Lalor is named after Peter Lalor, an activist turned Victorian state politician who led the 1854 Eureka Stockade rebellion. In 2015, it is estimated 23,000 people live in Lalor and the population is forecast to increase by 18 per cent to 27,200 by 2036.
This place snapshot provides a summary of future development in the Lalor area for current and future residents, business owners, investors and community groups.
For snapshots of development in other areas, see Place Snapshots: A Guide to Development in Your Area.
Lalor is named after Peter Lalor, an activist turned Victorian state politician who led the 1854 Eureka Stockade rebellion and went on to become the only outlaw to become a Member of Parliament.
Lalor was a part of Thomastown until 1945 when Leo Purcell, a patient at a military hospital on the Atherton Tablelands, devised a scheme to provide low cost homes for ex-servicemen. In February 1947 he formed the Peter Lalor Home Building Co-operative Society with a group of ex-servicemen and a program of house building began. This continued until 1954 when it was taken over by the War Service Homes Commission. Heritage listing of parts of the Peter Lalor Estate commemorate this important social history.
The Lalor post office opened in 1949 followed by the first primary school in 1954.
This is an established residential area of approximately 9 square kilometres. Settlement of the area dates from the 1850s when German migrants established the township of Westgarthtown, with the land mainly used for dairy farming.
It is mainly a residential area, although there are businesses and services in the area. These include the Lalor Shopping Centre on Station Street and May Road, which consists of approximately 100 businesses and services.
Council adopted the master plan for Thomastown and Lalor shopping centres in December 2011. The plan includes street improvements to shopping areas, improved landscaping, seats, shelters and bike facilities.
In 2015, it is estimated 23,000 people live in Lalor and the population is forecast to increase by 18 per cent to 27,200 by 2036.
The median age of residents is expected to stay the same, 38 years, until 2036.
In 2015, it is estimated there will be 336 births (average 6 births per week) with an increase by 2036 to 396 births per year (average 7 births per week).
Almost half the population were born overseas and 65 per cent of residents speak a language other than English at home.
The most commonly spoken languages are Arabic, Italian, and Macedonian.
In 2015 there were approximately 8,200 dwellings and this is expected to increase to around 9,700 dwellings by 2036.
The average household size in Lalor is expected to remain at 3 people to 2036 with 36 per cent of households made up of couples with children and 16 per cent being 1-parent households.
Labourers (17 per cent) and machinery operators/drivers (13 per cent) are the most common occupations and the most common industries of employment are manufacturing (18 per cent), retail trade (12 per cent), and health care and social assistance (10 per cent).
More children attend primary school (7 per cent), compared with secondary school (6 per cent) and kindergarten (1 per cent).
Half of all households in Lalor have access to 2 or more motor vehicles, with 60 per cent of residents drive a car to work.
Find out about other advocacy priorities for the whole City of Whittlesea.