Europeans first arrived in the Bundoora area, known at the time as the Parish of Keelbundora, in 1835. The land for surveyed in 1837 by William Wedge-Drake to allow for the sale of land. The land has previously been owned by members of the Port Phillip Association such as John Batman, who grazed their sheep there without regard for the Wurundjeri clan. The land was subsequently auctioned in Melbourne in 1838 with Bundoora being sectioned off into two areas of approximately 400 hectares. The land was purchased by well-off individuals and land speculators who resold the land within a few months, this time in blocks of . It was primarily used for sheep grazing and grain production.