It was designed as a grand town, fit for ‘‘good money’’, but suddenly became the suburb nobody wanted.
The rich story of St Albans has been put on paper in Frontier Suburb: A Short History of St Albans by writer and documentary-maker Jeff Maynard.
The book, to be launched today, reveals the suburb came alive only through a sudden influx of post-war migrants.
“Until World War II, most people avoided the area,’’ Mr Maynard said.
‘‘Sunshine, Albion and Keilor all grew and developed as suburbs, but St Albans stagnated until the influx of migrants after the war.
‘‘As late as 1950, it had a population of less than 1000 people.’’
Mr Maynard said St Albans was designed to be a place full of ‘‘gentlemen’s residences’’ in the 1870s. But the Melbourne land crash of the 1890s sent developers broke.
‘‘It reverted to farmland, and not very good farmland at that,” Mr Maynard said. “It was struggling to get going again in the 1920s when factories were expanding in Sunshine and Albion, but the Great Depression brought that development to a halt as well. Today, it’s a vibrant, multicultural suburb that’s constantly changing and facing new challenges.”
The book, which has been in the works for a year, was funded by a St Albans Community Centre grant.
Frontier Suburb: A Short History of St Albans will be launched at the Tin Shed, in Main Road East, from 11am.
» Tin Shed: 9366 4302
