Flemington, Victoria

Flemington is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Moonee Valley local government areas. Flemington recorded a population of 7,025 at the 2021 census. when fertile land adjacent to the Maribyrnong River was taken up for cattle grazing. Land for Flemington Racecourse was reserved as early as 1845. Around this time the Melbourne Municipal Saleyards were relocated from Elizabeth Street, West Melbourne to Flemington. Also around this time abattoirs and other commercial activities were established.

It was originally included in the City of Essendon at its formation in 1861 and the first Melbourne Cup was run at Flemington the same year. Buntingford Tannery (now demolished) was located adjacent to Moonee Ponds Creek. This business, established by members of the Debney family, moved to the site in 1876 and at one time covered more than an acre of ground and consisted of several buildings.

Flemington and Kensington broke away from the City of Essendon in 1882 to form the Borough of Flemington and Kensington as the decade saw intensified residential development consisting of detached single-storey weatherboard homes and some brick semi-detached or attached single-storey homes on small allotments. Some larger homes including grandiose double-storey brick homes on double allotments, and some double-storey brick terrace homes were also constructed. Industry consisting of mills, factories and warehouses continued in the area taking advantage of the low-cost flat land. By 1911, the population was 6,109.

In 1905 the Borough of Flemington and Kensington was subsumed by the City of Melbourne.

During the 1950s there was an influx of European immigrants, mostly from Italy.

Flemington Racecourse and Racecourse Road

thumb|Flemington Racecourse in 2013, looking south-east toward [[Melbourne CBD|Melbourne's city centre]]

Flemington Racecourse is famous for the Melbourne Cup horse race, run on the first Tuesday in November since 1861, by the Victoria Racing Club.

thumb|Aerial panorama of Flemington Racecourse. Taken August 2018.

thumb|right|Racecourse Road in December 2010

Racecourse Road is the suburb's main commercial area. Pin Oak Crescent has a small number of shops and cafes. Newmarket station is on Pin Oak Crescent, near its intersection with Racecourse Road.

In the late 1990s, a new shopping plaza was constructed on an old car sale yard on Racecourse Road, directly west of Newmarket Station. Several new apartment buildings were built on empty allotments behind the Racecourse Road and Pin Oak Crescent shops.

Barry Humphries declared in 2005 that his favourite building in Melbourne was the Flemington Post Office, which is on Wellington Street.

Facilities

Education

Flemington has three kindergartens, three primary schools, a secondary college and a special needs school.

Parks and open space

The suburb has twelve parks, reserves and ovals.

Demographics

In the 2016 census, there were 7,719 people in Flemington. 52.7% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were Vietnam 5.2%, Ethiopia 3.3%, Somalia 2.2%, New Zealand 1.9% and China 1.8%. 50.6% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Vietnamese 5.5%, Somali 4.9%, Arabic 3.9%, Cantonese 3.5% and Mandarin 1.9%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 33.9% and Catholic 18.0%.

Housing

thumb|Wellington Street in August 2010

Flemington has a mix of housing styles, including detached single-family homes, terrace houses and semi-detached homes, many dating to the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The area around Wellington Street and Farnham Street includes many walk-up privately owned flats built during the 1960s and 1970s.

Flemington also contains a large public housing estate consisting of four 20-storey towers and several three- and four-storey walk-up blocks of flats. Public housing in Flemington makes up 24% of the total residences. The estate was constructed in the 1960s on flat land adjacent to the Moonee Ponds Creek on a site previously occupied by factories. Small tracts of Housing Commission houses are dotted through other parts of Flemington.

thumb|center|600px|Aerial of eastern Flemington with the [[Housing Commission of Victoria estate and the CityLink sound tube (right), Moonee Ponds Creek and Flemington bridge]]

Transport

Road

thumb|right|Moonee Ponds Creek and the CityLink freeway, Flemington, in 2011

The main arterial road is Racecourse Road, which is part of the Princes Highway. The CityLink tollway also runs along the suburb's boundary to the east.

Train

thumb|[[Newmarket railway station, Melbourne|Newmarket railway station]]

The suburb is served by two railway stations: Newmarket on the Craigieburn line, and Flemington Bridge on the Upfield line.

The Flemington Racecourse line operates only during events at Flemington Racecourse or the Melbourne Showgrounds. It has two stations—Flemington Racecourse and Showgrounds—and branches off the Craigieburn line just north of Newmarket station. However, the line does not serve Newmarket station, instead running direct to North Melbourne, Southern Cross and Flinders Street.

Tram

Tram Route 57 travels from West Maribyrnong to City (Flinders Street / Elizabeth Street)
Tram Route 59 travels from Airport West to City (Flinders Street / Elizabeth Street)

Bus

404: Footscray – Moonee Ponds Junction via Flemington, Ascot Vale, Newmarket (Monday to Saturday), operated by Transit Systems
472: Moonee Ponds Junction – Williamstown via Ascot Vale, Flemington Racecourse, Footscray, North Williamstown station (every day), operated by Transit Systems
942: City – St Albans (route extension to Sunbury) via Footscray, Sunshine, Deer Park (Saturday and Sunday mornings), NightRider service operated by Dysons