The history of Noble Park as a suburb in Melbourne began in 1909. Allan Buckley nicknamed the land subdivision Nobel Park after the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Buckley had used the estate to demonstrate Nobel's explosives but the name was soon transformed to Noble Park by common usage. Early settlement was encouraged by building a community centre, church, school, postal centre and later, a railway station. The postal centre was opened in August 1910 and the railway station was completed in July 1912. In the early days, growth was relatively slow due to the lack of population growth in the area. In the early 1920s, the Railway Department set up a poultry farm and eventually a plant nursery was set up in the eastern part of the suburb. The focus of the small community was based around its local town hall. Residential growth in the second half of the century saw an end to the grazing paddocks and market gardens. By the 1990s, 56% of Noble Park’s population was born overseas, with the largest being from Great Britain and Ireland), followed by Bosnians, Italians and Greeks); and South and South East Asians (including Indians, Sri Lankans and Vietnamese), according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In 2014, Noble Park had an estimated population of 29,000 residents. The suburb is characterised by similar social conditions to those across Greater Dandenong, including high levels of migrant settlement and cultural diversity, relatively low incomes, elevated rates of early school leaving, low-medium crime rates and a high density of flats. The 2011 Census recorded that 60% of Noble Park residents were born overseas, the same as for Greater Dandenong and nearly twice the corresponding metropolitan percentage (33%). Among the 121 birthplaces of residents were India, accounting for 9% of residents, Vietnam (8%) as well as others such as Sri Lanka, Cambodia, China, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Sudan. Rates of migrant settlement are correspondingly high, with 7% of residents having arrived in Australia within the previous 2.5 years – the same as for Greater Dandenong. Languages other than English are spoken by about three-fifths of residents (61%) – twice the metropolitan average. Reflecting this diversity of languages, 13% of Noble Park residents have limited fluency in the use of spoken English, much the same as for the municipality, and over three times the metropolitan level of 4%. Patterns of religious faith are similar to those seen across the municipality, with 18% of residents adhering to Buddhism, 4% following Hinduism, and 9% Islam. Contemporary educational outcomes are marked by a high rate of early school leaving, with 13% of young adults (20–24 years) having left school before completing year 11 – equivalent to the municipal average, but higher than the metropolitan level, of 10% Median individual gross incomes, recorded in the Census, stood at 68% of the metropolitan median - similar to municipal levels, which are the lowest in metropolitan Melbourne. Among the 10,200 homes in Noble Park, a third are flats - twice the proportion of metropolitan Melbourne. Sixty per cent of homes in the suburb are owned or being purchased by their occupants - less than the corresponding metropolitan level of 71%. Recent years have witnessed substantial investment by local and state governments, including the Paddy O'Donoghue Community Complex which opened in 2006, the redevelopment of Noble Park Railway Station and the construction of the new Aquatic centre which is home to Melbourne's largest water slide. Public amenities include number of schools, as well as Churches, Temples and Mosques. The Noble Park shopping district houses boasts high quality bakeries, cafés and restaurants and convenience stores. Noble Park has an active Rotary Club and an active Rotaract Club Being formerly market gardens, Noble Park has fertile soil and to this day still has a large number of River Red Gum trees. The median price for houses is $669,090 and the median price for units is $434,674. House prices in Noble Park have grown by 44.09% in the past 3 years and 7.87% last year. Unit prices in Noble Park have grown by 29.63% in the past 3 years. The average house in Noble Park is rented for $375 per week and returns a rental return of 2.91%. The median weekly rental price on units is $340 and the rental return is 4.25%. Houses in Noble Park take an average of 63 days before selling and the average time for a unit to sell is 49 days. There were 188 houses sold last year and 251 units sold last year in Noble Park.