Preston, Victoria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Preston
Melbourne, Victoria

High Street, Preston

Population:

26946 (2001 census)

Postcode:

3072

Area:

11.3 km²

Property Value:

AUD $363,000 ^[1]

Location:

10 km from Melbourne

LGA:

City of Darebin

State District:

Preston, Northcote

Federal Division:

Batman

Suburbs around Preston
Coburg North	Reservoir	Bundoora
Coburg	Preston	Heidelberg West
Coburg	Thornbury	Ivanhoe

Preston is a residential and industrial suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located 10 km north of Melbourne's central business district.

1 History
2 Geography
- 2.1 Natural Geography
- 2.2 Urban Geography
3 Population
4 Governance
5 Sports
6 Transport
7 External links
8 Sources

[edit] History

The area where Preston now resides was first surveyed by Robert Hoddle in 1837 for sub-division. In 1850, Robert Wood, a settler from Sussex, England, opened a store at the corner of High Street and Wood Street. The origin of the name "Preston" is believed to have originated from the Sussex town of the same name. In 1857 Wood would also act as a founding member of the Baptist Church. The first church was accompanied by a growing number of hotels and other stores, which had emerged some 2 kilometres south of Wood's store at the junction of Plenty Road and High Street, the latter of which served as a route to Sydney. Throughout the 1880s the area between Wood's Store and the junction would be known as "Gowerville".

1854 saw the establishment of the areas first primary schools, an Anglican and a Wesleyian school. The first state school opened in 1866 to the east of the junction settlement, but was later joined by another, the Tyler Street School which had opened in 1875, north-east of Wood's store. The two denominational schools closed shortly before the Tyler Street School had opened.

During its formative years, Preston was heavily reliant on an abundance of fertile land for farming, dairying and market gardens. Areas that were not productive however, yielded clay for pottery and bricks. The 1860s saw the development of Preston's industrial capacity, with a bacon-curing factory opening in 1862, followed by a tannery in 1865. These original establishments would be followed by several larger factories, including Huttons Hams and Bacons and Zwar's Parkside Tannery.

1889 saw the opening of the first rail line between Collingwood and Whittlesea, passing through Preston. The new line provided stations at Bell Street, Regent Street, Reservoir and centrally in Preston.

Throughout the 1880s, Preston with its abundance of land and newly built rail stations was marketed as a residential area, capable of supporting 20,000 inhabitants. Between 1887 and 1891 Preston's population nearly doubled from 2,000 to 3,600. The majority of residential development took place within the corridor contained by Plenty and High Streets, however there was also limited development in the west of the town, along Gilbert Street. These areas would remain areas of growth well into the 20th Century.

Urban growth accelerated in Preston during the 1920s, thanks largely to the establishment of a direct rail link between Collingwood and Flinders Street in 1904 (later electrified in 1926), and a building of a tram line linking Melbourne and the City in 1920. The now famous Preston Tram Sheds would later be built in 1925. The reticulation of electricity took place in 1914, with the building of Preston's sewers taking place between 1909 and 1915. 1915 also saw the establishment of the West Preston primary school, which by 1927 had grown to accommodate more than 1,000 students. West Preston primary school would later be joined by a primary school in Preston East in 1927, and later by a Girl's High School in 1929. By 1922, Preston had been formally recognised as a borough, two months later it had become a town, and finally by 1915, Preston had been proclaimed a city.

With the 1930s and the Great Depression came economic hardship for Preston. However, capital works projects-which included the designation of new parks and reserves and the paving of roads,helped attract new residents to the area. Preston bucked the economic status quo by recording rapid growth between the period 1933 and 1947, with the population growing by some 40%. This growth also resulted in the establishment of a technical school in 1937, which would later become a campus of the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE. A notable highlight for Preston residents during the era of depression was VFL legend Ron ("Up There") Cazaly's coaching of the local football team.

Two world wars provided Preston with two awardees of the Victoria Cross - the Empires highest military award for valour-Bruce Kingsbury and William Ruthven, both of whom lent their name to future localities.

The post war period would also see Preston experience rapid growth. Between 1947 and 1954 the population grew by 37% topping 64,000. A 15 year joint vision between the Preston and Northcote Councils would later culminate in 1958 with the construction of the Preston & Northcote Community Hospital (PANCH). This period also saw the construction of some 2,600 Housing Commission dwellings which continued up to 1966, by which time said dwellings accommodated approximately 11% of Preston population.

The acquisition of former Housing Commission land by the Myer Emporium lead to the opening of the Northland Shopping Centre in 1966, an area which would become the premier shopping centre in the Northern Suburbs of Melbourne and remain so up to the present.

The three postwar decades saw an influx of European immigrants into the Preston area, later followed by Asian refugees in the 80s. By 1986 some 30% of the population was foreign born.

Currently, the suburb of Preston exists to the south of the original Preston municipal area. Suburbs which were once part of this include: Reservoir, Ruthven, Keon Park and Kingsbury.

[edit] Geography

[edit] Natural Geography

Preston is bordered to the east by the Darebin Creek, a small tributary to the Yarra River and consists largely of flat terrain ideal initially for farming, but later for industrial and residential development.

[edit] Urban Geography

The original abundance of land resulted in low density urban development of Preston's former farmland, however population pressures and Preston's locality with respect to the Melbourne CBD has led to a growing tendency to medium to high-density urban redevelopment.

[edit] Population

Preston's census populations have been 623 (1861), 3,563 (1891) and 6,555 (1921). The Preston municipality's census populations were 5,049 (1911), 33,442 (1933), 46,775 (1947), 84,146 (1961) and 76,996 (1991).1

[edit] Governance

Preston is part of the Darebin City municipality, whose offices are located at the former Preston Town Hall. Preston lies within the Federal electorate of Batman, which is the current seat of The Hon. Martin Ferguson, M.P., a member of the Australian Labor Party. The State Electoral District of Preston incorporates all of Preston (and some parts of Reservoir), and is currently represented by Robon Scott, M.L.A. of the {Australian Labor Party|ALP].

[edit] Sports

Preston has been home to the Northern Bullants Football Club (VFL) since its inception in 1897. In 2006, the Bullants finished the season as minor premiers, however the team was eliminated from the finals by the Sandringham Zebras.

Preston has also been home to the Preston Lions Football Club (VPL) since its inception in 1947. The Preston Lions Football Club is the biggest sporting club in the region.

The Darebin Falcons Women's Australian rules football team play in the VWFL. The Falcons were first division premiers in 2006.

[edit] Transport

Preston is serviced by both tram, train and an extensive bus system. The suburb is serviced by two train stations, Bell and Preston, both located on the Epping railway line. Tram numbers 11, 86, 89 and 112 travel to Preston, as do buses 250, 251, 513 and 527.