Windsor, Victoria

Windsor is an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Port Phillip and Stonnington local government areas. At the 2016 Census Windsor had a population of 7,281.[1]

Windsor
Melbourne, Victoria
Tram on Chapel Street stopping at Windsor railway station
Windsor
Coordinates37.854°S 144.988°E / -37.854; 144.988
Population7,281 (2016)[1]
 • Density7,000/km2 (19,000/sq mi)
Established1860s
Postcode(s)3181
Area1 km2 (0.4 sq mi)
Location7 km (4 mi) from Melbourne
LGA(s)
State electorate(s)Prahran
Federal Division(s)Macnamara
Suburbs around Windsor:
South Yarra Prahran Prahran
Albert Park Windsor Prahran
St Kilda St Kilda East St Kilda East

Windsor is bounded by Dandenong Road, St Kilda Road, Williams Road and High Street.

History

Known at first as Prahran South, the suburb's name was changed to Windsor in 1891, after Windsor, Berkshire.[2] It is often incorrectly referred to as Prahran, Windsor's northern neighbour. In the past, Windsor was within the City of Prahran's boundaries and many institutions still refer to this.

A Windsor Post Office opened in 1856, but was renamed St Kilda in 1858. The Windsor Post Office in the area opened in 1886.[3]

Today

Although Stonnington's smallest suburb, Windsor has its own bank, supermarket and historic pubs, along with a growing number of independent clothing stores, restaurants, bars, lounges and cafés.

Windsor contains a diverse mix of housing, including medium density apartments, Victorian terrace housing and a high-rise public housing tower.

The Prahran campus of Swinburne University used to be located just south of High Street in Windsor, but this is now Melbourne Polytechnic – Prahran Campus, although it is actually in Windsor. The National Institute of Circus Arts is in Green Street, Windsor.

The painkiller Aspro was invented by the chemist George Nicholas in Windsor.[4] Nuttelex margarine was also manufactured in Windsor for many years but production shifted in the last few years to Knoxfield.

Melbourne's famous Chapel Street shopping strip bisects Windsor, and the Windsor end is seen as being the more bohemian, less expensive end of the street, although as development continues, the Windsor end of Chapel Street is becoming highly sought-after real estate, with many of the smaller retro-type clothing and vintage stores making way for new venues and some chain restaurants.

Landmarks

The suburb has many landmarks, including the historic Presentation Convent (now a secondary school), the Windsor Primary School, old post office, Telstra exchange tower and a campus of Swinburne University. In recent times, the large Empire Cinemas, converted into a nightclub, was gutted by fire before eventually being demolished and replaced by high-rise apartments, also named the Empire.

The remains of one side of Punt Road at the Windsor end contains one of Windsor's lesser shopping strips, called Little Windsor on Punt.

The suburb also features new design, including the award-winning Windsor Fire station, by architects Edmund and Corrigan. In Raleigh Street are the K2 apartments, a Sustainable architecture built in 2006, to the design of Hansen Yuncken and features passive solar design, recycled and sustainable materials, photovoltaic cells, wastewater treatment, rainwater collection and solar hot water.

There are many remaining hotels in the suburb, including the popular Windsor Castle and Pint on Punt.

The new Prahran High School has been built on part of the grounds of what is now Melbourne Polytechnic. The new High School is a vertical school consisting of 4 levels with a gymnasium on the top floor. The school will open its doors in 2019 and receive its first intake of grade 7 students.

Transport

Windsor is serviced by a number of trams along Dandenong Road, High Street and Chapel Street (routes 5,6,64 and 78) with Metro Trains Melbourne's Sandringham railway line takes commuters from Windsor Station to the CBD in 10 minutes. The 216 and 219 buses operate along Williams Road.

Punt Road is one of the main bus thoroughfares in Melbourne with its route 246 passing through the western side of the suburb.

Notable people

See also
  • City of Prahran – Windsor was previously within this former local government area.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Windsor (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  2. "Windsor (Registered)". VICNAMES. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  3. Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 11 April 2008
  4. Slough Museum: Aspro History
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.