Campbellfield

History

Campbellfield was named after two unrelated families named Campbell bought farm lots in the area in the 1840s. The land at that time was lightly timbered, which made it easy for grazing, plus also due to its proximity to the Merri Creek.

The first Broadmeadows Post Office was open briefly in 1854 in Campbellfield. It reopened on 1 June 1856 and closed in 1893, replaced by the Campbellfield railway station office. This, in turn, was renamed Campbellfield around 1903.

Campbellfield is home to Victoria's oldest church in east Broadmeadows. The Scots church was built on Sydney Road in 1842, and replaced by the present blue stone structure in 1855. It was placed on the National Estate and Victorian Heritage Register, and has been an icon of Victorian history.

Today

Campbellfield was home to the Ford Australia's Broadmeadows Assembly Plant. Built in 1959, it is where the Falcon and Territory models were last manufactured in Australia. The Ford factory closed in October 2016 with the loss of 650 jobs.

Campbellfield is a mixed residential and industrial/business suburb, with various industrial areas and business parks around the suburb. In 2011–2012, it was listed in the top four of Melbourne's most crime-ridden suburbs, and bottom five of Melbourne's most livable suburbs.

The suburb has one public school (Campbellfield Heights Primary School). There are currently no private or secondary schools.

Campbellfield has a strip of shops on Barry Road known as Fordgate, and a shopping plaza on Sydney Road.

Merlynston Creek has its source in National Boulevard Nature Reserve in Campbellfield just north of the Ford plant and next to the disused single track railway line.

Population

In the , there were 5,056 people in Campbellfield. 42.5% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were Iraq 11.5%, Lebanon 8.3%, Italy 5.7%, Turkey 3.6% and Greece 2.2%. 18.2% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Arabic 28.5%, Sureth 13.4%, Italian 7.7%, Turkish 7.3% and Greek 4.6%. The most common responses for religion were Islam 35.1% and Catholic 35.0%.

Transport

Bus

Six bus routes service the suburb:

• 530 Campbellfield Plaza – Coburg via Fawkner. Operated by Broadmeadows Bus Service.
• 531 Upfield station – North Coburg via Somerset Estate. Operated by Broadmeadows Bus Service.
• 532 Craigieburn station – Broadmeadows station via Upfield station. Operated by Broadmeadows Bus Service.
• 538 Somerset Estate – Broadmeadows station via Camp Road. Operated by Dysons.
• 540 Upfield station – Broadmeadows station via Coolaroo. Operated by Dysons.
• 902 Chelsea station – Westfield Airport West Shopping Centre (SmartBus service). Operated by Kinetic Melbourne.

Train

Campbellfield has one railway station, Upfield, which is the terminus of the Upfield line. The station is located on Barry Road, with the station and railway line acting as the suburban boundary between Campbellfield and Coolaroo. Broadmeadows station, on the Craigieburn line, is another nearby station.

There was a Campbellfield railway station, located adjacent to Camp Road, from 1889 until 1956, when it was closed to make way for the newly built Upfield station, which was located in a position more accessible to the community.

Environmental issues

In August 2020, a toxic fire erupted at MRI e-cycle solutions, a large e-waste operator, causing loud explosions audible from kilometres away. The company stored and recycled electronic waste including up to 20 tonnes of batteries and 60 tonnes of e-waste coming from retailers, companies, schools and local governments. These waste are known to be toxic to health and the environment when damaged or close to fires. While battling the blaze for a day, some contaminated water also spread out into Merlynston Creek and Jack Roper Lake in Broadmeadows.

The company was previously asked by EPA Victoria in March to stop accepting material and manage all combustible and recyclable material according to their waste management policy. In November 2020, EPA suspended MRI's operation licence.

References

References

1. {{Census 2021 AUS
2. "Campbellfield". Victorian Places.
3. Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List".
4. (22 May 2013). "Ford to cease Australian manufacturing".
5. "Criminal element taking root in growth corridors".
6. {{Census 2016 AUS
7. [https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/14967/530-campbellfield-coburg-via-fawkner/ 530 Campbellfield Plaza - Coburg via Fawkner] Public Transport Victoria
8. [https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/14969/531-upfield-north-coburg-via-somerset-estate/ 531 Upfield Station - North Coburg via Somerset Estate] Public Transport Victoria
9. [https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/14971/532-craigieburn-broadmeadows-via-upfield-station/ 532 Craigieburn Station - Broadmeadows Station via Upfield Station] Public Transport Victoria
10. [https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/861/somerset-estate-broadmeadows-via-camp-road/ 538 Somerset Estate - Broadmeadows via Camp Road] Public Transport Victoria
11. [https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/862/upfield-broadmeadows-via-coolaroo/ 540 Upfield - Broadmeadows via Coolaroo] Public Transport Victoria
12. [https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/route/15279/902-chelsea-station-airport-west-shopping-centre/ 902 Chelsea Railway Station - Airport West Shopping Centre (SMARTBUS Service)] Public Transport Victoria
13. Vedelago, Chris. (2020-08-12). "E-waste recycler under pressure from EPA before fire erupted".
14. Victoria, Environment Protection Authority. "MRI: EPA's role {{!}} Environment Protection Authority Victoria".