We asked Melburnians what they love about their home suburb.
Reservoir. Even its name is conflicting. First, the reservoirs, built in 1863, are actually collectively called Preston Reservoir.
Secondly, how do you pronounce it? Is it French-like, with a lovely “voir” at the end? Or local-like with a strict “vor”?. When I was a local, I’d set those fancy talkers straight. “It’s ‘vor’,” I’d say. Or you can call it Rezza. But I don’t know anyone who does.
I have a love/hate relationship with Reservoir. OK, it’s mostly hate. It’s a bit like this. A friend/random stranger will mention in passing that they’re considering moving to Reservoir to live. They’ll tell the familiar tale: they want to keep living in North Fitzroy/Northcote/Thornbury/Preston but it’s too expensive to buy or rent in. I will turn towards them, wide-eyed, take them by the shoulders and say, as calmly as I can: “No, no, do whatever you can, pay whatever extra amount you need to pay for a house where you want to live, but don’t move to Reservoir!”
However you say the name of the suburb, Edwardes Lake is a lake, not a reservoir. Photo: Vince Caligiuri
You can shout gentrification from the rooftops and I won’t hear you. No, it’s impossible over the roar of un-roadworthy, defect-stickered vehicles being revved up by unruly neighbours. I can’t hear it over the fighting.
Say you’re moving from nearby Thornbury. According to Fairfax’s Media interactive Crime in Your Neighbourhood feature, there were 565 non-aggravated burglaries in Reservoir. That’s nearly three times that of Thornbury (223). In the past year there were 272 breaches of family violence orders, down from a staggering 343 in the previous year. Thornbury had 52.
But crime stats aside, people are flocking here. The hipster cafes have moved in to froth up almond milk for lattes, and young tattooed families (not the love/hate on both knuckles type, though that might be in these days, who knows?) have moved in to sip them.
Local eateries along Edwardes Street, Reservoir. Photo: Vince Caligiuri
Wikipedia says: “It is also very popular with young home-buyers looking for a ‘still affordable’ inner city lifestyle”. Oh my goodness, who wrote that? This is not inner city, people! And it’s not exactly “still affordable”. Mind you, Barry Plant has a lovely looking three-bedroom brick home with very 1970s features, up for sale for $689,500.
That figure is close to the suburb’s median house price of $635,000, according to Domain Group data. Prices are up 13.4 per cent from last year. With Preston at $844,000, Coburg at $850,000 and Thornbury at $970,000 in September’s figures, you can see why it’s where would-be buyers of the north are heading. It’s not unusual to find million-dollar sales, though. Developers are still snapping up big blocks to build McTownhouses on them.
Reservoir Village, near the main train station, hasn’t seen much change, apart from some new residential apartment blocks going up on the uninspiring shopping strip. Still, it’s trying. You could hashtag #reservoirsome on Insta and Facebook back in August and win prizes. A highlight: Lady Bower Kitchen opened off Broadway four years ago, and is still going strong.
Houses sprawl along Cheddar Road, where there’s also plenty of green space. Photo: Vince Caligiuri
Yet it’s the residential areas of Reservoir that are making something out of not much. Gellibrand Cafe, on Gellibrand Crescent, opened this year. The huge cafe is set in a small shopping strip off the big drag, separated from the rest of Reservoir by a “do not cross” railway line. The railway line is an imaginary divide, says one local.
Head up closer to the reservoirs, in a pretty part of Reservoir, and you’ll find queues at The Window Corner cafe. Bemoaned for lack of nightlife, former inner-city types are trying their best to get some creative musical action happening in Reservoir, too.
Five things you didn’t know about Reservoir
- The Northside Rollers is a womens’ roller derby side that trains and plays in the Reservoir area.
- Edwardes Lake had its own Life Saving Club (the Preston Life Saving Club) back in the early 1900s, though swimming in the polluted lake was banned from 1939.
- Preston Cycling Club has its clubrooms and outdoor velodrome at TW Andrews Reserve in Reservoir; summer cycling is on: check it out!
- There’s been an ongoing push to extend the 112 tram line (now route 11) to Reservoir Station. It now stops in West Preston.
- The diabolical Reservoir level crossing will be removed; a community consultation process is continuing into 2017.