Strathmore experienced its greatest growth from 1940 to 1960. And with new families, came a demand for local schooling and services. Strathmore’s first school – Strathmore Primary School – was established in 1944.
Rich History
Today, Strathmore’s wide boulevards, tree-lined streets, and fine mansions are reminders of its rich history. In Colonial days, a number of the landed gentry chose Strathmore as the place to settle.
One of those first prominent citizens was Edward Jones Brewster, a lawyer from Dublin. He was given the honour of laying the first stone in the first bridge to cross the Yarra River.
The first land sale in the Strathmore area was in 1843, but it was the Napier family that had the earliest and most lasting impact on our suburb.
In 1845, a wealthy businessman, Thomas Napier, chose a hilltop in Woodlands Street, Strathmore, as the site to build a mansion for his family. He called it “Rosebank”.
Napier constructed a number of buildings in Melbourne in the 1800s.
Napier’s son, Theodore, built a house on Carnarvon Road. Theodore also donated a large parcel of bushland to the local Council – land we now know as Napier Park. This was donated to the Council on the condition that it be retained in its original state.
The McCracken and Peck families also had a significant impact on our local community.
At the age of just 17, Alexander McCracken was elected the founding Secretary of the Essendon Football Club, while Peck was a local Councillor, Mayor, and Vice President of the Bombers.
“North Park Mansion” was built in1889 for McCracken. An imposing 42-room mansion, it still stands today.
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