Population 3,164 (2011 census) LGA(s) City of Brimbank Kealba Keilor East Postal code 3021 | Postcode(s) 3021 State electorate(s) St Albans Area 240 ha Federal division Division of Maribyrnong | |
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Location 16 km (10 mi) from Melbourne | ||
Kealba is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the City of Brimbank. At the 2011 Census, Kealba had a population of 3,164.
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Map of Kealba VIC 3021, Australia
The name of the suburb is derived from the letters of two of its neighbouring suburbs, namely Keilor and St Albans.
History
The land was part of the Overnewton Estate owned by William Taylor, who had Overnewton Castle built on the Calder Highway. After the Government demanded the release of land by large land owners two large farm allotments were sold to Farquhar Macrae and his bride Annie (née Ritchie). After Farquhar and Annie's death the land contained in the suburb of Kealba was owned by their son Malcolm Ritchie Macrae. The farm was used to grow oats and for the breeding of horses, cows and sheep.
During the 1960s the land was sold for subdivisional purposes, the first land auction taking place on 22 March 1969. During this time the area came under the St. Albans postal district. Over the following years all the land was subdivided, a secondary college named Kealba established as well as a few light industrial areas. Under the Survey Co-Ordination Act 1958 the City of Keilor applied to a name changed from St Albans East to the name of Kealba. The location was named as being - that portion of the City bounded by St Albans Road, Taylors Creek, the Maribyrnong River, McIntyre Road, Main Road East and Sunshine Avenue. In the 1990s without any consultations with the residents, the Council renamed the area bounded by Main Road East, Cowper Avenue, Errington Road and Sunshine Avenue as St Albans. Today the area is still known to many as Kealba, or by its original name Kealba Views.
Transport
Bus route 421 runs through the area. This route travels via Driscolls Road and Stenson Road every 40 minutes. It departs from the terminus at the St Albans railway station and runs via Alfrieda Street, Biggs Street, Stenson Road and Driscolls Road, before continuing on towards Watergardens railway station.