Melton, Victoria

Melton Victoria
Aerial view of Melton urban area
Melton
Population:	35,490(2006) [1]
Established:	1862
Postcode:	3337-3338
Area:	25.2 km² (9.7 sq mi)
Location:	35 km (22 mi) from Melbourne
LGA:	Shire of Melton
State electorate:	Melton
Federal Division:	Lalor
Localities around Melton: Melton West Kurunjang Toolern Vale Melton West Melton Plumpton Brookfield Melton South Melton South

Melton is a city in Victoria, Australia located 35 km west from Melbourne's central business district. It is the administrative centre of the Shire of Melton Local Government Area and its most populous centre. At the 2006 Census the urban area, with the locality of Melton at its heart, had a population of 35,490. Melton is considered part of the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area and is included in the capital's population statistical division.^[2]

Melton began as a small town before being declared a satellite city in 1974, separated from Melbourne's urban area by a green wedge. Since the 1990s it experienced rapid suburban growth into surrounding greenfield land and become a commuter town in the Melbourne-Ballarat growth corridor. Changes to Melbourne's urban growth boundary passed by the state government in 2010 effectively relinquish its satellite city status as it is planned to become part of Melbourne's future conurbation.^[3]

It is named after Melton Mowbray in the United Kingdom.

History

Melton was first settled by squatters establishing sheep runs in the area in the 1830s and a small settlement benefited from traffic passing through it on the way to the Ballarat gold fields during the Victorian Gold Rush. The Post Office opened on 1 March 1856.^[4]

The area was declared a satellite city in 1974 and a green belt existed between it and the urban area of Melbourne until the late 1990s.

Geography

Melton is located on flat, largely featureless, former volcanic plains.

City and Suburbs

Melton consists of 6 suburban areas forming a single urban area with the locality of Melton at its centre. In the south of Melton are the suburbs of Melton South and Brookfield. In the north are Kurunjang and Toolern Vale while in the west is the suburb of Melton West.

High Street is the main activity centre, however the urban area lacks a true central business district, with retail, business and civic facilities largely decentralised across the urban area.

Arts and Culture

Community Hall

Djerriwarrh Festival parade

Many live performances are held at the Melton Civic Centre, on High Street, and also at the Tabcorp Park racing complex, on Ferris Road, Melton South.

And every year, the Djerriwarrh Festival is held in the city each November. The festival includes a street parade down High Street, two-day market stalls, and the Lions Club Carnival, held in the Police Paddock on High Street.

Sport

Melton is the home of the harness racing complex Tabcorp Park, and is the base for Harness Racing Victoria. The 2009 Australasian Breeders Crown was the first major race meeting held at the venue in August 2009.

Melton is also home to the second round of the Continental Australian Superboat Championship, and the 2009 World Series of the V8 Jetboats. Both events are held at the Melton Jetboat Complex at MacPherson Park, about 7 km north of the CBD.

Governance

Shire of Melton offices

Melton is the administrative centre for the Shire of Melton. The Shire of Melton's Coburn Ward covers the central Melton area.

Its state government electorate is the Electoral district of Melton and the Federal government electorate is the Lalor, the seat of Julia Gillard both considered safe Australian Labor Party seats.

Media

All areas of Melton receive the same analogue and digital television stations as Melbourne. It is also within the broadcast range of all commercial radio stations from Melbourne, and is an end point for digital radio broadcasts in metropolitan Melbourne. Digital radio is available in most of the city but signal diminishes towards the West.

Melton has two local newspapers - The Melton Leader and Melton Weekly.

The city is also home to a radio station, 979fm.

Transport

Melton railway station

The main form of transportation in Melton is the automobile. Melton has been identified by the Department of Transport as one of the most car-dependent communities in Greater Melbourne.^[5] As such Melton has a substantial network of busy roads. The Western Freeway connects Melton with Melbourne's west runs through the urban area to the south, but bypasses the city centre which is located along High Street, a very wide dual carriageway with service lanes. There are two major freeway interchanges in the urban area, one for Coburns Road which is the main north-south arterial and another for the Melton Highway (C754), an alternative route to the northern suburbs of Melbourne and branches north to the Melton-Gisborne Road (C705) at Kurrunjang connecting Melton to Gisborne.

Melton railway station (located in Melton South) is on the Ballarat railway line. V/Line provides VLocity passenger train services run to and from Southern Cross Station (journey time of between 27–48 minutes). Although specifically mentioned in the Victorian Transport Plan, the government is yet to commit to a project plan for electrification of the railway to Melton ^[6] despite strong local lobby for it.^[7] The railway station is a very popular park and ride locality, however it has been criticised due to notoriously poor parking infrastructure.^[8]

Buses service running between 5:30am-9pm on weekdays and 8am-9pm on weekends connect the city's suburbs to the railway station and also Melbourne's outer suburbs including the 456 to Sunshine via Caroline Springs; 457 from Melton West to the railway station; 458 Kurrunjang to the railway station; and 459 Arnolds Creek to the railway station via Westlake. A shuttle bus provides direct services from Melton to Melbourne Airport.^[9]

Melton Airfield, located to the north in Toolern Vale provides general aviation.

Education

Melton has several primary and secondary schools.

Primary Schools

• Melton Primary School - Unitt Street, City.
• St. Dominic's Catholic Primary School - Unitt Street, City.
• Wedge Park Primary School - Cambrian Way, West Melton.
• St. Catherine of Siena Primary School - Bulmans Road, Melton West.
• St. Anthony of Padua Primary School - Wilson Road, Melton South.
• Melton South Primary School - Station Road, Melton South.
• Melton West Primary School - West Melton Drive, Melton West
• Coburn Primary School- Richards Road, Melton South
• Mowbray College
• Exford Primary School
• Kurunjang Primary school
• Toolern Vale and District Primary School - Creamery Rd., Toolen Vale

Secondary Schools

• Kurunjang Secondary College - Kurunjang Drive, Kurunjang.
• Melton Secondary College - Cnr. Coburns Rd. and High Streets, Melton West.
• Catholic Regional College - Bulmans Road, Melton West.
• Mowbray College - Centenary Avenue, Melton North.
• Staughton College (Formerly Wilson Park Secondary College) - Wilson Road, Melton South.
• Melton Christian College - Brooklyn Road, Melton South

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Melton, Victoria

• Melton Online
• Shire of Melton official website
• History of Melton

Coordinates: 37°41′S 144°35′E / 37.683°S 144.583°E / -37.683; 144.583