Topic: Gen - St - Vic
Broadmeadows, Victoria
Fawkner Street, Broadmeadows looking downhill towards Moonee Ponds Creek, 1909.
Broadmeadows was a failed development, often described as dead as Julius Ceasar. After 30 years of attempting to sell the name to the Melbourne public, it was still dead. The picture, taken in the main street of Broadmeadows in 1909, tells the story. This is Fawkner Street in what is now called Westmeadows near Tullamarine Airport. The photographer is looking downhill towards Moonee Ponds Creek. The picture isn't skewed or anything like that even though it appears distorted. The reason is simple - trees are bent over as a consequence of the westerlies blowing across the plains. Frequent visitors arriving at the airport will have experienced the unwelcomed strength of these breezes as their aeroplane lands. It was no better then in 1909. No one ever thought the town to be a pleasant place to reside except by the hardy settler.
Things changed with the outbreak of war in 1914. Three months of the war and the name was imortalised in the lexicon of Australian history. The developers could not hope for a better propaganda coup than that. Land sold quickly at inflated prices. The war was good for the land speculators at Broadmeadows.
Further Reading:
Broadmeadows Camp, Inducting Recruits, September 1914
Victoria's response to the Great War
Citation: Broadmeadows 1909
