Maranoa Ward Councillor

History of Maranoa Ward

Maranoa Ward takes it name from the native garden established by John Middleton Watson on land he bought in the early 1890s.

He named the gardens Maranoa after a river in Queensland, from an Indigenous word meaning flowing, alive or running.

Mr Watson continued to buy land in the area, most of which later became Beckett Park. He began to create gardens on one side with Indigenous species from Australian and New Zealand.

The area was previously known as One Tree Hill or Canterbury Park, Balwyn.

Map of Maranoa Ward