Epping is bounded by Mill Park and Lalor to the south, Somerton to the west, South Morang to the east and Wollert to the north. Epping has a mainly flat terrain though, towards the north, lie several large hills, which provide an excellent view of Melbourne. McDonalds Road and High Street are the main thoroughfares. The majority of commercial activity is located on High Street and Cooper Street, where Pacific Epping is located.
History
A village reserve was surveyed in 1839, where Epping later developed. The village was named Epping, after Epping Forest, in 1853, by which time a hotel and a Catholic school were established. Epping Post Office opened on 1 September 1857. The Epping Road Board was established a year later. In 1870 the area around Epping became Darebin Shire, which was renamed Epping Shire in 1893 until it was united with Whittlesea Shire in 1915. By the time the Shire was created, Epping township contained several churches, hotels and a state school, as well as church school. Farmers of Irish origin predominated, but English, Scots and Germans settled there. There were several dairy farms. The Melbourne to Whittlesea railway had a station at Epping and the main areas to benefit were the transport of milk and quarry products. The original Epping township is on higher ground west of the Darebin Creek. Several older buildings are constructed in bluestone, plentiful in the surrounding volcanic plains. Residents of Epping were criticised on a national scale in July 2020 for not following social distancing rules as the area became one of the cities most Coronavirus affected areas.
There are several government and private schools in Epping, including one of the biggest Catholic High Schools in Australia; St Monica's College and the second largest public school in Victoria; Mill Park Secondary College, with its senior campus located in the east of Epping, as well as Epping Secondary College and Lalor North Secondary College. Primary schools include Epping Primary School, opening in 1872, Epping Views Primary School, Greenbrook Primary School, Meadow Glen Primary School and St Peter’s Primary School. Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE has a campus at Epping, which was developed in 1992 with State Government funding. Along with NMIT rural training centres of Northern Lodge Equine Stud farm at Eden Park, a farm at Yan Yean and the Growling Frog Vineyard, the Epping campus of NMIT is the largest provider in Victoria of training to the agriculture sector, offering courses from certificate to bachelor's degree level in Aquaculture, Equine Studies, Agriculture and Land Management and Viticulture and Winemaking. A new Green Skills Centre, built in 2009/2010, provides courses and training in renewable energy, sustainable design and building and construction. The campus boasts one of Victoria's few indoor recirculating aquaculture facilities. Many other vocational education and training courses are also available. as 5 GreenStar
Epping Tennis Club is also located next to the Epping Football Club.
The Meadowglen International Athletics Stadium offers an international standard, all-weather synthetic athletics facility. It is managed by the City of Whittlesea
