| Lalor Melbourne, Victoria |
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Lalor
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| Population: | 19,561 (2006) [1] | ||||||||||||
| Established: | 1940s | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 3075 | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 6.4 km² (2.5 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Location: | 18 km (11 mi) from Melbourne | ||||||||||||
| LGA: | City of Whittlesea | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Thomastown | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Scullin | ||||||||||||
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Lalor is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 kilometres (11 mi) north of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whittlesea. At the 2006 Census the suburb had a population of 19,561. The eastern and western borders of Lalor are defined by Darebin Creek and Merri Creek respectively.
Lalor is named after Peter Lalor, leader of the Eureka Stockade rebellion and later member of the Victorian parliament. The suburb was originally pronounced /ˈlɔːlər/ (locally [ˈloːlə]), after Peter Lalor, and although some people still pronounce it as such, in recent times the pronunciation /ˈleɪlɔr/ or /-lər/ (locally [ˈlæɪloː, -lə]) has become predominant, whilst the Federal electorate of Lalor is still predominantly pronounced /ˈlɔːlər/ (locally [ˈloːlə].
Lalor was a part of Thomastown until the end of World War II, when a group of ex-servicemen formed the Peter Lalor Home Building Cooperative Society to provide low-cost homes. They chose east of today's Lalor railway station to be the site of the new developments and a town planner was hired to design a garden for the suburb. Lalor Post Office was opened on 1 August 1949.[2]
In 1954, Lalor Primary School was opened, reaching an enrolment of 1,000 by 1971, at which point a further three primary schools were founded. Lalor Primary School was built on land owned by the Evans family and held its 50th anniversary in 2004. Several of the surrounding streets are named after members of the Evans family (Evans Street, Ruth Street). Lalor also has three public secondary schools: Peter Lalor College, Lalor Secondary College and Lalor North Secondary College.
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The Lalor Shopping Centre is located between Station Street and May Road, which parallel High Street—the main thoroughfare through Lalor—on the opposite side of the railway line. Lalor Plaza and Lalor Hub are small enclosed shopping malls located respectively in the eastern and western residential areas of the suburb.
Lalor is an ethnically diverse community. In 2006, 63.9% of the population spoke a non-English language at home compared to 32.3% who spoke English only. The dominant language, other than English, was Macedonian, with 13.0% of the population, or 2,532 people using this language. Other languages spoken include Italian (12.1%), Greek (9.6%), Arabic (8.3%), Vietnamese (4.9%), Turkish (2.5%), Maltese (1.1%), Samoan (1.0%), Cantonese (1.0%), Punjabi (0.8%).[3] The Whittlesea Community Festival, celebrated since 1998, is held on the third Sunday in March in Lalor at the Whittlesea Public Gardens on Barry Rd, regularly attracting more than 15,000 people.[4]
Lalor has three local Australian Rules Football teams competing in the Northern Football League, Lalor Bloods, Lalor Stars and West Lalor Dragons.[5]
Golfers play at the course of the Lalor Golf Club on Gillwell Road.[6]
Lalor railway station serves the suburb.
The Craigieburn Bypass Trail following the Hume Freeway runs to the west of the suburb providing facilities for recreational and commuting cyclists.
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