Thornbury, Victoria

Thornbury (/ˈtɔːrnbəri, ˈθɔːrn-/ (listen))[nb 1] is an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km north of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the City of Darebin. At the 2016 census, Thornbury had a population of 18,568.

Thornbury
Melbourne, Victoria
Thornbury
Coordinates37.760°S 145.007°E / -37.760; 145.007
Population18,568 (2016)[1]
 • Density3,570/km2 (9,250/sq mi)
Postcode(s)3071
Area5.2 km2 (2.0 sq mi)
Location7 km (4 mi) from Melbourne
LGA(s)City of Darebin
State electorate(s)Northcote
Federal Division(s)Cooper
Suburbs around Thornbury:
Coburg Preston Bellfield
Coburg Thornbury Ivanhoe
Brunswick East Northcote Fairfield

Thornbury is bordered by the Merri Creek to the west, and the Darebin Creek to the east. The heart of Thornbury is known as Thornbury Village,[2] and is located at the centre of Thornbury at the intersection of High Street and Normanby Avenue/Clarendon Street.

Thornbury is shaped as a thin strip of land sandwiched between Northcote and Preston. Its east-west width being over six times greater than its north–south width. For 111 years Thornbury was part of the former City of Northcote Local Government Area, which existed from 1883 until June 1994. As such, Thornbury is universally understood to be a demographic and commercial satellite of Northcote, along with Westgarth, although the latter does not have its own postcode.

Industry

Thornbury has a long line of industry near Dundas street (the border between Thornbury and Preston) and Station street. It consists mainly of warehouses and scrap metal yards, with a few metal recycling centres and factories.

Transport

Thornbury is well served by public transport, with Thornbury station on the Mernda railway line, and two tram lines: services along High Street (tram route 86) connecting to the Bundoora Campus of RMIT to the city, and along St Georges Road (tram route 11) from Miller Street, past the Preston Tram Workshops (New Preston Depot) and on to the City and Docklands.

The Merri Creek Trail and Darebin Creek Trail run on the west and east boundaries of Thornbury and are popular shared-use recreational paths used by cyclists and walkers.

Geology

Thornbury geology mainly consists of Silurian sedimentary rocks of the Melbourne (formerly Dargile) Formation. River sediments overlay parts of the folded Silurian rocks, especially near Merri Creek and Darebin Creek that represent the western and eastern borders of the suburb respectively.

Commerce

The main commercial area in Thornbury is the High Street shopping strip, centred on Thornbury Village. Smaller shopping precincts are to be found on sections of St Georges Road, Wales Street and Station Street. The Northcote Pottery, founded in 1897 at Clyde Street, was closed in 2007.[3]

Nightlife and culture

Thornbury is home to many bars and night spots, including Kitty Somerset, Tago Mago, The Thornbury Local, Cactus Room, Lentil as Anything, The Thornbury Hotel, Welcome To Thornbury, The Thornbury Theatre, an art house cinema, and the Croxton Park Hotel which often features overseas touring artists. It also has a large alternative music culture which is evident in some of the independent music stores found on High Street such as Thornbury Records.

From about 2012 onwards, Thornbury has seen new bars, cafes and restaurants appear along the northern end of High St.

Sporting facilities

The Darebin International Sports Centre (DISC) is located in the John Cain Memorial Reserve, near the Darebin Creek in Thornbury. The Darebin International Sports Centre is the home of the Football Federation Victoria, the State Football Centre (soccer), the State Lawn Bowls Centre and the State Cycling Centre, a velodrome with a 250m indoor timber cycling track. The Northcote Public Golf Course, run by the Northcote Golf Club is located near the Merri Creek. It is also home to Flinders Park and the Holy Trinity Cricket Club (HTCC).

Educational facilities
  • Thornbury Primary School (Opened 2 August 1915).
  • Wales Street Primary School (opened 1 October 1891 as the 'Prince of Wales Park State School').
  • Penders Grove Primary School
  • Thornbury High School (Renamed from Thornbury-Darebin Secondary College in 2005).
  • Holy Spirit School (Catholic) (Opened 3 February 1953).
  • St. Mary's Primary school (Catholic) (Opened January 1920).
  • Distance Education Centre - The headquarters of this Department of Education agency, co-located near the Darebin Creek with the Victorian School of Languages, the headquarters of this Department of Education agency.
  • Nestoras Greek College

Public open spaces
  • Strettle Wetland (Merri Creek).[4]
  • Northcote Municipal Golf Links[5]
  • Mayer Park
  • Sir Douglas Nichols Reserve
  • Penders Park (Electric barbecues, playground).[6]
  • Hayes Park (Oval).
  • John Cain Memorial Park (Including the Darebin International Sports Centre facilities, four soccer fields, the State Cycling Centre velodrome and the State Lawn Bowls Centre).
  • Clyde Jones Reserve(Playground and Grassy Area)[7]

Notable residents

See also

Notes
  1. Since the 1960s, the vast majority of Melburnians pronounce the name phonetically. The 'h' is no longer silent.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Thornbury (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  2. Thornbury Village Precinct as recognised by the City of Darebin
  3. Darebin Historical Society
  4. Strettle Wetland Reserve web page on Darebin Community Portal
  5. http://www.northcotegolfclub.com/clubhistory.htm
  6. Penders Park web page on Darebin Community Portal
  7. Darebin Thornbury website on clyde jones reserve:http://www.darebin.org/Directory/Agency.aspx?Mkey=493&S3Key=729
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