Greensborough is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Banyule. At the 2006 Census, Greensborough had a population of 20,214.

History

The suburb was named after settler Edward Bernard Green who was also the district mail contractor.Formerly it was known as Keelbundoora, Aboriginal for "a round swamp".The township was established in the late 1850s, with the Post Office opening on July 17, 1858.

Locality

Greensborough borders the beginning of the Green Wedge, an area of bush land left running out northward into Eltham and Diamond Creek. The Plenty River, a tributary of the Yarra River, runs through Greensborough joining the Yarra at Templestowe. The green nature of the suburb has led to some friction between residents, developers and the local council. Some developers' plans have been cancelled or restructured after concerted local opposition.

Transport

The suburb features Greensborough Station, which is in Zone 2 on the Hurstbridge Railway Line and is currently served by Connex. It is a terminus of many services in both City and Returning directions. The Greensborough station has serviced the area since 1902, and is notable for being the beginning of the almost entirely single track section through to the final station in Hurstbridge, with the exception of double track sections at Eltham and Diamond Creek stations.

The Western Ring Road currently terminates in Greensborough, on the Greensborough Bypass. The Greensborough Bypass with a 4 Lane to 3 Lane merge on the bridge is notable for being labelled by Premier Steve Bracks as the 'Worst Bottleneck in Melbourne' during the 2002 State Election. Since then a long-promised second bridge has been built and was completed on the June 8, 2006. This makes Greensborough a crossroads passed by many in Melbourne on the way to the Melbourne Airport and Geelong.

Greensborough Plaza

One of the major buildings in Greensborough is the Lend-Lease-owned Greensborough Plaza. Greensborough Plaza is a large shopping centre commonly regarded as one of the major shopping centres in Melbourne's north-east. It features a two level Target store (one floor is Target Home), a large Kmart, eight Hoyts Cinemas, two Coles Supermarkets (one formerly BI-LO), a Harvey Norman computers and electrical store and Rebel Sport, as well as two food courts, and around 200 speciality stores. There are also two McDonald's restaurants - one on the third level and one outside the plaza.

It was built in 1976 and has since had many major renovations which have changed it from a small, basic shopping centre for local residents into a massive multi-level facility catering to many of the north-east suburbs.

The Plaza is not the only shopping option. The town centre contains many great shops along Main Street. These days Main Street is a busy bustling street with many shops of different varieties.

In 2009, The Greensborough Town Centre is set to receive a major upgrade to bring back life into the Greensborough town centre. 120 stores will be built in a 2 level outdoor/indoor mall between Main and Flintoff street. A new aquatic centre and Civic centre will be built along with a multi level car park. A new supermarket and department store will be opened along with the project. Greensborough Plaza will also receive an extension in the project. It is set to be completed by 2011. It is said that it will be the Federation Square of the north. The area might also receive a giant TV screen. The new town centre will be opened 24 hours a day.

Education

Greensborough College is a school in Greensborough which is the home school to over 700 students and teachers located between Greensborough and Watsonia. Greensborough is also home to several primary schools including Greensborough Primary, St Mary's Catholic Primary School, St Thomas the Apostle Catholic Primary School, Greenhills Primary School, Watsonia Heights Primary and Apollo Parkways Primary. Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT) has a campus at Greensborough.

Community

Greensborough has a football team playing in the Northern Football League.

Greensbourough has a polyurethane athletic track at Willinda Park, Greensborough which is the home of Diamond Valley Little Athletics Centre the largest Little Athletics Centre in Victoria with over 750 athletes; the Diamond Valley Athletic Club and the Ivanhoe Harriers