Melton, Victoria

Melton Melbourne, Victoria
Aerial view of Melton urban area
Melton
Coordinates	37°41′0″S 144°35′0″E / 37.68333°S 144.58333°E / -37.68333; 144.58333Coordinates: 37°41′0″S 144°35′0″E / 37.68333°S 144.58333°E / -37.68333; 144.58333
Population	35,490 (2006)[1]
• Density	1,408.3/km2 (3,648/sq mi)
Established	1862
Postcode(s)	3337–3338
Area	25.2 km2 (9.7 sq mi)
Location	35 km (22 mi) from Melbourne
LGA(s)	City of Melton
State electorate(s)	Melton
Federal Division(s)	Gorton
Suburbs around Melton: Melton West Kurunjang Toolern Vale Melton West Melton Plumpton Brookfield Melton South Melton South

Melton is an urban area within metropolitan Melbourne, Australia located 35 km west from the capital's central business district. It is the administrative centre of the City of Melton local government area and its most populous centre. At the 2006 Census the urban area, with the locality of Melton at its heart, had a population of 35,490. Melton is considered part of the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area and is included in the capital's population statistical division.^[2]

Melton began as a small town before being declared a satellite city in 1974, separated from Melbourne's urban area by a green wedge. Since the 1990s it experienced rapid suburban growth into surrounding greenfield land and become a commuter town in the Melbourne-Ballarat growth corridor. Changes to Melbourne's urban growth boundary passed by the state government in 2010 effectively relinquish its satellite city status as it is planned to become part of Melbourne's future conurbation.^[3]

It is named after Melton Mowbray in the United Kingdom.

History

Melton was first settled by squatters establishing sheep runs in the area in the 1830s and a small settlement benefited from traffic passing through it on the way to the Ballarat gold fields during the Victorian Gold Rush. The Post Office opened on 1 March 1856.^[4]

The area was declared a satellite city in 1974 and a green belt existed between it and the urban area of Melbourne until the late 1990s.

Geography

Melton is located on flat, largely featureless, former volcanic plains.

To the south-east of Melton Township is Mount Cottrell, a blast-shield volcano, and to the north-east of the township is Mount Kororoit. These two volcanoes are some of the easternmost volcanoes on the Victorian Volcanic Plain which extends to the South Australian border.

City and suburbs

Melton consists of six suburban areas forming a single urban area with the locality of Melton at its centre. In the south of Melton are the suburbs of Melton South and Brookfield. In the north are Kurunjang and Toolern Vale while in the west is the suburb of Melton West.

High Street is the main activity centre, however the urban area lacks a true central business district, with retail, business and civic facilities largely decentralised across the urban area.

Additional shopping centres can be found in Melton South at the railway station, and in Melton West (Woodgrove Shopping Centre). Woodgrove Shopping Centre in 2012 started an expansion which will see it grow from 21,840 sqm to 48,280 sqm.

Arts and culture

Community Hall

Djerriwarrh Festival parade

Many live performances are held at the Melton Civic Centre, on High Street, and also at the Tabcorp Park racing complex, on Ferris Road, Melton South.

Each year the Djerriwarrh Festival is held in the city in November. The festival includes a street parade down High Street, two-day market stalls, and the Lions Club Carnival, held in the Police Paddock on High Street.

Sport

Melton is the home of the harness racing complex Tabcorp Park, and is the base for Harness Racing Victoria. The 2009 Australasian Breeders Crown was the first major race meeting held at the venue in August 2009.

Melton is also home to the second round of the Continental Australian Superboat Championship, and the 2009 World Series of the V8 Jetboats. Both events are held at the Melton Jetboat Complex at MacPherson Park, about 7 km north of the CBD.

The Melton Basketball Association^[5] is the City's largest sporting club with over 1,000 members. Along with local junior and senior competitions, The 'Thoroughbreds' also have representative teams competing state-wide. #bredlife

Governance

City of Melton offices

Melton is the administrative centre for the City of Melton. The City of Melton's Coburn Ward covers the central Melton area.

Its state government electorate is the Electoral district of Melton and the Federal government electorate is the Lalor, the seat of Joanne Ryan both considered safe Australian Labor Party seats.

Media

All areas of Melton receive the same analogue and digital television stations as Melbourne. It is also within the broadcast range of all commercial radio stations from Melbourne, and is an end point for digital radio broadcasts in metropolitan Melbourne. Digital radio is available in most of the city but signal diminishes towards the West.

Melton has two local newspapers – The Melton Leader and Melton Weekly.

The city is also home to a radio station, 979fm.

Transport

Melton railway station

Road transport and in particular the motor vehicle are the main form of transport. Melton has been identified by the Department of Transport as one of the most automobile-dependent communities in Greater Melbourne.^[6] As such its residents rely heavily on its substantial network of busy roads. The Western Freeway connects Melton with Melbourne's west runs through the urban area to the south, but bypasses the city centre which is located along High Street, a very wide dual carriageway with service lanes. There are two major freeway interchanges at the centre of the urban area. Both are diamond interchanges, one at Coburns Road which is the main north-south arterial and another for Ferris Road/Melton Highway (C754) on the eastern fringe. These interchanges generate heavy traffic congestion and are major accident blackspots.^[7][8] A road reservation exists for a third diamond interchange at Bulmans Road on the western fringe. The C754 is a popular alternative route to the northern suburbs of Melbourne and branches north to the Melton-Gisborne Road (C705) at Kurrunjang connecting Melton to Gisborne. The roads play an important role in public transport with bus routes serving the suburbs between 5:30am-9pm on weekdays and 8am-9pm on weekends connect the suburbs to the railway station and also Melbourne's outer suburbs including the 456 to Sunshine via Caroline Springs; 457 from Melton West to the railway station; 458 Kurrunjang to the railway station; and 459 Arnolds Creek to the railway station via Westlake. Coach services run from a terminal at the railway station and include Bacchus Marsh Coaches operates school bus services in Melton with connections to Rockbank, Toolern Vale, Bacchus Marsh and Sunbury.^[9] A shuttle bus provides direct services from Melton to Melbourne Airport.^[10]

Rail transport includes both passenger rail and freight rail. The city's only station is Melton railway station (located in Melton South) which is on the Serviceton railway line. Despite being within Melbourne's metropolitan area and within Metropoliltan Zone 2, rail travelers rely on diesel locomotive passenger train services operated by V/Line. Some VLocity Ballarat services, Ararat services, Maryborough services as well as most N class and P class Bacchus Marsh services stop at Melton en route to and from Southern Cross Station. A high frequency is available due to the different services, however the journey time to Southern Cross as a result can range from 27–48 minutes during peak travel times. Although specifically mentioned in the Victorian Transport Plan, the government is yet to commit to a project plan for electrification of the railway to Melton^[11] despite strong local lobby for it.^[12] The railway station is a very popular park and ride locality, however it has been criticised due to poor parking infrastructure.^[13]

Melton Airfield, located to the north in Toolern Vale provides general aviation.

Education

Melton has several primary and secondary schools.

Primary schools

• Melton Primary School – Unitt Street
• St. Dominic's Catholic Primary School – Unitt Street
• Wedge Park Primary School – Cambrian Way, Melton West
• St. Catherine of Siena Primary School – Bulmans Road, Melton West
• St. Anthony of Padua Primary School – Wilson Road, Melton South
• Melton South Primary School – Station Road, Melton South
• Melton West Primary School – West Melton Drive, Melton West
• Coburn Primary School- Richards Road, Melton South
• Exford Primary School
• Kurunjang Primary school
• Toolern Vale and District Primary School – Creamery Road, Toolern Vale

Secondary schools

• Kurunjang Secondary College – Kurunjang Drive, Kurunjang
• Melton Secondary College – Coburns Road and High Street, Melton West
• Catholic Regional College – Bulmans Road, Melton West
• Staughton College (Formerly Wilson Park Secondary College) – Wilson Road, Melton South
• Melton Christian College – Brooklyn Road, Melton South

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melton, Victoria.

• Melton Online
• City of Melton official website
• History of Melton