Children S Services

Children’s services There are a number of services in the area for infants and children. Among these services is Maternal Child and Health which is delivered at the Walker Close Community Centre, in Millers Road.\ Altona North and Brooklyn also has two childcare centres. The Altona North Childcare Centre in Fifth Avenue is a Council owned and operated facility. In addition to a private centre (ABC Childcare) operates in Misten Street.

In addition, there are four kindergartens in the area. The Altona North Early Childhood Centre in Ronald Avenue is a new, Council owned building. The building is leased by Yooralla and is one of only three in Melbourne to offer a kindergarten program for 3 and 4 year olds, including those with special needs. A range of programs and support for children with disabilities and their carers are also available.

The three remaining kindergartens are owned by the Council and managed by community based Committees of Management. Altona Gate Kindergarten is located at the Walker Close Community Centre and Eastona Kindergarten is in Collins Street; both are in Altona North. The Frances Sullivan Kindergarten is in Nolan Street, Brooklyn

12 Altona North and Brooklyn Neighbourhood Profile Schools There are five primary schools operating in Altona North and Brooklyn. Three of these are government schools – Eastona, Altona Gate and Altona North. There are also two primary schools operated by the Catholic Church - St. Leo the Great and Annunciation.

The area has two secondary schools. Bayside Secondary College is a state government school for Year 7 to 9 students. Students then transfer across to Bayside senior campus in Newport West, to complete Years 10 and 12. (Refer to a later section on what’s ahead for the area for information on the redevelopment of the secondary college.

The second secondary school is St Pauls Catholic College, a single sex school for boys.

13 Altona North and Brooklyn Neighbourhood Profile Recreational facilities and open space The Federation Trail shared path extends between Millers Road, Brooklyn and the Werribee River, Werribee. The trail was opened in 2006 and forms part of the Metropolitan Transit Network. The trail is off road and there are traffic lights at any busy road crossings. There are two reserves in Brooklyn. Duane Reserve has a soccer field, pavilion and playground. Nearby, Brooklyn Reserve has several tennis courts (state funding will see two courts resurfaced to hard-courts in 2008) and a clubroom, a ½ basketball court and a children’s playground.

Several large reserves are located in Altona North. Crofts Reserve at the western end of Blackshaws Rd has several ovals, cricket nets and clubrooms. To the east on Mason Street, Paisley Park offers a large range of sports facilities including: lacrosse and soccer fields; a golf club and driving range; bowling greens; and a badminton facility. In addition, it is home to the newly opened Bayfit Leisure Centre which includes an indoor pool and gymnasium.

Also in Altona North is Langshaws Reserve. The reserve is located in Cresser St and has a sports oval and small pavilion.

14 Altona North and Brooklyn Neighbourhood Profile Retail centres As mentioned earlier, the main commercial centre in Altona North and Brooklyn is located along Millers Road. Altona Gate is a free-standing shopping centre, situated just south of the Westgate Freeway. It is one of the three largest shopping centres in Hobsons Bay and offers a comprehensive range of retail outlets. The shopping centre was built in 1977 and among its main anchor stores are Kmart, Coles and Safeway, together with an additional 83 specialty stores.

The area also has several other retail centres. Borrack Square shopping centre is just off Millers Roads in McArthurs Road and the Circle shopping centre which is bounded by Stapley Crescent and the Circle. Both shopping centres have a variety of commercial and retail premises, including supermarkets, banks and post offices, fresh foods stores, pharmacies and newsagencies.

Several smaller shopping strips are located in Misten Street and Second Avenue.

Doctors The area is serviced by four medical clinics. Three are located in Altona North and one surgery is in Brooklyn. Bulkbilling is not generally available, with the exception of Centrelink pension and healthcare card holders.

15 Altona North and Brooklyn Neighbourhood Profile Blackshaws Road Medical Centre Millers Road Clinic 350 Blackshaws Road 245 Millers Road Altona North Altona North The Circle Surgery Dr Appan's Surgery Unit 2/174 Millers Road 44 Millers Road Altona North Brooklyn

Dentists The area has two dental surgeries; both are located in Millers Road North Altona.

Dr J Robertson Dental Surgery Dr P Zafiropoulos 173 Millers Rd 109 Millers Rd Altona North Altona North

Pharmacies Altona North and Brooklyn residents have access to five pharmacies.

Altona Gate Pharmacy Altona North Pharmacy Shop G7 Altona Gate Shopping Centre, 310A Blackshaws Rd Altona North Altona North Chemist Warehouse Circle Pharmacy 174 -178 Millers Rd 53 The Circle Altona North Altona North Valda Slavinskis Pharmacy 25 Borrack Square Altona North

Local Newspapers Three local newspapers are distributed in the Altona North and Brooklyn area. These include:  The Hobsons Bay Leader  The Star  The Altona Laverton Mail

16 Altona North and Brooklyn Neighbourhood Profile Public Transport The public transport system in Altona North and Brooklyn is limited to buses. The closest railway connections are at Newport and Altona.

The 411 and 412 bus routes link the area to Footscray, Altona Meadows and Laverton.

Buses on the 432 route provide a connection to the Newport railway station.

The 471 route provides a service to Sunshine and Williamstown.

Route 232 passes through the area and on to the Queen Victoria Market in the city.

In most instances, there are no buses through the area on weekdays after 8pm, the exception being the 232 and 471 routes which stop at around 9pm. The weekend timetables generally run no later than 6pm. The exception is the 471 route where recent changes to the timetable have extended the service from 8am to 9pm on Saturdays and 9am to 9pm on Sundays

D: What’s ahead for Altona North and Brooklyn

The following section provides an overview of future works that are proposed for Altona North and Brooklyn. However, it should be noted that these works may be affected by changes to resources or re-prioritising over time that could result in alterations to the delivery of these works. The redevelopment of Bayside Secondary School and the introduction of the Smartbus, outlined below, are both managed by the State Government.

Residential development Westgate Freeway As mentioned earlier, it is anticipated that much of the new residential development in the area will take the form of infill development. Other potential development is on land bounded by Blackshaws and Kyle Roads and New Street. A section of this land, which includes Don KyleNew Rd St Smallgoods, was recently rezoned from industrial to residential use. The site could potentially add around 1600 new dwellings and increase the population by around 3,400 new residents. Work is likely to commence in the next 5 to 10 years. Blackshaws Rd Council works Library There is currently no library facility in Altona North and Brooklyn. Hobsons Bay City Council is investigating the development of a new library to be located on land at the Bayside

17 Altona North and Brooklyn Neighbourhood Profile Secondary College in Millers Rd. The Council has endorsed concept plans for a library to include reading and informal meeting areas and a technology training area.

Sporting facilities New works to commence at Paisley Park in 2008 will include a children’s playground and pathways. Future works that are proposed for the park include:  A redeveloped play zone for young people  An additional children’s playground with barbeque and picnic areas  Extensions to the Altona badminton building and lacrosse pavilion and a new golf house  Bowling greens to be laid with a synthetic surface  Landscaping works, together with shared walking and cycling pathways are planned.

Among other proposed work to be undertaken by Hobsons Bay City Council in the financial year 2007/08 and 2008/09 will be:  Landscaping and paving of the area surrounding the newly opened Bayfit leisure centre  New cricket wickets to be installed at Crofts and Langshaws Reserves.

Plans for the 2009/10 include:  Installation of new training lights and upgrade of the pavilion at Crofts Reserve  An upgrade for Clement Reserve.

Transport and traffic Works proposed for the financial years 2007/8 to 2009/10 include:  Commencement of the upgrade of key bus stops to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act  Installation of a pedestrian crossing in Duosa Road linking to the Altona Gate shopping centre  Construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Mason Street and McIntosh Road  Undertaking the Altona North Truck Management Study.

Borrack Square Shopping Centre As part of the Council’s Vibrant Villages program, landscaping and street treatments are planned for Borrack Square shopping centre in 2008. Included in the works, is the installation of new pedestrian crossings to improve access and safety. Landscaping work will include new plantings of two varieties of pear trees. In addition new seating, bins and bollards will be installed, together with new signage.

A public arts project is also planned for 2008 and, with community involvement, will produce an art work to be installed at the shopping centre.

The existing toilet block has been identified as needing to be demolished and replacement options are being investigated.

School facilities The redevelopment of the Bayside Secondary College site commenced at the beginning of 2008. The work will deliver new facilities for its students. Associated with the redevelopment is a merger of the Altona Gate Primary School and Bayside College and the campus will become a Prep to Year 9 school.

18 Altona North and Brooklyn Neighbourhood Profile Another change that is planned for Altona North and Brooklyn is the merger of Eastona Primary School with Hobsons Bay Primary School in Newport West. This will see the closure of Eastona Primary School, although as yet, timelines for the merger are still to be confirmed by the Department of Education.

Public transport Altona North and Brooklyn is included in new plans for a SmartBus service. The service will provide a cross town network, passing along Millers Road and through to Sunshine, Essendon Preston and Northland. It will then link to the existing SmartBus route that operates between Box Hill and Mordialloc. (Refer to red dotted line on the map below.)

The service is expected to commence in early 2009 and will deliver:  increased service hours (5 am to midnight on weekdays plus weekend services)  increased service frequency (at approximately 15 minute intervals on weekdays and approximately every 30 minutes on weekends)  extensive bus priority  more than 850 bus stops that are accessible to people with disabilities. 8

19 Altona North and Brooklyn Neighbourhood Profile The Kororoit Creek Catchment Coordination Project The Kororoit Creek Catchment Coordination Project brings together a range of stakeholders including Hobsons Bay City Council and three other Councils, the Friends and Landcare groups, Melbourne Water, Parks Victoria and Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE). This three year project will run to 2010.

The project will continue to implement the Kororoit Creek Regional Strategy 2005 -2030, a 25 year plan to protect and enhance the creek corridor. Actions outlined in the strategy will help improve access to the creek corridor, link recreation nodes and boost understanding of the creek’s Indigenous and post European heritage. It also provides for a continuous walking and cycling trail along the full length of the creek corridor (see map below).

A Kororoit Creek Catchment Coordinator has been employed with a grant from the Sustainability Fund to assist with the implementation of this Regional Strategy.

20 Altona North and Brooklyn Neighbourhood Profile References

1 Clark I (2001) The First People of the City of Hobsons Bay, Hobsons Bay City Council 2 Hobsons Bay Heritage Study, 2006 3 The Advertiser (1965) Our Brooklyn Stories, 19 March 1965 4 Hobsons Bay Heritage Study, 2003 www.hobsons.vic.gov.au/Files/Volume_1b_Thematic_Environmental_History.pdf National Archives of Australia 5 National Archives of Australia www.pictureaustralia.org/apps/pictureaustralia? term1=Brooklyn+Commonwealth+Hostel&Submit=search&action=PASearch&attribute1=any+field&mode=search 6 Hobsons Bay Heritage Study (2003) op cit 7 Kororoit Creek Masterplan (2006) Hobsons Bay City Council 8 Dept of Infrastructure, State Government Victoria www.doi.vic.gov.au/DOI/Internet/transport.nsf/AllDocs/FE39EB2FDC32E7AECA2571F80018F4FC? OpenDocument#network

21 Altona North and Brooklyn Neighbourhood Profile