Albion, Victoria
| Albion Melbourne, Victoria | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kororoit Creek | |||||||||||||||
| Population | 3763 (2006)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | Lua error: Unable to convert population "3763 (2006)'"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"'" to a number. | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1849 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3020 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 2.5 km2 (1.0 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 13 km (8 mi) from Melbourne | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of Brimbank | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Derrimut | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Maribyrnong | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Albion is a small suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 km west from Melbourne's central business district. It is completely surrounded by other parts of Sunshine except for Ardeer which lies to Albion's due west across Kororoit Creek. Its Local Government Area is the City of Brimbank. It is bordered on the north by the Western Highway, the south by Forrest Street, the west by Kororoit Creek and the east by Anderson Road.
History
The area was originally called Darlington, from at least 1860 to about 1890.[2] The area originally known as Albion was directly west of Duke Street, as can be noted by the many streets there named after English counties and placenames - Albion being an ancient name for the island of Great Britain. Albion station opened on January 5, 1860 as Albion and Darlington but closed a year later.[3] It was not until 1919 that a new station was opened on the same site with the name Albion station.[3]
In March 1885 the Albion Quarrying Company began its operations in the area [4][5]
It was H. V. McKay of Sunshine Harvester Works fame who bought land to develop a residential community for his workers in first decades on the 20th century. His concept for Sunshine was the Sunshine Estate: a community developed according to the ideals of the Garden city movement, an influential town planning movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[6][7] This area was mainly in what is now called Albion. McKay's own residence, The Gables, was in Talmage Street (where the court The Gables now is) until it was demolished.
Today
At the 2006 Census, Albion had a population of 3,763. Albion has many period homes such as California bungalows and 1940s weatherboard houses many of which were built by H. V. McKay as part of his Sunshine Estate Garden city community.
Kororoit Creek runs through Albion along which runs the Kororoit Creek Trail. In October 2007 Premier John Brumby announced that funding would be provided to extend the Kororoit Creek Trail to the Federation Trail linking the two bike paths.
Stony Creek lies in the eastern part of Albion, close to Anderson Road. The creek's environmental state in Albion and Sunshine is currently[when?] very poor; it is best characterised as a concrete stormwater drain for this section of its course.
Transport
Trains
The Albion railway station on the Sydenham line lies in the Metcard zones 1+2 overlap.
Buses
Metropolitan buses service the suburb and Albion station. These include:
- 215 Caroline Springs – Highpoint SC via Albion RS, Burnside SC (every day). Operated by Melbourne Bus Link.
- 216 Caroline Springs – Brighton Beach via Deer Park West, Sunshine, Footscray, Melbourne, St Kilda Road, Prahran (every day). Operated by Melbourne Bus Link.
- 456 Sunshine – Woodgrove SC via Albion RS, Burnside SC, Caroline Springs, Melton (every day). Operated by Sita Bus Lines.
- 903 Altona – Mordialloc SC via Essendon, Northland SC, Box Hill, Chadstone SC (every day). Operated by Ventura Bus Lines and Westrans.
Cycling
Cyclists in Albion are represented by BrimBUG, the Brimbank Bicycle User Group. The Kororoit Creek Trail runs along Albion's western perimeter.
Facilities
Education
- Albion Primary School (est 1926)
- St Theresa's Catholic Primary School
- Albion Kindergarten
Sporting facilities
The Albion Cats are the local Australian rules football team. They compete in the Western Region Football League.[8]
Other sports clubs include:
- Sunshine Baseball Club
- Sunshine Bowls Club
- Polish Sports Centre
- Sunshine United Cricket Club
- Ace GoKarts
Religious sites
- St Theresa's Catholic Church
- Slovakian Baptist Church
- Assemblies of God Church
See also
- City of Sunshine - the former local government area of which Albion was a part.
- Albion railway station, Melbourne
- Kororoit Creek
- Kororoit Creek Trail
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Albion (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
- ^ National Library of Australia, Digital Collections - Maps - Geological Survey of Victoria. Geological Survey of Victoria. No. 1 [cartographic material], retrieved 2009-08-30
- ^ a b VICSIG Infrastructure - Albion
- ^ A Stroll Along the Merri - Provenance Number 6 - PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE VICTORIA
- ^ Kennedy, B: Australian Place Names, page 3. ABC Books, 2006
- ^ HO Selwyn Park
- ^ HO Sugar Gum row
- ^ Full Points Footy, Albion, retrieved 2009-04-15