Bulla, Victoria

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Bulla
state = vic


caption =
lga = City of Hume
postcode = 3428
pop = 398 (2006) Census 2006 AUS | id = SSC25247 | name = Bulla (State Suburb) | accessdate = 2007-09-17 | quick = on]
est = 1850s
elevation= 129
stategov = Yuroke
fedgov = Calwell
dist1 = 29
location1= Melbourne
dist2 = 7
location2= Melbourne Airport
dist3 = 9
location3= Sunbury
near-nw = Sunbury
near-n =
near-ne =
near-w = Diggers Rest
near-e = Oaklands Junction
near-sw =
near-s = Keilor North
near-se = Melbourne Airport

Bulla is a small town immediately northwest of Melbourne Airport and 30 km north-west of Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria, Australia, along Sunbury Road. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hume. At the 2006 Census, Bulla had a population of 398.

The town is situated in a valley along Deep Creek, a tributary of Maribyrnong River.

History

Bulla's name is of Indigenous origins but the meaning is unclear. It was first settled by William "Tulip" Wright, the former chief constable of Melbourne in 1843. In 1851 the village was surveyed. A flour mill, brickworks and pottery works were built to exploit local kaolinite reserves, and facilities were quickly erected to serve the local population, including several churches (two of which are now listed by the National Trust), a school, general store, and from 1862, council offices.Bulla Post Office opened on 1 March 1851 but was known as Bulla Bulla until 1854. Citation
last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | accessdate = 2008-04-11 ]

At the time it was the largest town in the region, but competition from Sunbury limited the growth of the town. In 1956, the Bulla Shire Council (now part of the City of Hume following amalgamation in 1994) moved to Sunbury, and in 1996, the Kennett Liberal government closed the primary school.

In 1910, the Bulla Cream Company took up dairy farming in the area, transporting the cream by horse and cart to their processing facility at Moonee Ponds in suburban Melbourne.

Present day

The town centre of Bulla contains a large reserve which includes a sports centre, tennis club and community centre. This reserve is home to the Tullamarine Live Steam Society, who maintain a miniature railway which is open to the public on the first and third Sunday afternoon of each month, also a monthly Market 3rd Sunday 9am to 3pm train rides all day. It also contains hotel-motel accommodation and a country fire station [Map 177, Melway street directory (28th ed., 2001)]

The ABS reported in 2001 that 12% of the town's residents are of Italian descent, and a Calabria Club is located on Uniting Lane.

Transport

The 479 and 500 bus routes operated by Tullamarine Bus Lines service the town, connecting with both suburban Melbourne and with nearby Sunbury, which contains a Victoria University campus. [ [http://www.tullamarinebus.com.au/ Tullamarine Bus Lines website] , accessed 23 November 2006]

References

External links

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20040511081320/www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/bulla.html Australian Places - Bulla]
* [http://www.netconnect.com.au/~tlss Tullamarine Live Steam Society] (homepage)
* [http://www.bulladairyfoods.com.au/ Bulla Dairy Foods] (company site)