Werribee, Victoria

Werribee River, near Riverbend Historic Park

The name "Werribee" originated from the Victorian Aboriginal name for the Werribee River, Wirribi-yaluk in Wathawurrung and Boonwurrung, wirribi meaning "backbone" or "spine".[3]

Early leasing of pastures was led by members of John Batman's Port Phillip Association. A rural township began in the early 1850s. This village was named Wyndham (the name of the local municipality today). The name derived from a suggestion by the owner of a local village inn, Elliott Armstrong, who sought to honour Scottish soldier Sir Henry Wyndham. The Post Office opened on 12 January 1858 as Wyndham and was renamed Werribee in 1904.[4] However, its adjacent river was called the Werribee River, and the town's name was later changed to Werribee in 1884, and the Shire Council at that time was also renamed Werribee in 1909.[5]

Werribee at this time was very popular for development. Thomas Chirnside, a person famous in this area even today, was attracted to the open plain's suitability for agricultural uses. By 1863 he controlled more than 280 square kilometres around Werribee. Chirnside bought other smaller holdings of land at this time. The town grew steadily, helped by a railway line from Melbourne to Geelong, with a station at Werribee in 1857.[5]

The Shire was huge, extending from the inner suburbs of Melbourne to Little River to the northward town of Melton and covering 715 square kilometres.

Thomas Chirnside committed suicide in 1887. He was found dead in the laundry at Werribee Park with a shotgun lying beside him. His brother Andrew died three years later, and the property was now divided between Andrew's two sons. A new mansion was built, called "The Manor" (not in the same place as the current suburb of Manor Lakes).

Safari at the Werribee Open Range Zoo

Aerial perspective of the K Road cliffs along the Werribee River

Pacific Werribee, major shopping centre for Werribee and surrounding suburbs

In 1881 a quarter of the Shire's population lived in the Werribee Township. There were hotels there, as well as recreational venues such as the Werribee Racecourse (built in 1879) as well as the Mechanics' Institute (built in 1883).

From 1923 to 1973, Chirnside's property was the site of Corpus Christi College, the seminary of the Catholic Church for Victoria and Tasmania.[6]

Werribee's central business district is located along Watton Street; the civic centre (council chambers) being just 500 metres away also makes it the administrative centre of the City of Wyndham. Werribee is surrounded by several mostly residential suburbs: Wyndham Vale to the north-west, Hoppers Crossing and Tarneit to the north, Truganina and Williams Landing to the north-east, and Point Cook to the east. The market gardens and well-known tourist precinct are found in Werribee South, on the other side of the Maltby Bypass.

The area's major regional shopping centre, the Pacific Werribee Shopping Centre is actually located just across the suburb boundary in Hoppers Crossing.

Werribee Mercy Hospital

The City of Wyndham and surrounding areas are serviced by the Werribee Mercy Hospital, which opened in 1994 to replace the now defunct Werribee District Hospital.[16] It is a major provider of mental health care and maternity services for the local area.[17]

A new multi disciplinary, purpose-built medical facility was recently built opposite the Mercy Hospital, to be known as Wyndham Private Medical Centre. It includes a general practice clinic, specialist suites, allied health, mental health and pathology services.[18][19]

Werribee Bears play rugby league in NRL Victoria.

Aerial perspective of Thomas Chirnside School. Feb 2018.

Primary education is provided by numerous public, private and Catholic schools, some of which are combined with secondary education as one P-12 college (denoted c.).

• Werribee Primary
• St Andrews Primary
• Corpus Christi Primary
• Glen Devon Primary (now merged with Glen Orden)
• Wyndham Park Primary (formerly Glen Orden)
• Heathdale Christian College (c.)
• Bethany Catholic Primary
• Westgrove Primary
• Manorvale Primary
• Thomas Chirnside Primary
• Cambridge Primary School

Secondary education is provided by a range of public, private and Catholic colleges, also with some being combined with primary education as one P-12 college.

• Werribee Secondary College
• MacKillop Catholic Regional College
• Heathdale Christian College (c.)
• Suzanne Cory High School, a new public selective entry school (year 9 - 12)
• Wyndham Central College

Tertiary education is Provided by a number of university and TAFE campuses, which are all located in the Werribee Employment Precinct – a large area between the Princes Highway and Freeway.

• Victoria University, Werribee campus provides both university and TAFE services, and includes the Industrial Skills Training Centre
• Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE, Werribee campus (incorporating the Innoven division and the National Centre for Dairy Education
• University of Melbourne Faculty of Veterinary Science, Werribee campus is a specialised training centre and includes a Veterinary hospital
• University of Notre Dame Australia The Melbourne Clinical School is primarily partnered with Mercy Health Care and located adjacent to Werribee Mercy Hospital. The Clinical School is also affiliated with other metropolitan hospitals including Western Health, St Vincent’s Health Care, Calvary Health Care (Bethlehem Hospital) and a variety of local community-based health facilities.

• Anthony Callea – Singer
• Merv Hughes – Cricketer
• Russell Mark – Olympic shooter
• Brent Prismall – Australian rules footballer
• Ella Sabljak – Australian women's wheelchair basketball player
• Danny Tiatto – Soccer player
• Luke Mathews[20] – Runner
• Orlando Jordan – Former Professional Wrestler

• Open Learning Australian Places Werribee page