Albert Park is an inner suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, south of Melbourne's

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

. The suburb is named after Albert Park, a large lakeside

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

located within the

City of Port Phillip The City of Port Phillip is a local government area of Victoria, Australia on the northern shores of Port Phillip, south of Melbourne's central business district. It has an area of 20.7 km² and had a population of 113,200 in June 2018. Po ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

. Albert Park recorded a population of 6,044 at the 2021 census. The suburb of Albert Park extends from the

St Vincent Gardens St Vincent Gardens in the Melbourne suburb of Albert Park, is an Australian park of national significance. It is an example of nineteenth century residential development around a large landscaped square. Development occurred as a result of a b ...

to Beaconsfield Parade and Mills Street. It was settled residentially as an extension of Emerald Hill ( South Melbourne). It is characterised by wide streets, heritage buildings,

terraced house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

s, open air cafes, parks and significant stands of mature exotic trees, including Canary Island Date Palm and

London Plane London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

s. The Albert Park Circuit has been home to the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...

since 1996, with the exception of 2020–2021 due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.

History

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

s first inhabited the area that is now Albert Park around 40,000 years ago. The area was a series of swamps and lagoons. The main park after which the suburb was named was declared a public park and named in 1864 to honour

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

's consort,

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Albert I of Belgium ...

. Albert Park was used as a garbage dump, a military camp and for recreation before the

artificial lake A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

was built. In 1854 a land-subdivision survey was done from Park Street, South Melbourne, to the northern edge of the parkland (Albert Road).

were laid out and the surrounding streets home to the city's most successful citizens. Street names commemorated

Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to: * Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain * Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England It may also refer to: Music * ''Trafalgar'' (album), by the Bee Gees Pl ...

and

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

personalities. Heritage Victoria notes that Albert Park's St Vincent Gardens ''"is historically important as the premier 'square' development in Victoria based on similar models in London. It is significant as the largest development of its type in Victoria and for its unusual development as gardens rather than the more usual small park"'' and ''"was first laid out in 1854 or 55, probably by

Andrew Clarke Andrew Clarke may refer to: *Andrew Clarke (British Army officer, born 1793) (1793–1847), Governor of Western Australia *Sir Andrew Clarke (British Army officer, born 1824) (1824–1902), Governor of the Straits Settlements, son of the above *And ...

, the Surveyor-General of Victoria. The current layout is the work of Clement Hodgkinson, the noted

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

, engineer and

topographer Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scie ...

, who adapted the design in 1857 to allow for its intersection by the St Kilda railway line. The precinct, which in its original configuration extended from Park Street in the north to Bridport Street in the south and from Howe Crescent in the east to Nelson Road and Cardigan Street in the west, was designed to emulate similar 'square' developments in London, although on a grander scale. The main streets were named after British naval heroes. The development of the special character of St Vincent Place has been characterised, since the first land sales in the 1860s, by a variety of housing stock, which has included quality row and detached houses and by the gardens which, although they have been continuously developed, remain faithful to the initial landscape concept." St Vincent's is a garden of significant mature tree specimens. It is registered with the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

and is locally significant for the social focus the gardens provide to the neighbourhood. Activities in the park range from relaxing walks, siestas to organised sports competition. The Albert Park Lawn Bowls Club was established in 1873 and the Tennis Club established 1883, on the site of an earlier croquet ground.

Geography

Albert Park features part of the massive

Albert Park and Lake Albert Park is a large public park in the City of Port Phillip, an inner suburban LGA of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Located south of the Melbourne central business district, the park encompasses of parkland around the long Albert Park ...

(formerly South Park in the 19th century until it was also renamed after Prince Albert) and is located nearby. It is a significant state park managed by

Parks Victoria Parks Victoria is a government agency of the state of Victoria, Australia. Parks Victoria was established in December 1996 as a statutory authority, reporting to the Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Change. The ''Parks Victoria Ac ...

. It is also known as the site of the Albert Park Circuit.

Commercial centres

Commercial centres include Bridport Street, with its cafes and shops and Victoria Avenue, known for its cafes, delicatessens and boutiques.

Beach areas

Albert Park has a long beach frontage, with several distinctive features, including many grand buildings (such as the Victoria Hotel, a grand hotel and former

coffee palace A coffee palace was an often large and elaborate residential hotel that did not serve alcohol, most of which were built in Australia in the late 19th century. A modest temperance hotel was opened in 1826 by activist Gerrit Smith in his home ...

, now café bar, built in 1887) and Victorian terrace homes; Kerferd Kiosk, an iconic Edwardian bathing pavilion and Kerferd Pier, which terminates Kerferd Road and is a jetty onto

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

, used for fishing by many and sharks have occasionally been found around it.

Albert Park and Lake

The lake is popular with strollers, runners and cyclists. Dozens of small yachts sail around the lake on sunny days. Only the north eastern part of the park and lake is actually in the suburb, the rest is in the neighbouring suburbs of South Melbourne, Melbourne, Middle Park and St Kilda.

Demographics

At the , Albert Park had a population of 6,215. 66.2% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 5.4%, Greece 4.0% and New Zealand 2.5%. 74.2% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek at 8.0%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 39.3% and Catholic 18.4%.

Housing

Landmark edwardian home on canterbury road middle park

Albert Park is composed mainly of Victorian terrace and semi-detached housing. Many residential areas are in heritage overlays to protect their character. Boyd Street, a leafy backstreet near Middle Park, is a fine example of this.

Transport

Beaconsfield Parade is the main beachside thoroughfare, between St Kilda and Port Melbourne, which runs along the Port Phillip foreshore. Richardson Street and Canterbury Road follows a similar inland route south to St Kilda. The main road arterial is Kerferd Road, a wide boulevard lined with elm trees and a

central reservation The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...

, which connects from South Melbourne's Albert Road. Pickles Street, Victoria Avenue and Mills Street are the main roads running west and east toward South Melbourne. Several tram routes service Albert Park; Route 1 along Victoria Avenue, Route 12 along Mills Street and Route 96 on a reservation parallel to Canterbury Road. Until 1987, Albert Park was serviced by the St Kilda railway line, with Albert Park railway station being located at Bridport Street. The line has since been converted to serve trams, and forms a large part of the Route 96 tram line. CDC Melbourne's Route 606 runs through the suburb. There are

segregated cycle facilities Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except wher ...

along the beach and Canterbury Roads, with marked bicycle lanes elsewhere.

Sport

Albert Lake Park Street Circuit in Melbourne, Australia

The suburb has been home to the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

since 1996. The Albert Park Circuit runs on public roads. The choice of Albert Park as a Grand Prix venue was controversial, with protests by the Save Albert Park group. In preparing the Reserve for the race existing trees were cut down and replaced during landscaping, roads were upgraded, and facilities were replaced. Both major political parties support the event. The Melbourne Supercars Championship is also held on the same circuit. Albert Park is the home of

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club South Melbourne FC who play out of Lakeside Stadium; aptly named due to its positioning next to Albert Park Lake. Lakeside Stadium (known then as Bob Jane Stadium) was redeveloped in 2010 to include an international standard athletics track, as well as new grandstands and administrative facilities, and is also the home of the

Victorian Institute of Sport The Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) is the government-funded sporting institute of the Australian state of Victoria. It provides high performance sports programs for talented athletes, enabling them to achieve national and international succe ...

. The stadium was built on the site of the old Lake Oval, which was an historic Australian rules football venue for the South Melbourne Football Club. The

Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre Melbourne Sports Centres - MSAC is an international sporting venue located in Albert Park, Victoria, Australia. The centre was opened on 24 July 1997 at a construction cost of A$65 million. The cost was funded by the State Government of Victori ...

(MSAC) is a large swimming centre, which hosted squash, swimming, diving events and table tennis during the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

. The MSAC is also the home of the

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

that play in the South East Australian Basketball League. In December 2006

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

returned to Albert Park Reserve after an absence of 100 years. Albert Park is home to a parkrun event. The event at Albert Park is held at 8am every Saturday and starts in the Coot Picnic area, opposite the MSAC.Albert Melbourne Parkrun
Parkrun

Notable residents

* Hilda and Laurel Armstrong – 'The Vegemite Girls', sisters who coined the name of the iconic Australian food spread in 1923 *

Mae Busch Mae Busch (born Annie May Busch; 18 June 1891 – 20 April 1946) was an Australian-born actress who worked in both silent and sound films in early Hollywood. In the latter part of her career she appeared in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, freque ...

(1891–1946) – actress, co-star in the films of famous Hollywood comedy duo

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

"Laurel and Hardy Melbourne"
''The Melbourne Night Owls'' (a Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society) *

Roy Cazaly Roy Cazaly (13 January 1893 – 10 October 1963) was an Australian rules footballer who played for South Melbourne and St Kilda in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He also represented Victoria and Tasmania in interstate football, and afte ...

(1893–1963) –

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

legend irthplaceref name=ADoB-RoyCazal
"Cazaly, Roy (1893–1963)"
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Australian National University * Noel Jack Counihan (1913–1986) – artist and revolutionary, made

social realist Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

art in response to the political and social issues of his times"Counihan, Noel Jack (1913–1986)"
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Australian National University * John Danks (1828–1902) – businessman, manufacturer, councillor, benefactor; Danks Street named after him"Danks, John (1828–1902)"
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Australian National University * Private Edward "Eddie" Leonski S Army(1917–1942) – infamous serial killer; during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

was stationed in Melbourne and murdered three women. Was hanged for the crimes on 9 November 1942. His first victim, Ivy McLeod, was found beaten and strangled in a doorway in Albert Park, killed by Leonski after he drank whisky all morning and afternoon at the Bleak House Hotel (aka Beach House Hotel) *

Walter Lindrum Walter Albert Lindrum, OBE (29 August 1898 – 30 July 1960), often known as Wally Lindrum, was an Australian professional player of English billiards who held the World Professional Billiards Championship from 1933 until his retirement in 1950 ...

(1898–1960) – world-famous billiards player, regarded as the greatest ever to play the game"Walter Albert Lindrum: His Life and Times"
''English Amateur Billiards Association'', Article, 14 April 2013 * Likely Herman "Like" McBrien (1892–1956) – leading Australian Rules football administrator and politician"McBrien, Likely Herman (1892–1956)"
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Australian National University *

Ernest McIntyre Ernest John McIntyre (19 April 1921 – 10 April 2003) was an Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda Football Club, St Kilda and Collingwood Football Club, Collingwood in the Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (V ...

(1921–2003) –

er irthplace* Allan McLean (1840–1911) – pastoralist, station agent, politician; 19th Premier of Victoria in 1899; elected to the first Commonwealth Parliament in 1901"McLean, Allan (1840–1911)"
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Australian National University *

Albert Monk Albert Ernest Monk CMG (16 September 1900 – 11 February 1975) was an Australian trade unionist who was best known for his work with the Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Aust ...

(1900–1975) – union and labour leader; during World War Two was concurrent president of the ACTU & Trades Hall Council & ALP Victorian branch; seminally influenced the growth of the ACTU as Australia's peak trade union organization. His house was in Kerferd Road"Monk, Albert Ernest (1900–1975)"
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Australian National University * King O'Malley (1858–1953) – politician, influential in the establishment of the

Commonwealth Bank The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), or CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of financial services including retail, busines ...

and the selection of

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

as the national capital"King O'Malley (1858?–1953)"
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Australian National University *

Alex Lahey Alexandra Lahey ( ) (born 30 July 1992) is an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Her debut album, ''I Love You Like a Brother'' was released on 6 October 2017 and peaked at No. 15 on the ARIA Albums Cha ...

, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who was born and raised in Albert Park

References

* Barnard, Jill and Keating, Jenny, "People's Playground: A History of the Albert Park", Chandos Publishing, 1996. *

Melway Melway, colloquially referred to as Melways or The Melways, is a street directory for Melbourne,Albert Park Yacht ClubAlbert Park (The Park)Albert Park Primary SchoolREIV Albert Park Market Insights, Auction & Private Sale Results
{{Authority control Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of the City of Port Phillip Port Phillip