Footscray, Victoria
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:FootscrayRoad.jpg Footscray is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. Central Footscray is characterised by a very diverse, multicultural central shopping area, which reflects the successive waves of immigration experienced by Melbourne, and by Footscray in particular. The suburb is named after the English village of Foots Cray.
Contents |
People
The inner western suburbs of Melbourne have traditionally been undesirable as residential areas due to the presence of heavy industry nearby. However, the affordability of housing and availability of employment opportunities in these areas have made them attractive to migrants for many years. Greek and Italian migrants arrived in the 1950s and 1960s, followed by Vietnamese in the 1970s and 1980s. Footscray remains a magnet for migrants, most recently for migrants from North and West Africa such as Sudan, Algeria, Morocco and Ethiopia, but there has been rapid gentrification as younger people seek affordable period housing close to the Melbourne Central Business District.
The mall area and surrounding streets still have a poor reputation as a site of drug deals, particularly heroin. However, the drug trade has declined in the past several years.
The Footscray Market is one of the cheapest fresh produce (particularly seafood) markets in Melbourne, catering particularly to the various ethnicities and local restaurants. Restaurants are generally Vietnamese/Chinese, however there are several East African cafe restaurants, some Indian restaurants and a pub that serves modern Australian food.
Culture
The movie Romper Stomper was filmed in and about Footscray. It deals with a fictional gang of neo-Nazi skinheads and their battle against Vietnamese gangs. (Not all scenes were filmed locally: the "Footscray railway station" featured in the movie has a pedestrian underpass, while the real station has an overpass for foot traffic).
Sport
Footscray is home of the Western Bulldogs, an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League. The team was known as the Footscray Football Club until 1997, and played its home games at the Whitten Oval on Barkly Street, which is now used only as the club's training ground.
Flemington Racecourse, the home of the Melbourne Cup, is across the Maribyrnong River to the northeast, immediately opposite Footscray Park, the second largest botanical garden in Victoria.
The Footscray Cricket Club was founded in 1883 and for the first 113 years of its existence was also situated at the Western Oval (now Whitten Oval) until 1996 when combined pressure exerted by the Footscray Football Club and state-government-appointed commissioners to the City of Maribyrnong saw the club relocated to the Mervyn G. Hughes Oval in Farnsworth Avenue.
Until the Test cricket debut of the Melbourne Cricket Club's Brad Hodge in December 2005, the Footscray Cricket Club had produced the most Test players of any Melbourne based district cricket club.
Footscray's Test representatives in order of debut are Ron Gaunt, Les Joslin, Ken Eastwood, Alan Hurst, Ray Bright, Merv Hughes, Tony Dodemaide and Colin Miller.
The Footscray Cricket Club won its only District First Eleven premiership under the captaincy of Lindsay James in 1979/80.
Industry
Lonely Planet Publications' offices are located in eastern Footscray on the banks of the Maribyrnong River.
The eastern portion of Footscray, in the fork between the Yarra River and Maribyrnong River, contains railway yards, the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market, and Appleton and Swanson Docks which were the site of the 1998 Australian waterfront dispute in Melbourne. In 2005, the State Government announced the closure of the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market to make way for an extensive redevelopment of the Port of Melbourne and the construction of new freight rail links to the area.
While many factories and warehouses are still to be found in and around the suburb of Footscray, many former industrial sites are being transformed into modern housing estates. Perhaps the largest of these is the former Footscray Ammunition Factory on Gordon Street in a prime elevated position overlooking the banks of the Maribyrnong River with views across to Flemington Racecourse and the Melbourne CBD.
Identities
There are many well known Melbourne identities who have always proudly associated themsleves with the suburb of Footscray, often displaying their humble origins as a badge of honour. Former footballer and TV personality, Ted Whitten (also known universally as "Mr Football") is perhaps prime among them, although it has to be said that he was in fact recruited from nearby Braybrook.
Ernie Sigley is another former TV presenter and radio compere who associated strongly with Footscray and Maidstone. Other personalities include Merv Hughes (former cricketer), cartoonist Michael Leunig, Ray Borner (former basketballer) and the comedian Russell Gilbert.
A local furniture store owner (and TV personality of sorts), Franco Cozzo, an immigrant from Italy was well known for his TV commercials in which he mispronounced Footscray (adding an additional syllable between "foot" and "scray"). Unfortunately, this had such an all pervasive influence that to this day people immediately recall this incorrect pronunciation, wittingly or otherwise.
References
See also
- Romper Stomper, an Australian film set in Footscray