VIEW FROM RUCKER'S HILL, NORTHCOTE

Northcote is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the City of Darebin. At the 2011 Census, Northcote had a population of 22,920. The suburb grew around the area further north of present-day Westgarth which saw settlement and development, particularly around the mansion built by William Rucker on Bayview Street in 1842 (the area now known as Ruckers Hill).

Large, expensive houses were built throughout the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s. Lower Plenty Road (or High Street as it is known today) became the central street of Northcote, instead of Westgarth Street as initially proposed. A bridge was built across the Merri Creek in 1858, making access to the area more convenient. Throughout the 1850s, churches, schools, and hotels were built. The working class populated Northcote in the early 20th century as factories and industries developed there.

Northcote today owes much to its traditional working class origins. Throughout the 1950s the area became home to a large number of Italian and Greek migrants. By the 1980s, gentrification of Fitzroy and Fitzroy North had pushed some of the artistic and activist communities north into Northcote. Gentrification of Northcote has begun in earnest now, pushing the artistic set into small enclaves.

The view from Rucker's Hill at night allows one to enjoy the city skyline as well as a number of historic homes.

This post is part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme.