Newport, Victoria



Newport is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hobsons Bay. At the 2006 Census, Newport had a population of 11,244.

History
Williamstown Junction opened as a Telegraph Office around April 1862 and as a Post Office around May 1869. It was renamed in 1881.

The Newport Railway Workshops play a key role in the history of the suburb, formerly the main workshops of Victorian Railways. The workshops are south of the Newport railway station.

Newport Lakes Park is a flooded quarry surrounded by landscaped bushland and lawn, in the north of the suburb. Stone from the quarry, which operated from the early 1920s to the 1960s, was used in various building projects around the area of Williamstown.

Newport Power Station is another feature of the suburb, the smokestack of which remains one of the tallest towers in Melbourne at 183 metres.

Today
Like much of Melbourne's nearby suburbs, Newport hosts a varied community of people from various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. The 'Substation' Community Arts centre provides a hub for local live music performances, community events and the monthly art market. Major natural features of the suburb are the Newport Lakes, Greenwich Bay and the Sandy Point Conservation area. Fishing, bike-riding, kayaking and boating are popular local activities. The Newport Folk Festival, featuring folk musicians from the local area and abroad, also occurs each year in late June.

Victoria University maintains a campus in Newport, which focuses on automotive, metal fabrication, building and electrical trades. The Newport campus hosts the Centre for Curriculum Innovation and Development.

Scouts Australia run the 2nd Newport Scout group from a historic wooden hall next door to the Newport RSL. The hall was finished in 1938 and was hand built by the Rover Crew.

The Newport Rams baseball club also calls the suburb home. The suburb also houses the Newport Gardens (was Hobsons Bay) Primary School, Newport lakes Primary School and Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School.