Aberfieldie and Essendon West
Sharing Essendon’s 3040 postcode, these two areas are seen as both part of Essendon yet with their own unique character and identity. The architectural styles begin with stunning Edwardians and Californian Bungalows near its eastern Waverley Street edge. Progressive modernization occurs heading west including post-war, Art-Deco and 60s/70s brick veneers.
Airport West
With the advent of the aviation industry in the early twentieth century, this farming area west of Essendon Airport (hence the name) began to thrive as an aeronautical industry hub adjacent to what was once Melbourne’s main airport. Subsequent residential development occurred mainly during the 1950s which is why the area has a distinctive post-war architectural flavour, with pockets around AJ Davis Reserve having a more contemporary feel.
Ascot Vale
Ascot Vale stretches from the Maribyrnong River in the west across to the Moonee Ponds Creek where along with Travancore it shares its eastern border with Parkville. Eternally popular and increasingly affluent, Ascot Vale has been transformed over the past decade or two into one of Melbourne’s most desirable inner-urban locales. Incredibly diverse, Ascot Vale homes appeal to a broad range of people.
Avondale Heights
Occupying the south-western tip of Moonee Valley, Avondale Heights shares many similarities with its northern neighbour – East Keilor. Its diversity of architecture and landscape closely mirrors that of East Keilor with a predominance of 1960s brick-veneer homes on sizeable flat blocks, plus more recently developed pockets such as the popular St Bernards Estate which comprises some of the largest residences in the entire area.
Brunswick West
Neatly positioned between the dynamic and bustling suburbs of Brunswick and Moonee Ponds, Brunswick West (or West Brunswick) offers a generally more relaxed lifestyle to its residents yet very close to the shopping and café districts of its more extroverted neighbours.
Essendon
Moonee Valley’s largest and generally most affluent suburb, Essendon spans a sizeable area bordering Brunswick West and Pascoe Vale South to the east, Moonee Ponds to the south, Niddrie to the west, and Strathmore to the north. With its combination of quality housing, excellent recreational facilities, leading education institutions, public transport and array of shopping options, Essendon is the preferred choice for many families and is only 7-10 kilometres from the CBD.
Essendon North
The smallest suburb in Moonee Valley, Essendon North is one of a group of suburbs sharing the 3041 postcode including Strathmore, Strathmore Heights and Essendon Fields / Essendon Airport. Most of the original homes in Essendon North range from Californian Bungalows built in the 1920s and 1930s through to post-war homes of the 1940s and early 1950s.
Flemington
Although the suburb of Flemington occupies a substantial area, more than half of this can be attributed to the world-famous racecourse and adjoining showgrounds precincts – complete with their own railway stations. The residential area of Flemington though is surprisingly compact with its main borders being Ascot Vale Road (west), Kent Road (north), Mt Alexander Road (east) and Racecourse Road (south) – not much more than a square kilometre.
Gowanbrae
Gowanbrae has become a most popular choice for those wanting a newer home in a newer area yet still close to the attractions that makes living around the Moonee Valley area so popular. Nestled between the Moonee Ponds Creek and Western Ring Road, Gowanbrae is accessed via Melrose Drive, Tullamarine – just north of Westfield Shopping Centre.
Keilor East
Although a much newer suburb than its neighbours in Moonee Valley, Keilor East (or East Keilor) is extremely diverse in both landscape and architectural style, including 1950s/60s weatherboards and brick-veneers around the Centreway area, huge 1970s/80s homes around Brees Road and Surrey Drive, ‘Pavilions” estate which was developed in the 1990s, to the contemporary abodes found in the new Valley Lakes estate.
Kensington
On the Melbourne landscape, few suburbs have gone through such a dramatic transformation in recent times as Kensington has. The sale yards re-development (Kensington Banks), the popularity of Macaulay Road shops and Bellair Street’s delightful boutique cafés makes Kensington a unique and highly desirable suburb – and only 3-4 kilometres from the CBD.
Maribyrnong
Although Maribyrnong is not actually a part of Moonee Valley, its architectural style, affordability and capitol growth are more influenced by the goings on in Moonee Valley than its own neighbouring suburbs in the City of Maribyrnong. Geographically, it borders Avondale Heights, Essendon West, Aberfeldie, Moonee Ponds and Ascot Vale – which it shares its postcode with.
Moonee Ponds
Often considered the cultural centre of Moonee Valley, the relatively small suburb of Moonee Ponds certainly has an incredible array of attractions to support its unending popularity. Quality period homes are found in virtually every street of Moonee Ponds generally ranging from late 19th century Victorians to early 1900s Federation / Edwardian homes and 1920s Californian Bungalows – offering a choice of compact single-fronts to expansive family homes.
Niddrie
Sharing its 3042 postcode with Airport West this relatively small suburb has strong links with its northern neighbour as well as Essendon to the east. But it also emits its own sense of style and character – the focal point of which is the dynamic Niddrie Shopping Centre with its vast array of cafés, restaurants and unique specialty shops.
North Melbourne
Along with suburbs like Carlton, Fitzroy, Collingwood and Richmond, North Melbourne offers a true city-edge lifestyle with all the benefits of living a kilometre or two from the heart of town. It also has its own epicentre of cultural activity around the vibrant Errol Street district with its choice of fine restaurants, cafés and boutique shops plus there are the exciting sights, smells and sounds of world-famous Queen Victoria Market.
Pascoe Vale South
Broad in size and architecturally diverse, Pascoe Vale South borders Coburg to the east and is considered a ‘northern’ suburb, yet with Essendon and Strathmore to the west, there are also very strong links to the ‘north-west’ suburbs of Moonee Valley. Pascoe Vale South has a number of outstanding residential pockets that give the area its unique flavour…
Strathmore / Strathmore Heights
With a strong combination of quality homes, great educational facilities and excellent transport options, Strathmore is now the most popular suburb for many of Moonee Valley’s young and growing families. Broad in size, it extends north from Woodland Street up to Mascoma Street and around the back of Essendon Airport (Strathmore Heights) virtually to the doorstep of Westfield Shopping Centre.
Travancore
The suburb of Travancore shares its 3032 postcode with Ascot Vale but was until quite recently a part of Flemington (3031). The history of this unique pocket goes back to the 1800s when Travancore House was built. It took its name from the former Indian state of Travancore.