Maidstone ( ) is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Maribyrnong local government area. Maidstone recorded a population of 9,389 at the .

History

Maidstone was established in 1858. Like neighbouring Footscray, it was named after the town of Maidstone in Kent, England.

Maidstone was predominantly made up of period weatherboard, brick Art Deco and Californian Bungalow houses constructed between the 1920s and 1940s. Concrete houses built in the late 1940s to house the families of returned servicemen from World War II are also found. From the early 1990s many old factory sites in Maidstone have been turned into new housing estates comprising hundreds of houses and townhouses. Maidstone's recent development boost, good public transport availability and close proximity to the CBD has also seen the median house price escalate dramatically over the past 10 years.

Geography

Landmarks

  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church is a landmark building located on Ballarat Road, established in 1962, and built in Baroque/Byzantine revival architectural styles.
  • The Maidstone Islamic Centre on Studley St was established between 1973–1983 in a former Salvation Army hall. Al-Noor Mosque is the second oldest mosque in Melbourne and one of the oldest in Australia.
  • Maidstone Community Centre (Yardley St)
  • Maidstone Tennis Club
  • Medway Golf Club
  • Maribyrnong River
  • Maribyrnong River Trail
  • Highpoint Shopping Centre (just north of Maidstone)

Parks and gardens

  • Shepherd Gardens (Maidstone Community Centre)
  • Maidstone Public Tennis Courts
  • Suffolk Triangle Park
  • Drey Park
  • Ulmara Park
  • Eucalyptus Drive Reserve
  • Chislon Reserve
  • Scovell Reserve Oval
  • Rogers Reserve
  • Dobson Reserve Oval and Playground
  • Cambridge Reserve

Places of worship

  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church (Ballarat Rd)
  • Maidstone Mosque (Studley St)
  • Hillsong Church (Mitchell St)
  • Maidstone Church of Christ (Richelieu St)
  • New Apostolic Church (Hampstead Rd)
  • Iglesia Ni Cristo (Hampstead Rd)

Education

Schools

  • Maribyrnong College (est 1958), located in Maribyrnong on the border of Maidstone and Maribyrnong.
  • Footscray North Primary School (est 1922), located in Footscray on the border of Maidstone and Footscray.
  • Footscray West Primary School (just south of Maidstone)
  • Dobson Kindergarten
  • North Maidstone Kindergarten
  • St Vincent's School

Sports

  • Maidstone United Soccer Club (formally Leros United Soccer Club) (Scovell Reserve)
  • Sunshine George Cross Juniors Soccer Club (Dobson Reserve)
  • Rosamond Bowling Club
  • Rosamond Tennis Club (Footscray North Primary School)
  • Maidstone Tennis Club
  • Maidstone Junior Sporting Club
  • Footscray United Cricket Club (Scovell Reserve)
  • Rosamond Bowling Club
  • Medway Golf Club

Transport

Public transport

Tram route provides public transport from Moonee Ponds Junction (Ascot Vale Road / Puckle Street) to Footscray (Leeds Street / Irving Street) passing along Maidstone for a segment of its journey. It is one of very few Melbourne tram routes which do not travel through the Melbourne CBD. North of Maidstone, the Route 82 tram connects with Tram route 57 which provides public transport from Flinders Street station in the city to Cordite Avenue, West Maribyrnong. In 2022, construction of the Maidstone tram depot is scheduled to commence.

A number of different bus routes pass through Maidstone and along its borders:

West Footscray and Tottenham train stations are the closest to Maidstone. However the suburb's bus routes and the Route 82 tram link more directly with Footscray and Sunshine train stations.

Active transport

The Maribyrnong River Trail connects cyclists to the Footscray Road off-road path and into Docklands and the Melbourne CBD.

Notable people

  • Albert Facey – Author of A Fortunate Life and Gallipoli veteran was born in Maidstone in 1894. He would leave Maidstone in 1898. He has a street named after him in the eastern part of Maidstone, as well as a commemorative plaque at the intersection of Thomson St and Carlyle St.

See also

  • City of Sunshine – Maidstone was previously within this former local government area.

References

  • Maidstone Suburb Profile