Alfredton, Victoria

Alfredton is a suburb of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, west of the CBD. The population at the 2016 census was 9,220[1] making it the third most populated in the Ballarat urban area.

Alfredton
Ballarat, Victoria
Victory Arch at the entrance to the Avenue of Honour, Ballarat
Alfredton
Coordinates37.555°S 143.800°E / -37.555; 143.800
Population9,220 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density1,213/km2 (3,142/sq mi)
Postcode(s)3350
Area7.6 km2 (2.9 sq mi)
Location4 km (2 mi) from Ballarat Central
LGA(s)City of Ballarat
State electorate(s)Wendouree
Federal Division(s)Ballarat
Suburbs around Alfredton:
Cardigan Lake Gardens Lake Wendouree
Lucas Alfredton Newington
Delacombe Delacombe Delacombe

Alfredton is located west of Lake Wendouree along Sturt Street. The suburb has some of Ballarat's best known landmarks including the Arch of Victory, a World War I memorial which once marked the entrance to Ballarat and the start of Ballarat's Avenue of Honour, the longest war memorial roadside plantation in Australia, which extends 18 km to the Western Freeway.

Originally part of Cardigan and known by that name, the present area was named in honour of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh following his visit to Ballarat in 1867.

The artist and illustrator Will Dyson was born in Alfredton in 1880.

The Alfredton area is central to Western Ballarat's growth corridor, an area where suburban development is encouraged by the City of Ballarat and State Government of Victoria. Most of urban Ballarat's subdivision for new housing estates is happening in Greenfield land to the south, north and west of the Avenue of Honour. Large estates include Balymanus, Alfredton Central, The Chase[2] and Insignia.[3]

History

The Post Office opened on 1 August 1868.[4]

Originally part of Cardigan and known by that name, the present area was named in honour of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh following the royal visit to Ballarat in 1867.

Urban form and housing

While a small section of the original township and main roads are grid plan, the majority of Alfredton's residential areas have been developed under the concepts of street hierarchy with looped streets and culs-de-sac and almost all single-family detached homes. As a result, while the suburban streets are quiet the main roads around Alfredton are particularly busy.

Transport

The main form of transport in Alfredton is the private motor car and Alfredton can be classed as a car dependent suburb.

Effort has been made by the Ballarat City Council over the years to provide a network of bicycle lanes on major roads, to encourage the use of bicycles; and to increase the safety of bicyclists.

There are two different urban bus services servicing the suburb, both of which run regularly to the city. Route 10 is from Ballarat Station to Alfredton via Howitt Street and loops around Robertson Drive via Dyson Drive and Cuthberts Road. Route 26 is Ballarat Station to Alfredton via Sturt Street and Cuthberts Road. The suburb is serviced by Ballarat Taxis, a co-operative taxi network.

The former Redan Junction railway line servicing the Ballarat Saleyards and the Redan industrial precinct previously bisected the suburb, but this line was closed in 1997.[5] The line has since been completely lifted, though the reservation remains unoccupied, and is generally now used as a walking trail.

The nearest railway station is Wendouree 3 km to the north.

Parks and open space

Golfers play at the course of the Ballarat Golf Club on Sturt Street in the suburb.[6] A network of walking and cycling tracks begin at the R.J. Cameron Reserve (bordered by Learmonth Street to the east and Portsea Street to the south), and extends west, crossing the aforementioned Redan Junction railway line, through the Alfredton Recreational Reserve, and on until Dyson Drive in Lucas.

More parks, playgrounds, and open spaces are being developed in some of the newer housing estates that are currently in different stages of being built (as of 2020).

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Alfredton (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 February 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. Premier Postal History, Post Office List, archived from the original on 10 May 2008, retrieved 11 April 2008
  5. "Redan Junction Line". VicSig. 23 November 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  6. Golf Select, Ballarat, retrieved 11 May 2009
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