Fairfield, Victoria

Fairfield
Melbourne, Victoria

Grandview Hotel built in 1888

Fairfield

Coordinates

37°47′31″S 145°00′40″E / 37.792°S 145.011°ECoordinates: 37°47′31″S 145°00′40″E / 37.792°S 145.011°E

Population

5,946 (2011 census)^[1]

• Density

1,749/km² (4,530/sq mi)

Postcode(s)

3078

Area

3.4 km² (1.3 sq mi)

Location

6 km (4 mi) from Melbourne

Suburbs around Fairfield:
Thornbury	Thornbury	Ivanhoe
Northcote	Fairfield	Alphington
Clifton Hill	Kew	Kew

Fairfield is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area are the cities of Darebin and Yarra. At the 2011 Census, Fairfield had a population of 5,946. Its borders are Grange Road to the east, Heidelberg Road to the south, Darebin Road to the north and borders Northcote to the west.

Yarra Bend is a locality in Fairfield.

History

Fairfield Post Office opened on 21 February 1887.^[2] It has since relocated. In 1962, Fairfield was part of the City of Heidelberg. In that year, it and Alphington became part of the City of Northcote, which, in 1994 became part of the City of Darebin.

Transport

Fairfield is serviced by the Fairfield railway station, which is on the Hurstbridge line.

The Melbourne 246, 250, 508, 510, 546, 567, and 609 bus routes operate around the area.

Commerce and culture

Fairfield is predominantly residential, with a small north-eastern pocket remaining a light industrial area. It also features a three-storey hotel, the Grandview Hotel, completed in 1888. License was granted by the Licensing Court on 15 August 1888.

Gentrification has been strong in Melbournes inner-north since the 1990s and modern day Fairfield is no exception. Median house prices in the suburb are $871,000 in 2013, and average weekly rent is $490 per week. Demand for property in Fairfield is very high, with a ratio of more than 2 to 1 of people looking for property in Fairfield compared to what is currently available.^[3] With more affluent residents moving into the area with greater disposable income, Fairfield businesses have thrived in recent times.

The Station St shopping district currently has 89 businesses operating within it, with 23 cafes/bars/restaurants and 17 food and wine specialists.^[4] This strongly reflects the gentrification of the suburb and the shift towards upper-middle class residents. Fairfield has still maintained a multicultural and diverse atmosphere throughout this period, with 20% of Fairfield residents being from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Fairfield has significant Greek and Italian communities, with 10.9% and 10.5% of residents being of those ancestries respectively. There are also strong numbers of Chinese, Dutch, German and Indian residents in the suburb.^[5]

The most common occupations of Farifield residents are:^[6]

Professionals - 36.1%
Clerical & Administrative Workers - 14.9%
Managers - 13.5%

Adjacent to the railway station, facing north-east, is the Fairfield Industrial Dog Object, a 6m tall animatronic wooden dog.

Educational facilities

Fairfield Primary School
St Anthony's Primary School
Melbourne Polytechnic has a campus on the site of the former Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital specialising in Visual Arts, music, horticulture, and jewellery manufacture.

Sporting clubs

Fairfield Cricket Club
Soccer teams Fitzroy City and Yarra Jets play home matches at Fairfield Park.
Golfers play at the course of the Yarra Bend Golf Club on Yarra Bend Road.^[7]
Fairfield is home to the Darebin International Sports Centre which played host to events during the 2006 Commonwealth Games