|
||
Sunbury is a satellite city, located 29 km north-west of Melbourne's central business district, in the state of Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hume. At the 2006 Census, Sunbury had a population of 31,002. History Sunbury was first settled in 1836, by George Evans and William Jackson. It was Jackson and his brother, Samuel, who named the township Sunbury, after Sunbury-on-Thames, in Surrey, England when it was established in 1857. The Post Office opened on 13 January 1858. Sunbury's connection with the history and development of Victoria is influential because of its most famous and powerful citizen, "Big" Clarke. Clarke's role as one of the biggest squatters in the colony and his power and position within the Victorian Legislative Council were critical in the early days of Victoria. During the early days of self-government in Colony of Victoria, post 1851, there was a continual struggle in parliament, between the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council for the ascendancy and control of government. It was the Council members, such as Clarke, who attempted to negate the excess of manhood suffrage, republicanism and Chartism as expressed in the Assembly, in order to protect their own squatters' agenda and position. (Serle,The Golden Age, pp. 146–150.)"Big" Clarke as a member of the Victorian 'bunyip aristocracy' also frustrated any legislative reforms to opening the lands to small farm selections. Melbourne Punch depicted Clarke in anti-squatter cartoons, such as "The man in Possession" (Punch, 2 December 1858, p. 149.) In 1859, "Big" Clarke was involved in a scandal around the discovery of gold on his holdings in nearby Deep Creek. Shares in the Bolinda company soared, Clarke sold his shares at the peak of the rush before the fraud was exposed. The gold assay was actually 'salted', possibly via a shotgun blast of golden pellets into the samples. Clarke claimed the rich assay was proved when washed in a soup bowl. The ever barbed Melbourne Punch explained how this fraud work in a cartoon of a chipped Chinese Willow Pattern plate titled the 'The Soup Plate". (Punch 9 February 1860, p. 21 see also O'Brien, Shenanigans, Ch. 3 for an insight and cartoons of 1850s, see also M. Clarke, "Big" Clarke for a comprehensive family history) In 1837, William "Big" Clarke, came to the area, and gained vast pastoral licences encompassing Sunbury, Clarkefield and Monegeetta. (Spreadbrough, Victorian Squatters) In 1874, Clarke's son, William, built a mansion, which resides on an estate named "Rupertswood", after his own son, Rupert. This estate also has access to a train station, which was used to transport bales of hay to Adelaide. Thopugh the private station was constructed in the late 1800s the Clarkes did not pay the railways for its construction until the 1960s. (Rupertwood Train Station no longer exists after the fast rail upgrade. There were two trains stopping daily during school holidays only but now it is only a disused railway siding) (M. Clarke, "Big" Clarke) The Clarke's also had a connection to the Kelly Gang story via their police connection with Supt Hare. The younger William, Sir William as he was to become, was the president of the Melbourne Cricket Club, and it was through his position that the touring English cricket team came to spend Christmas of 1882 at Rupertswood. On Christmas Eve, the English team played a social game of cricket against a local team, which they won. Lady Clarke took one or more bails, burnt them, and interred the Ashes in a small purple velvet pouch, which she presented to the English Captain, Ivo Bligh. She proposed that the ashes be used as a perpetual trophy for matches between the two countries. Later the remains of the burnt bails were placed in a small urn. The Ashes have since become one of the world's most sought-after sporting trophies. In 1922, the Clarke family sold the property to H V McKay, the owner of the Sunshine Harvester company, who subsequently onsold it in 1927 to the Salesian Catholic order. Until recently the mansion and surrounding property has been used for educational and agricultural purposes, and as a boarding school for students of both academic and agricultural endeavours (Salesian College). The mansion has now been restored, and is used for weddings and other formal functions. The school, known as Salesian College, Rupertswood, is still located on the property. In the early 1970s the area (which was then still largely rural) became famous in Australia as the site of the Sunbury Pop Festival, which was held annually from 1972 to 1975. Culture Sunbury's residents represent diverse cultural backgrounds, partly due to the working class background, and proximity to major manufacturing and transport hubs, with Melbourne Airport only being 15 kilometres from the township. A recent trend for people who work in the Melbourne CBD to trade longer commute times for a more economic lifestyle (due to cheaper housing), has seen the population of Sunbury grow in number, with numerous new housing estates ringing the borders of the established township. Sunbury's population was recorded as being 25,086 in the 2001 census, and is estimated at approximately 34,000 in 2006, making it the 38th largest urban centre by population in Australia. Sunbury has a high caucasian population, but as more immigrant families move it becomes a more multicultural community. Retail Sunbury has a town centre containing Coles, Safeway and IGA supermarkets as well as Big W, Harris Scarfe and Target department stores. Away from the town centre is an Aldi Supermarket and a Bunnings Warehouse hardware store. There are also many food outlets situated in Sunbury. Transport Sunbury Railway Station Sunbury Railway Station is connected to Melbourne by V/Line services on the Bendigo train line. Due to the diesel rolling stock utilised, and the lack of overhead electric lines, these service are not as frequent as those on the metropolitan Metlink service - an approximate hourly frequency is provided on weekdays, although on weekends service levels can be as infrequent as once every 80 minutes. Although recently the council suggested that the trains be electrified, it was met with a bad response from the public. Education Primary Schools Secondary Schools/High Schools Other Sunbury and Macedon Ranges Special School Sport Sunbury is represented in the following sporting leagues: Historical books on Sunbury district and identities Serle, Geoffrey. The Golden Age A History of the Colony of Victoria, 1851-1861, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 1963. (gold, squatters and government) Politics Sunbury is located in the City of Hume represented by Cr Ann Potter and Cr Jack Ogilvie, the State seat of Macedon, Ms Joanne Duncan MP, and the Federal Seat of Calwell Ms Maria Vamvakinou MHR. People from Sunbury Mark Johnson, Australian rules footballer |
||
| Top |
|
View Larger Map
