Station Names on Melbourne's Mernda Line
You know the drill, I write these posts and you read them, let us not mess around and head right in.
What will be covered?
This particular article will cover Jolimont and Mernda, and every single station in between. I will also be covering Yan Yean and Whittlesea stations, since Whittlesea was the original terminus of the line to Mernda. That is twenty-six stations all up! Enjoy!
Jolimont
Tiny Jolimont is an area of Melbourne that is French for 'pretty hill'. The name was most likely inspired by Charles Latrobe's wife, who was Swiss-french.
West Richmond
Located in the western part of Richmond, and also appears to be the name of a locality that is located near the station. The origin of the Richmond name will be explained in a later post.
North Richmond
The northernmost of Richmond's four stations, with the North Richmond name also being used to describe the part of Richmond close to Victoria Street.
Collingwood
Collingwood is named after the Collingwood Town Hall, to the west of the station. The station is not located in Collingwood, being located in the suburb of Abbotsford instead. The suburb itself is named after Lord Cuthbert Collingwood, an admiral who fought in the 1805 battle of Trafalgar.
Notice how Collingwood Station is not within Collingwood's suburb boundaries. |
Collingwood station was originally known as 'Collingwood Town Hall', for the reasons outlined above.
Victoria Park
Named after nearby Victoria Park footy field, located east of the railway station.
Victoria Park's name prior to 1901 was 'Collingwood', a strange name nowadays considering that the station is now located in the suburb of Abottsford!
Clifton Hill
Clifton Hill's name originates from a property called 'Clifton Farm', as well as the fact that the area was located on elevated land. Clifton is a name that simply means 'a settlement by a cliff' in Old English.
Rushall
Named after Rushall Crescent, a road that runs to the west of the station.
Merri
Named after the Merri Creek, which crosses the line south of the station. Merri is believed to be an aboriginal word for 'stony'.
Merri seems to have opened as 'Northcote', representing the station's suburb. Speaking of Northcote...
Northcote
It is believed that the name Northcote was given by Andrew Clarke to honour barrister and authour Stafford Henry Northcote.
The original name of Northcote station was originally 'Middle Northcote', referencing the station being in between two other stations in the Northcote area.
Croxton
Croxton station is named after Croxton Park, a sports ground that closed in the 1910s. The grounds included a horsing racecourse for a brief amount of time. The park was located to the north-east of the railway station. The name Croxton Park seems to come from a racecourse in England, similar to Sandown Park, and the old Ascot Racecourse.
Croxton Park Hotel represents the location of the old Croxton Park sporting ground. |
Thornbury
Bell
Preston
Preston's name was likely inspired by that of Preston in Sussex. Preston is an Old English word meaning 'Priest's town', although it could also mean 'village with a priest'.
Preston originally opened as 'Preston - Murray Road', reflecting the station being located south of Murray Road.
Regent
1905 article by The Age talking about the changing of station names, which includes the stations in Preston. |
Reservoir
Reservoir is named after three reservoirs that were built to remove sediment from water that had come from Yan Yean reservoir.
The name of Reservoir station prior to 1905 was 'Preston - Reservoir', reflecting the stations location being near the Reservoir's and being close to Preston.
Ruthven
Ruthven station is named after William Ruthven, a solidier and Labor politician. His name shows up in the Reservoir and Thomastown area's alot, with a secondary college also being named after him.
Keon Park
Keon Park is most likely inspired by the name of a property in the area.
Prior to 1972, Keon Park was written as one word.
Thomastown
Lalor
Lalor is named after the Peter Lalor Home Building Cooperative Society, which built houses to the east of the railway line. Of course, the society would take its name from Peter Lalor, a well-known member of the Eureka Rebellion.
Lalor was originally the location of Rail Motor Stopping Place 77, which was essentially a station that was a request and had less facilities.
Epping
Seemingly inspired by a district called Epping Forest in England, the name Epping appears to be of Anglo-Saxon origin, with 'Ep' meaning 'up' and 'ing' meaning 'cultivated land'.
South Morang
The name comes from an old name given to Mernda, which was Morang. Morang was an aboriginal word for sky.
Contrary to popular belief, South Morang station is in fact located in the suburb of South Morang, with many people falsely believing that the station is located in Mill Park.
Middle Gorge
Named after a park located on Kurruk Road. This name has generated controversy because some residents believing that it is a poor representation of the area, as the park is located over two kilometers away from the station.
The name of Middle Gorge was trashed for its poor representation of the area and its fantasy name. |
Middle Gorge's working title prior to its opening was 'Marymede', named after nearby Marymede Catholic College. The name could not be used due to a policy not allowing train stations to be named after educational institutions.
Hawkstowe
This station is named after Hawkstowe Parade, which is located to the south of the station. Hawkstowe was the name given to a farm in the area.
Mernda
The name was thought to have come from an aboriginal word meaning 'earth'.
Yan Yean
Yan Yean is believed to be an aboriginal word meaning 'unmarried' or 'bachelor'.
Whittlesea
Conclusion
That is all for this week! Thanks for tuning in! Make sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter, and share this post on Pinterest, Twitter, by hand, whatever, just share it!
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