View source for Laverton, Victoria

{{Use Australian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type                     = suburb
| name                     = Laverton
| city                     = Melbourne
| state                    = vic
| image                    = Laverton main street.jpg
| caption                  = Aviation Road, main street of Laverton
| lga                      = City of Hobsons Bay
| lga2                     = City of Wyndham
| alternative_location_map = Australia Victoria metropolitan Melbourne
| coordinates              = {{coord|37.858|S|144.773|E|display=inline,title}}
| area                     = 6.8
| postcode                 = 3028
| pop                      = 4,760
| pop_year                 = {{CensusAU|2021}}
| pop_footnotes            = <ref name="abs">{{Census 2021 AUS | id = SAL21476 | name = Laverton (Vic.) (Suburbs and Localities) | accessdate = 21 July 2022 | quick = on}}</ref>
| elevation                = 12
| maxtemp                  = 19.8
| maxtemp_footnotes        = <ref name="climate">{{cite web 
|url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_087031_All.shtml
|title = Laverton RAAF Climate Statistics (1941-2024)
|publisher = [[Bureau of Meteorology]]
|access-date = October 4, 2024}}
</ref> 
| mintemp                  = 9.4
| mintemp_footnotes        = <ref name="climate"/> 
| rainfall                 = 534.2
| rainfall_footnotes       = <ref name="climate"/> 
| stategov                 = [[Electoral district of Laverton|Laverton]]
| fedgov                   = [[Division of Gellibrand|Gellibrand]]
| near-nw                  = [[Truganina, Victoria|Truganina]]
| near-n                   = [[Laverton North, Victoria|Laverton North]]
| near-ne                  = [[Altona North, Victoria|Altona North]]
| near-w                   = [[Williams Landing, Victoria|Williams Landing]]
| near-e                   = [[Altona Meadows, Victoria|Altona Meadows]]
| near-sw                  = [[Point Cook, Victoria|Point Cook]]
| near-s                   = [[Seabrook, Victoria|Seabrook]]
| near-se                  = [[Altona Meadows, Victoria|Altona Meadows]]
| dist1                    = 17.5
| location1                = [[Melbourne central business district|Melbourne]]
| local_map                = yes
| zoom                     = 12
}}

'''Laverton''' established in 1886, is a suburb of [[Melbourne]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], [[Australia]], {{convert|17|km|abbr=on}} south-west of Melbourne's [[Melbourne central business district|Central Business District]], located within the Cities of [[City of Hobsons Bay|Hobsons Bay]] and [[City of Wyndham|Wyndham]] [[Local government areas of Victoria|local government area]]s. Laverton recorded a population of 4,760 at the [[2021 Australian census|2021 census]].<ref name=abs/>

It was home to the RAAF [[military airfield|Base]] ([[RAAF Williams]]), and covers {{convert|148|ha|sqmi|abbr=on}} in the suburb of Laverton. Laverton was originally established to support the greater rate of flying and maintenance activities after the formation of the [[RAAF]] in 1921. Many homes in the surrounding area were colloquially called the “cabbage patch”, in reference to the [[Mid-20th century baby boom#Oceania|boom of young families]] after the [[Demobilisation of the Australian military after World War II|return of soldiers]] from [[WWII]]. [[Fence|Fences]] in the area also used to be low (below {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on}}) to originally form a shared community with no fence at the front. This style has recently been changed particularly on the main [[arterial road|arterials]] throughout Laverton with higher fences being built in line with local council building policies. The military airfield at RAAF Williams, Laverton was decommissioned and has now been developed into a new suburb – [[Williams Landing]].
 
The Laverton base and airfield was established by the Royal Australian Air Force on 01 March 1926, and is the third oldest RAAF base in Australia. Home to [[No. 1 Aircraft Depot RAAF|No. 1 Aircraft Depot]] between 1926 and 1994, Laverton has also housed flying units, [[RAAF Support Command|Support]] and [[Air Force Training Group RAAF|Training Command]] Headquarters, No. 6 RAAF Hospital and training and administrative functions. The airfield was officially closed in 1996 and subsequently sold for suburban housing development.{{cn|date=November 2022}}

Laverton Swim and Fitness Centre (LSFC), originally called Laverton Memorial Swimming Pool, was proudly funded by the residents and [[City of Wyndham|Werribee Shire council]] (who owned the suburb of Laverton prior to 2014 handover to [[City of Hobsons Bay|Hobsons Bay City Council]]). It opened in June 1976 and was dedicated to those who had served in [[List of wars involving Australia|various conflicts]] in which Australia had been involved.{{cn|date=November 2022}} A [[Military history of Australia during World War II#After the war|WWII memorial]] plaque was installed, however removed or possibly stolen and is to be replaced with an identical plaque in 2022. A petition was launched by Laverton Residents in 2020, in support by [[City of Hobsons Bay#Council|Wetlands Ward Councillors]] as part of their campaign to be voted in, however a decision by the previous council in 2021 was made to close the pool, supported by the Wetlands Ward councillors in 2022, to instead build a new state-of-the-art pool in the neighbouring suburb of [[Altona Meadows, Victoria|Altona Meadows]] for $60m as part of the Western Aquatic Strategy 2019-2030. The feasibility of this project to break ground at the new site of Bruce Comben Reserve, Altona Meadows - is to be reviewed by February 2023.{{cn|date=November 2022}}

Other notable Laverton facilities are the Woods Street Art Space, The Hub community Centre and many up and coming new restaurants and cafes with upgrades planned to support the growth of the suburb (7,500 by 2031 up from  approximately 4,700 as per 2021 census).

Laverton is home to the [[Melbourne Ballpark]] state baseball stadium, which hosts several national events each year, including home games of the Melbourne aces who compete in the Australian Baseball League. The facility resides on what is known as the Altona Meadows side of the M1 freeway.

Laverton is connected to the [[Werribee railway line]] at [[Laverton railway station, Melbourne|Laverton station]] and [[Aircraft railway station, Melbourne|Aircraft station]].

Laverton is serviced by a network of primary and secondary state arterial roads, including major arterials such as the [[Princes Freeway]], where there is an entry ramp via Point Cook Road (Aviation Road), and 5 exits into and out of Laverton.

[[Level Crossing Removal Project|Replacement of the railway crossing]] with a bridge at Aircraft station was finished in 2019 and future potential works to reroute traffic from and to Point Cook Road, which is predominantly used by city bound Point Cook residents travelling by vehicle.

==History==
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2012}}
[[File:Aerial panorama of Laverton, Victoria facing south.jpg|thumb|Aerial panorama of Laverton, Victoria facing south, 2017]]
[[File:Aerial panorama of the M1 freeway in Laverton.jpg|thumb|Aerial panorama of the M1 freeway along Laverton's southern perimeter, 2017]]

Laverton's history starts in 1886 when the sale of land in the area was promoted by Staples, Wise and Company. [[Laverton railway station, Melbourne|Laverton station]] was opened in the same year, becoming the first station between [[Newport railway station, Melbourne|Newport]] and [[Werribee railway station|Werribee]] on the [[Geelong line|Geelong railway line]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Laverton |url=https://vicsig.net/infrastructure/location/Laverton |publisher=Vicsig |access-date=2025-07-02}}</ref> Laverton post office opened on 9 April 1888.<ref name = "a">{{Citation | last = Phoenix Auctions History | title = Post Office List | url = http://www.phoenixauctions.com.au/cgi-bin/wsPhoenix.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&filter=*Laverton* | access-date = 6 April 2021 }}</ref>

A kilometre further down the line [[Aircraft railway station, Melbourne|Aircraft station]], originally called Aircraft Siding, was opened in 1927, named for the adjacent [[RAAF Base Laverton|RAAF base]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Aircraft |url=https://vicsig.net/infrastructure/location/Aircraft |publisher=Vicsig |access-date=2025-07-02}}</ref> which had opened in 1921, seven years after an RAAF base had been established at [[Point Cook, Victoria|Point Cook]], eight kilometres south.

In the 1950s, a second primary school was built in Laverton, having over 900 students by 1966. Two more primary schools and a high school were established around that time. There is a police station near Laverton railway station.

In 1959, the [[Housing Commission of Victoria|Victorian Housing Commission]] acquired large parcel of land to build houses for staff working at the RAAF base, leading to further population growth. More schools were opened and a shopping strip developed near Laverton station.

== Climate ==
Laverton possesses an [[oceanic climate#Marine west coast (Cfb)|oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen:]] Cfb). The town experiences warm [[summers]] and cool winters.<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/maps/averages/climate-classification/?maptype=kpn |title = Climate classification maps: Köppen - all classes |website = [[Bureau of Meteorology]] |access-date = October 4, 2024}}</ref> Average maxima vary from {{convert|25.8|C}} in January to {{convert|13.8|C}} in July, while average minima fluctuate between {{convert|14.3|C}} in February and {{convert|5.2|C}} in July. [[Precipitation]] is moderately low, averaging {{convert|534.2|mm|in|abbr=on}} per annum. However, [[rain|rainfall]] is quite frequent (particularly in [[winter (season)|winter]]), and is spread across 143.1 precipitation days. The town is not sunny, experiencing 166.7 [[cloud|cloudy days]] and only 45.6 clear days per annum. Extreme temperatures have ranged from {{convert|47.5|C}} on 7 February 2009 to {{convert|-4.4|C}} on 15 July 1984.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.farmonlineweather.com.au/climate/station.jsp?lt=site&lc=87031 |title = Laverton RAAF Climate (1941-2024) |website = FarmOnline Weather |publisher = [[Australian Community Media]] |access-date = October 4, 2024}}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Laverton ([[RAAF Williams]]) ({{coord|37.86|S|144.76|E}}, {{convert|20|m|ft|abbr=on}} AMSL) (1941-2024 normals & extremes)
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 45.0
|Feb record high C = 47.5
|Mar record high C = 41.4
|Apr record high C = 35.5
|May record high C = 27.3
|Jun record high C = 24.3
|Jul record high C = 23.5
|Aug record high C = 26.8
|Sep record high C = 31.3
|Oct record high C = 37.2
|Nov record high C = 42.4
|Dec record high C = 45.2
|Jan high C = 25.8
|Feb high C = 25.6
|Mar high C = 23.8
|Apr high C = 20.3
|May high C = 16.9
|Jun high C = 14.2
|Jul high C = 13.8
|Aug high C = 15.0
|Sep high C = 17.1
|Oct high C = 19.4
|Nov high C = 21.6
|Dec high C = 23.9
|Jan low C = 14.0
|Feb low C = 14.3
|Mar low C = 12.7
|Apr low C = 10.0
|May low C = 7.8
|Jun low C = 5.9
|Jul low C = 5.2
|Aug low C = 5.7
|Sep low C = 6.8
|Oct low C = 8.4
|Nov low C = 10.3
|Dec low C = 12.1
|Jan record low C = 5.2
|Feb record low C = 5.0
|Mar record low C = 2.7
|Apr record low C = 0.3
|May record low C = -0.9
|Jun record low C = -3.3
|Jul record low C = -4.4
|Aug record low C = -3.7
|Sep record low C = -1.7
|Oct record low C = -1.0
|Nov record low C = 0.8
|Dec record low C = 3.6
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 41.4
|Feb precipitation mm = 43.4
|Mar precipitation mm = 34.2
|Apr precipitation mm = 45.8
|May precipitation mm = 45.5
|Jun precipitation mm = 38.0
|Jul precipitation mm = 37.9	
|Aug precipitation mm = 44.0		
|Sep precipitation mm = 47.6	
|Oct precipitation mm = 56.2	
|Nov precipitation mm = 53.8
|Dec precipitation mm = 46.5		
|year precipitation mm = 534.2
|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 7.4
|Feb precipitation days = 6.9
|Mar precipitation days = 8.6
|Apr precipitation days = 10.8	
|May precipitation days = 13.8
|Jun precipitation days = 14.2
|Jul precipitation days = 15.4
|Aug precipitation days = 15.7
|Sep precipitation days = 14.6	
|Oct precipitation days = 14.0
|Nov precipitation days = 11.9
|Dec precipitation days = 9.8
|Jan afthumidity = 48
|Feb afthumidity = 50
|Mar afthumidity = 51
|Apr afthumidity = 55
|May afthumidity = 62
|Jun afthumidity = 67
|Jul afthumidity = 64
|Aug afthumidity = 61
|Sep afthumidity = 58
|Oct afthumidity = 55
|Nov afthumidity = 53
|Dec afthumidity = 50
|Jan dew point C = 11.0
|Feb dew point C = 11.9
|Mar dew point C = 10.7
|Apr dew point C = 9.1
|May dew point C = 8.3
|Jun dew point C = 7.1
|Jul dew point C = 5.9
|Aug dew point C = 5.9
|Sep dew point C = 6.7
|Oct dew point C = 7.8
|Nov dew point C = 8.9
|Dec dew point C = 9.7
|Jan sun = 263.5
|Feb sun = 234.5
|Mar sun = 207.7
|Apr sun = 171.0
|May sun = 133.3
|Jun sun = 123.0
|Jul sun = 139.5
|Aug sun = 161.2
|Sep sun = 171.0
|Oct sun = 210.8
|Nov sun = 222.0
|Dec sun = 248.0
|Jan percentsun = 59
|Feb percentsun = 61
|Mar percentsun = 54
|Apr percentsun = 51
|May percentsun = 43
|Jun percentsun = 43
|Jul percentsun = 46
|Aug percentsun = 49
|Sep percentsun = 48
|Oct percentsun = 52
|Nov percentsun = 52
|Dec percentsun = 54
|source 1 = [[Bureau of Meteorology]] (1941-2024 normals & extremes)<ref name="climate"/>
}}

==Demographics==

In the 2011 census the population of Laverton was 4,065, approximately 47.4% female and 52.6% male. The median/average age of the people in Laverton is 31 years of age.

47.1% of people living in the suburb of Laverton were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were 14.0% India, 4.7% Burma, 2.6% Philippines, 2.4% New Zealand, 2.4% England, 2.3% Thailand, 1.6% China, 1.5% Vietnam, 0.8% Scotland, 0.5% Nepal, 0.5% Cambodia, 0.5% Sudan, 0.5% Italy, 0.5% Ethiopia.

51.7% of people living in Laverton speak English only. The other top languages spoken are 12.7% Other, 7.9% Punjabi, 5.5% Language spoken at home not stated, 2.8% Hindi, 1.9% Arabic, 1.8% Other, 1.8% Vietnamese, 1.4% Mandarin, 1.3% Spanish.

The religious makeup of Laverton is 22.8% Catholic, 17.9% No religion, 8.5% Anglican, 8.3% Religious affiliation not stated, 7.7% Other Religious Groups, 7.6% Baptist, 6.8% Hinduism, 3.7% Islam, 3.2% Buddhism, 2.8% Eastern Orthodox.

==Transport==
=== Train ===
Laverton is home to two train stations; [[Aircraft railway station|Aircraft Station]] and [[Laverton railway station, Melbourne|Laverton Station]], both of which are serviced by trains on the [[Werribee railway line]].

===Bus===
Laverton is serviced by nine bus routes:
* Route 400: [[Sunshine railway station, Melbourne|Sunshine Station]] to Laverton Station
* Route 411: Laverton Station to [[Footscray, Victoria|Footscray]] (via [[Altona Meadows, Victoria|Altona Meadows]] and [[Altona, Victoria|Altona]])
* Route 412: Laverton Station to Footscray (via Altona Meadows and Altona)
* Route 414: Laverton Station to Footscray
* Route 415: Laverton Station to [[Williamstown, Victoria|Williamstown]] (via Altona)
* Route 417: Laverton Station to Laverton Station (via [[Laverton North, Victoria|Laverton North]])
* Route 496: Laverton Station to Sanctuary Lakes
* Route 498: Laverton Station to [[Hoppers Crossing railway station|Hoppers Crossing Station]]
* Route 903: Altona to [[Mordialloc, Victoria|Mordialloc]] ([[SmartBus|SMARTBUS]] Service)

==Royal Australian Air Force bases==

Laverton was the home to [[RAAF Base Laverton]]. The base is no longer used for operational flying. In 2008 the base became part of the new suburb of [[Williams Landing, Victoria|Williams Landing]]. For administrative purposes, it is now merged with the former [[RAAF Base Williams|RAAF Base Point Cook]] as [[RAAF Base Williams]]. Point Cook is home to the [[RAAF Museum]], where visitors can see many different types of historical [[RAAF]] aircraft. RAAF Williams is also home to the Laverton depot of the Australian Army Reserves 8/7 Battalion of the Royal Victorian Regiment.

==Scouts==

Laverton was home to the 1st Laverton Air Scout group which began in approximately 1952. In the past, it was an active 'Air Scout' Group given the local RAAF base. The group currently has Joey Scouts, Cub Scouts and Scouts. It met in a hall on railway land near the Laverton railway station. This hall was also used by local sports clubs and gets hired out for parties. 1st Laverton Scout Group has been dissolved and permanently closed.

Laverton was also home to 2nd Laverton Scout Group, which began in 1970. This group has a hall at Lawrie Emmins Reserve and since 2014, hasn't been 2nd Laverton, they became Williams. Williams is a smaller, lesser known group with a lot less members than other Scout Groups in Werribee Plains District.

==Sport==

The suburb has an [[Australian rules football]] team (Laverton Magpies) competing in the [[Western Region Football League]].<ref name = "footy">{{Citation  | last = Full Points Footy  | title = Laverton | url = http://www.fullpointsfooty.net//western_region_football_league.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080510071130/http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/western_region_football_league.htm | url-status = usurped | archive-date = 10 May 2008 | accessdate = 15 April 2009 }}</ref>

The Laverton Cricket Club is also based at Laverton Park. It currently has five senior teams and a large number of junior sides.

Golfers play at the course of the RAAF Williams Golf Club.<ref name = "golf">{{Citation  | author= Golf Select | title = RAAF Williams | url = http://www.golfselect.com.au/armchair/courseView.aspx?course_id=682 | accessdate = 11 May 2009 }}</ref>

A skate park, based at McCormick Park, caters to skaters and BMX riders.

==See also==
* [[City of Werribee]] – Laverton was previously within this former local government area.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{City of Hobsons Bay suburbs}}
{{City of Wyndham suburbs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laverton, Victoria}}
[[Category:Suburbs of Melbourne]]
[[Category:Suburbs of the City of Hobsons Bay]]
[[Category:Suburbs of the City of Wyndham]]