In the 1950s and 60s, the Victorian government established hastily built public
housing estates in what were seen as 'empty paddocks' at Broadmeadows
on the edge of Melbourne. A strong community spirit evolved among people
who lived in an area with inadequate infrastructure and facilities, yet
extraordinary media attention on the activities of 'gangs' of young people
in the area meant that, by the 1970s, most people outside the area thought
of it as a bad place to live. This was partly because Broadmeadows was
at the end of an urban railway line and was seen as being at the edge
of the city. Few people knew that area was once described by the 'explorers'
Hume and Hovell as being the most attractive they had seen on their long
walk from Sydney to the site of what would become Melbourne and that one
of the first settlements outside Melbourne was built around a point where
the old road to Sydney crossed the Moonee Ponds Creek at 'old Broadmeadows' (now called Westmeadows). Although the city has grown
to engulf the area, it still contains areas of delightful grassland, groves
of river redgums that can be up to 800 years old, and a series of creeks
that were once degraded but are now being lovingly rehabilitated by community
volunteers.
