Town by town snapshot: Armstrong Creek

THE size of the emerging new suburb of Armstrong Creek (excluding Armstrong west of the Surf Coast Highway, which is designated Mt Duneed) is approximately 18.7 square kilometres and has four parks covering nearly 0.8 per cent of total area.

The population of Armstrong Creek in 2011 was 353 people and by the 2016 Census the population was 4,237 showing significant population growth of 1,100.3 per cent in the area during that time.

Current population figures have nearly doubled that of the last Census figures, with Warralily alone now housing over 7,000 people.

The recently gazetted suburb of Armstrong Creek is part of the Armstrong Creek Growth Area of Geelong, which comprises parts of the localities of Grovedale and Marshall south of the Warrnambool railway line, the new suburb of Charlemont, and parts of the localities of Mount Duneed and Connewarre.

The area is named for Armstrong Creek (formerly Armstrong’s Creek) which flows from west to east across it which was named after Scottish settler John Armstrong, whose property included the creek.

The intention to expand Geelong’s suburbs into the area was signalled first in the 1980s by the Geelong Regional Commission with a Development Study commissioned by the City of Greater Geelong in 1994.

The growth area came into being in June 2010 with State government approval of the Greater Geelong Planning Scheme Amendment.

The aim was for the development to have its physical and social infrastructure provided at an early stage, with an aim of building communities rather than just releasing land for development.

Armstrong Creek has been promoted as a sustainable community, with a focus on walkability, public transport provision and sustainable water use.

Land sales started in late 2010 and on March 1 2012 Armstrong Creek and Charlemont officially became suburbs of Geelong.