City of Banyule: History
The area was originally occupied by the Wurundjeri, Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation, who spoke variations of the Woiwurrung language group.
The City was named after the Indigenous Australian term Banyule or "Banyool", and was originally the name of a locality within the former City of Heidelberg before being adopted as the name of the new Council during the amalgamation of local government areas in Victoria. It was formed in December 1994 from the merger of the City of Heidelberg with parts of the Shires of Diamond Valley and Eltham.
The City also has some significant heritage within its boundaries. Significant buildings listed on the Victorian Heritage Register include:
Charterisville (1840)
Banyule (1846)
Ravenswood (1891)
Chadwick House (1904)
Heidelberg Town Hall (1937)
There are a number of housing estates designed by leading early 20th Century architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin and by property developer Albert Victor (A.V.) Jennings, some of the most significant art deco buildings in Melbourne, and the world's first Olympics athletes' village.
Banyule is the birthplace of the Heidelberg School of Art, which was formed when a group of artists, including Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Frederick McCubbin, Walter Withers, Charles Conder and others moved to a shack on Mount Eagle (now known as Eaglemont) and began painting the landscape in a uniquely Australian way during the late 1880s.
Former councils which formed part of Banyule council's current jurisdiction prior to their amalgamation include:
City of Heidelberg (all apart from the Bundoora Health precinct)
Shire of Diamond Valley (all apart from the area north of Greensborough Highway, the Bundoora Health precinct and the eastern part of Eltham North)
Shire of Eltham (suburbs of Montmorency and Lower Plenty only).