Canterbury, Victoria

Canterbury Melbourne, Victoria
Maling Road, Canterbury
Canterbury Location in metropolitan Melbourne
Coordinates	37.825°S 145.078°E / -37.825; 145.078
Population	8,056 (2016)
• Density	2,700/km2 (7,000/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	3126
Area	3 km2 (1.2 sq mi)
Location	10 km (6 mi) from Melbourne
LGA(s)	City of Boroondara
State electorate(s)	Box Hill Burwood Hawthorn Kew
Federal division(s)	Kooyong
Suburbs around Canterbury: Kew East Balwyn Balwyn Hawthorn East Canterbury Surrey Hills Camberwell Camberwell Surrey Hills

Canterbury is an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km from Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2016 Census, Canterbury had a population of 8,056. Famed for its leafy green boulevards and substantial, opulent historic residences, Canterbury is one of 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.

Canterbury is the home to many of Victoria's oldest and most prestigious private schools, including Camberwell Grammar School, Camberwell Girls Grammar School and Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School. Other schools include Camberwell High School, Canterbury Girls' Secondary College 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. It is also serviced by tram routes 72 and 109.

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.

Former Canterbury Post Office

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 lined with oak trees. Over time it has gained much cachet in Australian society, famed for its wealthy and sometimes eccentric residents.

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 8,056 people in Canterbury. 67.2% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were China 7.9%, England 3.7%, Malaysia 1.7%, New Zealand 1.6% and India 1.3%. 73.4% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 9.9%, Cantonese 2.4% and Italian 1.3%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 37.7%, Catholic 20.1% and Anglican 12.8%.

Culture

Monomeath Avenue

Victoria Avenue

Canterbury is regarded as one of Melbourne's most exclusive suburbs, particularly the "Golden Mile" – a term referring to a part of Mont Albert Road, running west from Balwyn Road and the avenues that connect it to Canterbury Road, specifically Monomeath Avenue, which is lined by large, 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 three suburbs for average house prices in Melbourne.

Residential home in Canterbury

Notable residents

Past and present residents of Monomeath Avenue includes or have included:

• Philip Barnes – former City of Kew Councillor and Chairperson of Disability Justice Australia
• Sir Macfarlane Burnet OM, AK, KBE, FRS, FAA, FRSNZ – virologist best known for his contributions to immunology. He won a Nobel Prize in 1960 for predicting acquired immune tolerance and was best known for developing the theory of clonal selection. He was the first ever Australian of the Year and the Burnet Institute is named in his honour
• Frank Cicutto – former CEO of National Australia Bank
• Mark Eddy – Australian GT Champion and Grand Prix driver
• Sir Rupert Hamer – former Premier of Victoria
• Thomas Watson Haynes – manager and director for multiple Australian companies in the early 1900s
• Russell Jones – former CEO and managing director of Amcor
• Kylie and Dannii Minogue's family
• Andrew Peacock – former federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia
• Anthony Podesta – founder and CEO of McMillan Shakespeare
• Craig Saddler – Chairman of Boeing Australia
• Tom Schieffer – former US Ambassador to Australia, and to Japan
• Stan Wallis – former chairman of Coles Myer and AMP Limited
• Philip Webb – former President of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria
• Leonard William Weickhardt CBE – former Chancellor of the University of Melbourne
• Xianwen Xu – Chinese property developer who set Canterbury's house price record when he bought Anthony Podesta's mansion for A$9 million in May 2008

Sport

The suburb has an Australian rules football team called the Canterbury Cobras, who compete in the Yarra Junior Football League.

Schools

Camberwell High School, a secondary school in Canterbury

Canterbury has a number of primary and secondary schools in its vicinity. These include Canterbury Primary School, Camberwell High School, Strathcona Baptist Girls' Grammar School, and Canterbury Girls' Secondary College.

Places of worship

• Canterbury Christadelphians
• Canterbury Presbyterian Church
• Canterbury Baptist Church

See also

• City of Camberwell – the former local government area of which Canterbury was a part

External links

• Australian Places – Canterbury