Seddon, Victoria
| Seddon Melbourne, Victoria |
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| File:Seddon railway station, Melbourne.jpg
Seddon Railway Station
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| Population | 4,851 (2011 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 4,900/km2 (13,000/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3011 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 1 km2 (0.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 7 km (4 mi) from Melbourne | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of Maribyrnong | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Williamstown | ||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Gellibrand | ||||||||||||||
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Seddon is a suburb 6 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, lying south of Footscray and north of Yarraville. Its local government area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2011 Census, Seddon had a population of 4,851.
Formerly a semi-industrial, working-class suburb, in recent years Seddon has experienced rapid gentrification due to its close proximity to the Melbourne City Centre.
History
Originally known as Belgravia, Seddon was officially declared a suburb in 1902, named after Richard Seddon, the New Zealand Prime Minister from 1893 to 1906, who resided there before he moved to Bendigo and later to New Zealand.
Seddon was, on occasion, considered part of neighbouring Footscray. The Original State Bank of Victoria in Charles Street, Seddon used to stamp its Bank Account passbooks as Footscray South Vic. Not unusual, considering Seddon is south of Footscray. However, while central Footscray is one of the main shopping and transport hubs for Melbourne's western suburbs, Seddon, in contrast, is quiet, leafy and residential.
The Main streets of Victoria, Charles & Gamon used to accommodate a tram line that ran through the middle of the Seddon Village. It has since been replaced with central garden beds and tree plantings in the middle of the streets.
Seddon street names were created with something of a regal flair through the village area. Reading from west to east you will find that Charles intersects with Alfred, Edward, Henry, James, William, Victoria (which runs parallel to Windsor) and terminates at Albert.
Seddon Post Office opened on 29 September 1908 and closed in 1976. Seddon West Post Office opened in 1924 and has since been renamed to the Seddon Post Office after its relocation further south on Victoria Street.[2] Seddon shares its postcode with neighbouring Footscray - 3011.
Today
Today Seddon is a vibrant suburb with a charming little village. Almost all of its industrial past has been lost to trendy cafes, bars and restaurants and most of the once humble 'worker's cottage' style of homes popular in the area are now much sort after family abodes. Once considered the 'poor cousin' of Yarraville, Seddon is now most certainly a desirable location in its own right.
The Seddon Community Group with the assistance of the Maribyrnong Council puts on the Seddon Festival each year, closing all the main streets in the village to vehicles for exclusive pedestrian access. Several large band stages are erected on streets throughout the village and traders extend their seating onto the streets for the day. The Seddon Festival plays host to the Seddon Waiters Race, an event in which all of the local cafes and restaurants enter a waiter to compete carrying drinks and food through a short course on the street. The Snapshots of Seddon photography competition is also usually awarded judges prizes at the festival after entrants have had their photos displayed in the windows of the local business for the preceding month for judging of the peoples choice award.
Most of Seddon is connected to the National Broadband Network (NBN) via fibre optic cabling replacing the aging copper network and providing much needed relief for the Footscray copper exchange.
Local businesses that have incorporated the suburb name creatively into their own are: Seddon Deadly Sins cafe on Charles Street, Sedonia homewares store on Gamon Street, Charles & Gamon restaurant and bar on the corner of Charles Street and Gamon Street (named after its prominent position on two of the major streets in the village) and lastly the somewhat cryptically named Est 1902 cafe on Charles Street (named thus because the suburb of Seddon was officially established in the year 1902).
Seddon's railway station is on the Werribee and Williamstown railway lines of the Melbourne train network. A great deal of Seddon is also well serviced by the Middle Footscray station on the Sunbury line.
Sport and activities
The Seddon Cricket Club has its home ground in the Yarraville Gardens.
Seddon also shares its Australian Rules football team, Yarraville-Seddon, with neighbouring Yarraville. The team competes in the Western Region Football League.[3]
Opposite Seddon Station is the 5th Footscray Scout Group. With programs for children aged 6 to 15, the group is part of Scouts Australia, and meets in a historic hall built in the 1930s.
See also
- City of Maribyrnong - the local government area of which Seddon belongs
- City of Footscray - the former local government area of which Seddon was a part
References
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