Travel Destinations

Melbourne Box Hill is near the large city of Melbourne Australia and has the honor of housing a famous art community from 1885 to 1888. Many of Australia’s most popular artists came to that area to learn from each other and paint the landscape of the town. Today Box Hill has become an outlying suburb.

Australian Landscape Artist, Tom Roberts came to Box Hill after he experimented with impressionist painting in France and Spain. He loved the Australian rural environment and wanted to find a place where he could paint it to his hearts content. He and another artist friend named Frederick McCubbin did not appreciate the way students were being taught how to paint landscapes and they decided to go to Houston’s Farm on Box Hill to experiment with different techniques. Several other artists joined them. After awhile tourists began to come to see what the artist group was up to and disrupted their peace and quite so they moved on.

The area’s first settler was named Arundel Wrighte who built a house on some land he came across in 1838. The land he squatted upon was sold eventually and he had to leave. The stone from his chimney was used to make the Pioneer’s Memorial that is currently in front of the town hall.

The city center was built up in 1854 and the name of the area was picked in 1860 and was given the same name as an area in Surrey England, the area the postmaster came from. Some say it was actually named after the type of plant that grew all over in the area called box eucalyptus The area was slow in growth until the railway was built through town in 1882 making it much easier to travel to Melbourne. A farmers and livestock market was founded in 1895 and was placed close to the rail station and from that day on Box Hill was known for being a commercial shopping area.

Whitehorse road is the main thoroughfare in town and there is a statue of a white horse at the beginning of that road and that horse is also part of the city’s coat of arms. This statue was placed there to mark the temperance movement during the late 1800′s run by the Presbyterian and Methodist church. The area was one of the most staunch supporters of the temperance movement in Australia and in fact, no beer or other liquor was sold in town until 1966.

During the 1950′s many shopping centers were opened in Box Hill including Myer Eastland and Doncaster Shoppingtown and in the 1960′s more parking was added by placing the rail line under ground. Other stores followed and the area today enjoys the title of the second largest office and retail area outside of the city of Melbourne. There is a large variety of restaurants and cafes some of which serve the best ethnic cuisine in all of Australia.

Box Hill Indoor Sports Center is a place many go to see games in town. You can see soccer, volleyball and cricket games. The town loves sports and they have several football leagues, an archer club, and Australian football club. Box Hill Athletic Club has been around since 1932 and was prevalent in the 1956 Olympic games that were held in Melbourne. Box hill is home to a wonderful golf course that will challenge the beginner and the seasoned golfer. There is an indoor outdoor pool called Aqualink, several basketball courts, a gym and tennis courts. You can always find a game at the baseball diamond and football oval. Outdoor sports are a major force in Box Hill.

The Box Hill area near Melbourne has certainly grown from the little farm market in the 1800′s. It is no longer the rural area it was before the shopping centers were built. People can travel there to enjoy the multitude of shopping opportunities or eat at the variety of restaurants in the area and have a great night out on the town.

When it comes to touring, you could look into Melbourne box hill. The Melbourne tourism is one of the finest in the state of Victoria. To find more knowledge, you could refer to using the net for pictures, travel agents and booking flights.