Strathmore

Community History

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Pascoe Vale Road was originally known as Sydney Road, being one of the preferred routes from Melbourne to Sydney for many years. It is also interesting to note that the current City Link tollway was not the first tollway through the Strathmore area. This original Sydney Road was a tollway with a set of tollgates located where the Road crosses Moonee Ponds Creek at the northern boundary of the Strathmore area. It ceased to operate as a tollway some time after the extension of the North East railway line to Sydney made the tollway unprofitable. The bridge on Pascoe Vale Road across Moonee Ponds Creek was originally constructed in 1857 at a cost of 1750 pounds. The bridge was replaced with a stone bridge in 1875.

During the 1850s goldrushes# Mt. Alexander Rd. was the main route to the gold fields of Castlemaine (formerly Mt. Alexander), Ballarat and Bendigo. Such was the nature of the hysteria created by the promise of instant wealth from gold that when some small nuggets of gold were discovered on Mount Alexander Road it wasn't long before hopeful miners were digging up the road in search of more nuggets. It was later discovered that the nuggets had fallen from a bullion wagon travelling from the gold fields.

The Burke and Wills expedition# travelled from Melbourne along Mt. Alexander Road and Bulla Road in August, 1860. They passed Woodland Street on the morning of the second day of their expedition. The expedition had been forced to camp the first night near Queens Park, Moonee Ponds as they had been delayed in their departure by too many speeches.

In 1918, William F. Salmon of "Roseneath" (south of Woodland St.) presented Salmon Reserve, the park land along 5 Mile Creek, to Council.

The Essendon Fire Station (cnr Woodland Street and Bulla Road) was erected in 1930. The Fire Station was sold 2014.

Picture - Fire Station Building circa 2014.

The Strathmore Branch of the State Savings Bank first opened in Napier Street in 1956. It moved to new premises at 337 Napier Street (next to the old site) in November 1962. A Bendigo Bank - Strathmore Community Bank - operates at the site, since July 2001.