Mulgrave Suburb History and Geography

Mulgrave is an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located 21 kilometres south-east of the Melbourne city centre within the City of Monash local government area. At the 2021 census, the suburb recorded a population of 19,889.

The suburb derives its name from Mulgrave Castle in North Yorkshire, England. Sir George Phipps, the Earl of Mulgrave, served as the Governor of Victoria from 1879 to 1884. The name was later shared with the Mulgrave Freeway, which was subsequently renamed the Monash Freeway.

History

The first recorded European settler in the parish of Mulgrave was Thomas Napier, a Scottish builder who arrived in the Colony of Victoria in the mid-1830s. Napier established his homestead on the banks of Dandenong Creek in 1839. Over time, the local government status evolved from the Oakleigh & Mulgrave Road District proclaimed in 1857, to a shire, and eventually into the City of Waverley in 1961, though the geographic parish and suburb name of Mulgrave persisted.

Heritage Listings

Mulgrave features several properties recognised on the Victorian Heritage Register, including the remnants of the main grandstand and oval at Waverley Park, and the Petersville Factory Administration Building located on Wellington Road.

Present Day

Mulgrave is notable for being divided into two distinct areas separated by Wheelers Hill. Key locations within the suburb include Waverley Gardens Shopping Centre, the Monash Freeway interchange along Jacksons Road, and the residential redevelopment of the former Waverley Park Australian rules football ground.