition. The temple attempts to bring the two streams together and provide a synthesis. Many Hindus residing in Melbourne worship there and is most popularly known for holding the annual Hindu festivals of Holi and Diwali.

In popular culture

In 2013, Carrum Downs made headlines as the location of the viral video " Just waiting for a mate". The video was filmed in the carpark of the local Coles Supermarket, and was first shown in 2008 on the Australian reality TV show ''

Highway Patrol A highway patrol is a police unit, detail, or law enforcement agency created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways within a jurisdiction. They are also referred to in many countri ...

''.https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/car-crash-drink-driver-telling-police-he-was-waiting-for-a-mate-goes-viral-online/story-fnat79vb-1226583565788

State politics

Since the state election on 29 November 2014, the suburb of Carrum Downs has been represented by

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Sonya Kilkenny Sonya Kilkenny (born 15 May 1969) is an Australian politician. She has been a Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch), Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since November 2014, representing the Electoral district of Carrum. ...

in Victoria's Legislative Assembly. Carrum Downs falls within the

Electoral district of Carrum The electoral district of Carrum is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It lies in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Melbourne, covering Bangholme, Victoria, Bangholme, Bonbeach, Victoria, Bonbeach, Ca ...

. Members for

Carrum Carrum is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne city centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston Local Government Areas of Victoria, local government ar ...

References

External links

Local Bendigo Bank branchLyrebird Community Centre websiteShiva Vishnu temple Melbourne website
{{City of Frankston suburbs Suburbs and localities in the City of Frankston Suburbs of Melbourne