Kensington, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Kensington is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
, 4 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district
. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne
. At the 2006 Census, Kensington had a population of 8676.
Kensington was once home to one of Victoria's major abbatoirs and livestock saleyards, as well as an army ordnance depot, and has a strong working-class history. These areas have experienced significant urban renewal
since the 1970s and while it retains some industrial sections, Kensington is now primarily residential suburb in nature.
Kensington was named after Kensington
in London
.
Kensington falls within the electorate of 'Melbourne' at federal level (currently held by the Green's Adam Bandt) and 'Melbourne' at state level (currently held by the ALP's Bronwyn Pike), as well as the City of Melbourne at local level.
The suburb is fairly typical of an inner-city suburb of Melbourne in that it is historically a safe ALP seat, but now with Greens majority.
The suburb contained one polling booth at the 2007 Federal Election, the booth of 'Kensington' at Kensington Primary School. The ALP won a majority of the primary vote itself (53.23%), with the Greens winning 22.28% and the Liberals winning 20.75%.
In a two-horse race between the two most preferred parties, the vote was split 57.91% for the ALP's Lindsay Tanner and 42.09% for the Greens' Adam Bandt (putting the suburb in the "fairly safe ALP" category). On a "two-party preferred" contest between Labor-Liberal, the vote was split 75.21% for the ALP and 24.79% for the Liberals (putting the suburb in the "safe ALP" category).
Clearly, as in other inner-city suburbs, the greatest contest to the ALP comes from the Greens (rather than the Liberals, as in most other parts of the country).
Kensington's housing is primarily medium density, a diverse mix of public housing, townhouses and Victorian era semi-detached and terraced housing and flats. The largest housing estate is Kensington Banks a redevelopment of the old saleyards. There are several Housing Commission of Victoria
public housing
estates comprised a mixture of 12-storey high-rise towers and low-rise walk-up flats which date to the 1960s. The walk-up blocks have been redeveloped by developer Becton into a mixture of private apartment
s, townhouse
s and public housing
units
.
track, children's play areas, a public swimming pool and a community centre. The Kensington Banks redevelopment has provided a second major public park on the Maribyrnong River frontage, with tennis facilities and walking tracks from the river that continue through the estate following the line of the old stockroute, lined with historic peppercorn trees. The new residential areas have been planned around a series of smaller-scaled open spaces, one of which is notable as the Women's Peace Park, to the west of Epsom Road. The open space spine formed by the stockman's route passes under Epsom Road and continues up to Racecourse Road.
Princes Highway
(Smithfield Road) is the major road and is located to the north. Epsom Road and Kensington Road runs north east and south east respectively, forming a junction with Macauley Road, the main arterial which links Kensington central to Melbourne in the east. Another main road Stubbs Street runs along the industrial western banks of the Maribyrnong.
Kensington is serviced by three railway stations:Kensington
on the Craigieburn railway line to the north-western suburbs, South Kensington on the three lines serving the western suburbs (The Sydenham, Werribee and Williamstown lines) and Macaulay on the Upfield line serving the northern suburbs. The No. 57 tram
serves the northern edge of Kensington on Racecourse Road.
There are two bus services: the along Macaulay and Kensington Roads, and the along Smithfield and Epsom Roads.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 4 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne
City of Melbourne
The City of Melbourne is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. The city has an area of 36 square kilometres and has an estimated population of 93,105 people. The city's motto is "Vires acquirit eundo" which means "She gathers strength as she...
. At the 2006 Census, Kensington had a population of 8676.
Kensington was once home to one of Victoria's major abbatoirs and livestock saleyards, as well as an army ordnance depot, and has a strong working-class history. These areas have experienced significant urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
since the 1970s and while it retains some industrial sections, Kensington is now primarily residential suburb in nature.
Kensington was named after Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Commerce
The commercial and social heart of Kensington is the Macaulay Road shopping strip, which turns the corner into Bellair Street, opposite Kensington railway station. This short but lively strip has a number of cafes, restaurants and pubs, as well as local supermarkets, newsagents, post office and the Macaulay credit co-operative.Politics
The suburb is fairly typical of an inner-city suburb of Melbourne in that it is historically a safe ALP seat, but now with Greens majority.
The suburb contained one polling booth at the 2007 Federal Election, the booth of 'Kensington' at Kensington Primary School. The ALP won a majority of the primary vote itself (53.23%), with the Greens winning 22.28% and the Liberals winning 20.75%.
In a two-horse race between the two most preferred parties, the vote was split 57.91% for the ALP's Lindsay Tanner and 42.09% for the Greens' Adam Bandt (putting the suburb in the "fairly safe ALP" category). On a "two-party preferred" contest between Labor-Liberal, the vote was split 75.21% for the ALP and 24.79% for the Liberals (putting the suburb in the "safe ALP" category).
Clearly, as in other inner-city suburbs, the greatest contest to the ALP comes from the Greens (rather than the Liberals, as in most other parts of the country).
Housing
Housing Commission of Victoria
The Housing Commission of Victoria was a State Government body responsible for public housing in Victoria, Australia...
public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
estates comprised a mixture of 12-storey high-rise towers and low-rise walk-up flats which date to the 1960s. The walk-up blocks have been redeveloped by developer Becton into a mixture of private apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
s, townhouse
Townhouse
A townhouse is the term historically used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in many other countries to describe a residence of a peer or member of the aristocracy in the capital or major city. Most such figures owned one or more country houses in which they lived for much of the year...
s and public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
units
Unit (housing)
A unit is a measure of housing equivalent to the living quarters of one household.In common speech in Australia and New Zealand, the word "unit", when referring to housing, usually means either: an apartment, ;or a villa unit or home unit, where a group of dwellings...
.
Educational facilities
Kensington has a government primary school (Kensington North Melbourne PS), a Catholic primary school (Holy Rosary) and a government secondary school (Kensington Community High School).Parks and public open spaces
The major recreational area is J.J. Holland Park, adjacent to South Kensington railway station, which has three ovals, a BMXBMX
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
track, children's play areas, a public swimming pool and a community centre. The Kensington Banks redevelopment has provided a second major public park on the Maribyrnong River frontage, with tennis facilities and walking tracks from the river that continue through the estate following the line of the old stockroute, lined with historic peppercorn trees. The new residential areas have been planned around a series of smaller-scaled open spaces, one of which is notable as the Women's Peace Park, to the west of Epsom Road. The open space spine formed by the stockman's route passes under Epsom Road and continues up to Racecourse Road.
Transport
Princes Highway
The Princes Highway extends from Sydney to Port Augusta via the coast through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, a distance of 1941 km or 1898 km via the former alignments of the highway ....
(Smithfield Road) is the major road and is located to the north. Epsom Road and Kensington Road runs north east and south east respectively, forming a junction with Macauley Road, the main arterial which links Kensington central to Melbourne in the east. Another main road Stubbs Street runs along the industrial western banks of the Maribyrnong.
Kensington is serviced by three railway stations:Kensington
Kensington railway station, Melbourne
Kensington is a railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in the suburb of Kensington, on the Craigieburn railway line. Kensington is unmanned and is in Metcard Zone 1.-Facilities:...
on the Craigieburn railway line to the north-western suburbs, South Kensington on the three lines serving the western suburbs (The Sydenham, Werribee and Williamstown lines) and Macaulay on the Upfield line serving the northern suburbs. The No. 57 tram
Melbourne tram route 57
Tram route 57 is a public transport service in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs from the corner of Flinders Street and Elizabeth Street in the city centre to West Maribyrnong in the inner Western suburbs....
serves the northern edge of Kensington on Racecourse Road.
There are two bus services: the along Macaulay and Kensington Roads, and the along Smithfield and Epsom Roads.