Harkaway is a village on the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, Melbourne Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Casey. The suburb is one which is home to many who wish to avoid the inner city clutter, yet remain relatively close to the city, and is characterised by its large distinguished homes and parkland.

History

Prior to European settlement, the area was home to the Bunurong and Wurundjeri indigenous peoples. They maintained a traditional hunting and gathering lifestyle with seasonal movements. A number of stone axe heads have been found in the Harkaway area in a location known as "Bald Hill", and some reports say that a corroboree was held there in 1858. However, by 1840, reduction of their hunting grounds, draining of the swamps and introduction of European diseases such as smallpox and measles effectively ended their ability to maintain a traditional lifestyle.

The area was settled by German immigrants in the 1850s. They initially bought land at Thomastown with the intention of subdividing a German settlement, but fresh from trying their luck at the Bendigo goldfields, found the fertile land at Harkaway south of King Road (originally Koenig Road, built as a stock route to water the cattle) and settled there instead. They typically built small timber cottages for themselves and practiced small-scale intensive agriculture on family lots, with the families primarily engaged in clearing the land and growing wheat, oats and potatoes, and "also very active in dairying". However, a townsite was never actually declared.

The settlers also constructed a number of other buildings - a Lutheran church (1869), the belfry of which is still intact and is located on Hessell Road; a single-room brick school (1876), a post office and a community hall (1909).

Famous People

Minnie a'Beckett, who married Arthur Merric Boyd, founder of the Boyd artistic dynasty, was based at "The Grange" in Harkaway in her early years, and Jessie Traill (1881-1967), a noted Australian painter, set up a studio in the 1920s.

Present day

The town can be reached from Melbourne and the Monash Freeway by exiting at Heatherton Road , which becomes King Road on entering Harkaway. Most services are provided from nearby Berwick and Narre Warren. With the exception of Harkaway Road and a portion of King Road, all roads outside the main town are unsealed.

Harkaway Primary School has an enrolment of about 200 students, a community hall, tennis courts and numerous walking and equestrian trails.

The area is not served by Melbourne public transport.

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