Flemington, Victoria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Flemington Melbourne, Victoria |
|
| Population: | 7079 (2001 census) |
| Postcode: | 3031 |
| Area: | 1.2 km² |
| Property Value: | AUD $402,000[1] |
| Location: | 6 km from Melbourne |
| LGA: | City of Melbourne City of Moonee Valley |
| State District: | Melbourne |
| Federal Division: | Melbourne |
Flemington is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is shared between the Local Government Areas of the City of Moonee Valley and the City of Melbourne.
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.
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.
The CityLink tollway crosses the suburb's eastern border with North Melbourne and Parkville.
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[edit] History
Flemington, and Kensington, consist primarily of weatherboard cottages mixed with attached brick single-story, 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 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, while abbatoirs and other commercial activities were established. 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 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.
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. 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 Broadmeadows Rail line.
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.
[edit] Transport
[edit] Train
- The suburb's main station is Newmarket Station on the Broadmeadows line. The Macaulay and Flemington Bridge stations on the Upfield line also service the suburb.
- Flemington Racecourse branch line has two stations: Flemington Racecourse and Showgrounds, but the line is only open on Race days and for events at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds. The branch line connects at North Melbourne Station on the Broadmeadows line.
[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
- 404 Footscray - Moonee Ponds (via Newmarket)
- 472 Williamstown - Moonee Ponds (via Footscray)
- Nightrider Service: City - St Albans (including Sunbury extension & Melton)
[edit] External links
-
- Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
- Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
| Suburbs of the City of Melbourne | |
|---|---|
|
Carlton | Carlton North | Docklands | East Melbourne | Flemington | Kensington | Melbourne CBD | North Melbourne | Port Melbourne | Parkville | Southbank | West Melbourne |
| Suburbs of the City of Moonee Valley | |
|---|---|
|
Aberfeldie | Airport West | Ascot Vale | Avondale Heights | Essendon | Essendon Airport | Essendon North | Essendon West | Flemington | Kensington | Keilor East | Moonee Ponds | Niddrie | Strathmore | Strathmore Heights |
