South Morang is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the City of Whittlesea. At the 2016 Census, South Morang had a population of 24,060. The winner of several ‘Tidy Town’ awards, South Morang is known as ‘The Jewel In The Crown That Is The Northern Suburbs’. Originally known as Morang South, South Morang grew from a country area on the outskirts of Melbourne in the late 1990s/early 2000s to a suburban area with new estates being developed.
History
Before the arrival of European explorers and farmers, the area now called South Morang was inhabited by the Wurundjeri balug and Wurundjeri Willam clans. In 1824, William Hovell and Hamilton Hume were the first Europeans to set foot in what is now the City of Whittlesea when they were going from Sydney to Port Philip Bay. On 14 December 1824, they wrote in their journals: Having passed through the first plain... myself and Mr Hume ascended a high but single hill. In front from which we saw a very gratifying sight. This was a very extensive plain extending from west to south east for several miles with patches of forest which appear to separate one plain from another. But the whole appeared in front, say south, to be level but in parts in the plains some hills arose of a conical shape, with only here and there a few trees upon them. And all the soil of best quality. The description showed that the land was good for farming, and it was settled by John Batman's pastoral group in the 1830s. Robert Hoddle surveyed the land in 1837. The land failed to sell at first and was opened to pastoral leases. It was leased by William Forlonge in 1846. By 1840, the area was owned by rich landowners. By the 1850s, the area was used for farming. Lots of evidence of the farming, such as dry stone walls, can still be seen today.In 1852, William Ford Cleeland bought 256 hectares and sundivided and sold the land, doubling his money. Individual land holdings have decreased in size over time. Morang South Post Office opened on 24 November 1873. The post office has now moved to Westfield Plenty Valley. The railway from Melbourne to here was finished in 1889. The old South Morang railway station served the Whittlesea steam railway line until the 1950s. It was further north than the current station.
Facilities
Mill Park Library is the nearest public library and is managed by Yarra Plenty Regional Library. The South Morang Farmers & Makers Market was launched in May 2019. Carome Homestead is home to Two Beans and a Farm cafe and the Mernda Community Garden at Carome. The Plenty Road car park is a 11km stretch of road. During peak hour traffic you will be installed for additional travel minutes and heavy delays during your commute to and from South Morang. From all the current Road works being implemented to improve the northern gate way. From the Ring Road Plenty Road exit in Bundoora to Bridge Inn Road in Mernda.
Today
South Morang's ethnically diverse surrounding suburbs have added to its ethnic diversity as residents of those suburbs move to South Morang. The most common ancestries in South Morang were Australian born 17.0%, English 16.3%, Italian 12.8%, Indian 6.2% and Macedonian 5.4%. South Morang is also home to many sites of historical and cultural significance and figures, such as Farm Vigano and Le Page Homestead at Plenty Gorge Park The Lakes South Morang P-9 School opened in 2007.
South Morang Football Club, an Australian Rules football team, competes in the Northern Football League and are based at Mill Park Lakes. Brownlow medallistKevin Murray played football for South Morang after his retirement from the AFL. It is also home to the Northern District Softball Association with multiple clubs playing at its site in Mill Park.
