Berwick

Berwick is located in the City of Casey and had a population of 50,298 at the 2021 census.  It was named by an early leaseholder, Robert Gardiner, after his birthplace, Berwick-on-Tweed in Northumberland.

History of Berwick

The town of Berwick was originally part of the Cardinia Creek run. Subdivision started in 1854 and a store, post office, hotel and other businesses were established. Wheat, barley and potatoes were grown, with a flour mill operating for several years. Dairy farming and cheese making later became the main activities. The Berwick Agricultural Society, originally started in 1848 as the Mornington Farmers’ Society, is one of the oldest farmers’ societies in Victoria.

The area grew with the construction of a coach road between Melbourne and the Gippsland region, and the Post Office opening on 18 September 1858.

A quarry opened in 1859 to supply ballast for the railway line along the same route, which opened in 1877, and a spur line was constructed to Berwick railway station to transport the metal. The site of the quarry is now occupied by Wilson Botanic Park. From 1861 until 1902, Berwick was also the headquarters of the Shire of Berwick, originally formed as the Berwick Roads Board.

Education

The town’s first school, Berwick Primary, was originally established in an old shepherd’s hut near the old Berwick hospital in 1857. It was the first school in the south eastern area and school number 40 in Victoria. School buildings were later built on a parcel of land abutting Lyall Rd, between Peel Street and Brisbane Street. The school operated from this site until 2003 when a new school was built in Fairholme Boulevard. Subsequently, the Peel Street site was redeveloped as Pioneer Park, a community open space. The original school buildings were retained during the redevelopment and now operate as a restaurant, Pioneers @ Primary.

As well as the State School, a Boys’ Grammar School operated from 1882 to 1922. St Margaret’s Girls’ School (originally called Berwick Presbyterian Girls’ School) opened in 1920 with Junior boys being admitted during the 1960s. It ceased providing boarding placement in 1978, being one of the first of the St Margaret’s Schools in the world to change. Berwick Secondary College, now Berwick College, and Kambrya College, public high schools, and the Berwick campuses of Beaconhills College and St. Francis Xavier College are located in the suburb of Berwick, Victoria. Timbarra P-9 College is located on Parkhill Dr in the Timbarra estate of Berwick.

Victoria’s first academically selective co-educational secondary school, Nossal High School, opened in 2010, and is located on the Federation University campus.

Berwick is also home to the third campus of Haileybury, Melbourne, Victoria, with the campus having been simply named ‘Edrington’. Berwick Lodge Primary School also opened up in 1990, in the suburb. Berwick Fields Primary School opened in 2006 and has an estimated total of 925 students in May 2019, and around March 2012, the total exceeded 1,000 students. Brentwood Park Primary school is located on Bermersyde Drive, adjacent to Kambrya College.

Chisholm Institute provides TAFE courses and degrees for domestic and international students, with a Technical Education Centre opening in 2009. Chisolm Berwick also run the Casey Tech School, a shared learning facility that delivers programs to secondary schools in the region.

In 2017, Federation University moved into the former Monash University and is located at 100 Clyde Rd, Berwick on the former Casey Airfields. The university offers on campus accommodation and other facilities to students, such as a library and cafe.

Retail

Berwick has its own large retailers, including a Woolworths supermarket, 3 Coles supermarkets (Parkhill Plaza, Eden Rise and Berwick Southside) and an Aldi (Eden Rise). Many small shops and businesses are also situated along the shopping precinct on old Princes Highway (Main street of Berwick village). These shops include a selection of restaurants, cafés, and other services including a library, post office and optometrist. Further south on Clyde Rd is the Eden Rise Shopping Centre which is the largest shopping complex within Berwick. There are a number of car dealerships along the Princes Highway close to Berwick Village and more dealerships on Kangan Drive close to the hospitals.

Medical

Berwick currently has 2 hospitals, Casey Public Hospital, St. John of God Berwick Private Hospital and St. John of God mental rehabilitation centre on Gloucester Avenue.

Sport

The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League and an Association football team called Berwick City Football Club.

The town also has a successful cricket club known as the “Wickers” and later changed to the Berwick Bears that compete in the DDCA competition and a tennis club that competes in the Berwick & District Tennis Association.

There is the Montuna Golf Club at Guys Hill.

There is also Little Athletics at Edwin Flack Reserve.

Berwick Badminton is open to the public for those who are interested in the sport.

The Berwick Leisure Centre is a space inside of the Berwick Secondary College grounds, at which there are gymnastics running, as well as a trampolining program. Often, there are other activities, such as karate.

The Hallam Cobras Softball Club Inc have club rooms at Sweeney Reserve.

Notable residents

The Berwick Mechanics’ Institute and Free Library was built in 1862 at the corner of Peel and Edward Streets. In return for a nominal rent Robert Bain agreed, in 1878, to lease a block of his land to the library for 500 years, so long as a library remained on the property for that period. In 1880 it was moved to its present site in the main street and extended the following year.

Berwick was also the home of Edwin “Teddy” Flack, Australia’s first Olympian and Olympic gold medal winner (800 metres (870 yd) and 1,500 metres (1,600 yd)) at the inaugural Athens Olympic Games. He was laid to rest in Berwick Cemetery, and is commemorated by a statue in the main street. The Edwin Flack Reserve includes several sporting grounds, such as the Edwin Flack Oval, Edwin Flack Athletics Track and Edwin Flack Netball Courts, all named in his honour. They are located alongside Berwick Secondary College.

Richard Casey, later Baron Casey of Berwick and Governor-General of Australia was a resident of Berwick. His home of Edrington has now been converted to an aged care facility.

Scott McDonald, Australian International football (soccer) player, striker for Celtic FC in Scotland and top scorer in the Scottish Premier League in the 2007–08 season grew up in Berwick. Former AFL games record holder Michael Tuck and former Hawthorn defender Mark Graham hail from Berwick as does 2009 number one draft pick Tom Scully and Brisbane Lions ruckman Stefan Martin and Defender and Coach, Justin Leppitsch (2014-2016), Assistant Coach to Richmond (2016-Present).

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berwick,_Victoria