TM Burke, a businessman and philanthropist, was born in Ararat in 1870. He contested the 1914 election as the Labor candidate for Corangamite but was defeated. He worked for the railways after leaving Ararat High School and then turned to real estate when he could buy land in the depressed market of the war years. He then subdivided and sold it on low deposits and easy terms in the immediate post war period. As a Catholic benefactor he bought Studley Hall in Kew and gave it to the Jesuits as a preparatory school for Xavier College. It became known as Burke Hall. His large donations helped to establish Corpus Christi College, Werribee. He was a member of all major racing clubs and an owner of successful racehorses. He died of cancer in 1949. His portrait hangs in the library of Burke Hall.
Geelong's first radio station, 3GL, transmitted from the block on the corner of Heyers and Bieske Roads from October 1938 until late in 1980. The aerial was 138 feet high. The Residents living close to this area found it caused interference with some radio stations, and also could be heard on the phone. In 1975 the Grovedale Progress Association wrote to the manager of 3GL informing him that residents were dissatisfied with this.
A mixed business operated from a shop built on the corner of Burdoo Drive and Heyers Road (lot 26). Mrs Sceney ran this business for many years. A pharmacy was later built next to this shop about 1970. In 1978 the two shops were demolished to make way for the new arcade style shopping complex. This shopping centre built by Hooker Developments contained sixteen shops plus a supermarket. The popularity of these shops suffered when the new Waurn Ponds centre opened. It was subsequently re-developed to give all shops access to the carpark to the north.