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

Named after the Thornbury Park housing estate, which was named after a farm in the area, with the farm being named after another farm in England.

Bell

Named after Bell Street, which crosses the railway line to the north of the station. 
 
Bell station is being rebuilt. Yes!

 

A common trend with stations in the Preston and southern Reservoir areas was that the stations would be named Preston, followed by a nearby road. In this case, Bell was originally known as 'Preston - Bell Street', due to its proximity to the road.

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

Named after Regent Street, which crosses the railway line to the south of the station. 

Regent originally opened as 'Preston - Regent Street', for the same reasons as Bell and Preston.

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

Thomastown is named after the Thomas family, who were settlers in the area. The town part of the name likely references the area known as Westgarthtown, a village which has since become a historical landmark.

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

Whittlesea is most likely named after Whittlsey in England, with the reasoning being either because a surveyor lived in Whittlesey, or because aspects of the Victorian town reminded surveyors of the English town. Whittlesey is believed to have come from the personal name 'Wittel', as well as from an old english word for island.

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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