Montmorency

Montmorency is a residential suburb 18 km north-east of central Melbourne between Greensborough and Eltham. It was named after a farm, the Montmorency estate, which was named after the French town where J.J. Rousseau lived.

The first evidence of a township was the building of a Presbyterian church in 1917 in the midst of small rural landholdings. A primary school was opened in 1922, the year before the station was opened on the railway line to Hurstbridge. Electricity was connected to the area in 1926. Whilst there was a residential nucleus from the 1920s, most of Montmorency consisted of orchards, dairying and poultry farms until after World War II. The estimated population in 1922 was 200, including weekenders. A Catholic primary school opened in Para Road in 1932, and the school was used for Sunday worship.

In 1950 the estimated population was 600, and facilities extended to two churches, a public hall, sports ground and tennis court. By the end of the decade the population had increased fivefold, although still with unoccupied building sites which commanded fine views. A modern shopping centre and factories had been built. The high school opened in 1969 and the Montmorency South primary school opened in 1973. In 2014 the Montmorency primary school had 185 pupils, Montmorency South primary school had 448 pupils and the secondary college had 712 pupils.

Montmorency has parklands adjoining the Plenty River on its western side and several neighbourhood parks, particularly in its south-east sector. There is a shopping centre near the railway station and another near the Montmorency South primary school in the south-east. Napier Crescent, near the border with Eltham, has several mud brick houses built by well-known persons such as Tim and Betty Burstall.

Montmorency's census populations have been: