Preston

Preston is a suburb of Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located about 15km to the north of the City or CBD, bordering the suburbs of Ivanhoe, Heidelberg West, Coburg, Thornbury, and Reservoir.

The major thoroughfares of Preston include Bell Street, St Geroge's Road and High Street.

Preston has always been a working class area but in recent times the suburb has suffered greatly from crime and drugs, particularly heroin. Numerous drug dealers, both minor and major, inhabit the area. Despite this, the area is quite a pleasant one, with parks and gardens and the excellent Preston Market where chop-chop (homegrown, untaxed and pretty much unsmokeable tobacco) can be bought. The hideous Northland shopping centre, a mall, can also be found here.

Preston is also known for its relatively large Aboriginal population, and there is an Aboriginal cultural centre on the corner of St George's Road and Bell Street. Following World War II, the area recieved a large influx of Southern European immigrants.

Preston train station is found on the Epping line. Other train stations include Bell and Croxton stations. Tram no. 112 (formely 11) runs up St George's Road and terminates in West Preston. Many buses run down Bell Street.

Preston is an old mill town in Lancashire with a long history of political uprising. The town has very recently been made into a city, and there are high hopes that it will soon rival Liverpool and Manchester as a shopping and entertainment destination.

Recently 'The Mill', a sucessful music venue, has re-opened, and the opening of a new student union is imminent. Along with the long established warehouse nightclub and the network of smaller venues such as the Mitre and the 12 Bar, the future for live music in Preston looks good, with many promising young bands on the rise.

The local newspaper is 'The Lancashire Evening Post'

The Central Library is situated in the harris museum, and has census and parish records for the area on microfiche, as well as an extensive local history section in the reference library.

The 1960's bus station was the largest in Europe at the time of its construction, but is now scheduled for demolition in an extensive regeneration project known as the 'Tithebarn Project'.

Notable buildings include the Harris Museum, by the market square, Horrockses Mill, near the Prison, Cardinal Newman College (or Lark Hil) in Avenham and the Train station.