Kew, Victoria

Encyclopedia : K : KE : KEW : Kew, Victoria

Kew is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria. It is in the Local Government Area of the City of Boroondara. The suburb borders the Yarra River to the west and north, with Hawthorn to its south and Balwyn to its east.

Kew is one of Melbourne’s most affluent suburbs with a plethora of Victorian and Art Deco mansions graced by stunning gardens set back from tree-lined streets. This is also reflected in house prices where the price of a home is more than twice the metropolitan Melbourne average. There is abundant parkland in the suburb including Yarra Bend and Studley parks. City of Boroondara achieves the highest score of all Melbourne municipal areas on the SEIFA index of disadvantage compiled by the Australian Bureau of statistics (the lower the score, the more disadvantage).

History

John Hodgson established a squatters run at Studley Park on the eastern bank of the Yarra River in 1840. Studley House, also known as Burke 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. The house was built in the Victorian Period Italianate 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 now belongs to Xavier College. It illustrates the importance of a residence in indicating success and status in nineteenth and early twentieth century Melbourne society.

In 1851 Crown land sales occurred in the area. One of the purchasers, Nicholas Fenwick, subdivided his land and named streets after English statesmen, with the subdivision being called Kew. The area quickly became a sought-after suburb for the well-to-do in the colony of Melbourne.

Access to Kew was originally via Bridge Road Richmond crossing the Hawthorn Bridge to Burwood Road, until the Johnston Street bridge was built in 1858.

In 1856 a site was reserved for a mental asylum next to the river. By 1871 the Willsmere Hospital, also known as the Kew Lunatic Asylum, was completed. The Kew Cottages for children were added in 1887. The hospital was built despite objections by residents and the borough council and provides an historical example of NIMBYism. Kew Cottages and Willsmere Hospital are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

Various churches opened in the 1850s, with the first school opened by the Anglican Church in 1856. The first private schools were opened in 1878, being Ruyton Girls' School (non-denominational) and Xavier College (Catholic in Jesuit order), with other private schools soon following, including Methodist Ladies' College (Methodist) in 1882, Genazzano FCJ College in 1891, Trinity Grammar School (Anglican) in 1903, and Carey Baptist Grammar School (Baptist) in 1923. By 1990, Kew had six government campuses and twenty-eight non-government campuses, the highest concentration of education institutions in the Western world.

Kew was proclaimed a town on 8 December, 1910, and a city on 10 March, 1921. The population of the area tripled between 1910 and the World War II.

Transport

Tram

16 Kew - St Kilda Beach - Melbourne University (via City & St Kilda)
24 North Balwyn - City (via La Trobe Street)
27 City - Kew Tram Depot (via La Trobe Street)
42 Box Hill - City (Collins Street West)
47 Port Melbourne - Kew Tram Depot (Barkers Road)
48 North Balwyn (Doncaster Road / Balwyn Road) - City (Docklands)
72 Camberwell (Burke Road / Cotham Road) - Melbourne University
108 Box Hill - Southbank Tram Depot (Normanby Road)
109 Box Hill - Port Melbourne (via Collins Street)

Bus

200 City - Bulleen - Doncaster Shoppingtown
201 City - Warrandyte (via Doncaster Shoppingtown & Templestowe Village Shops)
202 East Kew - Box Hill Central Shopping Centre (via Belmore Road)
203 City - Doncaster Shoppingtown (via Kilby, Thompsons Road & Manningham Road)
205 Melbourne University - Doncaster Shoppingtown (via Kew Junction & Bulleen)
207 Donvale - Doncaster Shoppingtown - City (via Doncaster Road)
302 Box Hill - Kew East - City (via Belmore Road & Eastern Freeway)
313 Templestowe Shops - City (via High Street & Kilby Road)
315 Box Hill - City (via Eastern Freeway, Union Road & Greythorn Road)
548 Kew (Cotham Road) - La Trobe University Bundoora (including extension to Grange Boulevard)
609 Kew - Fairfield (via Royal Talbot Hospital)
624 Kew - Chadstone Shopping Centre - Holmesglen T.A.F.E. - Oakleigh
684 Melbourne - Marysville - Alexandra - Eildon
Nightrider Service: City - Croydon (including Lilydale loop extension)

References

Melbourne suburbs near Kew (City of Boroondara)
Fairfield	Ivanhoe	Kew East
Abbotsford	Kew	Balwyn
Richmond	Hawthorn	Hawthorn East

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