Clayton, Victoria

Clayton Melbourne, Victoria
Clayton Road Shopping Precinct
Clayton Location in metropolitan Melbourne
Coordinates	37.915°S 145.130°E / -37.915; 145.130
Population	15,543 (2011 census)
• Density	2,019/km2 (5,230/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	3168
Area	7.7 km2 (3.0 sq mi)
Location	19 km (12 mi) from Melbourne
LGA(s)	City of Monash
State electorate(s)	Clarinda Oakleigh
Federal division(s)	Bruce Chisholm Hotham
Suburbs around Clayton: Oakleigh East Mount Waverley Notting Hill Oakleigh South Clayton Mulgrave Clarinda Clayton South Springvale

Clayton is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 19 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the City of Monash. At the 2011 Census, Clayton had a population of 15,543.

Overview

The main focus for the suburb of Clayton is the shopping strip that runs along Clayton Road. The local railway station, situated at the northern end of the shopping strip bears the name Clayton railway station.

Demographics

In 2011, the population of Clayton was 15,545 and 28.1% of people were born in Australia. Other dominant groups include Chinese 17.6%, Indians 9.7%, Malaysians 5%, Greeks 3.3% and Indonesians 3.1% and the top languages spoken were English 30%, Mandarin 17.6%, Greek 6.3%, Cantonese 4.9%, Italian 3.2% and Punjabi 3%. The median age for Clayton was 27 which is 10 years younger the Australian average.

History

The area was first occupied for farming in the 1850s and was originally named after a property, "Clayton Vale", owned by lawyer John Hughes Clayton in the 1860s. A township was originally gazetted on Dandenong Road and in 1862 a primary school was opened at the corner of Dandenong Road and Clayton Road, to serve the whole of the Clayton district. This school changed its name to Clayton North Primary School in 1954.

The construction of the railway to Dandenong and Gippsland about 1 km south of Dandenong Road in 1878 prompted the start of a second township where the line crossed Clayton Road.

The Post Office opened on 18 November 1887 as Clayton's Road Railway Station and was renamed Clayton in 1891.

Clayton's rural lands and relative proximity to Melbourne attracted two institutions at the turn of the century: the Talbot Colony for Epileptics on land later occupied by Monash University, and a Women's Convalescent Home. Apart from that, in 1900 the community consisted of farms, three hotels, two churches, a tennis court and a few shops. Market gardens, fruit growing and a municipal abattoir were the leading industries.

The 1960s saw the rapid disappearance of market gardens as urbanisation and industry advanced. At the western edge of Clayton the Oakleigh High School had been opened in 1955 and a second primary school was opened next year at Clayton South. Clayton East Post Office opened in 1958 (and closed 1979).

Melbourne's second metropolitan university, Monash, was opened at Clayton in 1961. Monash is now Australia's largest university. Primary schools at Westall and Clayton West opened in 1961 and 1962, and high schools at Westall and Monash (Clayton North) in 1963 and 1965. In the early sixties Clayton Technical School was opened (Mr Warby inaugural Principal) at the northern end of Browns Rd Clayton, and had pupils attend from wide and far. It had a Science wing and Woodwork and Metalwork workshops, as well as providing studies of the main matric curriculum, however, it was only up to 5th form (year 11). To complete Matric students mainly transferred to the Oakleigh High School for the last year of studies. At its peak attendance would have been over 1000 male pupils. It was closed sometime in the 1980s. The only piece of land left from where the school once stood, is now titled Fregon reserve. In 1971 the Catholic bishops of Victoria and Tasmania purchased land adjacent to Monash University to house their seminary, Corpus Christi College. The seminary was moved to Carlton in 1999, and the site now serves as a conference centre.

Numerous factories, including Volkswagen (later became the Datsun/Nissan plant), Wilke Printing, Robert Bosch GmbH and Repco were opened after the Second World War. Clayton South and Westall are closer to the sandbelt areas, with the Spring Valley Golf Club, The Grange Reserve and Heatherton Park. Sanitary landfill sites occupy former sand quarries.

While the local community was formerly a part of the now defunct City of Oakleigh local council, in 1995 the municipality became the south-western corner for the City of Monash.

Public Library and Clayton Community Centre

A large new building at the corner of Cooke Street and Centre Road was opened in April 2008. It houses the Clayton branch of the [2] Monash Public Library Service, a swimming pool, gym, counselling services, health and child care services, theatrette and meeting rooms.

Science, technology and research

Clayton is one of the largest centres of science, technology and research in Australia. It is located in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs, which contains the highest density of high technology industries in Victoria.

Some of the science and technology institutions located in Clayton include:

• Monash University
• Monash Medical Centre
• Australian Synchrotron
• Australian Stem Cell Centre
• Monash Science Technology Research and Innovation Precinct
• CSIRO
• Bosch
• Telstra Research Laboratories
• Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute
• Monash University Accident Research Centre
• Monash Centre for Synchrotron Science
• Centre for Human Bioethics
• Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication
• John Monash Science School

Schools

• Clayton North Primary School
• St Peter's Primary School
• John Monash Science School

Sport

The suburb is home to Clayton Football Club, currently competing in the Southern Football League.

The suburb is home to Waverley Wanderers Soccer Club of Football Federation Victoria and also Waverley Oakleigh Panthers of Victoria Rugby League.

Places of worship

• St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
• Clayton Church of Christ
• All Saints Anglican Church
• St. Peters Catholic Church
• Clayton Christadelphians
• Monash Mosque

See also

• Clayton railway station

Gallery

• 
  Clayton Road Shopping Precinct
• 
  The exterior of the Australian Synchrotron facility
• 
  The Monash Homemaker centre in Clayton on Blackburn Road-Princes Hwy

External links

• Australian Places - Clayton