Keilor is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km (9.9 mi) north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Brimbank and Hume local government areas. Keilor recorded a population of 5,906 at the 2021 census.[1]
| Keilor Melbourne, Victoria | |||||||||||||||
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  Keilor Location in metropolitan Melbourne | |||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 37°42′43″S 144°49′52″E / 37.712°S 144.831°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 5,906 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 360.1/km2 (932.7/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3036 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 16.4 km2 (6.3 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 16 km (10 mi) from Melbourne | ||||||||||||||
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Whilst most of the suburb is contained within the City of Brimbank, the northern section of Keilor, north of the Calder Freeway, is within the City of Hume. This section of the suburb is located on the flood plain of the Maribyrnong River, and is home to many market gardens.
The suburb is mainly residential with large industrial developments in adjacent suburbs. There are several shopping centres in the area including Keilor Shopping Centre and Watergardens Town Centre approximately 5 km away.
History
editKeilor is a township in a basin of the Maribyrnong River. James Watson from Scotland was the first land-holder in the district and also gave the suburb its name.[2] Keilor in the early times of the gold diggings was a noted camping place for bullock teams to and from the diggings at Castlemaine and Ballarat. Spanning the river was a wooden bridge which was replaced by an iron bridge in 1868.[3]
About 1 million years ago lava covered the previous landscape and created basalt plains. Over time, the Maribyrnong River carved itself through the basalt plains. Australian megafauna including 3-metre high kangaroos and Diprotodons were found in the area until extinction about 13,000 years ago at the end of the ice age.
The Wurundjeri Indigenous Australians inhabited the area for approximately 40,000 years. It is one of the oldest inhabited sites in Australia.[3]
In about 1838-39 the first European settlements were established by pastoralists James Watson and Alexander and John Hunter. James Watson is thought to have named their home station after a farm called Keillor <sic> in Forfarshire, Scotland, one of four which his father, Hugh Watson, tenanted.[4]
One of the earliest settlers in Keilor was William Taylor (1818–1903) who in 1849 bought 13,000 acres in the district and built a house which he called Overnewton. He transformed this building in 1859 into a Scottish Baronial mansion known today as Overnewton Castle.[3]
In the 1850s people would stopover at Keilor during their travels from Melbourne to the Bendigo goldfields. Keilor saw an influx of new settlers who intended to cash in on this new market. Keilor Post Office opened on 2 March 1854[5] and a general store, blacksmith, hotel, police station, courthouse and bridge were all built during this time. The area became an agricultural district and remained so until after World War II when the suburb saw a rapid increase in population due to cheap land and the establishment of large industries in surrounding suburbs.[citation needed]
Sport
editKeilor Football Club, an Australian Rules football team, competes in the Essendon District Football League.[6]
Golfers play at the Keilor Public Golf Course on the Calder Highway in the neighbouring suburb of Keilor North.[7]
Facilities
editKeilor Fire Station is a Melbourne suburban fire station.
Notable people
edit- Mark Viduka, English Premier League player and former captain of the Australian National Football Team, grew up in Keilor.[8]
- Dante Exum, NBA basketball player, played for Keilor
- Brendan O'Connor (politician), former federal minister, lives in Keilor.
See also
edit- City of Keilor – Keilor was previously within this former local government area.
- Brimbank Park
- Electoral district of Keilor
References
edit- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Keilor (Suburbs and Localities)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ "Keilor". Victorian Places. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ a b c Papworth, Tate (26 May 2020). "An ancient history to suburban paradise". Brimbank & North West Star Weekly. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ^ Narrative of an agricultural tour in England & Scotland in the year 1840, by Count Conrad De Gourcy, in The Farmer's Magazine, September 1842
- ^ Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 11 April 2008
- ^ Full Points Footy, Keilor, retrieved 15 April 2009
- ^ Golf Select, Keilor, retrieved 11 May 2009
- ^ "Council keen on Viduka shrine", Croatian Herald, newgeneration.croatianherald.com, 17 August 2006, retrieved 8 July 2008
External links
edit- The Keilor Historical Society
- [1] Keilor Thunder Basketball - Big V