Station Names on Melbourne's Upfield Line
And now we return to the names of Melbourne's train stations. For this part, the Upfield Line will be covered! Now let us cover the thirteen open and one closed station on this line!
Macaulay
Macaulay is named after nearby Macaulay Road, which runs just south of the station.
Flemington Bridge
An odd name, Flemington Bridge is named after the bridge that carries Mount Alexander Road over the Moonee Ponds Creek. The name of Flemington is something that I have already covered in an earlier blog post, which you can find here.
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| Flemington Bridge's name has nothing to do with this bridge over Flemington Road |
Flemington Bridge originally opened as juat 'Flemington'.
Royal Park
Royal Park Station is smack bang in the middle of Royal Park. The name seems to have been inspired by the Royal Parks of London, which are named as such due to being owned by members of the Royal Family.
Jewell
This station is named after James Jewell, an MP serving the Brunswick Electorate from 1910 to 1949. He was also a Butcher, a Councillor, and even Mayor of Brunswick!
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| Des Bicknall of Strathmore suggests the renaming of North Essendon (Strathmore) station in 1954. They note that South Brunswick had recently changed its name to Jewell. |
Jewell Station, prior to 1954, was known as 'South Brunswick', a name that reflects Jewell being the southernmost of Brunswick's three railway stations.
Brunswick
Brunswick was named after an estate called 'Brunswick Park', which was named after either Princess Caroline of Brunswick (wife of King George IV), or after the royal house of Brunswick. Brunswick is the English name of a town in Germany, which is known as Braunschweig in German. Part of the name comes from an old Saxon word meaning 'dwelling place', as well as from Bruno, a Germanic name.
Anstey
Much like nearby Jewell, Anstey is also named after a politician, this time, Frank Anstey in this case, a man who supported the creation of the Commonwealth Bank, and was a member of the House of Representatives.
Anstey was known as 'North Brunswick' prior to 1954, reflecting the stations location.
Moreland
Named after Moreland Road, the road that crosses the rail line south of the station. Moreland comes partially from the word 'moor'.
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| Hey! Moreland Station being rebuilt! |
Coburg
Coburg is named after the royal house of Saxe-Coburg. The reason for this was to honour the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh. Supposedly, the name Coburg comes from a corruption of 'cow borough'
Batman
It is a well-known fact that this station is named after the superhero of the same name, as well as after the town of Batman in Turkey.
I am kidding, Batman station is actually named after Batman Avenue, a street located immediately south-east of the station. That street is named after the superhero.
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| Credit: Shutterstock |
I have deceived you again, Batman Avenue is named after "founder" of Melbourne, John Batman.
The station originally opened as 'Bell Park' in 1889. Bell Park was a housing estate in the Coburg area.
Merlynston
Named after Merlynston Creek, a waterway that runs west of the station, as well as after a nearby housing estate. Merlynston comes from the name 'Merlyn', the daughter of a landowner.
When the station first opened in 1889, it was known as 'North Coburg', referencing the suburb the station is located in.
Fawkner
Named after Fawkner Cemetery, which the station is located right in the middle of. It is NOT named after the suburb, since the station is located in Hadfield.
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| FAWKNER station in HADFIELD. |
The name Fawkner comes from John Pascoe Fawkner, someone you might remember from an earlier blog I made, check that out for some more information on this guy.
Fawkner was briefly known as 'Fawkner Cemetery' from 1906 up until 1914, because of its location.
Gowrie
Gowrie is named after the Gowrie Park estate. Information is very sparse on this area. Gowrie is also the name of an area in Scotland.
Gowrie is located on the site of Rail Motor Stopping Place 21, which is essentially a request stop.
Campbellfield (closed)
Campbellfield was named after various settlers with the last name of Campbell owning land in the area.
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| For whatever reason, Campbellfield station is listed in the 1966 Melways, despite not being open. |
Campbellfield closed in 1956, primarily because the new Upfield Station was considered to be more accessible.
Upfield
Upfield is the name of a locality located south-east of the railway station. Not much is known about the reasoning for the name, although the likely answer may have something to with the station and housing estate being located in the northern part of Campbellfield.
Upfield, prior to its closure in 1956, was known as 'North Campbellfield' reflecting the station's location.
I loved reading this series! It was great to get a deep dive into the names of suburbs as well as the attached stations. Quick trivia about Coburg: the suburb itself was originally called Pentridge, after the notorious prison in the area, but you can see why the locals weren't too happy about that and pleaded for a name change! Fortunately the railway came to the north well after that was all settled!
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