Watsonia is a suburb in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, 16 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district

Melbourne city centre

Melbourne City Centre is an area of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne...

. Its Local Government Area is the City of Banyule. At the 2006 Census, Watsonia had a population of 4905.

History

Watsonia originally belonged to the Wurundjeri people. It is named after early property developer and landowner Frank Watson.

Watsonia was surveyed by Robert Hoddle

Robert Hoddle

Robert Hoddle was a surveyor of Port Phillip in the 1830s, and the creator of the Hoddle Grid, the street grid system upon which inner city Melbourne is based. He was also an accomplished artist and depicted scenes of the Port Philip region as well as New South Wales...

 in 1838 as part of the parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 of Keelbundora, for subdivisional sale as farms.
Until the 1870s, much of Watsonia remained part of the vast property holdings of John Brown. The Grace Park area was purchased in 1877 by Frederick Augustus Nell, and then by Frank Watson in the early twentieth century. Watson subdivided the property for housing in 1924. The area remained primarily rural until the 1940s, when property prices became affordable.

Watson and other landowners paid for the establishment of a railway station in order to attract property buyers. Watsonia railway station was named after Watson. Watsonia train station was opened on Monday 23 June 1924, between the existing Macleod and Greensborough stations. The current Watsonia Station is in Zone 2 on the Hurstbridge Railway Line and is currently served by Metro Trains Melbourne

Metro Trains Melbourne

Metro Trains Melbourne is the current franchise operator of the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Australia. Metro Trains Melbourne is a joint venture led by Hong Kong based MTR Corporation together with John Holland Group and United Group Rail .Metro Trains Melbourne operates a fleet of 381...

. Watsonia Post Office opened around 1934.

Landmarks

Watsonia has the Simpson Army Barracks

Simpson Barracks

Simpson Barracks is an Australian Army facility in the suburb of Macleod in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Simpson Barracks is home to the DFSS , Financial Services Unit, Defence Force School of Music, Land Warfare Centre and the headquarters of 4th Brigade...

, Yallambie which was originally known as the Watsonia Military Camp during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. This complex was built on the property formerly owned by Ainslie Meares. In 1951, surrounding land was purchased for the extension of the barracks.

Watsonia is also the home to Watsonia Primary School, one campus of Greensborough College

Greensborough College

Greensborough College is a school in the Greensborough and Watsonia district in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia.Greensborough College has nearly 1000 students, the bulk of whom are in years 7 and 8...

 and Loyola College

Loyola College, Melbourne

Loyola College is a Catholic Independent Secondary School in the Ignatian Tradition. Located on in northern Watsonia, a suburb of the Australian city of Melbourne, Loyola was founded in 1980 with an initial enrolment of just 134. Today, Loyola College has a steady student population of...

.

Sport

Watsonia Football Club

Watsonia Football Club

The Watsonia Football Club is an Australian rules football club located in Watsonia, Victoria, currently competing in Division 3 of the Northern Football League.Watsonia is located 15.2 km north east of Melbourne and has a population of 8739 circa 2006....

, an Australian Rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

 team, competes in the Northern Football League.