Aspendale

Aspendale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 27 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district.

Aspendale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 27 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the City of Kingston. At the 2016 census, Aspendale had a population of 6,940.

Aspendale was occupied by Indigenous Australians for many thousands of years before European settlement. Europeans began farming the area in the 19th century and displaced local inhabitants. When European appropriation began, the land was occupied by the Bunurong people. The geography of the area at the start of European settlement consisted of large sand dune complexes on the coast, and wetland areas inland. The area is flat and low-lying, reaching above sea level by only a few metres.

The geography and ecology of the area has undergone radical changes as a result of European settlement. Much of the wetland area was drained during the second half of the 19th century, with the largest remnants now protected in the Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands Ramsar site, part of which lies in Aspendale.Likewise, only modest remnants of the sand dunes exist today near the beach. The beach is a depositary, sandy beach, and the waters remain shallow a long way out. Although no wetland areas remain in Aspendale itself, significant wetland areas have been preserved in the adjacent suburbs of Edithvale and Aspendale Gardens and these areas provide a good indication of what Aspendale once would have looked like. Migratory bird species from all over the world visit these areas.

Aspendale was home to Aspendale Park Racecourse, a horse racing and motor racing track. The suburb's name comes from Aspen, a successful racehorse. Aspendale train station was built primarily to cater towards the racing crowd in the late part of the 19th century. The racecourse closed in the late 1940s, and nothing remains of it.

Although there are a few older houses nearer the beach, it was in the 1950s, 60s and 70s that Aspendale was extensively subdivided for residential purposes. Today, it is almost entirely residential in character. Houses are typically detached and made of brick. Blocks of land from this era are usuallyless than aquarter of an acre in size.

Many of the street names acknowledge the area's coastal and nautical heritage; e.g. 'Foam', 'Longbeach', 'Dolphin', 'Captain', 'Gale' and 'Anchor'. Other street names are Aboriginal, e.g. 'Yallambee,' 'Iluka,' 'Tarlee,' 'Nirringa' and 'Cooinda.' Other streets were named after racehorses, e.g. 'Marabou,' 'Lincoln' and 'Gothic.'

Aspendale Life Saving Club has a long proud history beginning in 1926 and is currently being rebuilt courtesy of state funding.Aspendale Post Office opened on 16 December 1908.Aspendale railway station opened in April 1891 as Aspendale Park Race-Course, and was renamed Aspendale in 1905.During the late 1950s the Catholic population of Aspendale sought to celebrate Mass locally, initially at Martin’s Dance Hall opposite Aspendale Station. When the hall was sold, Mass was celebrated in the old Scout Hall at Regents Park. In 1961 the current Catholic school and church site was purchased, with the school opening in 1965.