Canterbury, Victoria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Canterbury is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria. It is in the Local Government Area of the City of Boroondara in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. Famed for its leafy boulevards and large, ornate houses, Canterbury is among Melbourne's most expensive and exclusive suburbs.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Culture
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Canterbury extends as far as Mont Albert Road in the north, Burke Road in the west, Chatham and Highfield Roads in the east and Riversdale Road to the south. The main thoroughfare through Canterbury is Canterbury Road, which runs east-west and roughly bisects the suburb.

Schools in Canterbury include Camberwell Grammar School, Camberwell Girls Grammar School, Canterbury Girls Secondary College, Camberwell High School, Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School and Canterbury Primary School. Canterbury contains various parks and gardens and is home to the Camberwell Hockey Club in Matlock Street. The Canterbury Sports Ground, home of cricket and Australian football, is in Chatham Road.

The main shopping area in Canterbury is around the railway station and includes shops in Canterbury Road as well as Maling Road, which is well known for its craft shops. Larger shopping centres nearby include Burke Road in Camberwell and Whitehorse Road in Balwyn.

Canterbury is serviced by the Canterbury and East Camberwell stations on the Lilydale and Belgrave train lines.

[edit] History

The railway station is in many ways responsible for the suburb's existence: before the opening of the railway to the city in 1882, the area was a semi-rural area. Even then, it was occupied by the well to do. Many of these early residents, and in some cases, their properties, are remembered in the street names of the suburb, notably Logan Street and Monomeath Avenue.

The first subdivision in the area came in 1885, when Michael Logan created the 'Claremont Park Estate' within the area of Canterbury Road, Bryson Street, Prospect Hill Road and Logan Street.

[edit] Culture

Canterbury is regarded as one of Melbourne's more exclusive suburbs, particularly the part north of Canterbury Road. The "Golden Mile" is a term for the part of Mont Albert Road running west from Balwyn Road and the avenues that connect it to Canterbury Road, including Monomeath Avenue.

Other blue-chip locales along this stretch include Alexandra Avenue, Hopetoun Avenue, Victoria Avenue and The Ridge. It consistently ranks in the top 3 suburbs for average house prices in Melbourne.

Past and present residents of Monomeath Avenue include: the family of Kylie Minogue and Dannii Minogue; Andrew Peacock, former federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, former Australian ambassador to the US and current chairman of Boeing Australia, Ltd.; former Victorian Premier Sir Rupert Hamer; Macfarlane Burnet, one of Australia's most famous and decorated scientists and the first ever Australian of the Year; and Peter Mitrakas, National Soccer League champion.

Business residents of Monomeath Avenue have included: Stan Wallis, former chairman of Coles Myer and AMP; Frank Cicutto, former CEO of National Australia Bank; and Russell Jones; former CEO and Managing Director of Amcor.