Save articles for later
Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.
“Warran-where?”
“Warranwood.”
“Where?”
“Ringwood and Warrandyte had a baby and called it Warranwood.”
That’s the penny-drop moment. Luckily the two suburbs sharing naming rights give people an idea of the bearings.
My husband just circumvents the whole thing and tells people we live in Warrandyte. But Wazzawood is even better in my humble opinion.
Warranwood is a leafy paradise in the suburbs. Credit: Joe Armao
Granted, it doesn’t have the Yarra River running through it, but it also doesn’t have the weekend traffic that clogs up the one road going in and out of Warrandyte.
Warranwood is one of those hidden suburbs you actually have to be looking for to find. It’s a small suburb, just three square kilometres, squished between Croydon Hills, Warrandyte South, Ringwood North and Park Orchards. It’s got more than its fair share of roundabouts and boy oh boy, does it have hills.
Anyone who runs or cycles the streets of Warranwood has the strength of a billy goat. There’s just no avoiding the hills, particularly on Wonga Road, or Rollercoaster Road as we call it, where the elevation has the power to blow-dry your hair even on a leisurely walk.
But that’s part of what makes this suburb so beautiful. Its undulating roads and cresting hills make the topography anything but dull.
Chuck in the greenery, and it’s a regular suburban bush paradise. Big, old gums line the streets and there are 17 parks in the area including Warranwood Reserve. The 11-hectare parkland is a habitat for echidnas, wallabies and so many birds – kookaburras, tawny frogmouths, king parrots and superb fairy wrens. Disclaimer – I became a part-time bird-watcher during the pandemic.
Warranwood has a slight country vibe about it, albeit one populated by retirees, middle-class families and a harmonious sprinkling of cashed-up bogans and hippies.
Many of the roads have deep ditches on either side that threaten to put cars on two wheels should drivers veer outside their lanes.
Horsie types like to take their horses for a ride down the streets on weekends. Whereas this was once a sight of jump-all-over-the-place wonder and excitement for my children, it’s now ho-hum.
And sure, there’s local gossip for those who care to partake. Break-ups, affairs and low-level scandal – barely enough to fuel a Liane Moriarty novel.
There are only a handful of shops on Colman Road, another group on Little John Road and the fish and chip shop and cafe near the garden supplies at the Wonga and Warranwood roads roundabout.
This fish and chip shop enjoys huge local popularity – standing room only is common on Friday nights – but I’m torn between it and the husband-and-wife team that run the Little John Road fish and chip shop. Their potato cakes are hand-cut and fried to perfection, but the guy at the roundabout does a mean panko crumb on grilled flake.
Along with the primary school, the cafe was the scene of many an “accidental meeting” during the lockdown years. Walkers would mill about the pot-holed car park holding their takeaway cups of caffeine to have socially distanced chats, while the school the basketball courts and oval gave respite to young families and roaming groups of teens.
Warranwood wins most people over for its sense of community. Sounds cliched, but it’s where this outer ’burb really shines.
The wineries of the Yarra Valley are just 20 kilometres from Warranwood.Credit: iStock
The South Warrandyte CFA tours the streets every December with Santa and his volunteers flinging bags of chips out to kids waiting on the streets. The “Croydon Hills & Warranwood Noticeboard” on Facebook is full of posts offering free homegrown fruit and veggies, lost and found animals, and photos of scenic local bush spots taken by early morning walkers.
The reserve is cared for by the council, but also a group of committed volunteers in the Warranwood Landcare Group.
Last year there was a pall of sadness over the community when Tom Amos, a kind and gentle crossing supervisor who spent two decades at Warranwood Primary School, passed away aged 81. “RIP Tom” was spray-painted on the grass outside the school and families placed bunches of flowers at the crossing.
Admittedly, I disliked Warranwood when we first arrived 13 years ago. The people were so WASPy compared to where we used to live and the time spent driving in and out of the city was encouraging me to consider setting up camp near the Eastern Freeway.
I’m pleased to say Warranwood is now home to a greater mix of people with the 2021 census results showing an increase in residents born in China and Malaysia.
And although it’s still a good 40-minute drive from the CBD, I’ve come to realise this is part of the appeal. There’s plenty of space to escape the hustle, and the wineries of the Yarra Valley lie just 20 kilometres to the north-east.
They say people can make a place, which they do here in Warranwood. So we would welcome you if you came to live here.
But sorry, we also kind of want to keep it to ourselves.
Kate Jones is a writer and journalist.
The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here.
Most Viewed in National
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article
