Noble Park

Noble Park, 16 km south-east of central Melbourne, is bordered by Springvale on the west and the Dandenong Creek on the east. It is mainly residential and contains Harrisfield and Yarraman.

The Oakleigh to Gippsland railway line had stations at Springvale and Dandenong and as land near the Springvale station underwent subdivision into small farm holdings, owners down the line subdivided their land. In 1909 several holdings in the area later to be known as Noble Park were cut up for market gardens. One of the vendors was Allan Buckley, who is chiefly recognised as the founder of Noble Park, as it is named after one of his six children, Noble Buckley. His other children’s names were given to streets, including Douglas Street where the shopping centre is located. The Buckley family school was opened in 1911, an Anglican church in 1912 and a railway office/stopping place in 1913. A public hall was built in the same year, which under the management of locally elected trustees, has occupied a strong position in the community.

Until the years after World War II Noble Park was mainly a farming community concentrated on market gardens, dairying and poultry. Small amounts of industry were near the railway station, along with housing. The town had six shops in 1923, and the 1933 census recorded 1507 persons.

Until May 1955, Noble Park was in the Dandenong shire. Severance was warmly greeted by Noble Park residents who thought that Dandenong shire had neglected their needs, and the severed shire was named Springvale and Noble Park. When the municipality was made a city in 1961 it became City of Springvale.

Noble Park’s residential development was rapid during the late 1950s and the 1960s and can be traced by school openings.

Noble Park has strip shopping centres either side of the railway station, the larger one on Douglas Street. Smaller shopping areas are south-west of the main centre. The Noble Park reserve has an oval and bowling green and the Ross Reserve near the shopping centre has a swimming pool and community centre.

North of the Princes Highway, between the Springvale cemetery and Dandenong North, Noble Park is formally designated Noble Park North. Its schools are Silverton Primary, Carwatha College and the Catholic 7-12 Nazareth College (c1986). Residents can shop at the Waverley Gardens drive in centre, just over the northern border with Mulgrave. Noble Park North has industrial properties along Princes Highway including the RACV head office.

Census populations have been: