Thomastown's homes and power
Post-war houses
Housing followed the 1947 ex-servicemen's cooperative at Lalor, just to the north. At the 2021 Census, 84.3% of Thomastown's homes were separate houses and 62.9% had three bedrooms.
Long-time owners, plenty of renters
42.7% of homes were owned outright and 28.7% were rented.
A substation two networks share
Jemena says its Thomastown zone substation is shared with AusNet Services. AusNet says the station dates from the early 1950s, and it's upgrading its 66 kV equipment with completion due in 2026.
Factories and a terminal station
Manufacturing came in the 1960s and 1970s, and the south of the suburb has numerous factories and an electricity terminal station.
Westgarthtown
Several 1850s and 1860s farm buildings from the German settlement are heritage listed, and the Lutheran church and cemetery survive in German Lane.
Jobs that come up in Thomastown
Old fuse boards. A house from the 1950s or 1960s may still have ceramic fuses you pull out and rewire, with no safety switches at all. Replacing the board with circuit breakers and safety switches is the single biggest safety gain in a house that age.
Asbestos-era backing. WorkSafe says switchboards and their backing are a typical place to find asbestos, and its code says asbestos must not be reused, so an asbestos mounting panel that comes out has to be replaced with a non-asbestos one. Tell the electrician the age of the house when you book.
Storm faults. The City of Whittlesea lists strong winds, flash flooding, large hailstones and lightning as local storm hazards. Outdoor power points and lights are usually the first circuits to trip after a downpour.
If it were our house in Thomastown
We'd book a switchboard check before anything else, and ask the electrician to list which circuits have no safety switch. In a post-war house, that one answer shapes every job that follows.
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.