Airport West

Airport West is a suburb that doesn’t actually have an airport. It sits roughly seven and a half miles northwest of Melbourne’s Central Business District. Its name came from its location west of Essendon Airport. This is Melbourne’s first general airport and today is home to light planes, charters and freight since the opening of Melbourne Airport, which is north of Airport West in 1970.
The main reason for the name change in the 1950s was that a group of aviation related businesses in Airport West wanted a more appropriate name that reflected their location to help their business. In the 1970s the post office in Niddrie North, which was located near Airport West, changed its name to Airport West. This is probably why it is thought that Airport West gained more popularity and prominence in the 1970s and 1980s.
This area was once the location of two farms: Spring Park and Niddrie. This was before the area was subdivided in the 1950s and 1960s. That’s when the name change happened and the area that we know today as Airport West was created. Today, the area has a large Italian population and the Catholic faith is strongest in Airport West, which is home to two churches, a Catholic and a Uniting Church.
Many of the street names are inspired by aviation. Some are named after Australian World War I aviators, such as Harry Hawker and Elwyn King. Others are named after participants in the 1919 Britain-Australia air race such as Ray Parer, John McIntosh, George Fraser, Captain George Matthews, etc. and finally some are named after Australian airmen killed in World War II bombing raids over Europe like James Cameron, Philip Hart, Fletcher Green, Raymond Earl, George York, Lyle Bowes, Charles Walters.