Buyers agent for Taylors Lakes VIC3038

The lakes give the suburb its name and its character. A chain of interconnected wetlands fed by Taylors Creek, winding through parkland where pelicans drift past joggers on sealed paths and families gather at barbecue shelters on weekends. The Aboriginal Marin Balluk people knew this creek as water flowing through stony country, a description that still fits. Volcanic rock outcrops line the banks. Giant river red gums, some hundreds of years old, shade the walking trails. It feels peaceful in a way that newer estates further west rarely manage.

Taylors Lakes sits 20 kilometres northwest of Melbourne's CBD in the City of Brimbank. The population at the 2021 census was just under 17,000. Most development dates from the 1980s and 1990s, though the suburb only received its own post office in 1994. Before that, it was treated as part of Sydenham. The name comes from William Taylor, a Scotsman who arrived in Australia in 1840 and built the Overnewton homestead in 1849 on 13,000 acres of grazing land stretching west from Keilor. Taylor dammed a gully along the Keilor to Melton Road to supply water for his household, creating the first of what would become a series of lakes. When he returned from a trip to Scotland in 1859, he transformed the simple bluestone homestead into a miniature Scottish baronial castle. That castle still stands today in neighbouring Keilor, heritage listed and open for weddings and tours, with a 175-year-old oak tree planted the year the homestead was built.

Taylors Lakes Melbourne is defined by its established, family-oriented feel. The median age is around 41, higher than the Melbourne average. Many households are couples with children, and homeownership rates are strong, either outright or with a mortgage. The streets are wide and leafy. Blocks are generous by contemporary standards, typically 700 to 800 square metres, in stark contrast to the 200 to 350 square metre lots common in newer estates to the west. Residents in online forums consistently mention this as a key attraction. The houses have backyards. There is space between neighbours.

The suburb has the highest rate of Southern and Eastern European ancestry of any suburb in Melbourne. At the 2021 census, the most common ancestries were Australian, Italian, English, Maltese, and Greek. Nearly two-thirds of residents were born in Australia, but significant communities trace their heritage to Italy, North Macedonia, Vietnam, and Malta. Italian is the second most commonly spoken language at home after English, followed by Greek, Macedonian, Arabic, and Croatian. Orthodox churches and Catholic parishes anchor the community calendar.

Watergardens Town Centre dominates the western edge of Taylors Lakes. The shopping centre opened in 1997, taking its name from the adjacent Taylors Creek, and has since grown to over 115,000 square metres of floor space with more than 250 stores. Major retailers include Woolworths, Aldi, Big W, Kmart, JB Hi-Fi, and Rebel Sport. There are cinemas and a bowling alley on the rooftop. A restaurant strip has developed near the train station with outdoor dining options. For daily needs, residents rarely need to leave the suburb. A smaller shopping centre on Melton Highway near Sunshine Avenue opened in 1984 and includes a Woolworths supermarket and specialty stores.

Public transport anchors the suburb's appeal. Watergardens station, opened in 2002 to replace the old rural Sydenham station, sits on the Sunbury line with services running to Melbourne's CBD in about 30 minutes. Some V/Line services to Bendigo also stop here. The station was built adjacent to the shopping centre, with the two sharing car parking and pedestrian access. Interestingly, the station was originally intended to be called Sydenham, and that name was built into the brickwork, but naming rights were sold to the shopping centre. Bus routes fan out from the interchange to connect surrounding suburbs including Keilor Downs, Delahey, and Hillside. The Calder Freeway runs along the suburb's northern boundary, providing direct access to Melbourne's CBD in about 20 to 25 minutes off-peak. Melbourne Airport is roughly 15 minutes away by car.

Taylors Creek Trail runs through the heart of the suburb, a sealed shared path connecting the lakes and wetlands from Watergardens Town Centre through to Green Gully Reserve in Keilor. The trail passes fitness stations, playgrounds, picnic areas, and community artwork. It follows the creek through Taylors Creek Linear Park, nearly 70 acres of green space with native grasslands, red gums, and birdlife. Pelicans, cormorants, coots, swamp hens, swans, and ducks populate the wetlands. The Lakes Reserve at the southern end of the suburb received a major upgrade from Brimbank Council, with an improved playground, gym equipment, basketball courts, undercover barbecues, and seating with lake views. For families with young children, the reserve is a genuine asset.

Sport matters here. The Taylors Lakes Recreational Club brings together football, cricket, basketball, tennis, and gardening clubs at shared facilities. The Taylors Lakes Football Club competes in the Essendon District Football League. Residents have access to ovals, courts, and clubrooms without needing to drive to neighbouring suburbs.

Schools serve the suburb well. Taylors Lakes Primary School and Taylors Lakes Secondary College are both centrally located. Overnewton Anglican Community College operates its Canowindra Campus for Prep to Year 4 within the suburb, with middle and senior school facilities in Keilor. Families rate the schools highly in online reviews, citing this as a reason for moving to the area.

The northern edge of Taylors Lakes borders Calder Park, an industrial estate and, more notably, the site of Calder Park Raceway. The motorsport complex opened in 1962 as a dirt track carved into a paddock by enthusiasts wanting somewhere to race their FJ Holdens. It grew to include a road circuit, a drag strip, and the famous Thunderdome, a $54 million high-banked oval superspeedway opened in 1987 that was the first of its kind outside North America. The Thunderdome hosted the Australian Grand Prix from 1980 to 1984 and World Touring Car Championship events in 1987. While the banked oval has not been used for major events since 1999 and sits decaying, the drag strip and road circuit remain active for grassroots motorsport, drift events, and Friday night street drags. If you live in Taylors Lakes, you will occasionally hear engines from the track, particularly on race nights.

Living in Taylors Lakes Melbourne means accepting a suburb that prioritises family life over nightlife. There is no cafe strip in the inner-city sense. The dining options around Watergardens are functional rather than destination-worthy. You are not taking a date to the shopping centre food court. But that is not why people move here. They move here for the large blocks, the established trees, the walking trails, the schools, the train, and the relative safety compared to some neighbouring suburbs. Crime statistics for Taylors Lakes are lower than many parts of Brimbank. Residents report feeling comfortable walking the streets during daylight and seeing children playing outdoors in the evenings.

The investment case for Taylors Lakes rests on scarcity. The suburb is largely built out. Development Victoria released Taylors Quarter, a 171-lot subdivision on a former Department of Education site, as the final major land release in 2017. There is no more farmland to convert. New supply comes only from knockdown rebuilds or unit developments on existing blocks. The suburb benefits from infrastructure that newer estates further west lack, including the train station, the established shopping centre, and the parks that took decades to mature. Buyers comparing Taylors Lakes to Taylors Hill, Hillside, or Caroline Springs consistently note the larger block sizes and the sense of an established suburb rather than a construction zone.

Taylors Lakes is not glamorous. It is not inner-city. It does not have laneway coffee or heritage shopfronts. But it has substance. The lakes are real. The trees are old. The community clubs have been running for decades. For families looking for space, schools, and a train line to the city, Taylors Lakes delivers what newer suburbs promise but often fail to provide.

The information provided is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. While care has been taken to ensure accuracy, the information may not be complete, current, or applicable to your specific situation. You should always do your own research and, where appropriate, seek advice from a qualified professional before making any decisions based on this information.