Hoppers Crossing: Top spots, food, housing and history of Melbourne’s growing western suburb
HOPPERS Crossing is at the centre of a western suburbs revival as a retail giant and developers follow the flood of people seeking the good life just 23km from the CBD.
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HOPPERS Crossing is at heart of Melbourne’s western suburbs resurgence, as its affordable homes, space and proximity to the city puts demand into overdrive.
The Aussie-sounding Hoppers Crossing suggests a kangaroo might leap out at you at any minute, but actually, the name comes from farmer Stephen Hopper and family.
They lived near the rail crossing from the 1830s, but “Hoppers” as many of us like to call it has come a long way since then.
At last count there were nearly 38,000 locals, but it’s a sure bet the number will be far greater after this year’s Census.
And it’s for good reason.
Just 23km from the Melbourne CBD and well-serviced by trains from the city, Hoppers is one of Melbourne’s growth zones — where houses are still cheap enough to actually buy.
It’s a fact not lost to Wyndham City mayor Adele Hegedich, who was raised in the suburb.
She’s been a local since the late ‘80s and has seen things develop in leaps and bounds — including the residential boundaries themselves.
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As she only half-jokingly puts it: “There’s less reasons to ever leave.”
“Hoppers Crossing is great because it’s a family-friendly suburb. Like in my case. My parents bought a big block, raised a family here, and it’s close to good amenities, schools and shopping centres.
“There are popular parks, sporting grounds, and with the upgrade of the big shopping centre in the region (see more about Pacific Werribee below) it’s going to be an exciting destination.
“It certainly is evolving,” Cr Hegedich says.
But unlike other emerging suburbs, Hoppers is more well-established, so it still has the big-block attraction that drew people there in the first place.
So let’s take a quick tour of the Hoppers attractions, starting with the biggest.
Shopping
The $400m Werribee Plaza redevelopment — with a stack of big name shops and facilities — is what everyone who cares about shopping in the west is talking about.
We know we’re supposed to call it Pacific Werribee — but so far the old name is sticking.
Hoppers residents proudly note the fact that while the plaza carries the name of their neighbouring suburb — the giant centre is actually in Hoppers Crossing.
And it is a massive drawcard for the region.
The centre has gotten bigger — a lot bigger, with millions tipped into a 35,000 sq/m three-year expansion and redevelopment.
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It has ALL the big retailers — including a mega-Myer and new Target, the obligatory Aldi, gold class options at the Village Cinemas, and a big space allocated for international retail giants H & M and Uniqlo, plus a fresh food precinct.
The project has also created a stack of jobs, not least the places to work in the 350-odd tenancies inside.
The company behind the project is also hoping it will be another reason people won’t head to the other big centres to shop, including those in the city.
Pacific Shopping Centres’ Graham Terry seems even more excited than many of the locals.
“Welcoming these prominent brands to Pacific Werribee’s stable of leading retailers is a really proud moment for us,” Mr Terry says.
What it does mean is that Hoppers will host a centre on par with the best of metro Melbourne, with some already describing the centre as the “fashion capital” for the west.
Highpoint, watch out.
The same outfit is also doing up the Hoppers Crossing Shopping Centre, with a $17m boost to include a new Coles, plus another 20 new speciality stores, to open in late August 2016.
There’s also a plethora of “big box” warehouse, retail and clearance outfits, such as Bunnings and Harvey Normans on the Old Geelong Rd, as well as fitness centres, car repairers and new and used car outfits.
Actually, if you can find something you need for your home, car or self in Hoppers Crossing, you probably won’t find it anywhere.
Recreation and entertainment
Locals are justifiably proud of the recently built $54.4m water playground — aka AquaPulse, which boasts the largest waterslide in Victoria.
The mayor again: “I know it’s not the only reason people come to Hoppers Crossing, but it’s definitely a big attraction.”
Other than the water-sport mecca, Hoppers Crossing also boasts significant sports fields catering for Aussie rules, soccer, tennis, basketball, netball and tennis.
This includes the soccer complex at The Grange catering for the Hoppers Crossing Soccer Club — one of the most popular and successful clubs in the region with 20 teams.
The club’s old Mossfiel Reserve now hosts a rugby field.
There’s a skatepark at that reserve for the young folks, and playgrounds cater for the younger kind at Woodville Park and the The Grange Reserve with its popular tunnel slides.
Other adventurous young BMX types take on all comers as the “Wyndham Warriors” from their local base off Derrimut Rd.
The Hoppers Crossing Football Club is also a stalwart of the local sporting scene, with the Western Region Warriors hosting several sides and two regional premierships.
The local cricket club aka the “Cats” has been playing in the area since 1977.
Many also hit the Plaza to catch the latest flicks, a decent coffee, as well as to watch other people shopping.
Kids are also drawn to places like The ICEntre, Australia’s largest synthetic ice skating rink, or the Jump and Bounce trampoline park.
At Christmas time, you really won’t have to go far to get into the spirit with the incredible Christmas lights extravaganza festooning many of the local homes.
Among them include Chris and Bob Gray’s house, where visitors can watch Christmas movies in an outdoor theatre, walk through snow and bubble machines, and of course enjoy the lights display.
The couple have been decorating their home for 15 years at Hoppers Crossing, so there’s no reason to think they won’t this year.
If you want to get a taste of nature, try plying the Federation Trail that links Werribee to Yarraville and bounds the suburb on the eastern and southern sides.
Some of it also follows the Skeleton Creek which also attracts native animals and birds.
And, while it’s not in the suburb, it’s also never far to the Point Cook coastal park if you need more nature.
Food
Reflecting the ethnic diversity of the place, places to eat range across Turkish, Indian, Malaysia, Chinese, Italian, modern hipster and … the rest.
There’s a great selection of eateries along the Old Geelong Rd, but you’re never far from somewhere to sate your appetite in Hoppers.
The Jai Ho and Delhi Nights Indian restaurants get a good rap, catering for both the strong Indian community and Indian-food loving everyone else.
Corinthians is a favourite for many, and is known for its coffee, red velvet hot cakes, buzz and homemade cocoa pops. For a western suburb, it’s actually very hipster.
You can go “authentically” Turkish at Hoppers Kebab House, not far from the station, or Italian at Elio Family Bistro.
There’s no shortage of takeaway joints if you’ve got a hankering for fish’n’chips, pizza or burgers either.
Did we mention the Plaza? There’s a huge array of outlets there too.
But of course, we can’t end this little segment without mentioning doughnuts.
If you’re heading to Hoppers, you should at least know that you’re heading into NUTELLA doughnut territory.
Daniel’s Bakery — owned and run by Daniel Bartalotta — is feeding the craze for lush doughnuts, now selling up to 10,000-a-day and shovelling through up to 2.4 tonnes of Nutella each week.
But be warned, Hoppers also has a high rate of diabetes.
History
Hoppers Crossing marks the spot where the Melbourne to Geelong road and the Melbourne to Geelong rail lines once met.
It wasn’t far from where farmer Stephen Hopper lived, and he (and later his wife) tended to the crossing gates for many years.
It was also a very dangerous spot, and the site of many fatal crashes including a 1930 tragedy that claimed five lives, with warning signals installed in 1935 in a bid to stem the awful toll.
There was a fair bit of excitement about the “Werribee 50” cycling race first announced in 1930 though, once it won the “sanction” of the “League of Victorian Wheelmen”, according to the Werribee Shire Banner.
But generally, until the mid-1960s, there wasn’t much out at Hoppers, except for a general store and a handful of residents.
According to Wyndham Council, it was 1963 that shearer HL Baden Powell subdivided some farmland out that way and sold off blocks for $600.
House prices have lifted a bit since then …
Back then the houses lacked even phones, public transport, sewerage, sealed roads and post boxes and major thoroughfares such as Heaths Rd turned into a muddy bog in winter.
Bushfires also ripped through Hoppers Crossing in the summer of 1969, the high hot winds even ripping tiles from homes, with 60 homes lost in nearby Truganina.
A succession of residents pushed for improvements to public and community infrastructure, often putting their own backs into the effort to erect such things as the community halls on Mossfiel Reserve.
Hoppers’ first school was Mossfiel Primary in 1970, with the first post office in 1975.
If you’ve noticed many of the street names in the Mossfiel estate remind you of ex-Richmond footy club players, you’ll note Powell was a big fan.
Famous faces
Two famous athletes to come out of Hoppers Crossing are former Western Bulldogs captain, Brad Johnson and champions shooters Olympic gold medal winning Russell and his wife Lauryn Mark.
But Hoppers was also the home of some new-school fame, such as fashion blogger Jess Dempsey, who boasts 35,000 followers on her Instagram feed.
And true to the diversity of the place, it could one day be the place remembered for rising comic Vincent Tshaka, whose show “Kenya Handle It” is about the challenges of growing up in the African country, but living in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
Housing
Hoppers’ reputation has changed dramatically in recent years, so much so that now it’s one of the darlings of the real estate market.
In a massive contrast to the $600 blocks once up for grabs in the ‘60s, a Tarneit Rd house sold in July for a whopping $1.3m, more than a million dollars increase on its purchase in the late ‘90s.
Even in January this year, the suburb boasted a 95.7 per cent auction clearance rate — the envy of the nation.
At the time Sweeney agent Pete Cooney said buyers were flocking to Hoppers Crossing with houses that were value for money, while close to established services, trains, schools and shops.
“You can pick up some of the old homes, that might need a bit of a facelift, for the low $300,000s,” he said.
These days, the housing types aren’t just the sprawling 60s homes, but renos, modern townhouses and a spate of new developments.
Still, the median house price is just $385,000 which is a big drop from Melbourne’s median home price.
There’s thousands more housing lots being approved each year by local authorities, so the growth curve doesn’t look like slowing any time soon.
DISCLAIMER: Matthew Schulz doesn’t live in Hoppers, so if he’s made any mistakes email him at once.
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