Altona North is a suburb in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

, south-west of Melbourne's

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

, located within the City of Hobsons Bay

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

. Altona North recorded a population of 12,962 at the . Bordering suburbs include Altona,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Laverton North, Newport, South Kingsville, Williamstown North and Yarraville. In addition to the Paisley Park sporting complex, Altona North is home to three parks; S J Clement Reserve – Gilligan Rd, W L J Crofts Reserve – Blackshaws Rd and Urban Forest Reserve – Grieve Pde.

History

The Altona area was home to Kurung-Jang-Balluk

Aboriginal people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

, of the

Woiwurrung The Woiwurrung, also spelt Woi-wurrung, Woi Wurrung, Woiwurrong, Woiworung, and Wuywurung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance. The Woiwurrung people's territory in Central Victoria ex ...

clan. Altona North Post Office first opened on 11 April 1960 as suburban development took place. In 1966 it was renamed Beevers when a new Altona North office opened in Duke Street to the south. In 1986 Altona Gate Office replaced Beevers. The

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (; ) is a title used since the 14th century by the wife of the Prince of Wales. The Princess is the apparent future queen consort, as "Prince of Wales" is a title reserved by custom for the heir apparent to the Monarchy of the ...

officially opened the Mason Street Housing Commission Estate in their 1983

royal visit A state visit is a formal visit by the head of a sovereign country (or representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or representative) of that foreign country, with th ...

Demographics

In the , there were 12,152 people in Altona North. 54.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were Italy 4.3%, Lebanon 4.2%, Vietnam 3.4%, Greece 3.4% and Malta 1.8%. 45.2% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Arabic 13.1%, Italian 6.1%, Greek 5.7%, Vietnamese 4.3% and Maltese 1.9%. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 26.9%, No Religion 20.4% and Islam 15.9%.

Transport

* Route 232: Altona North to

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

(

Queen Victoria Market The Queen Victoria Market (also known colloquially as the Vic Market or Queen Vic) is a major landmark and public marketplace in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Covering over , it is the largest open air ...

) * Route 411: Laverton station to Footscray (via Altona Meadows and Altona) * Route 412: Laverton station to Footscray (via Altona Meadows and Altona) * Route 414: Laverton station to Footscray * Route 432: Newport to Yarraville (via Altona Gate Shopping Centre) * Route 471: Williamstown to Sunshine station (via Newport and Altona Gate Shopping Centre) * Route 903: Altona to Mordialloc (

SmartBus SmartBus is a network of bus services in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Overseen by Public Transport Victoria, the network comprises nine key cross-town and orbital bus routes around Melbourne. Key aspects of the service include more freque ...

Service) * Route 944: City to Point Cook (

Night Bus Night service, sometimes also known as owl service, is a mode of public transport service operated during the night hours. As an intermediate approach – between providing full service around the clock and stopping services altogether – it p ...

Service)

Industry

The Altona Refinery, one of two

oil refineries An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefied pet ...

in Victoria, is located in the suburb's south-east. It is owned and operated by

ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...

. Altona North was home to the Don Smallgoods factory from 1970 to 2011 when it closed and moved to a new factory in Castlemaine. The

Toyota Australia Altona Plant The Toyota Australia Altona Plant was a Toyota Australia manufacturing facility in the Melbourne suburb of Altona North. History The Toyota Australia Altona Plant opened in 1978, as Toyota's first engine plant outside of Japan. Panel production be ...

was located in Altona North. Despite these high-profile closures, the entire western part of the suburb comprises the Altona North Industrial Precinct.

Attractions

* Altona Gate Shopping Centre * Kororoit Creek Trail * Kororoit Creek * In 2012, British festival promoters

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released as the band's debut single in 1966. The song is from their 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the so ...

held a festival called ''I'll Be Your Mirror'' across two stages at The Westgate Entertainment Centre and Grand Star Receptions in Altona North. Headline acts included My Bloody Valentine, The Drones and

Beasts of Bourbon Beasts of Bourbon were an Australian blues rock band formed in August 1983, with James Baker on drums (ex-Hoodoo Gurus, The Scientists), Spencer P. Jones on guitar ( The Johnnys), Tex Perkins on vocals (Dum Dums), Kim Salmon on guitar and Bo ...

Sport

Altona Lakes Golf Club at Paisley Park, Mason Street, is a 9-hole golf course and Driving Range. Also located within the Paisley Park sporting complex is Altona Badminton Centre, which opened in 1985. The badminton centre contains 12 courts and is open seven days a week. The Paisley Park sporting facility also includes a gymnasium, swimming pool, premier league soccer facility, bowling club, miniature railway and lacrosse fields. Altona Magic, the local football (soccer) team plays in the

Victorian Premier League The Victorian Premier League (VPL) is an Australian soccer league based in Victoria that was founded in 2023 and administered by Football Victoria. It consists of two divisions that were named after the VPL's breakaway of the National Premier L ...

and Altona East Phoenix play in the Victorian State League 2 N/W.

Gallery

File:Altona North.jpg, View of houses from overpass File:Altona Oil Refinery Victoria.jpg, The Altona Oil Refinery File:Altona North Police Station.jpg, The former Altona North police station File:Altona North Post Office.jpg, Altona North LPO File:House painted in Western Bulldogs team colours, Melbourne.jpg, Home in Altona North painted in

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

team colours File:Gellibrand.jpg, Millers Road File:Paisley Park Soccer Complex.jpg, Paisley Park Soccer Complex File:Altona Gate Shopping Centre Exterior.jpg, Altona Gate Shopping Centre

References

External links

Cr Tony Briffa JP – Local councillor and Deputy Mayor of Hobsons Bay (including Altona North)Hobsons Bay Community Online Forum
{{City of Hobsons Bay suburbs Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of the City of Hobsons Bay