Flemington, Victoria

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Flemington
Melbourne, Victoria
Population: 7376 (2006)[1]
Postcode: 3031
Area: 1.2 km² (0.5 sq mi)
Property Value: AUD $402,500[2]
Location: 6 km (4 mi) from Melbourne
LGA:
State District: Melbourne
Federal Division: Melbourne
Suburbs around Flemington:
Ascot Vale Ascot Vale Travancore
Maribyrnong Flemington Parkville
Footscray Kensington North Melbourne

Flemington is an inner-western suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is shared between the Local Government Areas of the City of Moonee Valley and the City of Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Flemington had a population of 7376.

The suburb's most famous landmark is Flemington Racecourse, where the Melbourne Cup horse race is run on the first Tuesday in November since 1861, by the Victoria Racing Club.

The suburb sits between the Maribyrnong River and the Moonee Ponds Creek.

Flemington has three kindergartens, three primary schools, a secondary college and a special needs school. It has twelve parks/reserves/ovals [3].

The suburb's central shopping strip on Racecourse Road is frequently described as being in Newmarket. The name Newmarket, also used for the main railway station that serves Flemington, may be best regarded as an alternate name for the suburb. Racecourse Road is part of the Princes Highway.

The CityLink tollway crosses the suburb's eastern border with North Melbourne and Parkville.

Flemington shares its postcode with the adjacent Kensington. Kensington is generally considered to be the area of the 3031 postcode located south of Racecourse Road.

Contents

[edit] History

Flemington, and the adjacent Kensington, consist primarily of weatherboard cottages mixed with attached brick single-storey, and some double-storey, terrace houses. Most of the homes are in Victorian or Boom style, with some Edwardian and Federation style homes. Some sections originally contained factories and industry.

The earliest land release was in the 1840s [4] when fertile land adjacent to the Maribyrnong River was taken up for cattle grazing. Land for Flemington Racecourse was reserved as early as 1845. Around this time the Melbourne Municipal Saleyards were relocated from Elizabeth Street, West Melbourne to Flemington. Also around this time abbatoirs and other commercial activities were established [5]. Various industrial activities were clustered around the Maribyrnong River and the Moonee Ponds Creek.

The Victorian Goldrush of the 1850s encouraged further development as Mt Alexander Road was the main route to the North Western Goldfields. The area adjacent to the Moonee Ponds Creek now occupied by Debney's Park and the Holland Court high-rise public housing estate was originally the site of the Buntingford Tannery. This business, established by members of the Debney family, moved to the site in 1876 and at one time covered more than an acre of ground and consisted of several buildings.

Residential development of the Flemington area began in the 1880s. This was mostly detached single-storey weatherboard homes and some brick semi-detached or attached single-storey homes on small allotments. Some larger homes including grandiose double-storey brick homes on double allotments, and some double-storey brick terrace homes were also constructed. Industry, consisting of mills, factories and warehouses continued in the area, taking advantage of the low-cost flat land. By 1911 the population was 6,109 [6].

The Travancore estate on the border with Ascot Vale is a homogenous area consisting of 1920s middle-suburban brick bungalows with some larger double-storey brick homes.

During the 1950s there was an influx of European immigrants, mostly from Italy [7].

The Holland Court high-rise housing estate was constructed in the 1960s on flat land adjacent to the Moonee Ponds Creek previously occupied by factories. Later the Citylink raised roadway was constructed to the east of this estate. The roadway snakes along the border shared between Flemington and North Melbourne, mostly on the North Melbourne side but briefly crossing onto the Flemington side near the Flemington Bridge Railway station.

During the 1960s and 1970s several two-storey and three-storey blocks of flats were constructed on some of the larger allotments, mostly in Wellington Street and Farnham Street and in the North West segment of the suburb west of the Craigieburn railway line.

[edit] Municipality

The suburb was originally included in the City of Essendon at its formation in 1861. Flemington and Kensington broke away in 1882 to form the Borough of Flemington and Kensington.[8] In 1905 the Borough of Flemington and Kensington was subsumed by the City of Melbourne.[9] At the time of the formation of the City of Moonee Valley in 1994, much of Flemington and Kensington were included within its boundaries. The southern sections of both suburbs remain in the City of Melbourne.

[edit] Flemington today

In the late 1990s a new supermarket was constructed on an old car sale yard directly west of Newmarket Station. This was followed by the construction of new streets and two-storey and three-storey terrace style homes and a large apartment block on vacant land directly north of the supermarket. The 2000s has seen additional construction, with several new apartment complexes being built on empty allotments behind the Racecourse Road and Pin Oak Crescent shops.

The 2001 census data shows that the largest immigrant groups originate from Vietnam, China, United Kingdom, Italy, New Zealand, Greece, Egypt, Philippines, India and Hong Kong [10]. The 1990s and 2000s has also seen the emergence of the African community in the area. Many immigrants continue to settle in the suburb, particularly from Somalia [11] and various horn of Africa nations [12].

In 2005 Barry Humphries declared that his favourite building in Melbourne was the Flemington Post Office, which is on Wellington Street. Humphries went on to say:

“ I think one of the most interesting streets in Melbourne is Racecourse Road, Kensington [sic]. Ever been there? Isn't it incredible? African restaurants! I've discovered Racecourse Road, Kensington and I'm a big fan. ”

—Barry Humphries, Australian comedian, satirist and character actor[13]

[edit] Transport

[edit] Train

[edit] Tram

  • The number 57 tram service travels from West Maribyrnong (Cordite Avenue) - City (Flinders Street / Elizabeth Street)
  • The number 59 tram service travels from Airport West - City (Flinders Street / Elizabeth Street)

[edit] Bus


[edit] References

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). Flemington (State Suburb). 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  2. ^ Flemington, accessed 9 August 2007
  3. ^ Postcodes: 3031, The Age, Domain Supplement. October 29, 2005. p 8
  4. ^ Sweeney, Lou. Fine and Dandy, The Age, Domain Supplement. October 29, 2005. p 8
  5. ^ Sweeney, Lou. Fine and Dandy, The Age, Domain Supplement. October 29, 2005. p 8
  6. ^ Keating, Mary. Embracing our diversity, Flemington - Kensington News. Autumn 2006. p 1
  7. ^ Keating, Mary. Embracing our diversity, Flemington - Kensington News. Autumn 2006. p 1
  8. ^ (1992) Victorian Municipal Directory. Brunswick: Arnall & Jackson, 276, 368-369.  Accessed at State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Reading Room.
  9. ^ Arnall & Jackson, p.276.
  10. ^ Keating, Mary. Embracing our diversity, Flemington - Kensington News. Autumn 2006. p 1
  11. ^ Sweeney, Lou. Fine and Dandy, The Age, Domain Supplement. October 29, 2005. p 8
  12. ^ Keating, Mary. Embracing our diversity, Flemington - Kensington News. Autumn 2006. p 1
  13. ^ Mitchell, Geraldine. I'm still on the case, says Barry, Herald Sun. 11 June 2005. p 9

[edit] External links

Localhero: History of Flemington

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Suburbs of the City of Melbourne | Melbourne | Victoria
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Suburbs of the City of Moonee Valley | Melbourne | Victoria