St Kilda East is a 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 ...

, 6 km south-east 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 Cities of Glen Eira and

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, ...

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 ...

s. St Kilda East recorded a population of 12,571 at the 2021 census. St Kilda East is one of the more diverse and densely populated suburbs of Melbourne. It has a prominent

Hasidic Jewish Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...

community, descended from

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

s. Quiet and residential, it is quite different from the adjacent suburb of St Kilda. However, the area around Carlisle Street is very diverse with a strong arts, alternative and indie community.

History

The St Kilda East area was part of the lands of the

Boon wurrung The Boonwurrung people are an Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land from the Werribee River to Wilsons Promontory in the Australian state of Victoria. Their territory includes part of what is now the c ...

tribe of

Indigenous Australians 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 ...

before being first settled by Anglo-British settlers in the 1850s. Smaller timber shacks were common during the early 1860s to 1870s, with larger houses on the bigger subdivisions. During the late 1870s,

terraced housing 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 ...

began around the

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

. Alma Park was laid out and areas surrounding the park were set aside for religious purposes, resulting in a large number of convents and chapels along

Chapel Street Chapel Street is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, running along the inner suburbs of South Yarra, Prahran, Windsor, St Kilda and St Kilda East. Route Chapel Street is essentially straight and runs for over 4.14 kilometres along an approxim ...

and either side of

Dandenong Road Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former alignments of the hig ...

. In the 1950s, speculative development resulted in the alteration of many of the suburb's streetscapes. Centred on Chapel Street and to the east of the railway line, flats became common in the area. Recent development of the suburbs, rising land values and excellent access to public transport has seen recent

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 ...

in the area. Modern infill medium density apartments are being built on many blocks, with the Carlisle Street area designated an activity centre under the

Melbourne 2030 The Metropolitan Strategy Melbourne 2030 is a Victorian Government strategic planning policy framework for the metropolitan area of Greater Melbourne, intended to cover the period 2001–2030. During this period the population of the metropolita ...

planning scheme.

Education institutions

The main schools in St Kilda East are the Edmund Rice Campus of St Mary’s College, the Caulfield Campus of

Caulfield Grammar School Caulfield Grammar School is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day school, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as ...

, Malvern Community School, Ripponlea Primary School, the St Kilda East campus of

Mount Scopus Memorial College , motto_translation = , location = 245 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Melbourne, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Melbourne , pushpin_i ...

, Yeshivah College, Cheder Levi Yitchak, Beth Rivkah Ladies College and part of

St Michael's Grammar School , motto_translation = For the Church of God , location = 25 Chapel Street, St Kilda, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Melbourne , ...

. The Rabbinical College of Australia and New Zealand (Yeshivah Gedolah Zal), a tertiary institution for the training of

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

rabbis A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

and religious functionaries in the

Chabad-Lubavitch Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

denomination, is located on Alexandra Street. Ripponlea Primary School (No. 4087) was opened on 3 July 1922 with 400 pupils in grades prep to eight. John Edward Woodruff (1867-1944) was the school's first headmaster, and he served as such until his retirement in 1932. In 2011 enrolment at the school was 272 students across prep to grade 6. Image:Christian brothers college st kilda dandenong road.jpg, Dandenong Road buildings of Christian Brothers College now known as St Marys College, St Kilda

Culture

St Kilda East is home to the

Red Stitch Actors Theatre Red Stitch Actors Theatre is an ensemble theatre company based in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 2001 and with its first season in 2002, Red Stitch has presented over 100 contemporary plays. These include works from international playwrig ...

, a professional theatre, located on the corner of Dandenong Road and Chapel Street.

Transport

St Kilda East is served by several forms of public transport. Major tram routes operate on Carlisle Street/Balaclava Road,

and

St Kilda Road St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004, and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city. St Kilda Road begins at Flinders Street, in ...

Buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

operate along Orrong Road and Hotham Street. Balaclava and

Ripponlea Ripponlea is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. Ripponlea recorded a population of 1,532 at the 202 ...

railway stations, on the Sandringham line, also service the suburb.

Landmarks

Residential architecture

The suburb is dominated by 1960s flats. There are, however, some pockets of preserved heritage streetscapes. Godfrey Avenue has well-preserved rows of

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

cottages on either side of the street and is protected by council heritage controls. Camden Street has several rows of Victorian semi-detached timber workers cottages. Some large Victorian buildings remain along Inkerman Street and Alma Road, but have been since subdivided into flats. The streets in between have a mix of housing from different periods. Image:Clement_house.jpg, Clement House, Inkerman Street (built 1888). One of the suburb's grander surviving polychrome Victorian era terraces Image:Glenfern east st kilda.jpg, Built in 1857, Glenfern Mansion on the corner of Inkerman and Hotham Streets was home to the Boyd family and is now a writers' colony

Non-residential architecture

Image:Top_shop_east_st_kilsa.jpg, The Top Shop on the corner of Glen Eira Road and Hotham Street is an unusual Edwardian

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

design

Places of worship

There are several churches in St Kilda East, and multiple

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

s, reflecting the area's extensive history of both

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

migration. Many of these buildings have historic significance with heritage registration, and often form various religious precincts.

Judaism

Yeshiva Centre is the headquarters and main synagogue of Chabad in Melbourne. Chabad House of Caulfield is a replica of the New York headquarters of the Chabad movement at

770 Eastern Parkway 770 Eastern Parkway ( yi, 770 איסטערן פארקוויי), also known as "770", is the street address of the World Headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, located on Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, ...

. Image:439 inkerman street east st kilda.jpg, 439 Inkerman Street, the "770" Synagogue

Anglican

The bluestone All Saints Anglican Church on Chapel Street was built in 1861, and is reputed to have the largest seating capacity of any Anglican parish church in the Southern hemisphere, with a capacity of 1500 in the pews. The neighbouring Parish Hall was built as an extension to the church in 1909 and was restored in 2005 during a conversion into a boutique

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

nasium. Image:All saints anglican church east st kilda.jpg, All Saints Anglican Church Image:All saints parish hall east st kilda.jpg, All Saints Parish Hall Another Anglican Parish Church is

St James the Great James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...

, established in 1914 and located at 435 Inkerman Street. St James was founded in close association with the former Church of England St John's Theological College, which was located in nearby Alma Road, on the lot now bisected by Wilgah Street. The Diocese closed the seminary in 1919 amid some controversy directed towards the then perceived Anglo-Catholicity of the seminary (which was at odds with the prevailing sentiment of the diocese at the time). The land was sold and subdivided. Image:St James the Great St Kilda East Street Frontage.jpg, St James the Great Anglican Church

Roman Catholic

The St Mary's Catholic Church (208-214 Dandenong Road), designed by

William Wardell William Wilkinson Wardell (1823–1899) was a civil engineer and architect, notable not only for his work in Australia, the country to which he emigrated in 1858, but for a successful career as a surveyor and ecclesiastical architect in En ...

and built in 1858, was one of the earliest bluestone churches. The East St Kilda Uniting Church, on the corner of Hotham and Inkerman Streets, was built in 1887, to the design of architect Hillson Beasley. Originally a church of the

Congregational Union of Australia The Congregational Union of Australia was a Congregational denomination in Australia that stemmed from the Congregational Church in England as settlers migrated from there to Australia. Congregational Churches existed in all states and territo ...

prior to the formation of the Uniting Church, it was sold by the Uniting Church to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Melbourne in 2011 for the establishment of an Eastern Orthodox use church, according to the provisions of an Ordinariate. Image:Uniting church st kilda east.jpg, Former East St Kilda Congregational Church (now Byzantine Russian Catholic use) Image:St marys catholic church st kilda east.jpg, St Mary's Roman Catholic Church

Uniting Church

The St George's Uniting Church, on Chapel Street, was built in 1877, to the design of Albert Purchas and is listed on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

. It has been leased by

since 1990. Image:St georges presbyterian church east st kilda.jpg, St George's Uniting Church

Orthodox

The former Balaclava Corps Hall, built in 1929 on Camden Street, is an unusual design, featuring castellated motifs. It was sold to the Autocephalous Orthodox Ukrainian Church in 1976, now being the parish of The Sacred Assumption of the Holy Virgin.

Public spaces

The suburb's main park is Alma Park, a large park designed by

Clement Hodgkinson Clement Hodgkinson (1818 – 5 September 1893) was a notable English naturalist, explorer and surveyor of Australia. He was Victorian Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey from 1861 to 1874. Exploration in New South Wales Qualified ...

in 1867, which was split into two linear parks by the Sandringham railway line in 1858. The park has recreational facilities, including a heritage rotunda, a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and

football (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 ...

oval and bike paths, as well as large stands of

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

trees,

Moreton Bay Fig ''Ficus macrophylla'', commonly known as the Moreton Bay fig or Australian banyan, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the family Moraceae native to eastern Australia, from the Wide Bay–Burnett region in the north to the Illawarra in New So ...

s and native vegetation areas. Image:Rotunda_alma_park.jpg, Hexagonal rotunda in Alma Park, probably built between 1910 and 1915

St Kilda General Cemetery

St Kilda Cemetery St Kilda Cemetery is located in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda East, Victoria. History St Kilda Cemetery covers a large block bordered by Dandenong Road, Hotham Street, Alma Road and Alexandra Street. It is bounded by a historic wall and conta ...

covers a large block bordered by Dandenong Road, Hotham Street, Alma Road and Alexandra Street. It is bounded by a historic wall and contains many Victorian era graves. The cemetery is the resting place of

Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia. He was a leader of the movement for Federation, which occurred in 1901. During his three terms as prime ministe ...

, the second

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

, and

Albert Jacka Albert Jacka, (10 January 1893 – 17 January 1932) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. ...

VC, MC, barrister and Mayor of St Kilda (1930).

East St Kilda Heritage Study

In 2004 the City of Port Phillip commissioned a heritage study that recommended the following areas as heritage precincts and places. The Council adopted most of the recommendations in 2004 and the controls which apply to each of the areas so listed. Heritage Precincts * Chusan Street (from 1886 onwards) * Godfrey Avenue / Raglan Street (settled early 1910s) * Hammerdale Avenue (Former grounds of "''Hammerdale House''" from 1868, demolished and subdivided 1925) * Holroyd Court (former grounds of "Fernacre" from c. 1867, demolished and subdivided 1936) * Kalymna Grove / Inkerman Street (Market gardens until 1914, subdivided and housing erected between 1914 and 1924) * Mooltan Avenue (Former grounds of "''Mooltan Estate''" subdivided 1922) * Murchison Street /Alma Road (Former site of ''St John's College Anglican Seminary'' closed 1919, subdivision and building continuing until the late 1930s) * Orange Grove (from the 1890s) Individual Heritage Places * 31-35 Alexander Street (Houses c. 1887–88) * 5 -7 Balstan Street (Former ''Kynoch & Co. Factory'' c. 1922, 1940) * 16 Balstan Street (Cottage - oldest surviving dwelling Pre 1863, extended 1869) * 52 Balstan Street (Electrical Substation, c. 1929) * 316- 320 Inkerman Street (Houses c. 1888) * 20 Shirley Grove * 22 Shirley Grove (House - "''Pine Nook''" c. 1920) For some reason, the following properties, although included in the heritage study recommendations, were not included in the overlay. * 42 Hotham Street (House c. 1927) * 34 Young Street (House - "''Warby Cottage''" c. 1870)

Heritage sites

St Kilda East contains a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 10 Chapel Street:

St Kilda Artillery Orderly Room and Drill Hall St Kilda Artillery Orderly Room and Drill Hall is a heritage-listed military installation at 10 Chapel Street, St Kilda East, Victoria, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004. Description As wit ...

* 417 Inkerman Road: Glenfern House * 216-238 Dandenong Road; 1-9 and 2-10 Ardoch Avenue; 2-8 Pilley Street: Ardoch Flats * 260-288 Dandenong Road:

* 2 Chapel Street: All Saints Church, Hall and Former Vicarage * Dandenong Road: Ornamental Tramway Overhead Poles

Notable residents

* Ada Mary à Beckett (1872-1948), biologist; leader of the kindergarten movement in Australia, first woman appointed as lecturer at

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

(lived in Lansdowne Street). * Ted à Beckett (1907-1989), Australian Test cricketer, son of Ada, born in St Kilda East. *

Hugh Gemmell Lamb-Smith Hugh Gemmell Lamb-Smith (31 March 1889 26 December 1951), known as Gemmell, was an innovative Australian educator who landed at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, on Sunday, 25 April 1915 as a member of the Second Field Ambulance unit, and went on to serve ...

(1889-1951), Australian educator; landed at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915; member of the staff of

from 1913 to 1951 (lived in Wavenhoe Avenue). * Lady Joan à Beckett Lindsay (1896-1984), Joan à Beckett Weigall, playwright, essayist, visual artist, and novelist (author of '' Picnic at Hanging Rock''), was born in East St Kilda, grew up there, and went to School at Carhue Ladies' College (lived in Alma Road). * Sir John Madden (1884-1918), member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly; Chief Justice of Victoria (built and lived at "Cloyne Mansion", 12 Chapel Street). *

James Newbery James Cosmo Newbery (28 June 1843 – 1 May 1895), generally referred to as Cosmo Newbery or J. Cosmo Newbery, was a United States-educated Australian museum administrator and industrial chemist, and co-developer of the Newbery-Vautin chlorin ...

(1843-1895), museum administrator; industrial chemist (lived in Hotham Street). * Arthur John "Doc" Pearce (1881-1902), St Kilda footballer; champion miler (lived in Grosvenor Street). *

Cezary Skubiszewski Cezary Skubiszewski is a Polish-born Australian film and television composer. Among others, he has composed film scores for '' Red Dog'', '' Two Hands'', '' The Sapphires'', and TV series '' Picnic at Hanging Rock''. Career Skubiszewski first m ...

(1948-), composer for film, television, and orchestra. * William Lanfranchi (a.k.a. "Bill Lang") (1882-1952), Richmond footballer; Australian champion heavyweight boxer; first Australian to fight for a world heavyweight title, losing to Tommy Burns by a knockout, in September 1908 (lived in Hotham Street).

References

External links

Australian Places - St Kilda East
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Kilda East Jews and Judaism in Victoria (Australia) Orthodox Jewish communities Polish-Australian culture Russian-Australian culture Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of the City of Glen Eira Suburbs of the City of Port Phillip 1850s establishments in Australia