Located to the south-east of Melbourne’s CBD is the suburb of Glen Waverley, which is not only a popular residential area but also a small business hub. It’s home to a well-developed commercial area, numerous schools and tertiary institutions.
Kingsway is the main commercial thoroughfare of Glen Waverley, lined with restaurants and entertainment facilities, as well as business-oriented hotels. The Glen is its main shopping area with more than 200 specialty retail shops, as well as supermarkets and department stores. International companies such as Toshiba and NEC have their Australian headquarters here, while the Victoria Police Academy is found within a former Roman Catholic seminary in the suburb’s south-east. The Glen Waverley Golf Course sprawls across the east of the suburb, adjacent to the leafy walking trails and the lake of Jells Park, while the Monash Aquatic and Recreation Centre with its numerous swimming pools lies near the Central Reserve.
Glen Waverley is well connected to Melbourne by train from the Glen Waverley Station which is located right in the centre of the suburb. There are also plenty of public bus services into the city and surrounding suburbs, with most shops and services within the main commercial hub easily accessed on foot.
The area that is now occupied by Glen Waverley was first settled in the mid-19th century by farmers and orchardists before a post office opened on what was known as Black Flat in 1885. It was renamed Glen Waverley in 1921 after a novel by Sir Walter Scott, with rapid residential development taking place from the 1950s.