Endeavour Hills is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 31 km (19 mi) south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the City of Casey. At the 2011 Census, Endeavour Hills had a population of 24,574.
Endeavour Hills is bordered by the Monash Freeway and Dandenong Creek to the west, Police Road and Churchill Park Drive to the north, Hallam North Road to the east, and Eumemmerring Creek to the south.
History
The land in the area was home firstly to the Aboriginal people and was later settled by Europeans, who came after the 1830s. They mainly used the land for farming and cattle runs.
The earliest landowner of the area was Thomas Herbert Power who had owned the area from the 1850s extending from Power Road, almost to Berwick and north to Heatherton Road. The suburb was named after Captain James Cook's ship, 'The Endeavour'. Other suggested names at the time included Pine Hill and Piney Ridge, due to the number of pine trees in the area. In 1970, the name 'Endeavour Hills' was coined in honour of the two hundredth anniversary of Captain James Cook's arrival in Botany Bay. The estate was officially opened in 1974 under this name.
In 1974 houses, shops, schools and parks began to be established.
The suburb as known today began with the development of a small housing estate named Endeavour Hills. The estate was designed to have its own community services for every-day living, such as its own leisure centre, shopping centre, library, medical centres, child care centres, kindergartens, public and private schools. The suburb was created with plenty of parkland, bike paths, and safe playing areas for children. The developers of Endeavour Hills aimed to attract people by offering families a neighbourly and spacious place to live. The catch phrase was 'a better place to live' where everything looked green and the land looked like a sort of paradise.
The original estate sales office was located in what is now the Joseph Banks Medical Centre. A statue of explorer James Cook stood outside; new streets were named around the explorer James Cook, his ship the Endeavour, and fellow sailors and explorers. These include James Cook Drive, Thomas Mitchell Drive, Matthew Flinders Avenue, John Fawkner Drive, Arthur Phillip Drive and others.
Endeavour Hills Post Office opened on 5 September 1983.
On 23 September 2014, the suburb witnessed a stabbing attack against two counter-terrorism officers by an 18-year-old, who was later shot dead.
Suburb profile
Endeavour Hills is a hilly and leafy residential suburb with many parks, gardens and a variety of trees and birdlife. It has underground utilities (electricity, gas, telecommunications, water) street lighting, wide roads, footpaths and an abundance of native trees have been planted on naturestrips.
Many houses have been built on steep land blocks and have distant views of the surrounding suburbs, some as far away as Frankston, Chadstone, Pakenham, Port Philip Bay and in some cases the CBD.
Endeavour Hills consists of low-density residential housing - single, double and triple level brick houses - built on 1/4, 1/2, 1 or more acre blocks. A meagre of ground-level townhouses and units exist. There are no high-rise buildings and no industries. As at October 2013 the median house price for Endeavour Hills is $509,500 and the median unit price is $336,500.
A Endeavour Hills Police Station is located on Heatherton Road, near the main shopping center. The Police Station is no longer 24 hours.
Facilities
The main shopping area is Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre, located on the corner of Matthew Flinders Avenue and Heatherton Road. There are 86 retail stores all undercover, including three large supermarkets. The shopping centre consists of a multi-level carpark with over 1800 car park spaces.
Around this area is The Endeavour Hills Leisure and Function Centre with a Basketball Court, Health & Wellness Club. .
The Endeavour Hills Library (part of the Casey-Cardinia Library Corporation) and the Endeavour Hills Police Station are also within this area. The library has recently been expanded.
Endeavour Hills Uniting Care Neighbourhood Centre is located next to the Library complex close to the shopping centre. The Neighbourhood Centre is a not for profit organisation auspiced by the Uniting Church. It is an adult learning centre that delivers a range of classes and support services. There is also a State Government Department of Human Services and The Rotary Club of Endeavour Hills.
Medical
Endeavour Hills has many Medical Centres.
A 24-hour Ambulance Station has recently opened at Endeavour Hills.
Public and Private Hospitals with 24-hour Emergency Care, Medical Facilities, Day-Surgery Clinics and Fire Stations are located nearby at Dandenong, Berwick, Mulgrave and Noble Park.
The Viewhills Manor Retirement Village provides senior citizens with on-site aged care facilities, serviced apartments and independent living units.
Recreation
Endeavour Hills has its own skate park located just outside the Leisure Centre. There are also Tennis Courts at Sydney Parkinson Reserve (Endeavour Hills Tennis Club. 8 clay carpet courts with 4 under lights) and also Tennis Courts on Matthew Flinders Avenue (St.Paul's), Football/Cricket Oval at James Cook Drive and the suburb boasts an abundance of parks.
Golfers play at the Churchill Park Golf Club on Churchill Park Drive.
The Casuarina Forest is located within James Alexander Reserve, and the reserve itself boasts some spectacular views where one is able to see as far as Port Phillip Bay. In the original plans for Endeavour Hills, the Casuarina Forest was to be cleared to make way for housing. However, a campaign run by locals was successful in ensuring that the forest was preserved.
Endeavour Hills is a short walk to Lysterfield Park, Churchill National Park, the Dandenong Police Paddocks and Eumemmerring Creek.
Education
The first school, James Cook Primary School, opened in 1979.
There are two high schools in Endeavour Hills: a campus of Maranatha Christian School and Gleneagles Secondary College, (formerly a campus of Eumemmerring College). Endeavour Hills Secondary College, another former campus of Eumemmerring College, was closed at the end of 2012.
The primary schools in the area are: Chalcot Lodge Primary School, James Cook Primary School, Mossgiel Park Primary School, Southern Cross Primary School, St. Paul Apostle North, St. Paul Apostle South and Thomas Mitchell Primary School.
The kindergartens in the area are: Allara Kindergarten, Chalcot Lodge Kindergarten, David Collins Kindergarten, Hartley Ridge Kindergarten, James Cook Kindergarten, Reema Kindergarten. FiRST Early Learning Centre and Kindergarten, Rose Garden
Gleneagles Secondary College was awarded the worst school in the area in 2011, by community poll.
Transport
There are no train stations in Endeavour Hills. The nearest train line to Endeavour Hills is the Pakenham line, which serves many of the City of Casey suburbs including Berwick, Hallam, Hampton Park and Narre Warren. The suburb is situated closest to Hallam station, although many residents prefer to go to Dandenong (located on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines), as no buses in Endeavour Hills go to Hallam Station. Therefore, the main mode of transport is by car.
There are also five bus routes currently servicing the area
Sport
Soccer is popular with three clubs located in the suburb; Dandenong City Soccer Club who play in the Victorian Premier League, Endeavour Hills Sporting Club and Endeavour United both fielding teams in the Victorian State League.
Also popular are Australian Rules, represented in the seniors by the Endeavour Hills Falcons, and in the juniors by rivals the Endeavour North Hawks (formerly Mossgiel Park) and the Endeavour Hills Eagles.
Endeavour Hills are also represented in Victorian Rugby Union, and also the Berwick Miners in Gridion Victoria.