![South Melbourne 201708](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/South_Melbourne_201708.jpg)
South Melbourne is an inner suburb in
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
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
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 ...
, 3 km 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 ...
, 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.
P ...
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 ...
. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the
2021 census.
[
Historically known as Emerald Hill, it was one of the first of Melbourne's suburbs to adopt full municipal status and is one of Melbourne's oldest suburban areas, notable for its well preserved Victorian era streetscapes.
The current boundaries are complex. Starting at the east end of Dorcas Street, it runs along the rear of properties on St Kilda Road, then south along Albert Road, north up Canterbury Road, along the rear of the north side of St Vincent Place, zigzags west along St Vincent Street, then north up Pickles Street. There is then an arm of former industrial land to the west between Boundary Road, the freeway and Ferrars Street. It then runs along Market Street to Kingsway, then up Dorcas Street to St Kilda Road.
]
History
Before European settlement, the area now called South Melbourne stood out as largely flat with central hill (where the Town Hall now stands) surrounded by swampy land to the north and south. The hill was a traditional social and ceremonial meeting place for Aboriginal tribes.
The area was first settled by Europeans in the 1840s and became known as Emerald Hill.
During the Victorian Gold Rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capita ...
of 1851 a tent city, known as ''Canvas Town'' was established. The area soon became a massive slum, home to tens of thousands of fortune seekers from around the world.
Land sales at Emerald Hill began in 1852, and while the hill itself was reserved as the site for an orphanage, Canvas Town was soon replaced by cottages, including many that were prefabricated overseas in timber and corrugated iron. Independence from the City of Melbourne was granted when Emerald Hill was proclaimed a borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
on 26 May 1855.[Monash University (1999]
A Gazetteer of Australian Cities, Towns and Suburbs
/ref> In 1857, Melbourne's second railway line, to St Kilda, was created running through the new municipality.
The new municipality developed rapidly and by 1872 Emerald Hill was proclaimed a town. By the 1870s, parts of South Melbourne became a favoured place of residents for the wealthy, particularly in 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 ...
, Melbourne's best London style residential square (which mostly lies in Albert Park), but most of the locality was developed with more modest single storey terraces and cottages, some in timber. The orphanage on the hill relocated in 1878, and the crest of the hill become the site of the South Melbourne Town Hall
South Melbourne Town Hall is a civic building located on Bank Street in South Melbourne, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is of state heritage significance to Victoria being listed on the Victorian Heritage Register (H0217).
His ...
, built between 1879 and 1880, and designed in suitable grandeur to evoke the city's booming status, establishing a civic heart at Bank Street. In 1883 Emerald Hill became a city, changing its official name to South Melbourne.
South Melbourne experienced a decline in the 1950s as Melbourne sprawled outwards. Like many other Melbourne inner city suburbs, during the 1960s, the Housing Commission of Victoria
The Housing Commission of Victoria (often shortened to Housing Commission, especially colloquially) was a Victorian State Government body responsible for public housing in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1938, and was abolished in 198 ...
stepped in and erected several high-rise public housing towers including the earliest high rise, ''Emerald Hill Court,'' and the tallest, ''Park Towers'' (c.1969). They soon housed some of Melbourne's postwar migrants, who also lived in the many modest cottages, adding a multicultural flavour to the area.
In the 1980s, like other inner suburban areas, South Melbourne's gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
got under way, and many of the terrace houses and cottages were renovated and a new middle class moved in. From the 1990s, the industrial districts of South Melbourne, closer to the city, and including Southbank, have been redeveloped with mid and high rise apartments; in 1996 the most intensively developed part of Southbank was transferred to the City of Melbourne. At the same time, the City of South Melbourne was amalgamated with the Cities of St Kilda and Port Melbourne to create 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.
P ...
.
Population
In the 2016 Census, were 10,920 people in South Melbourne. 55.5% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 4.8%, China 3.0%, New Zealand 2.8%, India 1.5% and Malaysia 1.4%. 66.5% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 3.9%, Greek 2.8%, Russian 1.9%, Cantonese 1.3% and Italian 1.2%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 40.7% and Catholic 17.3%.
Transport
South Melbourne is served by tram routes 1, 12, 58, and 96. Route 96 runs along the former St Kilda railway line
The St Kilda railway line is a former railway line in Melbourne, Australia.
Operation
The line was opened by the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company in 1857. It ran for 4.5 kilometres from the Melbourne (or City) Terminus (on the site of ...
, which was converted to light rail in 1987.
In 2006 there were strong calls by a joint council project and the Inner Melbourne Action Group to provide an inner south tram link between 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.
P ...
and the City of Stonnington
The City of Stonnington is a local government area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner south-eastern suburbs, between , from the Melbourne CBD. The city covers an area of .
Within twenty years ...
, by connecting route 112 with route 8 via Park Street. This would have required less than 100 metres of track to be laid along the Park Street gap to create the new route.
Geography
Commercial areas
The main commercial district is centred on Clarendon Street and side streets, including an area around the South Melbourne Market, with many retailers, cafes, eateries, art galleries and more.
Like the Melbourne CBD, there are many small laneways in South Melbourne, most of them cobbled in bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:
* basalt in Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand
* dolerites in Tasmania, Australia; and in Britain (including Stonehenge)
* felds ...
.
Housing
South Melbourne's predominant housing is terraced or semi-detached Victorian.
Park Towers is a notable example of Housing Commission of Victoria hi-rise public housing. There are a number of such towers in parts of South Melbourne, built since the 1960s.
In recent years
South Melbourne
has seen an increase in population density, due to apartment development in nearby Southbank, where development has spilled over from the Melbourne CBD. To the east, towards the St Kilda Road complex, are many high rise office buildings.
Heritage
The Victorian era terraced house and cottage areas of South Melbourne are extensive and mostly heritage-listed. A handful of original prefabricated cottages have survived, with a corrugated iron example in Coventry Street now a museum run by the National Trust. The elaborate town hall with its tall clock tower is one of the landmarks of Melbourne's heritage of Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...
. The block that the town hall stands on was all developed in the late 1870s-1880s with substantial terrace houses and shops, and remains intact to this day.
See Yup Temple is a Chinese temple, built in 1856, is Melbourne's most notable reminder of the Chinese immigration during the gold rush.
Television industry
South Melbourne features television production studios owned by the Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
and Global Television in the south of the suburb. This was formerly the Melbourne studios of the Seven Network prior to them moving to the Melbourne Docklands
Docklands, also known as Melbourne Docklands, is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. Docklands recorded a population ...
's Digital Broadcast Centre. Several Channel Seven shows like ''Deal or No Deal
''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch ''Miljoenenjacht (Netherlands), Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this f ...
'', ''Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
'' and '' It Takes Two'' were filmed at the South Melbourne location while News and Today Tonight are filmed at Docklands.
Sport
South Melbourne FC
South Melbourne Football Club is an Australian semi-professional Association football, soccer club based in suburb of Albert Park, Victoria, Albert Park, in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The club currently competes in the National P ...
is regarded as one of Australia's most successful 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 ...
clubs, with four national titles to their name. They currently play in the Victorian Premier League
The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer lea ...
at Lakeside Stadium
Lakeside Stadium is an Australian sports arena in the South Melbourne suburb of Albert Park, Victoria, Albert Park. Comprising an athletics track and soccer stadium, it currently serves as the home ground and administrative base for association ...
, a rectangular stadium built on Lake Oval, the former home ground of the South Melbourne Swans
The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a re ...
. Historically, they have been known as South Melbourne Hellas
South Melbourne Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in suburb of Albert Park, in Melbourne, Victoria. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, with matches played at Lakeside Stadium. ...
, a tribute to the migrant Greek founders of the club and traditionally played at Middle Park.
It was once home to the South Melbourne Swans, which played in the Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
(VFL), which played out of the Lake Oval (now Lakeside Stadium) in nearby Albert Park, before relocating to Sydney in 1982 in a radical move, which eventually spawned the national Australian Football League. More recently a new athletics track and field facility replaced the earlier updated soccer ground however soccer is still present in the centre of the track.
Notable people
Notable people from or who lived in South Melbourne include:
* Ian Gardiner (1943–2008), artist, woodcut printmaker
* George King George King may refer to:
Politics
* George King (Australian politician) (1814–1894), New South Wales and Queensland politician
* George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (1771–1839), Irish nobleman and MP for County Roscommon
* George Clift King (18 ...
, Australian rules footballer (1892-1976)
* Robert MacGregor (1825–1883), politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
and headmaster
A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the teacher, staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school ...
* John Reid "Gentleman Jack" McGowan (1872–1912), champion boxer
* Herbert Henry "Dally" Messenger (1883–1959), champion rugby footballer
* Russell Mockridge
Edward Russell Mockridge (18 July 1928 – 13 September 1958) was a racing cyclist from Geelong, Victoria, Australia. He died during a race, in collision with a bus.
Family
The son of Robert Glover Mockridge and Aileen Claire Mockridge, né ...
(1928–1958), racing cyclist, Olympic Games gold medallist["Mockridge, Edward Russell (1928–1958)"]
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Australian National University
* Max Papley
Maxwell William Papley (born 31 July 1940) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Moorabbin and Williamstown in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) during the 1950s and 1960s.
...
(1940-present), Australian rules footballer
* Arthur Ted Powell (1947–present), landscape/cityscape artist and printmaker
* Bob Skilton
Robert John "Bob" Skilton (born 8 November 1938) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Playing as a rover, Skilton is one of only four players to have won the Brownlow Medal three tim ...
(1938-present), Australian rules footballer
*William John Wills
William John Wills (5 January 1834 – ) was a British surveyor who also trained as a surgeon. Wills achieved fame as the second-in-command of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, which was the first expedition to cross Australia from ...
(1834–1861), pioneering explorer-surveyor and eponymous member of 'the Burke and Wills expedition'["Wills, William John (1834–1861)"](_blank)
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Australian National University
See also
* City of South Melbourne – South Melbourne was previously within this former local government area.
References
External links
{{Authority control
Suburbs of Melbourne
Suburbs of the City of Port Phillip