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St Albans is a suburb in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...
, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's
Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre 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 with the " cit ...
, located within the
City of Brimbank The City of Brimbank is a local government area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It comprises the western suburbs between 10 and 20 km west and northwest from the Melbourne city centre. The City h ...
local government area. St Albans recorded a population of 38,042 at the 2021 census. St Albans' main commercial and shopping precinct is located on Main Road West, Main Road East, Alfrieda Street, the
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
and East Esplanade. It has become one of Melbourne's most
multicultural The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
suburbs, with only 32.5% of residents being born in Australia and has a very high proportion of residents of a non-English speaking background. The
postcode A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal ...
is 3021.


History

St Albans was first established as a township in 1887 and originally subdivided by the Cosmopolitan Land and Banking Company, who had acquired in the hope of a quick financial gain during that period's land boom. Manager Alfred Padley made an arrangement with
Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, b ...
to build the railway station, which he insisted be named St Albans after his maternal ancestors' association with
St Albans Cathedral St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be ...
, England. Padley built and resided in Kieglo, which later became the Presbytery of the Sacred Heart . The company was later liquidated in 1903. St Albans was promoted as an attractive location for professionals, providing easy rail access to central Melbourne and adjoining suburbs. St Albans Post Office opened on 22 October 1888. St Albans became a small
dormitory suburb A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
for growing industrial firms in Deer Park and
Sunshine Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when ...
. Despite the Great Depression, development was steady and, by 1940, around 700 people lived in the town. In the years following
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the population rapidly increased with the arrival of displaced migrants, particularly from
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...
,
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. This led to additional state schools and the 1953 establishment of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, as well as
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, Russian and
Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the population in ...
churches. St Albans remained geographically isolated from other suburbs by large areas of open land until the 1980s. It is now considered to be a middle-city suburb as the Melbourne Metropolitan area boundary now extends to over from the
Melbourne CBD The Melbourne central business district (also known colloquially as simply "The City" or "The CBD") is the city centre and main urban area of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, centred on the Hoddle Grid, the oldest part of the city l ...
.


Demographics

St Albans' ethnic makeup is predominantly first and second generation immigrants. The ABS 2021 Census reported that 30% were of South-East Asian origin, with large
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
extraction. Since the 2001 Census, there has also been a rapid increase in the number of
refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
s from the
Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
settling in St Albans. In the 2021 census the population of St Albans was 38,042, approximately 50.3% female and 49.7% male. The median/average age of the people in St Albans is 36 years of age. 32.5% of people living in the suburb of St Albans were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were 21.5% Vietnam, 5.8% India, 3.0% Philippines, 2.7% Malta, 1.4% Iraq, 1.4% Croatia, 1.4% Pakistan, 1.3% North Macedonia. 21.6% of people living in St Albans speak English only. The other top languages spoken are 29.2% Vietnamese, 4.2% Punjabi, 2.7% Maltese, 2.4% Cantonese, 2.1% Arabic. The most common religions in St Albans are 25.6% Catholic, 19.7% No religion, 15.6% Buddhism, 5.9% Islam, 4.6% Eastern Orthodox.


Transport


Trains

St Albans has three train stations, all in PTV ticketing Zone 2 on the
Sunbury line The Sunbury Line (formerly known as Sunbury Subdivision) is a rail line owned and operated by Norfolk Southern Railway which in turn is owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. The line travels from Sunbury, Pennsylvania, to Binghamton, New Yo ...
. These are Ginifer,
St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roma ...
and Keilor Plains. The line was electrified as far as St Albans until 26 January 2002 when it was extended to Sydenham. The Sydenham line was electrified to Sunbury and renamed the Sunbury railway line, opening on 18 November 2012. The
level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass An overpass (called ...
at St Albans station was removed in 2016, with the station lowered and the level crossing replaced with a new overpass.


Buses

St Albans has numerous bus services that service St Albans itself and neighboring suburbs, most of which start and finish at St Albans railway station.


Cycling

Cyclists in St Albans are represented b
BrimBUG
the Brimbank Bicycle User Group.


Flora and fauna

Great parks are located on the East and West borders of the suburb. These areas (particularly in the West) used to have large healthy populations of native reptiles, including Tiger snake,
Eastern blue-tongued lizard The ''Tiliqua scincoides scincoides,'' or eastern blue-tongued lizard, is native to Australia. It is unique due to its blue tongue, which can be used to warn off predators. In addition to flashing its blue tongue, the skink hisses and puffs up it ...
and
Eastern brown snake The eastern brown snake (''Pseudonaja textilis''), often referred to as the common brown snake, is a species of highly venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to eastern and central Australia and southern New Guinea. It was ...
. Unfortunately due to development these species are now rarely seen in the area. Due to development of the Cairnlea estate on the southern border of St Albans, native species of frogs have taken advantage and have taken up residence in the new wetlands and lakes. The Eastern Banjo Frog, common eastern froglet and even the now endangered growling grass frog have been seen and heard in the new wetlands and around
Kororoit Creek The Kororoit Creek is a watercourse of the Port Phillip catchment, rising in the outer north western suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria. Location and features The Kororoit Creek rises below Mount Kororoit, northeast of ...
. *
Brimbank Park Brimbank Park is a metropolitan regional park managed by Parks Victoria situated in the north-western Melbourne suburb of Keilor East, Victoria, Australia. History About 40,000 years ago: first signs of possible human habitation along the Ma ...
*
Kororoit Creek Trail __NOTOC__ The Kororoit Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the Kororoit Creek in the inner western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The interrupted upper section is located in Burnside and D ...


Education

St Albans has a large number of schools including the following; *
Victoria University, Australia Victoria University (VU or Vic Uni) is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of only six dual-sector universities in Australia, providing courses in both higher education and Technical and Further Educa ...
* Victoria University Secondary College * Catholic Regional College St Albans * Holy Eucharist Primary School * St Albans Secondary College * St Albans Primary School (established 1889) * St Albans Heights Primary School * St Albans East Primary School * St Albans Meadows Primary School * University Park Primary School (formerly St Albans South Primary School) * St Albans North Primary School * Sacred Heart Primary School * Stevensville Primary School * Movelle Primary School * Copperfield College * Jackson School


Community facilities

The suburb and surrounding areas have a large Orthodox Christian community. The suburb is home to the Greek Orthodox Church of St Paraskevi, St Barbara and St John the Merciful, the Serbian Orthodox Church of St George, and also the Coptic Orthodox Church of St George. Thien Duc Temple, Dieu Am Temple and Bo De Temple, three Vietnamese Buddhist temples, are located in the suburb.


Sport

The suburb has an
Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by ...
football team, St Albans Football Club, competing in the
Western Region Football League The Western Region Football League is an Australian rules football semi-professional league, based in the western suburbs of Melbourne, for both seniors and juniors. History The league was formed in 1931 as the "Footscray District Football ...
, with the club actually based in neighbouring Kings Park. The club has been very successful particularly over recent years. The local soccer team, the
St Albans Saints St Albans Saints Soccer Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in St Albans, Victoria. Established by local Croatian Australians as Dinamo, the club is a regular participant in the Australian-Croatian Soccer Tournament. The c ...
is backed by the Croatian community, whilst the Green Gully Cavaliers are backed by the Maltese community. Both currently compete in the
Victorian Premier League The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer l ...
and both have significant support.


See also

* City of Keilor – Parts of St Albans were previously within this former local government area. *
City of Sunshine The City of Sunshine was a local government area about west of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1860 until 1994. History The local area was first incorporated as the Bray ...
– Parts of St Albans were previously within this former local government area.
History of St Albans web site
– a web site maintained by local historians that is still a work in progress * St Albans railway station, Melbourne


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Albans Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of the City of Brimbank