Westmeadows, Victoria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Westmeadows Melbourne, Victoria |
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 Westmeadows Historic Bridge |
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| Population: | 6374 (2001 census) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 3049 | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 4.7 km² | ||||||||||||
| Property Value: | AUD $265,500 [1] | ||||||||||||
| Location: |
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| LGA: | City of Hume | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Yuroke, Broadmeadows | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Calwell | ||||||||||||
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Westmeadows is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 17 km north of the city centre. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hume. Westmeadows's postcode is 3049.
It is mainly a residential suburb, although there is a shopping precinct. Westmeadows includes the residential areas east and west of Mickleham Rd. It borders include Yuroke Creek between Johnstone St and Barry Road (the eastern limit), the border with Attwood (the water pipes path parallel to Toora Drive, Linga St, Kenny St) as well as the Moonee Ponds Creek east of Mickleham Rd (the northern limits) and just before the Cleanaway Landfill (the western limit). The area north of Westmeadows (still part of Westmeadows) contains the east-west flight path for the Melbourne Airport, Tullamarine. The land under the flight path has been kept undeveloped and is the Broadmeadows Valley Park. It contains two streams which flow into the Moonee Ponds Creek.
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[edit] History
The Broadmeadows area, home to the Wurundjeri Aboriginal tribe prior to European settlement, was settled by pastoralists in the 1840s.
Westmeadows contains the original Broadmeadows village on the Moonee Ponds Creek, but is now west of the present Broadmeadows. The first Broadmeadows township was laid out by a Government survey in 1850. Ardlie Street was its commercial centre with a hotel (the Broadmeadows Hotel, now Westmeadows Tavern), the police station and the shire office (the District Roads Board Building, opened in 1866).
The Anglican Church was opened in 1850 a little to the east, a Presbyterian Church was opened in the same decade, the Vicarage for the Anglican Church in 1860 and the St Anne’s Roman Catholic Church in 1867. A school begun in Westmeadows in 1851. However, the present primary school site dates from 1870.
Broadmeadows township and the urban centre began to be moved two kilometres eastwards when the railway line and station were opened in 1872. Shire loyalties clung to the old township until new civic offices were built near the railway station in 1928.
The Housing Commission began the building of a 2,226 ha. estate in the Broadmeadows area in 1949. Not until 1975 did it begin building in the vicinity of the old township, which it called Westmeadows Heights. Between 1975 and 1979 it built over 900 houses in the area.
[edit] Landmarks
There are many historic buildings and landmarks still surviving in Westmeadows. These include the shire offices and the bluestone bridge over the Moonee Ponds Creek (built in 1869, part of Fawkner St) which are both on the Register of the National Estate. The original Westmeadows Police Station (no longer in use, since the opening of the Broadmeadows Police Station) and the Westmeadows Gaol are also still standing. The original Anglican church is still being used (presently on Raleigh St).
[edit] Demographics
The estimated population for Westmeadows, according to the 2001 Census, was 6,374.
Like most of Melbourne, Westmeadows has a multicultural population. According to the 2001 Census, just over two thirds (68.8%) of persons in Westmeadows were born in Australia and 24.6% being born overseas. Around one fifth (19.8%) were born overseas in a non-English speaking country. The most common overseas countries of birth were Italy and the United Kingdom.
Just over two thirds of persons in Westmeadows (67.8%) speak only English at home. The most common foreign languages spoken in Westmeadows are Italian, Turkish, Arabic (including Lebanese), and Greek.
Most of the working age class of Westmeadows is employed. The unemployment rate is 7.6%, which is slightly lower than the unemployment rate for Hume (8.4%).
[edit] Public Transport
[edit] Bus Routes
There are three bus routes that go through Westmeadows. These are the 477, 484, 500.
[edit] Train Station
The closest station is the Broadmeadows railway station. All bus routes through Westmeadows terminate at the station.
[edit] Schools
There is one secondary college and two primary schools in Westmeadows. These are
- Erinbank Secondary College.
- Westmeadows Heights Primary School
- Westmeadows Primary School
[edit] Sport
[edit] Sporting Clubs
Westmeadows is represented by the following teams in their respective leagues:
- Australian Rules Football
- Westmeadows Football Club (Essendon District Football League)
- Cricket
- Westmeadows Cricket Club
There is also a Tennis club called the Westmeadows Tennis Club Jets.
[edit] Sporting Grounds
Westmeadows has many sporting grounds. It has an Australian Football oval in Willowbrook Reserve which is home to the Westmeadows Football Club. There is another Australian Rules/Cricket oval (with nets) in the Westmeadows Reserve near Ardlie Street which is the home ground of the Westmeadows Cricket Club. The Westmeadows Heights Reserve includes another Cricket oval (with nets) and two Soccer fields. The Westmeadows Tennis Club has 6 courts and is located next to the Willowbrook Reserve.
[edit] External links
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- Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
- Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
- Westmeadows Profile (Hume City Council)
- Westmeadows History (Monash University)
- Broadmeadows History (Heritage Australia)
- Westmeadows Football Club
- Westmeadows Tennis Club
| Suburbs of the City of Hume | |
|---|---|
|
Attwood | Broadmeadows | Bulla | Campbellfield | Clarkefield | Coolaroo | Craigieburn | Dallas | Gladstone Park | Greenvale | Jacana | Keilor | Meadow Heights | Melbourne Airport | Mickleham | Oaklands Junction | Roxburgh Park | Somerton | Sunbury | Tullamarine | Westmeadows | Wildwood | Yuroke |
