Toorak () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria,

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, 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 City of Stonnington

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, on Boonwurrung Land. Toorak recorded a population of 12,817 at the 2021 census. The name Toorak has become synonymous with wealth and privilege, the suburb long having the reputation of being Melbourne's most elite, and ranking among the most prestigious in Australia. It has the highest average property values in Melbourne, and is one of the most expensive suburbs in Australia. It is the nation's second highest earning postcode after Point Piper in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. Located on a rise on the south side (or left bank) of a bend in the Yarra River, Toorak is bordered by South Yarra, at Williams Road on the west, Malvern, at Glenferrie Road on the east, Prahran and Armadale, at Malvern Road to the south and the suburbs of Richmond, Burnley and Hawthorn on the north side of the river. The suburb's main street is considered to be Toorak Road, on which the commercial area of Toorak Village is located. Toorak is named after Toorak House, the 1849-built residence of James Jackson, a merchant. The suburb has also been a preferred location for many consulate offices and their residences, including China, Britain, Monaco, Sweden, Turkey, and Switzerland.

History

Toponymy

Toorak was named after Toorak House, an Italianate residence built by James Jackson, a merchant, in 1849. The name of the house may have originated from Woiwurrung language, with words of similar pronunciation meaning ''black crow'' or ''reedy swamp''.

Toorak House

From 1854 Toorak House served as the residence of the first Governor of Victoria,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Sir Charles Hotham KCB RN and his successors, until the completion of the present Government House (1876) in the

Kings Domain Kings Domain is an area of parklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It surrounds Government House Reserve, the home of the governors of Victoria, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, and the Shrine Reserve incorporating the Shrine of Remembrance. ...

. Toorak Post Office opened around June 1858.

1880s land boom

Chastleton House, Toorak, Victoria, Australia

During the land boom of the 1880s, many large and elaborate mansions were erected in Toorak, often in the Italianate style. Following East Melbourne and then St Kilda, Toorak, along with

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, became the new favored location for the wealthy.

1890s depression

The suburb was hit particularly hard by the 1890s economic depression and many wealthy landowners declared bankruptcy and were forced to sell. Nonetheless, the suburb remained and is still Melbourne's home of "

old money Old money is "the inherited wealth of established upper-class families (i.e. gentry, patriciate)" or "a person, family, or lineage possessing inherited wealth". The term typically describes a social class of the rich who have been able to ma ...

". During the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

, many houses were built in the Tudor revival style; many houses were also designed by society Architect Marcus Martin in the

Moderne Moderne may refer to: * Moderne architecture, styles of architecture popular from 1925–1940s * PWA Moderne, an architectural style in the U.S., 1933–1944 * Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco archit ...

style over a Georgian building form.

Post-war era

In the period of post- World War II prosperity, rising standards of living and land values caused Toorak to become highly sought after by a new generation of the wealthy, thought by some to be

social climber A ''parvenu'' is a person who is a relative newcomer to a high-ranking socioeconomic class. The word is borrowed from the French language; it is the past participle of the verb ''parvenir'' (to reach, to arrive, to manage to do something). Orig ...

s and nouveau riche. For some of these people, the focus was simply to have the postcode of Toorak, which was SE 2 and now 3142. As a result, many of the larger mansions were demolished and large holdings were subdivided to make way for flats, townhouses and apartments. In the 1980s, larger houses in Neo-Georgian and Neo-Classical styles began to appear.

Contemporary Toorak

While large mansions have survived in neighbouring Hawthorn, Kew and Armadale, only a few of the original 19th-century mansions in Toorak remain, due in part to the high land value. Two of the most notable are Illawarra House, which was acquired by the National Trust; and Coonac, the most expensive house in Melbourne. In Toorak, some of the old property names live on as street names or the names of blocks of flats, carved out of or built on their sites; Dunraven Avenue, Millicent Avenue, Iona Avenue, Woorigoleen Road, Myoora Road, and Scotsburn Grove are examples.

Demographics

In the

2016 census Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...

, there were 12,909 people in Toorak. * 63.9% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 3.6%, England 3.1%, New Zealand 2.2%, India 1.8% and Malaysia 1.2%. * 73.7% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 4.5%, Cantonese 1.8%, Italian 1.4%, Greek 1.3% and French 0.9%. * The most common responses for religion were no religion 30.9%, Catholic 17.6% and Anglican 14.9%, * Of the employed people in Toorak, 4.0% worked in legal services. Other major industries of employment included hospitals 3.7%, real estate services 3.1%, general practice medical services 2.9% and clothing retailing 2.7%. * The proportion of Toorak residents with a Bachelor's degree or higher is 46.7%.

Housing

Toorak has an unusual mix of high-, low- and medium-density housing, due to intense subdivision of larger lots in the 1880s, 1920s and 1960s. The predominant housing in Toorak (49.6%) is

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

s, particularly walk-up flats.

Single-family detached home A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwelling ...

s are also prevalent (30.2%). Some of these homes are in the form of traditional

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

s or newer large residences on significant-sized estates, owned by Melbourne's wealthy and social elite. The architectural style of the mansions is predominantly Italianate and

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

. There are also extant stands of semi-detached housing (20.1%), including terraces, which were traditionally fashionable with the middle class and later gentrified.

Politics

Toorak falls within the federal electorate of Higgins. The seat of Higgins was created in 1949 and held by

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in S ...

CH 1949–1967, Sir John Gorton PC GCMG AC CH 1968–1975, Roger Shipton OAM 1975–1990, Peter Costello AC 1990–2009, Kelly O'Dwyer 2009-2019 and Katie Allen 2019-2022 (all on behalf of the Liberal Party of Australia). However, the seat would fall to the Labor Party for the first time ever in the 2022 Federal Election, with candidate Michelle Ananda-Rajah winning the seat as Labor took government from the coalition. At State level, it mostly falls within the electorate of Malvern (currently held by the Liberals'

Michael O'Brien Michael or Mike O'Brien may refer to: Politicians * Michael O'Brien (Fianna Fáil politician), Irish former councillor and mayor of Clonmel * Michael O'Brien (Ohio politician) (born 1955), American politician in the state of Ohio * Michael O'Brien ...

) since the

2006 Victorian State Election The 2006 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 25 November 2006, was for the 56th Parliament of Victoria. Just over 3 million Victorians registered to vote elected 88 members to the Legislative Assembly and, for the first time, 40 member ...

, with the western part of the suburb falling within the electorate of Prahran (currently held by Sam Hibbins on behalf the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and th ...

). At local council level, Toorak falls within the City of Stonnington. Toorak has historically voted for conservative political parties. The Liberal Party retained the seat of Malvern in the 2018 State Election, although there was a 10.1% swing to the Australian Labor Party.

Toorak Village

The Toorak Village is a strip of shops and cafes, located centrally in Toorak Road.

Places of worship

* Saint John's Anglican Church, an 1862

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

bluestone church, designed by William Wardell, dominates the skyline of Toorak, with a large tower including a peal of bells and a distinctive sandstone broach spire. The church was formally established at a meeting held on 21st November 1859. Those present were Messrs Alfred Ross, H.W. Dauglish, J Goodman, Allan Spowers, John Steavenson, Jas Blackwood, J Quarterman, W.M. Hammill, H.W. Farrar, George Hull, Captain Sawell, W.T. Wood, P Gunning, E Davis, J Slater, G Guillaume and son. Construction began in April 1860, and was completed on 23rd October 1860. The ground for the church buildings was selected by Bishop Parry at what was the entrance to the Orrong Estate, which was the property of Mr Alfred Ross. The foundation stone was laid by the Governor, Sir Henry Barkly. Saint John's, Toorak is one of the most popular wedding venue churches in Australia. Church of St John the Evangelist, Toorak

Church of St John the Evangelist, Toorak

* Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Church, built in 1876 in the Gothic style and extended in 1934. A campanile was added during renovations in 2018. * Toorak Uniting Church (1876), in the Frenchified

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style * Swedish Church The Wesleyan Church (1877), formerly on the corner of Toorak and Williams Roads, was illegally demolished in 1990 by developers and later replaced by a block of flats.

Schools

Schools in Toorak include St Catherine's School,

Loreto Mandeville Hall , motto_translation = While I live, I believe in the Cross , location = Toorak, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Melbourne , pushp ...

, St Kevin's College, Glamorgan (now Toorak Campus, the junior school of Geelong Grammar School) and Toorak Central School (1890).

Sport

The Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1884 and is located in Toorak. Kooyong Stadium, former home of the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

, is located on Glenferrie Road.

Transport

The most popular form of transport in Toorak is the automobile. CityLink runs along north eastern Toorak, though there are no interchanges within the suburb, although there is access to the freeway via MacRobertson Bridge and interchanges at Burnley. Main arterials running north–south are Williams Road (at the eastern boundary), Grange Road, Orrong Road, St Georges Road and Kooyong Road. The east–west arterials include Alexandra Avenue (at the northern boundary), Toorak Road (which runs midway through the suburb) and Malvern Road (at the southern boundary). Alexandra Avenue becomes St Georges Road and both along with Grange Road feed onto the MacRobertson Bridge, Toorak's main river crossing. Toorak's road planning is an example of street hierarchy. As a result, there are numerous quiet pedestrian streets. However, traffic congestion is an increasing problem along Toorak Road and Williams Roads. There is limited street parking along the main roads with just a couple of multi-storey car parks and parking lots within proximity of the main Toorak Road shopping strip. There are no level crossings in Toorak. There is a perception in popular culture of the luxury

4WD Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

as a

status symbol A status symbol is a visible, external symbol of one's social position, an indicator of economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols. ''Status symbol'' is also a sociological term – as part of social and soci ...

, (controversial for their comfort rather than for their

off-road Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicl ...

abilities) and this has been associated with the suburb of Toorak, such that in popular Australian culture, the term 'Toorak Tractor' has become well established in Australian slang. An example of this was an episode of the popular program '' Top Gear Australia'', aired on SBS TV, in which the presenters, tongue-in-cheek, drove a $200,000 tractor along Toorak Road. Toorak's only railway station is Heyington, on the

Glen Waverley line The Glen Waverley railway line is a suburban electric railway in Melbourne, Australia, operated by Metro Trains Melbourne. It branches from the Lilydale, Belgrave and Alamein lines at Burnley station. It has 12 stations in PTV ticketing z ...

, which crosses the Yarra from Richmond on the Heyington Railway Bridge, to the suburb's north. Despite its name, Toorak railway station is located in Armadale. The Pakenham, Frankston and

Cranbourne railway line The Cranbourne line is a commuter rail service operated by Metro Trains Melbourne in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It operates along the inner section of the former South Gippsland line. The service is part of ...

group to which this station belongs runs close to Toorak's southern boundary. Other nearby stations include

Hawksburn South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populat ...

, in South Yarra and Kooyong, in Kooyong. Trams have run down Toorak Road since 1888.

Route 58 The following highways are numbered 58: International * European route E58 Australia * Riverina Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 58 * Highway 58 (Ontario) * Saskatchewan Highway 58 Finland * Finnish national road 58 India * National Highway ...

runs along Toorak Road to Glenferrie Road, at the suburb's eastern boundary. Route 72 runs along Malvern Road, the suburb's southern boundary. Cycling facilities are poor, with few marked on road lanes. MacRobertson Bridge and Gardiners Creek pedestrian bridge, however, the bridge provides pedestrians access to the Main Yarra Trail and shared bicycle and pedestrian paths in nearby Burnley. Pedestrians are serviced by an extensive network of

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

s and

pedestrian crossing A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...

Residents

Celebrities, philanthropists, cultural figures

* Tina Arena AM – singer/songwriter *

Dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

Zara Bate DBE – Fashion designer and wife of Harold Holt * Martin Clemens CBE MC AM - war hero * Albert Dadon AM – Chair of the Australian Israel Cultural Exchange * Gina Liano – Real Housewife of Melbourne * Paul Little AO and

Jane Hansen Jane Cheryl Hansen is a New Zealand model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss International 1971. Hansen became the first, and up to now the only, Miss New Zealand to win the Miss International crown. She was among the 50 delegates who competed ...

– business people, philanthropists, Little was a former president of the

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...

* Peter Hudson – television chef and entertainer, born in Toorak in 1930 * Eddie McGuire AM – Journalist, sports commentator, television and radio personality, Australian republic advocate and former president of the

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...

* Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE * Dame

Merlyn Myer Dame Margery Merlyn Myer (; 8 January 19003 September 1982) was an Australian philanthropist, who was notable for her charitable work. Birth and marriage Born as Margery Merlyn Baillieu in Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia, to George Franc ...

DBE – philanthropist * Sir

Norman Myer Sir Norman Myer (25 May 1897 – 17 December 1956) was an Australian businessman best known for his role in the development of the Myer department store. Early life Myer was born Nahum Moshe Baevski in 1897 in Tatarsk Smolensk, Russia. He studie ...

– philanthropist and chairman of the Myer Emporium * Sidney Myer – philanthropist and founder of the Myer Emporium * Livinia Nixon – Channel 9 presenter and the Ambassador and face for the City of Melbourne-Grew up in Toorak * Daniel Radcliffe – his family owns a house in Toorak *

Lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

Susan Renouf Susan, Lady Renouf (''née'' Rossiter; 15 July 1942 – 15 July 2016) was an Australian socialite. Her title was acquired through her third marriage to New Zealand businessman Sir Frank Renouf. Early life Renouf was born Susan Rossiter in Melb ...

– socialite * Peter Robb – Australian author, born in Toorak in 1946 * Dame

Hilda Stevenson Dame Hilda Mabel Stevenson (, formerly Kidd; 1893–1987) was an Australian philanthropist and community worker. She was the daughter of Hugh Victor McKay, a combine harvester inventor. She was the trustee and founder of the Sunshine Foundation ...

DBE – philanthropist

Politicians

* Ted Baillieu – Victorian Liberal Party politician, 46th Premier of Victoria * Malcolm Fraser AC CH – Liberal Party politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia * Duncan Gillies – Colonial politician, 14th Premier of Victoria * David Hamer AM DSC - Director of Naval Intelligence, Liberal Party Senator * Sir Rupert Hamer AC KCMG ED - Liberal Party politician, 39th Premier of Victoria *

CH - Liberal Party politician, 17th Prime Minister of Australia * Sir

William Murray McPherson Sir William Murray McPherson, KBE (17 September 1865 – 26 July 1932) was an Australian philanthropist and politician. He was the 31st Premier of Victoria. Early life and philanthropy He was born in Melbourne, the son of a prosperous Scottis ...

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

- Philanthropist and politician, 31st Premier of Victoria

Businesspeople

John Munro Bruce John Munro Bruce (10 October 1840 – 4 May 1901) was an Australian businessman. He was born in Ireland to Scottish parents and arrived in the colony of Victoria at the age of 18. He became the managing director and eventual majority shareholde ...

- retail businessman, father of prime minister Stanley Bruce * Lindsay Fox AC - Former Australian Rules footballer, owner of the Linfox transportation company * Michael Gudinski AM - Entrepreneur and businessman * Solomon Lew – Importer and retail supplier, current resident of Toorak *

Peter Lew Peter Lew (born 25 February 1970), is an Australian businessman from Melbourne, and the son of Solomon Lew, a billionaire who provided his children with access to his fortune via a tax-effective trust structures. He is the Chairman of P Lew In ...

– managing director of Witchery clothing, son of Solomon Lew * Keith Murdoch - journalist and newspaper owner * Ziggy Switkowski AO – former CEO of Telstra * Sir Donald Trescowthick AC KBE * Alex Waislitz - Chairman & CEO of Thorney Investment group, vice president of the

* Ron Walker AC —CBE – Lord Mayor of Melbourne

Sportspeople

* Nathan Buckley – Australian rules footballer and current head coach of the

* Andrew Demetriou – Former Chief Executive of the AFL *

Walter Fellows Walter Fellows (23 February 1834, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire – 23 July 1902, Toorak, Melbourne) was an English amateur cricketer who later became a clergyman in Australia. He was the brother of Harvey Fellows, who also played first-class ...

– English-born vicar who hit a cricket ball for 175 yards, considered the world record * Lleyton Hewitt – Australian tennis player * Clem Hill – Australian test cricketer * James Hird – Australian Rules Footballer and former Head Coach of the

Ed Langdon Ed Langdon (born 1 February 1996) is an Australian rules footballer who currently plays for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Langdon participated in the Auskick program at Glen Iris, Victoria. He ...

- AFL footballer- grew up in Toorak *

Tom Langdon Thomas Langdon (born 9 June 1994) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). State football Langdon played junior football with Prahran and with ...

- AFL footballer- grew up in Toorak * Charlie McLeod – Australian test cricketer * Lou Richards MBE – Australian Rules footballer * Jack Saunders – Australian test cricketer * Tup Scott – cricketer

References

{{Authority control Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of the City of Stonnington