European settlement of the area now known as Karingal is recorded as far back as the 1840s. Agricultural and pastoral land use continued in the area into the 1960s, when residential development spread from Frankston East into this locality. As this part of Frankston was subdivided and developed, it was dubbed "Karingal", a Koori word which translates as "happy home" or "happy camp". During this time, the Karingal Post Office opened on 1 April 1964.
The "Ballam Ballam" estate was home to prominent early settlers of the Frankston area, the Liardets. Frank Liardet, son of early hotelier and artist Wilbraham Liardet, established the property in 1854. In the 1910s, responding to the suggestion that Frankston was named after Frank Liardet, Wilbraham's grandson stated that the family believed it had been named after the early white settlerCharles Franks. The original homestead "Ballam Park" still stands in Karingal today, and is now heritage-listed. It is also home to the Frankston Historical Society, which conducts regular guided tours of the homestead.
Karingal's original shopping centre, now known as Karingal Village Shops, is still located on Ashleigh Avenue, near Karingal Drive. A large section of the earlier shopping centre was redeveloped at the turn of the century, replacing the old supermarket with a larger one, and the local service station with a bottle shop. Karingal Post Office continues to operate, but in a part of the new complex. Karingal is also home to Frankston's second largest shopping complex, Centro Karingal, or locally known as the 'Karingal Hub' or 'The Hub'. It features two Woolworths supermarkets, a Big W department store and 120 speciality stores. The centre boasts an entertainment precinct, called 'StarZone Karingal', with restaurants, a pub and a 12 screen Village Cinema complex. StarZone Karingal is also home to one of the three V max "super screens" in Australia.
Infrastructure
Transport
Karingal's arterial road is Karingal Drive, which runs through the heart of the suburb, from Skye Road toCranbourne Road. Ashleigh Avenue is another key road, which runs from Karingal Drive into Frankston East. On Karingal's northern border, Skye Road is the connection with Frankston North, Seaford and Langwarrin. Cranbourne Road touches Karingal's southernmost edge, and connects it to the Frankston CBD, to the neighbouring suburb of Langwarrin and terminates in the City of Casey suburb of Cranbourne. Metropolitan bus services run along all of these roads, connecting Karingal with the Frankston CBD and its neighbouring suburbs. Another major transport route, Peninsula Link opened in January 2013. This divides Karingal and Langwarrin, and provides access to the rest of Greater Melbourne, and to the Mornington Peninsula.
Health
Two hospitals are located in Karingal, Peninsula Private Hospital and the St. John of God Rehabilitation Hospital.
