FAIRFIELD, WHERE I LIVE

Fairfield is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area are the cities of Darebin and Yarra. At the 2011 Census, Fairfield had a population of 5,946. Its borders are Grange Road to the east, Heidelberg Road to the south, Darebin Road to the north and borders Northcote to the west. Yarra Bend is a locality in Fairfield.

Fairfield Post Office opened on 21 February 1887. It has since relocated. In 1962, Fairfield was part of the City of Heidelberg. In that year, Fairfield and Alphington became part of the City of Northcote, which, in 1994 became part of the City of Darebin. Fairfield is serviced by the Fairfield railway station, which is on the Hurstbridge line. Adjacent to the railway station, facing north-east, is the Fairfield Industrial Dog Object, a 6m tall animatronic wooden dog sculpture. The Melbourne 246, 250, 508, 510, 546, 567, and 609 bus routes operate around the area. Fairfield is predominantly residential, with a small north-eastern pocket remaining a light industrial area. It also features a three-storey hotel, the Grandview Hotel, completed in 1888. License was granted by the Licensing Court on 15 August 1888.

The Station St shopping district currently has 89 businesses operating within it, with 23 cafes/bars/restaurants and 17 food and wine specialists. This strongly reflects the gentrification of the suburb and the shift towards upper-middle class residents. Fairfield has still maintained a multicultural and diverse atmosphere throughout this period, with 20% of Fairfield residents being from non-English speaking backgrounds. Fairfield has significant Greek and Italian communities, with 10.9% and 10.5% of residents being of those ancestries respectively. There are also strong numbers of Chinese, Dutch, German and Indian residents in the suburb.

I like living in this suburb as it is conveniently located to the centre of the City, it is well-supplied with public transport, is fairly quiet (although there is much new building and redevelopment going on presently) and also there are ample parks and parklands and nature reserves all around it.

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.