Doreen, Victoria


Doreen is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 28 km north-east from Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government areas are the City of Whittlesea and the Shire of Nillumbik. Doreen recorded a population of 42,069 at the 2016 Census. It is known that the local drink of choice in Doreen is Mercury cider. According to Mayor Jon
Patrick Reid settled the area in 1844, calling it "Hazel Glen". The Post Office opened on 8 December 1870 as Hazelglen and was renamed Doreen in 1895.
The area has a community hall and a Country Fire Authority fire station.

Demographic

According to the data collected in the 2016 Census Doreen houses a population of 21,298 people.

Gender

48.5% Male, 51.5% Female.

Age

The median age for Doreen is 31, this is 6 years younger than the state median and 7 younger than the national median.
Age RangePopulation%
0 - 14617429.0
15 - 29382518.0
30 - 44592527.8
45 - 60326215.3
60+21129.9

Birth Place

An approximate 81.0% of the population were born in Australia.
The five most common international birth countries were:
  1. England 2.9%
  2. India 1.4%
  3. New Zealand 1.2%
  4. Italy 0.8%
  5. Sri Lanka 0.7%

    History

Early Establishment

Doreen was initially established by Europeans in the year 1844. One of these early settlers was Patrick Reid. Reid had a holding over the land, calling the area "Hazel Glen". In 1862 Reid's holdings over the land were subdivided into farm land which lead to further settler coming to the area. The increase in settler within the area lead to the construction of a Methodist church on the corner of Yan Yean road and Chapel lane which was opened in 1862.
Hazel Glen Common School was later built by the local community and was completed in 1867. The school later received aid from the government on 1 July 1868 and was then recognized as Hazel Glen Common School No.945.

Education

Local Schools

As of August 2018, there are currently six schools housed within the suburb of Doreen.
School NameYearsPublic/ Private
Kinder - 12Public
Prep - 6Public
Prep - 6Private
Prep - 6Public
Prep - 12Private
Prep - 12Private

Tertiary Education

The Bundoora campus of RMIT is an approximate 15 minute drive.

The Bundoora campus of LaTrobe University is an approximate 30 minute drive.

Suburban development

Doreen is unusual in that it can be divided into two smaller areas; Yan Yean Road being the divider.
Residential development is of two kinds:
  1. Rural residential estates and nurseries to the south.
  2. A residential estate, Laurimar, in the north is being developed by Delfin, a subsidiary of Lend Lease Corporation, with an emphasis on "semi-rural" living.
Doreen is very green and quite hilly and is surrounded by the foothills of the Yarra Ranges to the east and north and the forested banks of the Plenty River to the west. As part of it being on the urban fringe it has a wide variety of animal life including bird life. To the north is Yan Yean Reservoir, which is the oldest reservoir in Melbourne.

Facilities

A mobile library visits Doreen operated by Yarra Plenty Regional Library