Street Names

Aitken Court	Running into Townsend Road, this new court was planned as Aitken Avenue and was named by the late Harold Williams when secretary, Shire of Bellarine, after his mother's maiden name. His parents came to Geelong about 1920 from Willaura and they lived in partial retirement at 312 Myers Street although Mr. Williams at one time had a mail run in the Barrabool Hills.
Aldershot Road	Another Enfield colt from St. Albans Stud, Aldershot was moderately successful in the 1950s for H. G. Raymond, in staying races. Capt. H. G. (Guy) Raymond had a distinguished career in the Royal Artillery, hence his interest in military names.
Belkan Court	Not being able to find that name in Robert Windmill's all-embracing history of Geelong racing, I contacted him and he was quick to discern that the name should have been "Balkan" as there were three horses of that name at St. Albans, Balkan Prince, the progeny of Gay Lothario and winner of races in the early thirties, his dam being Balkan Rose; a filly, Balkan Princess, was also connected. See St. Albans Stud Estate.
Bradford Street	St. Albans Stud Estate. Bradford was one of nineteen racehorses which, in 1895, were included in the sweep conducted by George Adams (Tattersall) when the St. Albans Estate was disposed of in a consultation involving 125,000 shares of Ł1 each.
Carbine Drive	St. Albans Stud Estate. Streets in this subdivision carry the names of racehorses once in training at St. Albans Estate; this one is named for Carbine, one of the most famous horses in Australia's turf history. Owned by the Hon. Donald S. Wallace, MLC, of Ballark, Carbine climaxed a wonderful turf career by winning the 1890 Melbourne Cup in a then record time carrying the heaviest weight to that date. He was trained at St. Albans Estate by W. R. Wilson and was probably even more famous as a sire.
Chandos Street	Another street name apparently adopted from the London area.
Chapel Street	An early Wesleyan or Methodist chapel is said to have once stood in this street.
Dew Street	This street was formed through the property of James Dew, a member of the stonemason and bricklaying family associated with many historic buildings including St. Mary's Church and was a member of Geelong City Council.
East End Crescent	East End (Enfield-North Star) was a full brother of Sirius, winner of the 1944 Melbourne Cup. See St. Albans Stud Estate.
Filipi Drive	Gatehouse Estate. B. Filipi Constructions Pty. Ltd. is the company carrying out the subdivision and the erection of the houses on the estate.
Gandross Place	From the same source (See Belkan Court) it was determined that the mysterious horse intended to be named in the street was Cardross, one of a string of successful colts sired in 1967-8 by Marazion, which was standing at St. Albans Stud. (I attempted to have the names corrected, but the subdivider was not prepared to initiate further action as the names had already been registered with the authorities.) See St. Albans Stud Estate.
Garnfield Place	The intended name was Yarnfield but poor drafting of the subdivisional plan has led to the wrong name being perpetuated; Yarnfield is an historic spot in Stone, Staffordshire, where the family of a childhood pal of the subdivider has lived for centuries. See Meadenhall Drive.
Gatehouse Place	Gatehouse Estate. This street runs beside the gatehouse of the famous St. Albans Estate; the gatehouse has been purchased for restoration and use as a private residence.
Govett Crescent	Gatehouse Estate. This street carries the name of Robert Govett, a Queensland sportsman, who took over the St. Albans Estate in 1900.
Grafton Street	Augustus Henry Fitzroy, third Duke of Grafton (1735-1811), was an important English statesman whose title has been used as a place name in various parts of the English-speaking world. It is also used in street names in London.
Hickey Street	The Hickey family was established at an early date at East Geelong, the earliest known member being Bartholomew, who was there in the 1882-83 Directory.
Homestead Drive	Gatehouse Estate. James Wilson Senior's historic homestead (1873), known as "St. Albans", is still to be found at the end of this short road although bereft of most of its former large estate.
Lino Court	Prolific subdivider in the Lara area, Lino Bisinella has turned his attention to land in the Bellarine Rural City area, hence the two obvious namings (the other reference is to Bisinella Court, Leopold).
Lymington Court	Lymington is a village on the coast of Hampshire which had a particular appeal to the subdivider. See Meadenhall Drive.
Meadenhall Drive	Meadenhall Estate. Subdivider, Martin Whitehead, formerly of England, said the estate and the main street were supposed to be Leadenhall, the name of a street associated with the Bank of England; but the municipality would not accept the name due to conflict with another estate. So the subdivider took the next letter of the alphabet to overcome the problem.
Mersey Court	Mersey was the dam of Carbine, winner of the 1890 Melbourne Cup. See St. Albans Stud Estate.
Minka Crescent	Another glaring error has been found in an earlier subdivision and it took a great stretch of the imagination to fathom it out. Should be Mentor, which was the winner of the 1874 Geelong Cup; another horse of the same name won the 1888 Melbourne Cup. See St. Albans Stud Estate.
Nada Close	Nada, a well-performed mare, was a daughter of Trenton, the most successful stallion at St. Albans Stud. See St. Albans Stud Estate.
Ottoman Court	Named after a stallion which stood at St. Albans Stud; it was later sold to Queensland interests. See St. Albans Stud Estate.
Oxford Street	Part of an early subdivision on the outskirts of Geelong (generally then known as East Geelong, i.e. east of Boundary Road), two of the best known and adjacent streets of London were used to enhance prospects of sale of the land.
Paramount Crescent	Paramount was a stallion imported from England in 1952, but which was later sold to South Australian interests. See St. Albans Stud Estate.
Pitman Street	John and Andrew Pitman were tanners said to have been brought out for the Clyde works. They lived in the Whittington area.
Portland Avenue	Bill of Portland was an outstanding sire at the St. Albans Stud late last century.
RAAF Street	See also Truscott Street. The proximity of these streets indicates that Wing Commander "Bluey" Truscott, a Spitfire pilot of the R.A.A.F. serving in Britain during the Battle of Britain, but later killed in the South-East Pacific area, is remembered here. Truscott was also a popular member of the Melbourne Football Club.
Regent Street	Part of an early subdivision on the outskirts of Geelong (generally then known as East Geelong, i.e. east of Boundary Road), two of the best known and adjacent streets of London were used to enhance prospects of sale of the land.
Rimfire Close	An Enfield colt from St. Albans Stud, Rimfire, won the 1948 Melbourne Cup for H. G. Raymond. Enfield was one of the most successful sires at St. Albans Stud.
St. Albans Street	The name of the township established about 1852 - it is another English place name used worldwide.
St. Albans Stud Estate	Three streets [in this estate] will carry into history the names of fictitious horses probably due to the inability of the younger generation to read the handwriting of an older generation. In this case the subdividers obtained a list of the better known horses associated with the St. Albans Stud from Miss Anne Raymond, daughter of the late Guy Raymond, a former owner of the estate, with a view to using them as street names. From the list [ ... ] names were erroneously gleaned.
St. James Street	Apparently named after a London district where streets are also so named. The St. James Street in Geelong West was named because it led to St. James Church and Sunday School in Aberdeen Street (now Aberdeen Chateau).
Silk Street	A more recently named street which connects St. James and Grafton Streets. It bears the name of a pioneer family of the Moolap district which probably subdivided its family holding.
Stefania Mews	This street, in the new Wattle Park Estate, carries the Christian name of the wife of the subdivider, B. Filipi, who advertised in May 1993 as having been in business for 40 years.
Strathmore Court	Strathmore, a leading sire at St. Albans Stud, had earlier been third to Malvolio in the 1881 Melbourne Cup. See St. Albans Stud Estate.
Thatcher Court	No doubt this court carries the name of Thomas Thatcher, a resident of Oxford Street a century ago. This court runs off Oxford Street.
Townsend Road	The Townsend family were early residents of Whittington or St. Albans, and a Mr. F. Townsend gave notice of his leaving the district in November, 1875. No doubt this family is recorded here.
Trenton Parade	Trenton was an early successful sire at the adjacent St. Albans Stud.
Truscott Street	See also RAAF Street. The proximity of these streets indicates that Wing Commander "Bluey" Truscott, a Spitfire pilot of the R.A.A.F. serving in Britain during the Battle of Britain, but later killed in the South-East Pacific area, is remembered here. Truscott was also a popular member of the Melbourne Football Club.
Wandle Grove	Wandle was a grey horse which wore the blue and white hoops of the Geelong Football Club; it was the only hose to win the Dual Choice Place twice. See St. Albans Stud Estate.
Westmoreland Street	Part of an early subdivision west of Wilson Road, it carries the name of the now defunct English county which is now largely part of the new Cumbria county.
Wilson's Road	James Wilson, of St. Albans Stud and Racing Stables (which he founded in the 1860s but expanded in the 1870s), was Geelong's most successful racehorse trainer, but he also took a very keen interest in cricket and football, as did his sons James (Jnr.) and Billy. Both played football for Geelong, James Jnr. being a very successful captain of the club. The family also conducted the Bonny Vale and Frankfort (now Suma Park) stables. The road running past St. Albans Stud fittingly carries James Wilson's name.