Brimbank City

Brimbank city was created on 15 December 1994, by the amalgamation of most of Sunshine city, west of Duke Street, and most of Keilor city (except a part of Keilor east on the Maribyrnong River which is mostly occupied by the Melbourne Airport). Its central point is approximately the St Albans railway station, 16 km north-west of central Melbourne and its area is 123 square km.

The name comes from Brimbank Road and Brimbank Park, situated in the north-east of the municipality where the Maribyrnong has cut deep horseshoe shaped valleys. The road follows the brim of the river bank.

Brimbank's main transport corridors are the railway lines to Albury and Bendigo which diverge from the junction at Sunshine, and the Calder and Western Freeways to Bendigo and Ballarat. The freeways are linked by the Western Ring Road which passes south-westerly through Brimbank.

The area has significant employment sectors in transport, storage and manufacturing.

The Brimbank suburbs of Albanvale, Cairnlea, Derrimut and Sydenham/Watergardens grew quickly during the 2000s, having a reputation for house affordability. The area has an above average proportion of home ownership, despite its below average household income.

In the late 1970s Keilor and Sunshine city councillors were removed from office because of misconduct, a rare occurrence in Victorian local government. The propensity for misconduct was apparently not cured, as Brimbank councillors were removed in 2009 and three commissioners took their place for three years. On this occasion some councillors' main fault was allowing themselves to be influenced by local Labor Party office holders.

Brimbank city's census populations have been:

census datepopulation

Brimbank city has significant, although declining, populations affiliated with the Catholic church and rising numbers of affiliates of other religions.

Further Reading

Gary Vines, Brimbank City Council post-contact cultural heritage study, Sunshine, 2000

Keilor and Sunshine cities entries