Pennydale, Victoria

Pennydale is a neighbourhood in the suburb of Cheltenham in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, approximately 17 km south-east of the Melbourne central business district. Pennydale lies within Cheltenham between Bay Road to the north, Jack Road to the west, Park Road to the south, and the Frankston railway line to the east. It is entirely within the local government area of the City of Bayside.

History
Pennydale is named after the Penny family who moved to the area in 1852, combined with the suffix "dale" meaning valley, as it was “sheltered by hills the same as in the old country”, referring to England. In particular the name recognises Edwin Thomas Penny (1848–1916), who was 4 years old when his family migrated. Penny was known for his many community activities including:

• Running the family orchard and gardens

• Shire President from 1898-99 and 1899-1900

• Council member from 1896 to 1908

• Superintendent of Cheltenham Church of Christ Sunday School and occasional preacher

• Founder of Cheltenham Sons of Temperance which assisted members and their families with unemployment, sickness and death

• Leasing the Brighton Beach Baths

• Justice of the Peace at Cheltenham Court.

On 9 December 1916 Penny unexpectedly died. An official report stated his cause of death as being shock, cardiac syncope, and internal ruptures. He was buried at Cheltenham Cemetery on 11 December. After his death, the name Pennydale continued to be used colloquially.

The first official usage of “Pennydale” was in 1956 when a post office was established in the Bay Road East Shopping Centre. The post office was opened to avoid confusion in deliveries between the Cheltenham and the Highett Post Offices. The official postal address at that time was "Pennydale S22". When the system changed to post codes, Pennydale used the same Post Code as Cheltenham of 3192. The post office closed in 1999. Although no longer correct, letters addressed to Pennydale 3192 may still be delivered.

In 2006, Bayside Council began formally naming all unnamed parks in the Bayside Municipality. The unnamed park in Olympic Avenue beside Olympic Avenue Kindergarten was named Pennydale Park. In 2022, the Victorian State Government gazetted the neighbourhood name "Pennydale" in the Victorian Government Gazette as an official neighbourhood located within Cheltenham.

Education
Olympic Avenue Kindergarten is located in Olympic Avenue. It opened in 1955 as the Olympic Avenue Play Centre before transitioning to a Kindergarten in 1958.

Transport
Along its east border Pennydale is served by Southland railway station and Cheltenham railway station on the Frankston line. In 2018 the Labor State Government announced the Suburban Rail Loop with the first phase starting in Cheltenham and finishing in Box Hill. The new SRL Cheltenham station will sit in Sir William Fry Reserve, adjacent to the north-eastern corner of Pennydale, with a planned opening in 2035.

Pennydale is served by bus route 822 (Chadstone Shopping Centre to Sandringham via Murrumbeena and Southland Shopping Centre), and route 828 (Hampton to Berwick Station via Southland Shopping Centre and Dandenong).

Parks
The two parks located in Pennydale are:
 * Pennydale Park
 * Tulip Grove Park