The original Main Street is some distance from present-day central Narre Warren, beside the railway line, causing development to occur away from the original settlement, and the building in which the general store also served as the post office, still exists as a local landmark, established 1857.[citation needed] Narre Warren Post Office, located on what is now Heatherton Road, opened on 21 January 1869. In 1900, it was renamed Narre Warren North, and Narre Warren Railway Station Post Office (open since 1886) was renamed Narre Warren. The locale of Webb Street is named after Sydney James Webb, founder of a newsagency there.[2]
Demographics
The most common ancestries in Narre Warren were Australian 21.9%, English 20.6%, Irish 5.1%, Scottish 5.1% and Indian 3.6%.
62.7% of people were born in Australia. The most common foreign countries of birth were India 3.6%, England 3.2%, Sri Lanka 2.7%, Afghanistan 1.9% and New Zealand 1.9%.
The most common responses for religion were Catholic 28.8%, No Religion 19.6%, Anglican 10.9%, Islam 5.6% and Buddhism 3.9%.
66.7% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Dari 10%, Sinhalese 1.9%, Arabic 1.5%, Spanish 1.4% and Hindi 1.3%.[3]
The local government for the area from 1862 to 1973, was the Shire of Pakenham. Coinciding the inception of Shire of Berwick, the area switched local governments to under its control, up until the creation of the City of Casey in 1994. Narre Warren holds the council seat, at its Bunjil Place precinct.
Residential development
A Narre Warren street before the construction of houses – 2001
The same Narre Warren street after the construction of houses – 2006
Over the years, Narre Warren has grown from a semi-rural residential town to become a part of a major growth corridor in the southeast of Melbourne.
In recent years,[when?] a multitude of new housing developments have seen Narre Warren expand to such an extent that it now adjoins neighbouring suburbs such as Berwick.
The Narre Warren Football Club plays in the Southern Football Netball League. It was formed in 1953 as Narre Hallam Football Club to serve Narre Warren and Hallam, and was a founding member of the South West Gippsland Football League in 1954.[6] The club won premierships in 1957 and 1973. It was also runners-up in 1956, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1981. In 1989, the club renamed itself the Narre Warren Football Club.
In 2004, Casey Panthers Soccer Club was founded with the home ground being located at Prospect Hill Reserve. The senior team compete in the State League 5 competition. In 2022, the Under 17 (17A) team nicknamed 'The Invincibles' won their respective South East A grade and State A grade competitions as well as the prestigious Polonia and Altona Cups, remaining undefeated throughout the season.[citation needed] This was the only occurrence of a quadruple in Victorian soccer history.[citation needed]
Retail and civic development
Westfield Fountain Gate (named after one of the earlier subdivisions) is at the heart of the main commercial precinct in Narre Warren. It is one of the largest shopping centres in Australia, housing many of Australia's major retailers. The centre has been made famous by the popular Australian television show Kath & Kim, parts of which were also filmed at Westfield Southland.[7] The largest cinema is Village Cinemas Fountain Gate, which is located on the top floor of Fountain Gate.[citation needed]
There is also a local shopping strip around the railway station in Webb Street. The shopping strip includes stores such as bakeries, beauticians and a small supermarket.
The civic precinct is located outside the boundary of Westfield and includes the City of Casey municipal offices, Narre Warren Library and the Casey ARC (Aquatic and Recreation Centre). The Bunjil Place civil centre was constructed in 2017, a redevelopment of $300 million by the City of Casey Council. Replacing the original wetlands precinct that once sat there.
Transport
Road
Narre Warren is connected by many major roads, mainly the Monash Freeway (M1), Princes Freeway (M1), Princes Highway (Alt 1), Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road, Narre Warren North Road, and Shrives Road.[8] The Monash Freeway's south-east end concludes in Narre Warren, where it reaches an overpass exit (exit 23) connecting it to Princes Highway and continuing on as Princes Freeway. Princes Freeway connects the suburb to the greater Highway 1.
Buses
The biggest bus interchange in Narre Warren is at the forefront of Fountain Gate Shopping Centre. Three bus operators run route services to, from or via Fountain Gate. The primary operator, Ventura, operates routes 695F (Limited Services), 697 (one Thursday afternoon service), 828, 834, 835, 838, 841, 841, 926 and 981 (Night Bus). Cranbourne Transit operates routes 891 to Lynbrook and 895 to Amberly Park, and South Coast Bus operates a once weekly service to Cowes.[9] The 836, 841, and 891 all directly connect the shopping centre to the suburb's railway station.
V/Line trains pass the station but do not stop at the station. Patrons wishing to travel on the Orbost line towards Traralgon via Morwell & Moe, or the current terminus of the line, Bairnsdale via Sale, Traralgon & Warragul from Narre Warren station must ride a Metro service to either the Dandenong or Pakenham stations, where they can switch over to the V/Line service.[11][12]
↑corporateName=Australian Electoral Commission; address=10 Mort Street, Canberra ACT 2600; contact=13 23 26. "Profile of the electoral division of Bruce (Vic)". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 May 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑"THÀNH VIÊN GIÁO HỘI". The Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation of Australia – New Zealand. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
