Roxburgh Park

The suburb of Roxburgh Park began as an area of 650 ha about 20 km north of central Melbourne, between Craigieburn and Greenvale. It was in the Broadmeadows city council, now Hume city, and generally in the Merri growth corridor. The fully developed suburb is bounded by Greenvale (west), Craigieburn (north), the railway to Seymour (east) and Meadow Heights (south).

In 1988-90 the Victorian Government Urban Land Authority purchased the land, which included Roxburgh Park, a farm dating back to about 1848. The name was given by Thomas Brunton in about 1885, after his house in Scotland when he acquired the farm. The residential settlement of Roxburgh Park was planned to comprise about 7000 house blocks, released under the supervision of the Urban Land Authority. Settlement occurred generally from south to north.

The undulating terrain with its wide views attracted new residents, and land and building costs were moderate for new families.

The Uniting and the Catholic churches established an early presence in Roxburgh Park, and a Catholic primary school preceded the State school. The Uniting church established a multipurpose centre.

Like many new housing estates, Roxburgh Park had to establish a sense of community and to cope with inadequate public transport. Meandering through the estate there was a walking and cycling path and sites for local parks. They have evolved into the northern part of the Broadmeadows Valley park and trail. At the end of 1996 there were State and Catholic primary schools. Roxburgh secondary college opened c2002, two more State primary schools opened in 2002 and 2005, and the Catholic college opened in 2006. The college and the most recent State school share a catchment in neighbouring Greenvale.

Roxburgh Park shopping centre (1999), with floorspace of 11,360 square metres, has a supermarket, discount store and 25 other outlets. The Roxburgh Park Arena development was launched in 2014 and expected to include 500 new properties and facilities with completion dates into 2016. There is also the Roxburgh hotel and bulky goods shopping in nearby Coolaroo.

When Thomas Brunton (flour miller) acquired his Roxburgh property in 1895 there was a four room homestead. He added a brick house, and the complex is now the homestead community centre.

Roxburgh Park's census populations have been:

At the 2011 census the median age of residents was 28 years (Australia, 37). Among the languages spoken at home by residents at the 2011 census there were: