Fawkner is located 12 km north of the CBD. Bounded by the Hume Highway in the west and the Merri Creek in the east Fawkner is an important industrial centre in Melbourne's north. Manufacturing has traditionally been the main local employment source but the numbers working in this sector has decreased substantially over the last twenty years. Like a number of suburbs in this part of Melbourne the population has decreased and aged significantly over the 1981-1996 period. Fawkner has more than 20% of its population born in Italy which is the highest in Melbourne.