Whittlesea, south to north
The established south
Lalor, Thomastown, Mill Park, South Morang and Epping grew quickly between 1950 and 1990. See our pages on Lalor and Thomastown.
The growth corridor
Doreen and Mernda became residential in the 2000s, and land banks were secured at Wollert. AusNet planned extra transformer capacity at its Doreen zone substation because of demand growth.
The rural north
The municipality covers 490 square kilometres and is still mostly rural. Whittlesea township, on the Plenty River, grew from 1,301 people in 1981 to 3,952 in 2011.
Homes overall
86.4% of homes were separate houses, 44.3% were owned with a mortgage and 24.9% were rented.
Fire, storms and the network
On Black Saturday, 7 February 2009, power lines brought down by high winds started the Kilmore East fire, which burnt through the Kinglake and Whittlesea area to Humevale, Kinglake West, Strathewen and St Andrews. The Royal Commission found an ageing power line was the cause.
The council lists strong winds, flash flooding, large hailstones and lightning as storm hazards across the municipality. On rural blocks, outbuildings, pumps and gates should be on safety switches and checked after big storms.
AusNet runs zone substations at Epping, South Morang and Doreen, and in 2025 it announced a new one to add capacity for growth in the Whittlesea and Mitchell shires. Around Thomastown, Jemena and AusNet share a zone substation, so your bill is the only sure guide to your distributor.
Our take for Whittlesea
Work out which of the three Whittleseas you're in. An older house in the south needs a safety check before anything new goes in. A new estate home needs its board's spare room checked before a charger. A rural property needs its outdoor circuits protected and tested.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.