Melbourne’s original suburb is trapped in time by a river

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Kew is now 10 times larger than when it was described as a “prettily-situated township” in 1875, but much of it remains unchanged.

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.It was one of Melbourne’s original “suburbs”. Back in 1875, when Kew had a population of just 2429, thedescribed it as a “prettily-situated township, suburban to Melbourne, about 4½ miles east”.

Kew was – and still is – defined by its relationship with the Yarra River. It is wrapped by a lazy fold of the waterway, occupying the lofty side on the eastern bank. The name of Kew’s local government area, Boroondara, comes from the Woi-wurrung language, meaning “where the ground is thickly shaded”. Take a stroll along the river and you can see why.

This has been both a blessing and a curse. At one point, such a train line did exist. Opened in 1887, it ran between Hawthorn and Kew, but it was closed in 1952 because of dwindling patronage and a problematically steep alignment.on December 20, 1887: “The gradients are distressing and the curves so sharp that the drivers were unable to see the semaphore arms until tell-tale arms were erected close to the ground.

The area is also more tightly packed with fancy private schools – including Xavier, Trinity, MLC, Carey, Ruyton and Genazzano – than just about any part of Australia. There was also the Kew Lunatic Asylum , which operated from 1871 to 1988. The asylum, a grand building constructed in the Italianate style to accommodate the “lunatics” and “inebriates” in the colony of Victoria, had a troubled history over its 117 years of operation, facing several inquiries, including a royal commission.

The overlaying federal seat of Kooyong, which also covers Hawthorn, Balwyn and Camberwell, voted 60 per cent in favour of an Indigenous voice to parliament during last year’s referendum. Some booths in Kew recorded votes as high as 67 per cent.

 

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