City of Wyndham

About the area

Key Statistics

Location

The City of Wyndham is located in Melbourne's outer south-western suburbs, between 12 and 45 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The City of Wyndham is bounded by the City of Melton and the City of Brimbank in the north, Hobsons Bay City in the east, Port Phillip Bay in the south-east, the City of Greater Geelong in the south-west and west, and Moorabool Shire in the north-west. The City of Wyndham's boundaries are Springhill Road, the Werribee River and Boundary Road in the north, Kororoit Creek, the Princes Freeway, Old Geelong Road, the eastern and southern boundaries of the RAAF Williams Laverton Base, Point Cook Road, the Princes Freeway, Crellin Avenue South, St Anthony Court, Machair Drive, Dunnings Road, Point Cook Road, Tournament Drive, Fawkner Way, Crystal Court and Skeleton Creek in the east, Port Phillip Bay in the south and the Little River, Mortons Road and a line running between Mortons Road and Springhill Road in the west.

Included Areas

The City of Wyndham includes the suburbs and localities of Cocoroc, Eynesbury (part), Hoppers Crossing, Laverton (part), Laverton North, Little River (part), Mambourin, Mount Cottrell (part), Point Cook, Quandong, Tarneit, Truganina (part), Werribee, Werribee South, Williams Landing and Wyndham Vale. Some of these suburbs and localities have been disaggregated and others have been combined, to provide more meaningful statistics for the purposes of this profile.

Land Use

The City of Wyndham is a residential and rural area, with substantial industrial, technology and commercial areas. Wyndham is one of Melbourne's principal growth areas. The population is centred in the residential areas around Werribee, Point Cook, Hoppers Crossing and Tarneit. Rural land is used mainly for vegetable growing and grazing. The City encompasses a total land area of about 542 square kilometres.

Name Origin

The City of Wyndham is named after Sir Henry Wyndham, a soldier who had distinguished himself at Waterloo.

Indigenous Meaning

The original inhabitants of the City of Wyndham were the Wathaurong, Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung Aboriginal people.

Settlement

European settlement dates from the 1830s when graziers moved into the area, settling at Werribee, Little River, Tarneit, Truganina and Point Cook. Central Werribee was earmarked as a village in the 1850s at a time when rural consolidation was occurring in Wyndham, with many large land holdings developing, especially by the Chirnside family at Werribee Park. Incremental growth occurred in the township during the late 1800s, with one of the more noteworthy developments being the acquisition of land by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works from the Chirnsides for a sewage farm in 1892. The Point Cook RAAF Base was opened in 1914 as the Central Flying School, later to become the home of the RAAF. Werribee South was subdivided after World War One and taken up by soldier settlers, a process that helped to develop the market gardening economy of the area that survives to this day. Much of the residential growth in the City of Wyndham occurred after the Second World War, notably from the 1960s. The first subdivision in Hoppers Crossing took place in 1963, with significant residential growth during the 1970s and 1980s. The population of the City continued to grow rapidly during the 1990s, with even more rapid development from the early 2000s. Much of the recent growth has been in Point Cook, Tarneit, Truganina and Wyndham Vale. Population increase is expected to continue.

Major Features

Major features of the City of Wyndham include Werribee Open Range Zoo, Werribee Park (Mansion), Victoria State Rose Garden, Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre, RAAF Williams Laverton and Point Cook Bases, RAAF Base Williams Museum, Point Cook Homestead, Werribee City Centre, Pacific Werribee Shopping Centre, Stockland Point Cook Shopping Centre, Tarneit Central Shopping Centre, Williams Landing Shopping Centre, Werribee Park Golf Club, Sanctuary Lakes Club, RAAF Williams Laverton Golf Club, Werribee Racecourse, Eagle Stadium, AquaPulse (Leisure Centre), Wyndham Art Gallery, Wyndham Cultural Centre, Port Phillip Prison, Werribee Mercy Hospital, Werribee Agriculture and Food Technology Precinct, Melbourne Water Discovery Centre, Melbourne Water Western Treatment Plant, Victoria University (Werribee Campus), University of Melbourne (Werribee Campus and U-Vet Werribee Animal Hospital), The Gordon Institute of TAFE (Werribee Campus), Cheetham Wetlands, Heathdale Glen Orden Wetlands, Point Cook Coastal Park, Mambourin Sensory Garden, Point Cooke Marine Sanctuary, Wyndham Harbour, the Federation Trail bicycle path, K Road Cliffs, the Werribee River and the Little River.

Transport

The City of Wyndham is served by the Princes Freeway, the Princes Highway, the Western Ring Road, the Werribee railway line and the Melbourne-Geelong railway line.

City of Wyndham

economic profile