This inner eastern municipality was created in 1994 by combining the former Cities of Camberwell, Hawthorn and Kew. The Parish of Boroondara, covering 24 square miles (62 square km) in this district, was surveyed and named in the early 1840s. Boroondara, thought to be an Aboriginal word for a shady or dark place, described the eucalyptus forests that were scattered across the district.