Best 35 Real Estate Agents In Patterson Lakes [2025]

Patterson Lakes Suburb Overview

Patterson Lakes is a suburb in outer south-east Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is 32 km south-east of Melbourne’s central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Kingston. In the 2011 Census Patterson Lakes had a population of 7,582 people.

Patterson Lakes consists predominantly of new houses. Patterson Lakes is home to the most popular boat launching facilities in Victoria. The Patterson River is a popular portal for Port Phillip. It includes four public launching ramps;joins the Tidal Canal system to Port Phillip;and includes the Patterson Lakes Marina and its facilities in Middle Harbour and Inner Harbour.

After the melting of the last great ice age, sea levels were 1

Europeans first set foot in nearby Frankston as early as 1803, thirty-two years before the founding of Melbourne. A commemorative plaque near the mouth of Kananook Creek marks the location of where Charles Grimes and his party went ashore searching for fresh water, and met with approximately 30 local inhabitants.

Early development was hampered by poor soils, distance from the Melbourne city centre, and the existence of a major swamp occupying much of the area between Mordialloc and Seaford.

In 1866 the Carrum Carrum Swamp was surveyed and the land between Mordialloc Creek and Keast Park in Seaford was divided into 18 allotments and sold by auction for around three pounds per acre. In 1871 the government opened it for selection. The swamp was an impediment to the settlers and there was much discussion on how to reclaim the land, the first contracts for drainage works commenced in 1873. Attempts to reclaim the lower swamplands were ineffective. In 1876 it was decided to cut a 10 metre wide channel to Port Phillip Bay. It was to be known as

The suburb of Patterson Lakes was to be located in Carrum on what was originally part of the Carrum Carrum Swamp. The Carrum Carrum Swamp was drained in 1879 when the Patterson Cut, and other drainage measures were undertaken to prevent flooding of the Eumemmering Creek, which overflowed into the Carrum Carrum Swamp. The mouth of the Patterson Cut was mostly only open during the Winter months, so heavy Spring and Summer rains often caused flooding to properties on the edge of the swamp area. Flood damage as far north as Edithvale often occurred. The only remnants of the Carrum Carrum Swamp now form the Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands

The decision to go ahead with what was originally going to be called Gladesville took place in 1973.

The development of residential areas adjacent to canals and waterways had been carried out successfully in many places. No-one had attempted to do this in Victoria unlike in other states. When Donald Cameron looked closely at the land adjoining the Patterson River, he saw the possibility of a development. If it proved to be feasible and practicable, it would give home owners access to Port Phillip from their “back door”. A large part of the area to the east of Carrum had flooded in the 1930s and 1950s, but to the engineers investigating the land, the important issues were why this occurred and how it could be prevented from occurring again. A common misconception was that the area was all swamp and mud. Extensive drilling found that only a surface layer of peat-like material was unsuitable. Underneath this layer was fine dense sand. The engineers realised that once the unsuitable material was removed they would then be able to excavate to form lakes and canals, and use the excavated sand in forming residential sites. By using this fine, dense, carefully compacted sand, all the proposed residential sites would be brought to a level above that required by the authorities. The first soil was turned in 1974 in the north-east corner of Patterson Lakes around Iluka Island Originally the plans were to build high rise towers of up to 15 stories in height. Patterson Lakes was rezoned from rural to residential. Central sites were planned for a shopping centre and for a marina which would have a second access to the river via flood gates. Sites for housing and apartments overlooking the marina and the river were identified. Sites for a primary school and for community facilities were also incorporated into the overall plan. Also the project was “different”, in that more than a hundred non-lake, residential sites were created to further the concept of a new community having a mix of socio-economic groups.

Patterson Lakes is serviced by the following shopping complexes: Lakeview Shopping Centre, Harbour Plaza Shoppingtown & Medical Centre, Gladesville Shopping Centre and The Glade.

Patterson Lakes is serviced by a government primary school, Patterson Lakes Primary School, which operates within Patterson Lakes and a government secondary school, Patterson River Secondary College, which operates from Seaford on the southern boundary of Patterson Lakes. The closest private secondary school to Patterson Lakes is Cornish College in Bangholme.

Nearby Suburbs