Frankston North real estate

1

Balleymarong and the timber reserve

In 1853 a 'run' of land covering 42 square miles was established under the name "Balleymarong". It was later acquired by Sir Andrew Clarke, who held the post of surveyor general to the Colony of Victoria from that year. Eumemmering Creek, now the Patterson River, marked the northern edge of the run, and Skye Road the southern. Boundary Road, now McClelland Drive, ran along the east, with Port Phillip Bay on the western side.

In 1860 the Victorian Land Act opened the Balleymarong land to subdivision and sale. The government set aside 3,600 acres for a variety of purposes, and 1,370 acres of that was 'For the Preservation and Growth of Timber'.

2

The pine plantation

Around 1870 the 'Clarke Reserve' was put forward as a possible site for the Old Melbourne Cemetery. Springvale was later judged the better site. In 1909 the 'Clarke Reserve' was established as a state pine forest, the Frankston Pine Plantation, and W.J. Hartland became Conservator in Charge. Pinus radiata proved the most successful of the species planted, and a count of the trees showed that more than a million had been planted.

In the 1920s James Brown took the post of second forest officer at the State Pine Plantation. The Victorian Forest Commission had a house built on Dandenong Road for him and his daughter, and it still stands. The final officer in charge of the plantation held the position until 1956.

3

From plantation to housing estate

The suburb was originally named Pines Forest because a government pine plantation stood there before it became a government housing estate, and the name "The Pines" is still used. In the 1950s the Ministry of Housing set up the "Pines Forest Estate", which covered most of the suburb.

In 1955 fire took out much of the plantation, and a second fire threatened the estate in 1999. In 1956, 120 hectares were taken out of the reserved area so the Housing Commission could build houses for low-income families. The first stage of the housing was completed in 1957.

The first streets went in at the south of the area, and their names recalled the pines: Pine Street came first, then Plantation Street and Forest Drive. Other streets carry the names of pine species, among them Monterey, Radiata, Corsican, Aleppo, Norfolk and Excelsior. Excelsior Drive formed the northern boundary. A post office opened at Pines Forest on 12 October 1959; it closed in 1980.

In 1965 a second wave of building began east of Excelsior Drive and went as far as the planned Mornington Peninsula Freeway. The freeway zone separated the houses from the Frankston municipal tip. Homes were predominantly built in the 1960s and 1970s by the Housing Commission of Victoria, mostly brick veneer in a single storey, with roofs of cement tiles, and some from conite in the older western sections. The suburb covers about 5.2 square kilometres.

4

Reputation and change

During the 1970s and 1980s "The Pines" had a reputation as a 'high crime' suburb. Leader Community Newspapers reported that theft of cars, assaults, vandalism and crimes linked to drugs were common. Pupils of Monterey Technical and High schools were in continual rivalry and fighting, and fights on the field were a common sight when the 'Pines Football Club' played at home. An East Ward councillor said there was 'No reason for (the) Pines stigma', and that only a minority of Frankston residents held that view.

In 1980 community action stopped a plan to divide the Pines Flora and Fauna Reserve, with unions backing the stand against a proposal drawn up in the 1970s. Monterey Boulevard, the main road across the suburb from west to east, was a well-known location for illegal street drag racing until traffic chicanes were put in during 1993. Speed humps and roundabouts are now found throughout the estate, and a hoon hotline has been set up locally.

In the 1990s a great many state-owned homes passed into private ownership, bought by the people living in them, particularly in the eastern quarter, and homeowners renovated. In 2016 and 2017, pines were planted around the suburb to honour the name.

5

Living in Frankston North

Frankston North lies within the City of Frankston, 38 kilometres south-east of Melbourne's centre, on land that was a government pine plantation before it was built over. The homes are a mix of low-scale dwellings set in gardens, most of them single storey, which keeps the street-scape open, and the fencing is low or open in style. The sealed roads carry kerbs and footpaths on both sides, and the street trees are mainly native eucalypts, planted irregularly.

The Pines Forest shopping strip, where Forest Drive meets Mahogany Boulevard, is where the former post office name continues in a private business. At roughly 5.2 square kilometres in size, the suburb keeps the pine theme in its street names and in the trees planted across it in 2016 and 2017.