Heidelberg West, Victoria

Heidelberg West is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 12 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the City of Banyule. At the 2016 Census, Heidelberg West had a population of 5,545.SuburbHeidelberg West contains The Mall, an open style shopping centre constructed during the 1950s. The first store opened in The Mall was Dad's Fruit Shop which opened on 4 October 1956 one week before the Olympic Games of the year. The proprietors were Hyman Wisel & David East. The centre is to be redeveloped as a part of the urban renewal plan. Another shopping strip is situated at the end of Bell Street.Darebin Creek, and its surrounding parklands act as Heidelberg West's main public open space. The urban parts of Heidelberg West consist mostly of medium to low-density housing and development.HistoryThe Heidelberg West Post Office opened on 14 May 1923, and was renamed Heidelberg Heights around 1950. The current office on Oriel Road opened in 1952. The Heidelberg Military Hospital office opened in 1941 and was renamed to Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital in 1947.In 1956, Heidelberg West became the site of the Summer Olympics athlete's village. The village was converted into a Housing Commission of Victoria estate following the conclusion of the games, and in recent years has had properties sold into private hands. In 2006 the suburb was selected for urban renewal by the State Government because of its low socio-economic profile.