Oakbell Estate, Preston

A selling point of the Oakbell Estate was the proximity to Bell Street railway station which was planned to open at the start of 1889, being ‘only 334 yards’ away. 126 business and residence sites were for sale.   The late 1880s saw a land boom in Melbourne and also in Preston with numerous land companies being formed along with individuals subdividing and offering land for sale. In 1888 there were 25 different estates on the market in Preston, along with Oakbell.   Much of this land lay vacant for many years until interest picked up just before and certainly after the First World War.

It seems this was the fate of Oakbell Estate, as according to street directories and maps, the estate was not developed.   Andrew, Byron & Milton Streets as we can see on the land sale plan did not appear. Looking at today’s map it seems the area where the estate was planned is now covered by Stott Street.

Forster, Harley W. (1968). Preston Lands and People. Melbourne: Cheshire.
Carroll, Brian & Rule, Ian (1985). Preston: an Illustrated History.
Preston: City of Preston. Sands and McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1864- 1974. (1974). Melbourne, Australia: Sands & McDougall.
Mercury and Weekly Courier (Vic: 1878 - 1903), Thursday 25 October 1888, page 2 Auctions.
Herald (Melbourne, Vic: 1861 - 1954), Friday 26 October 1888, page 4 Plan of Oakbell Estate, Preston [cartographic material]. 1888. State Library of Victoria. Available online.