Who needs the trendy inner city? My suburb had the Hemsworths

It was the desire for more green space that prompted our move back to postcode 3135.

Our Carlton apartment, with its shoebox courtyard, was inadvertently a dumping ground for the city’s cigarette butts. The allure of trendy pubs and chic wine bars was replaced by a longing for a grassy green backyard and roomy cafes that could accommodate my pram.

Postcode 3135 encapsulates two significant chapters of my life: Heathmont, where I grew up, and Ringwood East, to which I’ve returned to raise my own family.

In one of those Melbourne quirks, Ringwood East doesn’t share the same postcode as Ringwood, and I’ve often wondered why. The reason, I’ve discovered, is rooted in practicality; when Australia introduced the current postcode system in 1967, the numbers were assigned based on operational efficiency.

In theory, Ringwood and Ringwood East should be suburb siblings, but they’re more just loosely related. While both retain quarter-acre blocks, Ringwood has evolved into an activity centre, designated as one by the Victorian Planning Authority. This classification confirms impending urbanisation, with plans for more housing development. Ringwood boasts amenities like Eastland, a major shopping centre, and other facilities that I frequently use. However, it’s always comforting to return home.

Instead, it’s Heathmont and Ringwood East which are the siblings, inseparable like two peas in a pod. Heathmontarians and Ringwood Easters are tight-knit communities with similar-looking suburbs, bustling strip shops and comparable populations (about 10,000 and 11,000, respectively, according to the 2021 census). Children from both neighbourhoods intermingle across their Scouts and sports clubs without a second thought. There was certainly nobody from Ringwood East questioning why my son didn’t play for our “own” team when he joined the Heathmont Jets.

As a teenager, I used to say we were in the middle of Rough Ringwood and Bogan Bayswater. I also revelled in the obscurity of Heathmont – no one had a clue where it was. Even now, when I mention my home town, I find it easier to say “on the way to the Yarra Valley”, which gets a nod of recognition.

Growing up here, I experienced quintessential suburban life and would cross Canterbury Road with the local kids to buy Slurpees. Sadly, the 7-Eleven has gone and I mourn for today’s youth, who will miss burning the soles of their feet on the quest to cool their mouths.

Heathmont Village has changed. The ice-cream shop, hardware store and milk bar have made way for health clinics, boutique framing shops and five cafes. Ringwood East lags in terms of gentrified shops but has an active traders group. If you’re a lover of our postcode, you can even buy a “3135” tote bag from the Coffee Apple.

Many 3135 parents spend more time on Saturdays than is ideal on Heathmont Road, on their way to the dead end of H.E. Parker Reserve, the heartbeat of our community’s sporting life. Cars carrying a parade of families in team colours snake down the hill to netball, football, cricket or tennis matches. On weeknights, the congestion shifts from vehicular to canine, with the top footy oval becoming a social hub for pooches and their two-legged pals.

Many of our green spaces also serve as communal hubs and a recent report in The Age noted that Maroondah Council boasts of significant public open space, ranking fourth among Victorian councils. One such space is Herman Pump Reserve, maintained by volunteers from both suburbs.

Here, children can play on the playground, explore fairy doors at the bases of trees, play with a curated collection of children’s toys, and share the communal chalkbox. In addition, our joint Ringwood East/Heathmont Buy Nothing group on Facebook fosters a vibrant digital community spirit.

Postcode 3135 has quietly played host to its share of celebrities over the years too. Among the famous locals were runner Ron Clarke, who lit the cauldron at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and Ron Barassi, who lived here in the late 1950s.

Even the Hemsworth brothers, though often associated with the surfy shores of Phillip Island, spent time at Heathmont College. My only claim to fame is that I was Luke’s sports captain. Toady from Neighbours is also a college alumnus and adding to the area’s cultural fabric is Hegarty House in Ringwood East, which was the last design completed by renowned architect Robin Boyd.

The Hemsworth brothers, including Liam (left) and Chris, attended school in Heathmont.Credit: Lionel Hahn/AbacaUsa.com

Heathmont owes its name to its higher altitude compared to surrounding areas, once blanketed in lush heath. Ringwood was named after a town near the New Forest in England. In the early days of European settlement, the landscape was dominated by fruit orchards and farmed predominantly by German migrants, before it was transformed into quarter-acre subdivisions in the 1920s. Many of the area’s street names, such as Pump, Muller and Washusen, pay homage to these early settlers.

As with many thriving suburbs, there’s often a trade-off between growth and character, and our community is no exception. In the place of spacious quarter-acre blocks now stand signs announcing large developments, some rising four storeys. If I desired such dense living, I never would have left Carlton.

Perhaps there is an invisible thread woven through postcode 3135 that keeps me here? My 90-year-old grandfather first moved to Ringwood East as a 17-year-old. The kids and I walk past his old house in Knaith Road every morning on our way to school.

After marrying my grandmother, he was drawn back to the area, and they settled in Heathmont to raise a family. Thirty years later, after a decades-long detour, my father was drawn back to the postcode, bringing my mother, sister, and me into its fold.

Now, as history repeats itself with my own return, I can’t help but wonder ... will my children initially fly away too, only to come back to the familiar embrace of 3135?

If I’m still here, I certainly hope so.

Kellie Floyd is a freelance writer and marketing and communications consultant.

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