The following information appeared in an article in The Age Newspaper, 7 November, 1996 Statistics from the 1991 Census
Postcode: 3051 Where: 2 kilometres north of the city Population: 8417 Born in: Australia 48% Vietnam 8% China 6% UK 4% Italy 2% Hong Kong 2% Religion: Christian 50% Buddhist 6% Islam 3% Jewish 0.1% Language: 53% speak only English
North Melbourne sprang up during the 1850's goldrush. Located on the goldfields road, the suburb's first businesses and residents served the steady flow of traffic headed between the city centre and the fossicking districts.
Remnants of that optimistic time have survived and lend a stately air to parts of the suburb. Grand terraces line the wider streets, while public housing, workers cottages and light industry populate other pockets.
Lorna Hannan, a city councillor and member of the Hotham History project (the suburb was once called Hotham), says North Melbourne homes built in the late 1880s bear some of the city's finest domestic lace ironwork.
Irish and Scottish migrants were among the first residents, followed by the Greeks in the 1920s, Italians in the late '30s and more recently Vietnamese, Chinese and Africans. Hannan says the Queen Victoria Market has long been central to residents' lives, providing work or a place to purchase exotic fare.
Unlike some other suburbs, North Melbourne retains a pedestrian feel. People walk to the shopping centre, trundle their trolleys to the market and rely on the many trams and trains that service the area. The village-like atmosphere is enhanced by the local football team.
The team's nickname, "the shinboners", dates to the days when many of the players worked at the local abattoirs and spent their days separating meat from shinbones. Hannan says local butchers used to decorate their windows with the bones, a trend that has (thankfully) faded with time.
- By Nicole Brady
There is an alternate explanation for the origin of "the shinboners". Former club president Phonse Tobin changed the nickname to "The Kangaroos" in the mid-1950's. He disliked the term "shinboners", as he wanted "a mascot we could show... I always hated the name. It projected an unfavourable image... I always thought too, that the club should have a mascot we could show. You can't very well hold up a shinbone. In selecting a new name, I wanted something characteristically Australian. I found the answer one day when I saw a giant kangaroo on display outside a city store."
Father G. Dowling, North's historian, says the origin of the "shinboners" may have been due to the Irish population playing hurley at the football ground, using their hurley sticks with little regard for their opponent's shins.
- information from Football Life, August 1971