Maidstone, Victoria

Maidstone is a suburb of the City of Maribyrnong, located 8km from the Melbourne CBD, bordered by West Footscray to the South on Suffolk St, Braybrook to the west on Ashley St, Footscray to the east along Summerhill and Rosamond Roads and Maribyrnong to the north and north-west along Cordite Avenue, Raleigh Road and Van Ness Avenue.

1 History
2 Attractions
3 Education
4 Features
5 Sport facilities
6 Transportation
7 Flora and Fauna
8 Famous people from Maidstone
9 See also
10 References
11 External links

[edit] History

Maidstone was established in 1858. It was given the name of the town of Maidstone in Kent as it is close to Footscray which was named after Foots Cray, another town formerly in Kent.

Maidstone was predominantly made up of period weatherboard, brick Art Deco and Californian Bungalow houses constructed between the 1920s and 1940s. Concrete houses built in the late 1940s to house the families of returned servicemen from WWII are also found. From the early 1990s many old factory sites in Maidstone have been turned into new housing estates comprising of hundreds of houses and townhouses. Consequently the population has increased greatly, and is continuing to do so, putting increasing stress on existing roads and public transport infrastructure. There has also been rapid gentrification as younger people seek affordable period housing close to the Melbourne city centre.

[edit] Attractions

Highpoint Shopping Centre (est 1975)
Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre (est 2006)

These are technically part of the suburb Maribyrnong however lie on the border of Maidstone.

[edit] Education

Footscray North Primary

Maribyrnong College (est 1958) Located on the border of Maidstone & Maribyrnong
Footscray North Primary School (est 1922) Located on the border of Maidstone & Footscray
Maidstone Primary School
Rosamond School for children with a mild intellectual disability.
St Vincents School
Little VIPs Childcare Centre
Highpoint Kinder Haven - Located on the border of Maidstone & Footscray.

[edit] Features

Our Lady's Catholic Church is a landmark building established in 1962 located on Ballarat Road.
There is a Student Village for the Victoria University in the area.
Flemington Racecourse (Home of the Melbourne Cup) is located adjacent to Maidstone, just the other side of the Maribyrnong River.
The Western Highway runs through Maidstone.
The ongoing development and success of Melbourne Docklands in the West of Melbourne has attracted interest for further development of inner city suburbs such as Footscray and Maidstone.
The new modern housing estate Edgewater on the Maribyrnong River borders Maidstone.

[edit] Sport facilities

Maidstone boasts many sports clubs. The list of clubs include the following;

Sunshine George Cross Juniors Soccer Club (Dobson Reserve)
Rosamond Road Bowling Club
Leros United Soccer Club (Scovell Reserve)
Rosamond Tennis Club (Footscray North Primary School)
Maidstone Junior Sporting Club (As above)
Medway Golf Course
Footscray United Cricket Club (Scovell Reserve)

[edit] Transportation

The number 57 tram provides public transport from Flinders Street Station in the city to Cordite Avenue, West Maribyrnong, on the border of Maidstone. The number 82 tram provides public transport from Moonee Ponds (Ascot Vale Road / Puckle Street) to Footscray (Leeds Street / Irving Street) passing through Maidstone for a segment of its journey. It is one of very few Melbourne tram routes which do not travel through the Melbourne CBD.

West Footscray and Tottenham train stations are the closest to Maidstone but many residents catch the bus to Footscray station.

A number of different buses pass through the Maidstone, including the 215, 223, 406, 407, 408, 468 routes which converge on nearby Highpoint as well as the frequent 410 which goes down Ballarat Road between Sunshine and Footscray.

The Maribyrnong River Trail connects cyclists to the Footscray Rd off-road path and into the Docklands and Melbourne CBD.

[edit] Flora and Fauna

Many native species exist along the Maribyrnong River. Some species thrive in the area and often journey up and down river from Brimbank Park (5km up river from Maidstone). The most abundant are;