Narre Warren, Victoria

Narre Warren Melbourne, Victoria
Summer storms over Narre Warren residences
Narre Warren
Coordinates	38.018°S 145.3°E / -38.018; 145.3
Population	27,689 (2021 census)
Postcode(s)	3805
Elevation	24 m (79 ft)
Location	38 km (24 mi) from Melbourne 11 km (7 mi) from Dandenong
LGA(s)	City of Casey
State electorate(s)	Narre Warren North
Federal division(s)	Bruce
Suburbs around Narre Warren: Endeavour Hills Narre Warren North Harkaway Hallam Narre Warren Berwick Hampton Park Narre Warren South Clyde

Narre Warren (/ˌnæri ˈwɒrən/ NARR-ee WORR-ən) is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 38 km southeast of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Casey local government area. Narre Warren recorded a population of 27,689 at the 2021 census.

Narre Warren has a population density of over 2000 people per square kilometre. Narre Warren has its own railway station, located on Webb Street, and has its own shopping centre, Westfield Fountain Gate, Australia's second largest shopping centre by area after Malvern East's Chadstone Shopping Centre. The biggest secondary school in Narre Warren is Fountain Gate Secondary College.

History

The original Main Street is some distance from present-day central Narre Warren, beside the railway line, causing development to occur away from the original settlement, and the building in which the general store also served as the post office, still exists as a local landmark, established 1857. Narre Warren Post Office, located on what is now Heatherton Road, opened on 21 January 1869. In 1900, it was renamed Narre Warren North, and Narre Warren Railway Station Post Office (open since 1886) was renamed Narre Warren. The locale of Webb Street is named after Sydney James Webb, founder of a newsagency there.

Demographics

The most common ancestries in Narre Warren were Australian 21.9%, English 20.6%, Irish 5.1%, Scottish 5.1% and Indian 3.6%. 62.7% of people were born in Australia. The most common foreign countries of birth were India 3.6%, England 3.2%, Sri Lanka 2.7%, Afghanistan 1.9% and New Zealand 1.9%. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 28.8%, No Religion 19.6%, Anglican 10.9%, Islam 5.6% and Buddhism 3.9%. 66.7% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Dari 10%, Sinhalese 1.9%, Arabic 1.5%, Spanish 1.4% and Hindi 1.3%.

Residential development

A Narre Warren street before the construction of houses – 2001

The same Narre Warren street after the construction of houses – 2006

Over the years, Narre Warren has grown from a semi-rural residential town to become a part of a major growth corridor in the southeast of Melbourne.

In recent years, a multitude of new housing developments have seen Narre Warren expand to such an extent that it now adjoins neighbouring suburbs such as Berwick.

Education

Schools in Narre Warren include Harkaway Hills College, Lysterfield Lake College, Narre Warren North Primary School, Oatlands Primary School, Maramba Primary School, Don Bosco Primary School, Mary Mackillop Primary School, Fountain Gate Secondary College, Alkira Secondary College, Fountain Gate Primary School, Dandenong Valley Special School and Fleetwood Primary School (formerly known as Hallam Valley Primary School), Narre Warren South P-12 College and Waverley Christian College – Narre Warren South Campus. Narre Warren Station Primary School was closed at the end of 2001 and moved to Narre Warren South (to suit the change in growth areas) where it became Hillsmeade Primary School. There is also a large community education centre, Narre Community Learning Centre Inc., located in Malcolm Court.

Community facilities

Kim Cang Temple, a Vietnamese Buddhist temple, is located in the suburb.

Sport

The Narre Warren Football Club plays in the Outer East Football Netball League. It was formed in 1953 as Narre Hallam Football Club to serve Narre Warren and Hallam, and was a founding member of the South West Gippsland Football League in 1954. The club won premierships in 1957 and 1973. It was also runners-up in 1956, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1981. In 1989, the club renamed itself the Narre Warren Football Club.

In 2004, Casey Panthers Soccer Team was founded with the home ground being Prospect Hill Reserve. The senior team compete in State League 5 competition. In 2022, the u17a team nicknamed the invincibles won the South East A grade and State A grade competitions and also the prestigious Polonia and Altona cups without losing a game. This was the only occurrence of this quadruple in Victorian soccer history.

Retail and civic development

Westfield Fountain Gate (named after one of the earlier subdivisions) is at the heart of the main commercial precinct in Narre Warren. It is one of the largest shopping centres in Australia, housing many of Australia's major retailers. The centre has been made famous by the popular Australian television show Kath & Kim, parts of which were also filmed at Westfield Southland.

There is also a local shopping strip around the railway station in Webb Street. The shopping strip includes stores such as bakeries, beauticians and a small supermarket.

The civic precinct is located outside the boundary of Westfield and includes the City of Casey municipal offices, Narre Warren Library and the Casey ARC (Aquatic and Recreation Centre). This precinct has recently finished a $300 million redevelopment by the Casey Council, an entertainment precinct by the name of Bunjil Place.

Recreational Facilities

Narre Warren features some recreational facilities such as lawn bowl, bowling, cinemas, and clubs. The largest cinema is Village Cinemas Fountain Gate, which is located on the top floor of Fountain Gate.

Transport

Vehicles

Narre Warren is connected by many major roads, mainly: Monash Freeway (M1), Princes Highway (Alt 1), Narre Warren - Cranbourne Road, which later becomes Narre Warren North Road, and outside of Narre Warren becomes Hallam - Belgrave Road (C404), and Shrives Road (SR 12).

Busses

The biggest bus interchange in Narre Warren is at Fountain Gate SC/Overland Dr. Three bus operators go through Narre Warren, with the primary operator being Ventura. With the other two being Cranbourne Transit, and South Coast Bus. The following lines stop in Narre Warren: 695F, 697, 828, 834, 835, 838, 841, 842, 891, 895, 925, 981, and the once weekly service Cowes - Fountain Gate via Anderson.

Trains

Narre Warren railway station is a Zone 2 station. It receives regular electrified metro services from Metro Trains Melbourne. It is situated on the East Pakenham Line (the electrified portion of the now truncated Orbost line). The line connects Narre Warren to the line's terminus — East Pakenham, and also the greater metro and V/Line network via Caulfield, South Yarra, Richmond, and the City Loop.

V/Line trains go past the station but do not stop at the station. Patrons wishing to travel on the Orbost Line towards Traralgon via Morwell & Moe, or the current terminus of the Orbost Line, Bairnsdale via Sale, Traralgon & Warragul must first take the Metro train to either Dandenong railway station or Pakenham railway station, where they can switch over to the V/Line service.

Notable people

• Destanee Aiava - tennis player
• Stacey Alleaume - soprano
• Kenny Athiu - footballer
• Matthew Boyd - Australian Rules footballer
• Trent Croad - Australian Rules footballer
• Bandali Debs - serial killer
• Jason Ellery - wheelchair rugby player
• Trevor Hosea - rugby union player
• Chris Newman - Australian Rules footballer
• Winifred Piesse - politician
• Howard Richardson, Australian Rules footballer and cricketer
• Peter Scully - murderer and rapist

See also

• City of Berwick – Narre Warren was previously within this former local government area.