Where is Heidelberg?

• Heidelberg is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.
• It is 11 km north east of central Melbourne, on the banks of the Yarra River.
• In the past, the name "Heidelberg" has been applied to a wider area than the modern suburb.
• It gave its name to an artistic phenomenon, the Heidelberg School. SEE OUR NEW EXHIBITION.

Our New Exhibition

Re-opens Sunday 1st February, 2026.

First Speaker Meeting 2026

Uniting Church Community Centre
Seddon Street, Ivanhoe.
Tuesday 10th February 2026 at 7.30PM

The Heidelberg
of the Heidelberg Artists

Speaker: Steven Barlow

Steven Barlow is a long-time Heidelberg Historical Society committee member with a background in teaching History and English. He has long been fascinated by the history of suburban Melbourne and it architecture.

Steven has written several journal articles for this, and other, societies and produced booklets on his favourite subjects, including Art Deco, the architecture of Walter Burley Griffin and painting. The current exhibition, "The Heidelberg of the Heidelberg Artists", was curated by him and follows an earlier one entitled "Truth Beauty and Utility: The Arts & Crafts Movement in Heidelberg".

The topic of his talk will be closely related to the current exhibition which looks at the movement for painting local landscapes "En plein air" and its relation to the group of artists who chose Heidelberg for their inspiration. Who were these artists and what was the local area like in the 1880s and 1890s?

Our Country's History

Some accounts of Australian history have tried to restrict our interest to the last 200 years, since Europeans arrived. This ignores the rich history and guardianship of the land by the First Nations people. So much can be learned from First Nation history.

There is evidence of human activity in Australia for at least 60,000 years. At the mouth of the Hopkins River in Western Victoria, middens have been dated as far back as 120,000 years. At the very least, First Nations people have lived here for tens of thousands of years. European settlers only began to arrive in the this area in 1830s.

Another matter of concern is the struggles between settlers and First Nations people. Some accounts downplay the suffering of the First Nations people, while many more recent historians acknowledge this and seek for better treatment of those who still suffer the effects of their loss of culture and way of life.

Introductions to the history of the district should include such sources as The Wurundjeri Website.

More information about treatment of First Nation people can be found at the Minutes of Evidence Site.

Wurundjeri The First People of this Area

We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people who are the Traditional Custodians of this Land. We also pay our respect to the Elders both past and present of the Kulin Nation and extend that respect to all other Indigenous Australians. Our way forward is to look honestly at the past, avoiding the old distorted historical accounts as much as possible.

Our Areas of Interest

Any area that was ever in a local government area called "Heidelberg". Some places, such as Fairfield and Hurstbridge, have long ceased to share local governments with us, but we still have some historical information about them.

• Bellfield
• Briar Hill
• Parts of Bundoora
• Eaglemont
• Eltham North
• Greensborough
• Heidelberg
• Heidelberg Heights
• Heidelberg West
• Ivanhoe
• Lower Plenty
• Macleod
• Montmorency
• Rosanna
• St Helena
• Viewbank
• Watsonia
• Yallambie

IVANHOE

Former Hoyts Cinema in Upper Heidelberg Road, near the Ivanhoe Library and Town Hall.

HEIDELBERG

Corner of Mount Street and Burgundy Street, Heidelberg, near Heidelberg Railway Station. Building with distinctive round tower, was constructed around 1920.

ROSANNA

Lower Plenty Road looking west. In December 2016, the railway level crossing at Rosanna was flooded. The course of Salt Creek runs under this site and occasionally shows its presence. By the 2020's, a new railway overpass with including the Rosanna station had been constructed.

More Areas of Interest

VIEWBANK

Silos from the former Viewbank Farm, taken in 2012. Some evidence has been found of the early farm buildings, but large parts of the area are now used for housing in 2024.

DAREBIN CREEK

Heidelberg Road near Darebin Creek bridge.

WEST HEIDELBERG

Heidelberg Bowl, West Heidelberg, Bell Street, July 1969.

WATSONIA

Greensborough Rd Watsonia. Preparations are starting for North East Link

LOWER PLENTY

Shops beside the road going towards Eltham.

More Areas of Interest

ALPHINGTON

'Bokhara' in View Street, Alphington, 1992. This red brick house was built in 1892.

FAIRFIELD

This track through the grasses is evidence of the location of the old Outer Circle railway line, near Fairfield Railway Station.

MACLEOD

Photo taken from McNamara Street looking east over the railway line and railway reserve to Macleod Park and Aberdeen Road shopping centre. Macleod Station carpark on the left. 1980s.

EAGLEMONT

"Glenarde", Eaglemont, corner of Castle Street and Mount Street.

YALLAMBIE

Yallambie was one of the later suburbs to develop.