Coolaroo is a suburb in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, north 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 ...

, located within the City of Hume

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 ...

. Coolaroo recorded a population of 3,193 at the 2021 census.

History

Coolaroo is thought to be derived from an Aboriginal word meaning 'brown snake'. The area was acquired by the

Housing Commission of Victoria The Housing Commission of Victoria (often shortened to Housing Commission, especially Colloquialism, colloquially) was a Government of Victoria body responsible for public housing in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1938, and was aboli ...

in 1951 for housing estates, with construction not commencing until 1966. Until the late 1990s, Coolaroo's boundaries extended past the railway line and Pascoe Vale Road into the area that is now known as Meadow Heights.

Population

In the , there were 3,191 people in Coolaroo. 51.7% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were Iraq 9.2%, Turkey 5.5% and Lebanon 3.8%. 37.9% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Arabic 14.4%, Turkish 11.8% and Assyrian Neo-Aramaic 8.1%, The most common responses for religion were Islam 28.8%, Catholic 23.2% and No Religion 14.4%.

Education

* Coolaroo South Primary School * St. Mary's Coptic Orthodox College

Facilities

Most of the shopping centres near Coolaroo are located in neighbouring suburbs, including Meadow Heights, which has the Meadow Heights Shopping Centre and

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Shopping Centre (Dobell Place and Dargie Court), to the south.

Transport

Bus

Four bus routes service Coolaroo: * : Craigieburn station – Broadmeadows station via Upfield station. Operated by Broadmeadows Bus Service.532 Craigieburn Station - Broadmeadows Station via Upfield Station
Public Transport Victoria * : Upfield station – Broadmeadows station via Coolaroo. Operated by

Dysons Dyson Group of Companies, operating as Dysons, is a bus and coach operator in Victoria, Australia. The oldest of its subsidiary companies is L.C. Dysons Bus Services, which was founded in June 1952 and is based in Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora ...

.540 Upfield - Broadmeadows via Coolaroo
Public Transport Victoria * : Roxburgh Park station – Pascoe Vale station via Meadow Heights, Broadmeadows and Glenroy. Operated by Dysons.542 Roxburgh Park - Pascoe Vale via Meadow Heights & Broadmeadows & Glenroy
Public Transport Victoria * : Frankston station –

Melbourne Airport Melbourne Airport , known locally as Tullamarine Airport, is an international airport serving Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operating 24/7 service, 24 hours a day with on-site parking, shopping and dining, Melbourne Airport is the List of th ...

( SmartBus service). Operated by Kinetic Melbourne.901 Frankston - Melbourne Airport (SMARTBUS Service)
Public Transport Victoria

Train

Coolaroo railway station is located on the Craigieburn line. It opened to passengers on Sunday 6 June 2010, almost 40 years after plans for a station first surfaced. Coolaroo is also served by Upfield station, which is the terminus for the Upfield line. The station is located on Barry Road, and the station and railway line acts as the suburb boundary between Coolaroo and Campbellfield.

Environmental issues

In 2017, Some residents in

, were evacuated after a fire started in SKM recycling plants in Coolaroo emitting smoke and ashes impacting local neighbourhoods. 210 residents launched an action and the Supreme Court ordered SKM to pay $1.2 million. SKM was declared insolvent after totalling up to $5.5 million in debt. In 2019, EPA Victoria removed more than 145,000 tonnes of contaminated waste at Glass Recovery Services in Coolaroo and around 9million litres of polluted water after discovering several stockpile hotspots being at risk of fire. 20 criminal charges were raised against the company and director.

In popular culture

The popular 1997 Australian film '' The Castle'' was set in Coolaroo, although the house featured was actually located in Strathmore.

References

External links

Australian Places - Coolaroo
{{City of Hume suburbs Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of the City of Hume