Essendon at a glance
Built in waves
Estates near the railway were subdivided after the line was duplicated in 1884. New tram routes made Essendon one of Melbourne's fastest growing suburbs again in the 1900s, and the north and west filled in during the 1950s and 1960s.
A third of homes are flats
At the 2021 Census, 47.2% of occupied homes were separate houses and 33.0% were flats or apartments. 35.6% were rented.
Heritage on the main roads
The railway station complex, the date palm avenue on Mount Alexander Road and Earlsbrae Hall (1890) are on the Victorian Heritage Register, each with its own Heritage Overlay number.
Jemena runs the poles and wires
Jemena's network takes in Essendon, with Essendon and North Essendon zone substations. Report faults and fallen lines to Jemena on 131 626.
What's usually behind the meter box door, by era
| Before the 1920s | 1950s and 1960s | |
|---|---|---|
| What you might find | Rewireable ceramic fuses, sometimes on a dark backing board | Early circuit breakers or fuses, often no safety switch |
| Wiring to watch | Old cable in the roof space, if it hasn't been replaced | Original circuits never sized for today's appliances |
| Usual first job | A switchboard upgrade, then rewiring room by room | Safety switches and new circuits for a kitchen or heat pump |
| Asbestos | Possible in the backing board | Possible too: homes built or renovated before 1990 likely contain some |
Renovating a period house in Essendon
Extensions are where old and new wiring meet. If the back half of the house is new and the front is a century old, ask the electrician to check how the old circuits connect to the new board, as well as wiring the new rooms.
A board change, new circuits or new mains are all licensed work, and in Victoria you get a Certificate of Electrical Safety when it's done. Bigger jobs such as consumer mains count as prescribed work, so an independent inspector checks them before they can be switched on.
Where we'd start in Essendon
Work out which era your house really is, because plenty of Essendon homes are older at the front than the back. Then get the switchboard assessed before anything else. On a period house we'd want an electrician who's comfortable with old fuse boards and heritage streets; on a 1960s house, one who'll size the board for what you're adding next.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.