It serves the eastern suburb of Camberwell, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

In the mid-1850s, he owned and operated Irwin's Hotel, which was on the corner of Norwood (now Toorak) and Wattle Valley roads, and was demolished about the time the railway line was built.

Minutes of meetings of the Boroondara District Roads Board noted that "c/- Irwin Hotel, Back Creek" was used as a polling station.

On 27 December 1948, an Alamein-bound train was derailed at the Flinders Street (up) end of the station, near a set of points.

[8] Hartwell has an island platform with two faces and is served by Alamein line trains.