Box Hill Accommodation in Melbourne

Melbourne Box Hill is near the large city of Melbourne Australia and has the honor of housing a famous art community from 1885 to 1888. Many of Australia's most popular artists came to that area to learn from each other and paint the landscape of the town. Today Box Hill has become an outlying suburb.

Tom Roberts was a famous landscape artist that decided to make his home in Box Hill after traveling to Spain and France and seeing impressionistic art and how it was done. He was mesmerized by the landscape in Australia and chose the area so he could experiment. His friend and artist Frederick McCubbin did not agree with the methods landscape painting was being taught and they took over Box Hill's Houston Farm in order to try different techniques of painting. Soon other artists were coming to the farm and they began to learn from each other. The colony was quite popular and soon it had to move because of the art loving community that wanted to visit the area and see what they were doing.

The area's first settler was named Arundel Wrighte who built a house on some land he came across in 1838. The land he squatted upon was sold eventually and he had to leave. The stone from his chimney was used to make the Pioneer's Memorial that is currently in front of the town hall.

The city center was built up in 1854 and the name of the area was picked in 1860 and was given the same name as an area in Surrey England, the area the postmaster came from. Some say it was actually named after the type of plant that grew all over in the area called box eucalyptus The area was slow in growth until the railway was built through town in 1882 making it much easier to travel to Melbourne. A farmers and livestock market was founded in 1895 and was placed close to the rail station and from that day on Box Hill was known for being a commercial shopping area.

Whitehorse road is the main thoroughfare in town and there is a statue of a white horse at the beginning of that road and that horse is also part of the city's coat of arms. This statue was placed there to mark the temperance movement during the late 1800's run by the Presbyterian and Methodist church. The area was one of the most staunch supporters of the temperance movement in Australia and in fact, no beer or other liquor was sold in town until 1966.

Shopping centers began to pop up in Box Hill during the 1950's and included Doncaster Shoppingtown and Myer Eastland and since there was not enough room for people to park, in the 1960's the rail station and line were submerged underground to make more room. With more open space many other shopping areas opened and in modern times Box Hill has the reputation of being the second biggest retail and office region outside of Melbourne. Visitors to Box Hill can also enjoy all the the ethnic flavors of the many award winning restaurants.

Box Hill Indoor Sports Center is a place many go to see games in town. You can see soccer, volleyball and cricket games. The town loves sports and they have several football leagues, an archer club, and Australian football club. Box Hill Athletic Club has been around since 1932 and was prevalent in the 1956 Olympic games that were held in Melbourne. Box hill is home to a wonderful golf course that will challenge the beginner and the seasoned golfer. There is an indoor outdoor pool called Aqualink, several basketball courts, a gym and tennis courts. You can always find a game at the baseball diamond and football oval. Outdoor sports are a major force in Box Hill.

The suburb of Box Hill is no longer that small town with a large farm market. It is not the rural area that artists flocked to to paint landscapes anymore either. Today people come by droves to shop and enjoy all the international cuisine in the area.