Kew () is a suburb of

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 Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, found 5 km east from 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 ...

. Kew is located within the

City of Boroondara The City of Boroondara () is a local government area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It was formed in June 1994 from the amalgamation of the Cities of Kew, Camberwell and Hawthorn. It has an area of ...

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 ...

. Kew recorded a population of 24,499 at the 2021 census. A city in its own right from 1860 to 1994, Kew was amalgamated with the cities of Hawthorn and

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

to form the City of Boroondara. The suburb borders the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower st ...

to the west and northwest, with Kew East to the northeast, Hawthorn and

Hawthorn East Hawthorn East is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Hawthorn East recorded a population of 14,834 at the 2021 census. The ...

to its south, and with

Balwyn Balwyn () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Balwyn recorded a population of 13,495 at the 2021 census. The sub ...

Balwyn North Balwyn North, also known as North Balwyn, is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Boroondara and Whitehorse local government areas. Balwyn North rec ...

and Deepdene to the east.

History

Prior to the establishment of Melbourne, the area was inhabited by the

Wurundjeri The Wurundjeri people are an Aboriginal peoples, Aboriginal people of the Woiwurrung language, Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin nation. They are the traditional owners of the Yarra River Valley, covering much of the present location of ...

peoples. In the 1840s European settlers named it the Parish of ''Boroondara'' – meaning "a place of shade" in the Woiwurrung language. In 1838 Dight travelled down the Yarra from

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and decided to locate a water-powered mill on a site adjacent to

Dights Falls Dights Falls is a Rapids, rapid and weir on the Yarra River in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, just downstream of the junction with the Merri Creek. At this point the river narrows and is constricted between 800,000-year-old volcani ...

; the impressive three-storey mill opened in 1840. John Hodgson established a squatters run at Studley Park, on the eastern bank of the Yarra River, in 1840. ''Studley House'', also known as ''Burke Hall'', built in 1857, was named after Hodgson's birthplace of Studley,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and the house is now on the Register of the National Estate. The house was built in the Victorian Period

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

Revival style. Modifications were made to the house in 1875 and 1919. The house was also owned by former bookmaker, ALP lobbyist, influential Irish-Catholic and millionaire,

John Wren John Wren (3 April 1871 – 26 October 1953) was an Australian bookmaker, boxing and wrestling promoter, Irish nationalist, land speculator, newspaper owner, racecourse and racehorse owner, soldier, pro-conscriptionist and theatre owner. He ...

and was donated to

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. The ...

by the land developer, Thomas Burke. It illustrates the importance of a residence in indicating success and status in nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Melbourne society. The nearby '' Villa Alba'', built before 1863, is open to the public. In 1851,

Crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

sales occurred in the area. One of the purchasers, Nicholas Fenwick, subdivided his land (which was just further out from the centre of the colony of Melbourne than the area known as

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

) and named the region Kew, based on the thought that

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...

in England was near

. He also notably named its streets after British statesmen. The area quickly became a sought-after suburb for the well-to-do in Melbourne. Access to Kew was originally via Bridge Road in Richmond, crossing the

Hawthorn Bridge The Hawthorn Bridge crosses the Yarra River, east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, connecting Bridge Road and Burwood Road. It is the oldest extant bridge over the Yarra River and is one of the oldest metal bridges in Australia. It was co ...

to Burwood Road, until the privately owned Studley Park Bridge (nicknamed the ''Penny Bridge'') opened in 1857, connecting Church Street Richmond with Studley Park. The commercial precinct known as Kew Junction began to take shape in the 1850s. The first store was opened by Mr. J. J. French in August 1853 and the first post office on 6 October 1856, however, it was not till towards the end of the decade that many shops appeared in High Street. The Kew Hotel opened in 1855, the Prospect Hill Hotel (now the

Dan Murphy's Dan Murphy's is an Australian liquor store owned by Endeavour Group, with 272 current stores across Australia. The business was founded in 1952 by winemaker Daniel Francis Murphy. Dan Murphy's competes principally with Coles Group brands First ...

liquor store) in 1857, the Council Hotel about 1860, the Clifton (now Hotel Kew) in 1869 and the Greyhound (now the Skinny Dog Hotel) in 1874. The block of civic buildings comprising the former post office, the former court house and the former police station were built in 1888 as was the National Bank, at the corner of Walpole and High Streets. In 1856, a site was reserved for a mental asylum next to the river. By 1871 Kew Lunatic Asylum, now known as Willsmere Estate, was completed. The

Kew Cottages Kew Cottages also known as Kew Children's Cottages and finally as Kew Residential Services is a decommissioned special development school and residential service located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. History ...

for children were added in 1887. The hospital was built despite objections by residents and the Kew Borough Council and provides an historical example of

nimbyism NIMBY (, or nimby), an acronym for the phrase "Not In My Back Yard", is a characterization of opposition by residents to proposed real estate development and infrastructure developments in their local area, as well as support for strict land us ...

Kew Cottages
and Willsmere Hospital are listed on th
Victorian Heritage Register
Various churches opened in the 1850s, with the first school opened by the Anglican Church in 1856. In 1875 Sacred Heart Primary School was opened. More private schools were opened in 1878, including

Ruyton Girls' School Ruyton Girls' School, commonly referred to simply as Ruyton, is a non-denominational and independent day school for girls, located on Selbourne Road, Kew, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Ruyton was established in 1878 ...

(

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

) and

(

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

order). Other private schools soon followed, including Methodist Ladies' College (

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...

) in 1882,

Genazzano FCJ College Genazzano FCJ College is a Catholic, day and boarding school for girls, located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1889 by the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ Sisters), the college has a non-selective ...

in 1889, Trinity Grammar School (

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

) in 1903, and

Carey Baptist Grammar School Carey Baptist Grammar School, commonly known as Carey, is an private school, independent, co-educational, Baptists, Baptist day school in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The school has five campuses: Kew, Victoria, Kew (ELC to Year ...

(

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

) in 1923. Preshil, The Margaret Lyttle Memorial School, was opened in the early 1930s. In 1960 it was said: "it would be difficult to find any locality so richly endowed with so many and such large educational institutions as are to be found in Kew." A railway branch line to Kew from Hawthorn Station opened on 19 December 1887 and was officially closed on 13 May 1957. Kew was proclaimed a town on 8 December 1910, and a city on 10 March 1921. The population of the area tripled between 1910 and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A former house in Kew was the birthplace of the 21st

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being ...

. As of 2016, due to its demolition, the house no longer exists.

Raheen

Raheen is a historic 19th-century Italianate mansion, located at 92 Studley Park Road. It was built in the 1870s, and its name means "little fort" in Irish. Raheen was once the residence of

Daniel Mannix Daniel Patrick Mannix (4 March 1864 – 6 November 1963) was an Irish-born Australian Catholic bishop. Mannix was the Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years and one of the most influential public figures in 20th-century Australia. Early lif ...

, the former Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne and was purchased by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in 1917 with support from

. It was purchased in 1980 by the Australian businessman Richard Pratt and his family and is not currently open to the public. Pratt extensively renovated the house and gardens, including the addition of a new wing, designed by Glen Murcutt.

Today

Kew has grown steadily since the early Bridge Road crossing development and is cited as one of the most prestigious suburbs in Melbourne. As a consequence, many of these residences now attract some of the highest residential resale values in Melbourne. Streets in the Sackville Ward (bounded by Barkers, Burke, Cotham and Glenferrie Roads), such as Alfred, Rowland, Wellington, Grange and Sackville, have some exceptional examples of

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

and contemporary architecture. The suburb has been home to numerous Scout Groups since 1st Kew was formed in 1909. Today, only 1st Kew and 4th Kew are in operation. Kew has convenient access to public facilities and transport. The

109 109 may refer to: * 109 (number), the integer following 108 and preceding 110 * AD 109, a year of the Julian calendar, in the second century AD * 109 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 109 (department store), a department store in Shi ...

, 16 and 72 along with tram route 48 (North Balwyn – Victoria Harbour Docklands) tram routes pass through the suburb and the City/ Lilydale/

Belgrave Belgrave may refer to: Places *Belgrave, Cheshire, an English village *Belgrave, Leicester an English district *Belgrave, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia **Belgrave railway line **Belgrave railway station, Melbourne **Belgrave (Puffing B ...

train line is easily accessed at Hawthorn and Glenferrie Stations. Kew Station and the associated railway branch was last served by passenger trains in 1952, with the station site now the headquarters of

VicRoads VicRoads is a government joint venture in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the state, it is responsible for driver licensing and vehicle registration. It is owned and operated through a joint venture between the Victorian government an ...

Demographics

In the 2021 Census, there were 24,499 people in Kew. 66.1% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were China 6.6%, England 2.9%, Malaysia 2.2%, India 1.8% and New Zealand 1.4%. 70.3% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 8.6%, Greek 3.0%, Cantonese 2.8%, Italian 1.7% and Vietnamese 1.4%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 44.1% and Catholic 22.7%.

Education

* Kew Primary School * Sacred Heart Primary School *

* Methodist Ladies' College * Preshil *

* Trinity Grammar School *

Kew High School Kew High School is a co-educational school in suburban Melbourne for students in years 7–12. The school has an enrolment of approximately 1146 students from the suburbs of Kew, Balwyn North, Hawthorn, Ivanhoe, Kew East and Richmond. School ...

Sport

Golfers have the choice of membership at Green Acres Golf Club, or Kew Golf Club, in Kew East, or may play at the Studley Park Par 3 Golf Course, on Studley Park Road.

Kew Football Club The Kew Football Club, nicknamed the Bears, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Kew, Victoria, Kew. As of 2025, the club's men's team currently competes in Division 1 of the Victorian Amateur Football Association ( ...

and Kew Cricket Club play out of Victoria Park, on High Street.

Notable people

* Phil Anderson – cyclist * Cecil Austen – footballer *

Jack Billings Jack Billings (born 18 August 1995) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having initially been drafted to the St Kilda Football Club. Billings played TAC Cup with O ...

– AFL footballer * Philip Brady – 3AW radio personality *

MacFarlane Burnet Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet (3 September 1899 – 31 August 1985), usually known as Macfarlane or Mac Burnet, was an Australian virologist known for his contributions to immunology. He won a Nobel Prize in 1960 for predicting acquired immune ...

– virologist and

Nobel Laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

Irene Crespin Irene Crespin (12 November 1896 – 2 January 1980) was an Australian geologist and micropaleontology, micropalaeontologist. Irene's interest in geology brought her attention to Frederick Chapman (palaeontologist), Frederick Chapman, who was a ...

– Geologist * Peter Curran – footballer * Robert DiPierdomenico – footballer *

Cathy Freeman Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman (born 16 February 1973) is an Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the ninth-fastest woman of all time, set while fin ...

Josh Frydenberg Joshua Anthony Frydenberg (; born 17 July 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He also served as a member of parliament (MP) for the divisi ...

– politician *

Andrew Gaff Andrew Gaff (born 16 June 1992) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played predominantly as a midfielder. Gaff was recruited from the Oakleigh Ch ...

– AFL footballer-played junior football for Kew Comets * Jack Gervasoni – footballer and Mayor of Kew * Robin Gray – Premier of Tasmania *

Rupert Hamer Sir Rupert James "Dick" Hamer, (29 July 1916 – 23 March 2004) was an Australian politician who served as the 39th premier of Victoria from 1972 to 1981, and prior to that, the 18th deputy premier of Victoria from 1971 to 1972. He held offic ...

– Premier of Victoria * Terrence Hodson – Murdered Police Informant and Drug Dealer *

Walter Reginald Hume Walter Reginald Hume (29 November 1873 – 21 July 1943) was an Australian inventor and industrialist known for inventing modern techniques of producing concrete and steel pipes. Early life Hume travelled around Victoria in his early years wit ...

– businessman and inventor *

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (17 February 1934 – 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He appeare ...

– comedian, actor, author and satirist * Brian V. Johnstone –

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

Graham Kinniburgh Graham Allen Kinniburgh (20 October 1942 – 13 December 2003) was an Australian organised crime figure from Kew, a suburb of Melbourne. He became a victim of the Melbourne gangland killings, which were dramatised in the drama series '' Under ...

– organised crime figure *

Michael Klinger Michael Klinger (born 4 July 1980) is an Australian former first-class cricketer, who held the record for the most runs scored in the Big Bash League when he retired in 2019. Until the 2008–09 season, Klinger played for Victoria and for S ...

– cricketer *

Peter MacCallum Sir Peter MacCallum (14 July 1885 – 4 March 1974) was a Scottish-born Australian oncologist and the co-founder and eponym of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. Background and early life Peter MacCallum was born in Glasgow, ...

– pathologist * Jack Macrae – AFL footballer *

Glenn Maxwell Glenn James Maxwell (born 14 October 1988) is an Australian professional cricketer. He has played for the Australia national cricket team in all formats of the game since 2012, although he is primarily a One Day International and Twenty20 Inter ...

– cricketer * Luke McDonald – AFL footballer * Peter McIntyre – architect * Clement Roy Nichols – Scouting *

Gustav Nossal Sir Gustav Victor Joseph Nossal (born 4 June 1931) is an Austrian-born Australian research biologist. He is famous for his contributions to the fields of antibody formation and immunological tolerance. Early life and education Nossal's family w ...

– scientist and

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Government-owned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the state and territor ...

* Phil Ryan – footballer * Jack Sinclair – AFL footballer-played junior football for Kew Comets * Wendy Smith (politician) – politician * Ross Stevenson – 3AW radio presenter *

David Syme David Syme (2 October 1827 – 14 February 1908) was a Scotland, Scottish-Australian newspaper proprietor of ''The Age'' and regarded as "the father of Protectionism, protection in Australia" who had immense influence in the Government of Victor ...

– owner of

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

and associated newspapers * Frank T. M. White – mineral science educator *

– 21st

born at 'Ngara' 46 Rowland St. *

– businessman

References

* (via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

)

Bibliography

* Rogers, Dorothy. "A History of Kew". Kilmore, Victoria:Lowden Publishing Co. 1973. . * Vaughan, W.D. "Kew's Civic Century" . Kew, Victoria, W.D.Vaughan Pty Ltd, First Edition 1960.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kew, Victoria Suburbs of Melbourne 1838 establishments in Australia Suburbs of the City of Boroondara