Braybrook, Victoria

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Braybrook
city = Melbourne
state = vic


caption = Hughes Street, Braybrook
lga = City of Maribyrnong
postcode = 3019
pop = 6940 (2006)Census 2006 AUS | id = SSC21103 | name = Braybrook (State Suburb) | accessdate = 2007-09-29 | quick = on]
area = 4.3
est =
propval = $235,000 [ [http://www.domain.com.au/public/suburbprofile.aspx?suburb=Braybrook&postcode=3019 Braybrook] , accessed 9 August 2007]
stategov = Footscray
fedgov = Gellibrand
dist1 = 11
location1= Melbourne
dist2 =
location2=
near-nw = Sunshine North
near-n = Avondale Heights
near-ne = Maribyrnong
near-w = Sunshine
near-e = Maidstone
near-sw = Brooklyn
near-s = Tottenham
near-se = West Footscray

Braybrook is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. Approximately mid-way between the former councils of Footscray and Sunshine, located in the heart of the western suburbs (before the more recent urban sprawl), due west from the Melbourne CBD along Ballarat Road, unsurprisingly it has been an industrial suburb for most of its existence, although now, Braybrook is starting to resemble a bedroom community, due to a recent expansion of the western suburbs of Melbourne, which are far less populated than the east. Historically this is due to stigma, but the western suburbs are expanding now due to location and rising fuel prices. Some gentrification has occurred in the past decade, with many former factory sites developed for modern housing projects (townhouses and the like), but traces of its industrial past are still evident.

People

As the main campus of WELS (Western English Language Centre), is located on South Road in Braybrook, many refugees and immigrants mainly from East Africa and Vietnam have settled in and around Braybrook. About a third of the residents were born overseas.

Education

Braybrook is home to a number of schools. These are:

* Dinjerra Primary School, located on South Road.
* Braybrook Primary School, located on Ballarat Road. Slated for closure and amalgamation with 2 other area schools (Sunshine East Primary, Sunvale Primary) at the end of 2007. The buildings will be demolished and the nearby Rosamond School will be relocated onto the site, along with new buildings and facilities.
* Braybrook College, a public secondary school, located on Ballarat Road.
* Caroline Chisholm Catholic College, located on Churchill Avenue.

Braybrook is also the home to the main campus of WELS (Western English Language School), located on South Road.

Transportation

Six bus routes that go through Braybrook. These are the 215, 216, 219, 220, 408 and the 410 which are operated by Melbourne Bus Link and Westrans. The area is served by rail by nearby Tottenham and Sunshine Train Stations, though neither station is actually located in Braybrook.

Community Infrastructure

Community Centre

The Braybrook Community Centre is located 107-139 Churchill Avenue, Braybrook. The centre offers children's facilities, crafts, English as a Second Language (ESL), occasional care, computer and Internet facilities, playgroups, health and well-being classes and financial counselling. It also offers rooms and halls for hire. There is also a large community garden, featuring sculptures and strawbale/mudbrick buildings. The Western Region Community Health Centre is housed within the centre and offers physiotherapy, podiatry, social work, occupational therapists, general practitioners, speech pathology for children, pharmaceutical program and a women's and children's health nurse. The Braybrook Tool Lending Library is a not-for-profit community service managed by volunteers, also located within the centre. Woodwork facilities can be hired for classes & activities.

Other Community Facilities

The Community Hub at 19 Hargreaves Crescent, Braybrook is a base for the Neighbourhood Renewal team and the Braybrook and Maidstone Neighbourhood Association to collaborate with local residents to bring about change. Local residents are welcome to visit and learn more about Neighbourhood Renewal and the Association. The Hub will be home to the Braidstone Bulletin — a local community newsletter, and will have small meeting rooms available for local groups.

Commerce

There is a local shopping centre called Central West Plaza located on the corners of Ashley Street and South Road, on the border to West Footscray. It was built on the grounds of a former RAAF base, consequently, the shopping centre has a general aviation theme, complete with a WW2 fighter on display on the Ashley Street entrance, where it was moved from the office complex development adjacent in 2003. There is another major shopping centre on the corner of Ashley St and Ballarat Road, "Braybrook Plaza." Most retail businesses in the area, however, are still located in strip malls, which are common, but almost always run down, and small, and individual shops on Ballarat Rd. The strip malls can be found on South Rd, Churchill Ave, Ballarat Rd, and in most neighboring suburbs. The Braybrook section of Ballarat Rd is also littered with a large number of fast food restaurants.

See also

* City of Sunshine - the former local government area of which Braybrook was a part.

External links

* [http://www.maribyrnong.vic.gov.au/Page/page.asp?Page_Id=91&h=0 Braybrook Suburb Profile]
* [http://hnb.dhs.vic.gov.au/ooh/ne5ninte.nsf/childdocs/-70B3CD9CD87687F2CA25711B001AA48F-9C20D2827A235BF2CA257126000F2C8A-4B1AD58E52ACBB84CA257156001EA0F9-BF49FDC123A175C9CA25715C00094A5F?open Braybrook Photo Gallery]

References

External links