Albion, Victoria

The Wurundjeri people were the custodians of the land in the Port Phillip Bay region, including the City of Brimbank, for over 40,000 years before European settlement. Albion lies within the area occupied by the Kurung-Jang-Balluk and Marin-Balluk clans of the Wurundjeri people (also known as the Woiwurung language group), who form part of the larger Kulin Nation. Other groups who occupied land in the area include the Yalukit-Willam and Marpeang-Bulluk clans.

Following European settlement, the area was originally called Darlington, from at least 1860 to about 1890.[2] The area originally known as Albion was directly west of Duke Street, as can be noted by the many streets there named after English counties and placenames – Albion being an ancient name for the island of Great Britain.

Albion station opened on 5 January 1860 as Albion and Darlington but closed a year later.[3] It was not until 1919 that a new station was opened on the same site with the name Albion station.[3]

In March 1885 the Albion Quarrying Company began its operations in the area[4][5] The disused Albion quarry, accessed from Hulett St, Sunshine was the location for AC/DC's Jailbreak music video.[6][7]

It was H. V. McKay of Sunshine Harvester Works fame who bought land to develop a residential community for his workers in first decades on the 20th century. His concept for Sunshine was the Sunshine Estate: a community developed according to the ideals of the Garden city movement, an influential town planning movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[8][9] This area was mainly in what is now called Albion. McKay's own residence, The Gables, was in Talmage Street (where the cul-de-sac The Gables now is) until it was consumed by fire and subsequently demolished.

Albion has many period homes such as California bungalows and 1940s weatherboard houses. In the eastern parts of Albion, many of the oldest homes were built by H. V. McKay as part of his Sunshine Estate, a housing community built according to the influential early 20th Century Garden city movement.

Kororoit Creek provides the western border for Albion. Along it runs the Kororoit Creek Trail which runs all the way southwards to meet the Federation Trail in Brooklyn.

Stony Creek lies on the eastern edge of Albion, close to Anderson Road. As of 2013, the creek's environmental state west of Anderson Rd is very poor as it has long been converted to nothing more than a concrete stormwater drain for this particular section of its course.

A notable landmark of Albion is the red brick John Darling and Son Flour Mill built in 1922. It is just to the south of Ballarat Rd, next to Albion train station.[10]

In the 2016 Census, there were 4,731 people in Albion. Of these 54.2% were male and 45.8% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.8% of the population. The median age of people in Albion was 33 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 15.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.3% of the population. The most common ancestries in Albion were English 13.3%, Australian 12.8%, Indian 7.0%, Vietnamese 5.6% and Chinese 5.1%.[11]

• Melbourne Metro (Train) Services. Albion railway station is on the Watergardens/Sunbury line and lies in the PTV zones 1+2 overlap.

Melbourne Metro Journey from Albion Station to Melbourne CBD

• Bus Services. Metropolitan buses service the suburb and Albion station. These include:
  • 215 Caroline Springs – Highpoint SC via Albion RS, Burnside SC (every day). Operated by Transdev Melbourne.
  • 400 Sunshine - Laverton via Deer Park RS, Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, Metropolitan Remand Centre, and Port Phillip Prison (every day). Operated by Sita Buslines and CDC Melbourne.
  • 451 Sunshine - Deer Park North via Deer Park RS (every day). Operated by Sita Buslines.
  • 456 Sunshine – Woodgrove SC via Albion RS, Burnside SC, Caroline Springs, Melton (every day). Operated by Sita Buslines.
  • 903 Altona – Mordialloc SC via Essendon, Northland SC, Box Hill, Chadstone SC (every day). Operated by Ventura Bus Lines.

• Cycling. Cyclists in Albion are represented by BrimBUG, the Brimbank Bicycle User Group.[12] The Kororoit Creek Trail runs along Albion's western perimeter.

Albion has a dedicated kindergarten facility in additional to two primary schools all located on Adelaide St.

• Albion Kindergarten. Albion Kindergarten offers a four year old kindergarten program. To be eligible for four year old kindergarten a child must turn four years of age on or before 30th of April in the year of attendance.[13]
• Albion Primary School. Albion Primary School was opened in 1926 and has a current enrolment of approximately 200 students. The school has four main buildings with all classrooms providing air conditioning and interactive screens. The original school building houses classrooms, art room and the administration offices. The newest building has classrooms and some small group/office spaces. The red brick building at the back of the courtyard includes a library, canteen and a multi-purpose room used for indoor physical education, Perceptual Motor Program, music, drama, visiting performers, school assembly and community activities.[14]
• St Theresa's Catholic Primary School. St Theresa's School is a coeducational primary school, serving years P-6 and has a current enrolment of approximately 230 students. The school gained its registration in February 1951, and grew quickly to be an important part of the local community. St. The school was originally run by Josephite Nun and began teaching children in grade Prep, One and Two. Since its humble beginnings the school grew and the existing buildings were extended in 1984.[15]
• Anderson Road Childcare Centre. Anderson Road Child Care Centre provides childhood education and integrated kindergarten programs to children from 3 months old to 5 years old.[16]

Kororoit Creek near Selwyn Park in Albion.

Albion has a number of sporting clubs and facilities including sports such as Australian Rules Football, Baseball, Cricket, Soccer and Tennis.

• St Theresa's Catholic Church
• GraceWest Bible Church
• Assemblies of God Church
• Yen Ming Tang Buddhist Meditation Centre
• Imagine Church

• Kororoit Creek Neighbourhood House. Kororoit Creek Neighbourhood House is a community-managed Eco-Living Centre providing a diverse range of programs, workshops, activities and events to the communities of Albion, Ardeer and surrounding suburbs. KCNH offers community meeting space for all  community members to contribute and participate.[23]
• North Cyprus Turkish Community Centre of Victoria. Established in 1956 as the Cyprus Turkish Association, the North Cyprus Turkish Community Centre of Victoria is the oldest Turkish association in Victoria. The association operates a 350 seat venue and consists of four entities - a trustee committee, an operational committee, an elderly citizens group and a youth club.

• City of Sunshine - Albion was previously within this former local government area.
• Albion railway station, Melbourne
• Kororoit Creek
• Kororoit Creek Trail