Ormond 3204 Ormond 3204

Ormond, a residential suburb south of the Caulfield Racecourse, is 12 km. south-east of Melbourne. It is named after Francis Ormond (1829-89), grazier and philanthropist with a strong interest in education (e.g. Ormond College). Point Ormond, where Glenhuntly Road meets the bay, was named after a master mariner, Francis Ormond, father of the first-mentioned.

Ormond lies north and south of North Road, which was the northern boundary of Henry Dendy's Special Survey (five square miles), extending inland from the sea shore at Brighton. Like much of Brighton, Ormond was agricultural during the nineteenth century, with some vineyards which were shared with neighbouring McKinnon. The railway line was extended from Caulfield to Mordialloc in 1881 and the North Road station renamed Ormond in 1897. Another railway, the Rosstown line, from Oakleigh to Elsternwick, ran at right angle to the Mordialloc line, crossing it about 700 metres north of North Road. The route can be traced in modern street directories which show Oakleigh Road and its prolongation in the form of a linear park.

The Ormond primary school was opened in 1891, and Ormond East school in 1930. The Ormond Girls' School was opened in 1923, ultimately becoming the Kilvington Baptist Girls' Grammar School at a new site in 1955.

Ormond underwent residential growth between the wars, being described as a pleasant and healthy locality with extensive bay views. It had a population of 205 in 1921 and the six hectare Ormond Park with tennis courts. The park was later named the E.E. Gunn Reserve. There is a long shopping strip in North Road both sides of the railway line. In 1933 the strip had about seventy shops and businesses, and in 1950 there were about one hundred premises. By the 1990s the strip had more premises than local shopping and business activity could sustain, and heavy traffic along North Road detracted from the strip's amenity.

In 1987 the median house price in Ormond was 33% above the metropolitan Melbourne median and in 1996 it was 43% above the metropolitan median.

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