| Kew Melbourne, Victoria | |||||||||||||||
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 Kellett Grove, Kew | |||||||||||||||
  Kew | |||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 37°48′19″S145°2′9″E / 37.80528°S 145.03583°E /-37.80528; 145.03583 | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 24,499 (SAL2021)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3101 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 58 m (190 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 10.5 km2 (4.1 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 6 km (4 mi) fromMelbourne | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of Boroondara | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Kew | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Kooyong | ||||||||||||||
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Kew (/kjuː/) is a suburb ofMelbourne,Victoria,Australia, found 5 km east from Melbourne'sCentral Business District. Kew is located within theCity of Boroondaralocal government area. Kew recorded a population of 24,499 at the2021 census.[2]
A city in its own right from 1860 to 1994, Kew was amalgamated with the cities ofHawthorn andCamberwell to form the City of Boroondara. The suburb borders theYarra River to the west and northwest, withKew East to the northeast,Hawthorn andHawthorn East to its south, and withBalwyn,Balwyn North andDeepdene to the east.
Prior to the establishment of Melbourne, the area was inhabited by theWurundjeri peoples. In the 1840s European settlers named it the Parish ofBoroondara – meaning "a place of shade" in the Woiwurrung language. In 1838 Dight travelled down the Yarra fromHeidelberg and decided to locate a water-powered mill on a site adjacent toDights Falls; the impressive three-storey mill opened in 1840.[3]
John Hodgson established a squatters run at Studley Park, on the eastern bank of the Yarra River, in 1840.Studley House, also known asBurke Hall, built in 1857, was named after Hodgson's birthplace of Studley,Yorkshire and the house is now on the Register of the National Estate.[4] The house was built in the Victorian PeriodItalianate Revival style. Modifications were made to the house in 1875 and 1919. The house was also owned by former bookmaker,ALP lobbyist, influential Irish-Catholic and millionaire,John Wren and was donated toXavier College by the land developer,Thomas Burke. It illustrates the importance of a residence in indicating success and status in nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Melbourne society. The nearbyVilla Alba, built before 1863,[5] is open to the public.[6]
In 1851,Crown land sales occurred in the area. One of the purchasers, Nicholas Fenwick, subdivided his land (which was just further out from the centre of the colony of Melbourne than the area known asRichmond) and named the region Kew, based on the thought thatKew in England was nearRichmond. He also notably named its streets after British statesmen. The area quickly became a sought-after suburb for the well-to-do in Melbourne. Access to Kew was originally viaBridge Road in Richmond, crossing theHawthorn Bridge to Burwood Road, until the privately owned Studley Park Bridge (nicknamed thePenny Bridge) opened in 1857,[7] connecting Church Street Richmond with Studley Park.
The commercial precinct known as Kew Junction began to take shape in the 1850s. The first store was opened by Mr. J. J. French in August 1853 and the first post office on 6 October 1856,[8] however, it was not till towards the end of the decade that many shops appeared in High Street. The Kew Hotel opened in 1855, the Prospect Hill Hotel (now theDan Murphy's liquor store) in 1857, the Council Hotel about 1860, the Clifton (now Hotel Kew) in 1869 and the Greyhound (now the Skinny Dog Hotel) in 1874. The block of civic buildings comprising the former post office, the former court house and the former police station were built in 1888 as was theNational Bank, at the corner of Walpole and High Streets.[9]
In 1856, a site was reserved for a mental asylum next to the river. By 1871Kew Lunatic Asylum, now known asWillsmere Estate, was completed. TheKew Cottages for children were added in 1887. The hospital was built despite objections by residents and the Kew Borough Council[10] and provides an historical example ofnimbyism.Kew Cottages and Willsmere Hospital are listed on theVictorian Heritage Register.
Various churches opened in the 1850s, with the first school opened by the Anglican Church in 1856.[11] In 1875Sacred Heart Primary School was opened. More private schools were opened in 1878, includingRuyton Girls' School (non-denominational) andXavier College (Catholic inJesuit order). Other private schools soon followed, includingMethodist Ladies' College (Uniting Church in Australia) in 1882,Genazzano FCJ College in 1889,Trinity Grammar School (Anglican) in 1903, andCarey Baptist Grammar School (Baptist) in 1923.Preshil, The Margaret Lyttle Memorial School, was opened in the early 1930s. In 1960 it was said: "it would be difficult to find any locality so richly endowed with so many and such large educational institutions as are to be found in Kew."[12]
Arailway branch line to Kew fromHawthorn Station opened on 19 December 1887 and was officially closed on 13 May 1957.[13] Kew was proclaimed a town on 8 December 1910, and a city on 10 March 1921. The population of the area tripled between 1910 andWorld War II.
A former house in Kew was the birthplace of the 21stPrime Minister of Australia,Gough Whitlam. As of 2016, due to its demolition, the house no longer exists.
Raheen is a historic 19th-century Italianate mansion, located at 92 Studley Park Road. It was built in the 1870s,[14] and its name means "little fort" in Irish.
Raheen was once the residence ofDaniel Mannix, the former CatholicArchbishop of Melbourne[15] and was purchased by theCatholic Church in 1917 with support fromJohn Wren.
It was purchased in 1980 by the Australian businessmanRichard Pratt and his family and is not currently open to the public. Pratt extensively renovated the house and gardens, including the addition of a new wing, designed byGlen Murcutt.[14]
Kew has grown steadily since the early Bridge Road crossing development and is cited as one of the most prestigious suburbs in Melbourne.[16] As a consequence, many of these residences now attract some of the highest residential resale values in Melbourne.[17]
Streets in theSackville Ward (bounded by Barkers, Burke, Cotham and Glenferrie Roads), such as Alfred, Rowland, Wellington, Grange and Sackville, have some exceptional examples ofEdwardian,Victorian and contemporary architecture.
The suburb has been home to numerous Scout Groups since 1st Kew was formed in 1909. Today, only 1st Kew and 4th Kew are in operation.
Kew has convenient access to public facilities and transport. The109,16 and72 along with tram route48 (North Balwyn – Victoria Harbour Docklands)tram routes pass through the suburb and the City/Lilydale/Belgrave train line is easily accessed atHawthorn andGlenferrie Stations.Kew Station and theassociated railway branch was last served by passenger trains in 1952,[13] with the station site now the headquarters ofVicRoads.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 22,689 | — |
| 2006 | 22,516 | −0.8% |
| 2011 | 23,876 | +6.0% |
| 2016 | 24,605 | +3.1% |
| 2021 | 24,499 | −0.4% |
In the 2021 Census, there were 24,499 people in Kew. 66.1% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were China 6.6%, England 2.9%, Malaysia 2.2%, India 1.8% and New Zealand 1.4%. 70.3% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 8.6%, Greek 3.0%, Cantonese 2.8%, Italian 1.7% and Vietnamese 1.4%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 44.1% and Catholic 22.7%.[18]
Golfers have the choice of membership at Green Acres Golf Club,[19] or Kew Golf Club, inKew East,[20] or may play at the Studley Park Par 3 Golf Course, on Studley Park Road.[21]
Kew Football Club and Kew Cricket Club play out of Victoria Park, on High Street.
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