Norlane, Victoria

The suburb of Norlane was named after Norman Lane, a local serviceman from the district who died working on the Burma Thai Railway in 1943, after being captured in Singapore ^[1].

View of Norlane, looking towards the City of Geelong, as it looked in 1925.

With the enormous pressure on housing in the early 1950s, residents resorted to small dwellings, tents and partially completed buildings. The Housing Commission provided accommodation for families unable to rent or to afford the purchase of their own home ^[1].

In 1947 the government Housing Commission began its house-building program in Norlane, and by 1976 when its program was completed there were 2,464 commission houses available for low income renters. Much of the housing was for employees at the nearby Ford Motor Company, International Harvester and Pivot phosphate factories.

Many of the houses built in Norlane were prefabricated units imported from the Netherlands and France ^[1] . Today many of the original prefabricated houses are being demolished to make way for newer government funded brick units.

[edit] Demographics

In the 2001 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population and Housing, the population of the Norlane census area was 8,628 people, in an area of 5.1 square kilometres. Females outnumbered males, with 4,436 females and 4,192 males as of 2001. Some 24% of the population of Norlane were born outside of Australia ^[2].

The three most common forms of dwelling were (in decreasing order): a separate house, a flat or apartment and a semi-detached house. ^[2].

A majority of residents of are employed (in decreasing order) in Engineering (6.83%), Management and Commerce (2.2%) and Food, Hospitality and Personal Services industries (1.5%).

The five strongest religious affiliations in the area in 2001 were (in descending order): Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, Presbyterian and Uniting ^[2].

[edit] Facilities

Norlane boasts an olympic sized indoor heated swimming pool, gymnasium, two water slides, diving pool and children's pools, located at Water World ^[1] in Cox Road, on the northern border of the suburb.

Labuan Square shopping centre opened in 1954 ^[1].

[edit] Schools

Primary schools in Norlane were opened in 1955 and 1962, and a high school in 1959. The Norlane Primary School closed during the 1990s and is now a private college, Isik College. North Shore Primary School and also the Norlane High School remain open as of 2007.

[edit] Transport

North Shore railway station, located in Station Street, provides hourly rail transport to both Melbourne and Geelong from Norlane.

Cars are the preferred method of transport in Norlane, followed by walking and bicycles ^[2] .

North Shore railway station is located in Station Street, Norlane on the south eastern border of the suburb, providing hourly rail transport to both Melbourne and Geelong central business districts.