From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Canterbury is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east from
Melbourne's central
business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of
Boroondara. At the 2006
Census, Canterbury had a population of 7660.
Famed for its leafy boulevards and large, ornate houses,
Canterbury is among Melbourne's most expensive and exclusive
suburbs.
Geography
Canterbury extends as far as Mont Albert Road in the north,
Burke Road in the west, Chatham and Highfield Roads in the
east and Riversdale Road to the south. The main thoroughfare
through Canterbury is Canterbury Road, which runs east-west
and roughly bisects the suburb.
Schools in Canterbury include Camberwell Grammar School, Camberwell Girls Grammar School, Canterbury Girls' Secondary College,
Strathcona Baptist Girls' Grammar
School, Camberwell High School and Canterbury
Primary School. Canterbury contains various parks and gardens
and is home to the Camberwell Hockey Club in Matlock
Street. The Canterbury Sports Ground, home of cricket and
Australian football, is in Chatham Road.
The main shopping area in Canterbury is around the railway
station and includes shops in Canterbury Road as well as Maling
Road. Larger shopping centres nearby include Burke
Road in Camberwell and Whitehorse Road in Balwyn.
Canterbury is serviced by the Canterbury and East Camberwell stations on the Lilydale and Belgrave train lines.
History
The railway station is in many ways responsible for the
suburb's existence: before the opening of the railway to the
city in 1882, the area was a semi-rural area.
Even then, it was occupied by the well to do. Many of these
early residents, and in some cases, their properties, are
remembered in the street names of the suburb, notably Logan
Street and Monomeath Avenue.
Canterbury Post Office opened on 22 November 1870 (it
was closed between 1887 and 1892).
The first subdivision in the area came in 1885, when
Michael Logan created the 'Claremont Park Estate' within the
area of Canterbury Road, Bryson Street, Prospect Hill Road and
Logan Street.
At around this time, Edward Snowden settled on 7 hectares
in the area centred on a manor he named Monomeath. In 1900
Snowden's estate was subdivided and sold off to form what is
now Monomeath Avenue, and residents such as notable architect
Percey Kernot and prominent citizen George Coghill moved in.
The road was paved in 1911 and oak trees were planted along
its sides. Over time it has gained much cachet in Australian
society, famed for its wealthy and well-known gay
residents.
Culture
Canterbury is regarded as one of Melbourne's most exclusive
suburbs, particularly the "Golden Mile" - a term referring to
that part of Mont Albert Road running west from Balwyn Road
and the avenues that connect it to Canterbury Road, including
Monomeath Avenue, which is lined by huge century old oak trees
and grand ornate mansions and is home to many notable
politicians and leaders of business and industry.
Other blue-chip locales along this stretch include
Alexandra Avenue, Hopetoun Avenue, Victoria Avenue and The
Ridge. It consistently ranks in the top 3 suburbs for average
house prices in Melbourne.
Past and present residents of
Monomeath Avenue Canterbury include or have included:
Sport
The suburb has an Australian Rules football team
competing in the Southern Football League.
Source
Wikipedia
