10 things you didn’t know about Kensington, Victoria

Kensington Suburb Profile – 

Kensington is a suburb with postcode 3031 perched in Victoria, Australia and is popular among the Melbourne Suburbs. Located about 4 Kms from CBD Melbourne, this suburb is known for its location and sparse population. A large number of new settlers are looking to settle here as are second-home buyers who are tapping the real estate market.

Named after its namesake in London, Kensington is bound by Racecourse Road in the north, Maribyrnong River and Smithfield Road in the west, Dynon Road in south, and the Moonee Ponds Creek in the east. Kensington was a hub for livestock sales and abattoirs in Victoria earlier. It also housed factories and an ordinance army factory. However, the stock yards stopped operating in the year 1984.

“How is Kensington suburb stands on different parameters?”

1. Demographics

According to the 2011 Census, Kensington has a population of 9,719. The suburb comes under the local administration of the City of Melbourne. The population density of Kensington is 2,490sq.km. The population is split between 48.7% males and 51.3% females. The median age of the residents in Kensington is 32 years.

62.3% of residents of Kensington were Australia-born. The top responses for birth country in order of rank are 3.7% China, 3.4% Vietnam, 3.2% England, 2.9% New Zealand, 1.8% Malaysia, 1.1% Italy, 1.1% India, 0.7% Somalia, 0.7% Hong Kong, 0.6% Ireland, 0.6% Indonesia, 0.6% Ethiopia, 0.5% South Africa, 0.5% Germany.

68.6% of residents of Kensington speak only English. The top languages in order of rank are 5.4% Language spoken at home not stated, 3.9% Mandarin, 3.9% Cantonese, 3.7% Other, 3.4% Vietnamese, 2.0% Italian, 0.9% Spanish, 0.9% Arabic, 0.7% Greek.

2. Amenities

a) Healthcare: Hospitals and medical care in the suburb include Kensington Healthcare, Cohealth Medical Centre and Doutta Galla Community Health Services – Kensington Centre. The centres are state of the art and owned privately. There are a number of expert GPs who practice privately across Kensington as well.

b) Sports: Kensington supports a good number of local clubs for cricket and netball. Swimming is encouraged across most schools as is Australian Rules football. Major sporting facilities and coaching are available in Melbourne CBD. Tennis is also available at a park in the suburb.

c) Transportation: The main road for Kensington is Smithfield Road that falls under the Princes Highway. The other major roads are Racecourse Road, Epsom Road and Kensington Road. These form a junction with Macaulay Road. Stubbs Street is also another minor arterial road.

There are three rail stations connected to Kensington. Kensington station, on Craigieburn railway line, that runs from Craigieburn to Flinders Street Station, via City Loop.

The South Kensington rail line runs between Werribee and the Williamstown lines.

Sunbury line runs express trains through Kensington. Macaulay, on Upfield Line, is the Eastern boundary of the suburb.

A Tram line, Route 57 runs along northern Kensington, via Racecourse Road.

Two routes for buses – number 402, runs along Kensington Roads and Macaulay. The bus route 404 runs along Epsom Roads and Smithfield.

3. Property Prices

In Kensington, 15.3% homes are owned, 32.3% are on mortgage. About 49.8% homes are rented. The average individual income is A$921 weekly and median household income is about A$1720 weekly. The average rent stands at A$350 weekly and median mortgage repayment is A$2167 monthly.

4. Attractions

There are a large number of recreational options in Kensington. The J.J. Holland Park, next to the South Kensington railway station, has play areas, a BMX track, and a swimming pool. The community centre too is a huge hit here. A major attraction is the Maribyrnong River that comes with tracks for walking. The entire park runs along the span of the erstwhile stock route. There are lovely trees of peppercorn at this spot. Women’s Peace Park, is also famous as is the “Skinny Park” that is named so due to the equipment for playing and BBQ found here. The Footscray Park and the Footscray Arts Centre are must-see attractions as well.

5. Traffic

Traffic is well-organized but due to the growing number of cars, it becomes too crowded at peak hours. The traffic control is efficient and action against traffic rule offenders is taken on time.

6. Safety

The information about the safety in Kensington has been mixed. The suburb has a good local administration but there have been many incidents of thefts reported from time to time. However, residents usually compliment the ambience, the natural setting and the neighbours in Kensington.

7. Restaurants

There are a fair bit of options when it comes to dining out and partying in Kensington. From pubs to cocktails bars as well as family restaurants, there is no dearth of places to unwind at. Italian cuisine and American fast food are dominantly found in the major and minor hubs for eating out. Multi-cultural cuisine as well as indigenous food are also found at some restaurants.

8. Nearby Suburbs

The suburb of Kensington is surrounded by Flemington, Parkville, North Melbourne, Footscray, and West Melbourne.

9. Future Plans

The suburb of Kensington is making major developments in terms of property market growth. A large number of young professionals are seeking to settle here thanks to the fair number of opportunities in the fields of health care, social assistance, education and training, financial and insurance services, public administration and safety and retail trade.

10. a) Reasons to Live in Kensington: The suburb is beautiful, with large open parks and great restaurants. With a vibrant tinge and decent transport, this is apt for families. Even for those with kids, there is no cause to worry due to the active schooling system and related facilities here.

b) Reasons to reconsider Kensington: Kensington has turned into a favoured suburb due to its proximity to Melbourne CBD. The neighbours are friendly and if you can up your home security, the risks of burglary are minimised to a great degree.

What do people say about Kensington:

The suburb offers residents a great atmosphere and sense of community spirit. While it might be a small sized suburb, it sure has a lot to offer given the area. From sporting equipment to gyms to parks as well as cafes, there is no dearth of fast activities here.

List of following facilities in and around Kensington at an average radial distance of approx 5kms:

Note: These facilities may or may not be near to your residence within Kensington. Please recheck the distance to a facility before buying or renting a property in Kensington.

Hope we have done some justice to showcase the highlights of Kensington suburb. If you notice that either we have not covered something or have made some mistake in data about Kensington, don’t forget to share it with us.

Disclaimer: Some information about Kensington may change at any point in time. So, we humbly request to kindly verify any critical information directly with the Kensington Council.