East Melbourne, Victoria
Encyclopedia
East Melbourne is a suburb in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, adjacent to Melbourne's central business district
Melbourne city centre
Melbourne City Centre is an area of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne...

. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne
City of Melbourne
The City of Melbourne is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. The city has an area of 36 square kilometres and has an estimated population of 93,105 people. The city's motto is "Vires acquirit eundo" which means "She gathers strength as she...

. At the 2006 Census, East Melbourne had a population of 4,330.

East Melbourne is a small area of inner Melbourne located between Richmond
Richmond, Victoria
Richmond is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...

 and the Melbourne Central Business District. Broadly, it is bounded by Spring Street
Spring Street, Melbourne
Spring Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north-south, and is the easternmost street in the Hoddle Grid. The street travels from Flinders Street in the south, to La Trobe Street and the Carlton Gardens in the north...

, Victoria Parade
Victoria Street, Melbourne
Victoria Street is one of the major thoroughfares of inner Melbourne. Running east to west, Victoria Street touches the Hoddle Grid at the intersection of La Trobe Street and Spring Street, opposite the Carlton Gardens. It runs from its terminus at the intersection of Munster Terrace in North...

, Punt Road/Hoddle Street
Hoddle Highway
Hoddle Highway is an urban highway in Melbourne linking CityLink and the Eastern Freeway, allotted metropolitan route . The name "Hoddle Highway" is almost completely unknown to most drivers - who refer instead to its constituent parts: Hoddle Street and Punt Road.It starts at the Eastern Freeway...

 and Brunton Avenue.

One of Melbourne's earliest suburbs, East Melbourne has long been home to many significant government, health and religious institutions including the Parliament of Victoria
Parliament of Victoria
The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of The Queen, represented by the Governor of Victoria; the Legislative Council ; and the Legislative Assembly...

 and offices of the Government of Victoria
Government of Victoria
The Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas...

 in the Parliamentary and Cathedral precincts are located on a gentle hill at the edge of the Melbourne's Hoddle Grid
Hoddle Grid
The Hoddle Grid is the layout of the streets in the centre of the central business district of Melbourne. Named after its designer, Robert Hoddle, the Grid was laid out in 1837, and later extended...

, known as Eastern Hill. The world famous Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...

 (MCG) is situated in Yarra Park in the East Melbourne locality of Jolimont. East Melbourne has been affluent since its first establishment and contains some of the oldest Victorian homes and terrace houses and parks and gardens in Melbourne.

Geography

The Parliamentary and Cathedral precincts are located on a gentle hill, known as Eastern Hill. Jolimont railway station is at the top of a ridge which extends towards Bridge Road in Richmond, from which Jolimont slopes downwards towards the Yarra and the residential section to the north slopes gradually towards the flatter areas of Fitzroy and Collingwood to the north and Richmond, Victoria
Richmond, Victoria
Richmond is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...

 to the south.

History

East Melbourne was one of Melbourne's earliest suburbs. It was first planned in 1837 by surveyor Robert Hoddle
Robert Hoddle
Robert Hoddle was a surveyor of Port Phillip in the 1830s, and the creator of the Hoddle Grid, the street grid system upon which inner city Melbourne is based. He was also an accomplished artist and depicted scenes of the Port Philip region as well as New South Wales...

, but was not actually settled until 1840, some time after neighbouring Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. Its borders are Alexandra Parade , Victoria Parade , Smith Street and Nicholson Street. Fitzroy is Melbourne's...

 and Collingwood
Collingwood, Victoria
Collingwood is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...

. Among the first settlers was Charles La Trobe
Charles La Trobe
Charles Joseph La Trobe was the first lieutenant-governor of the colony of Victoria .-Early life:La Trobe was born in London, the son of Christian Ignatius Latrobe, a family of Huguenot origin...

, who built a transportable dwelling in 1840 and wealthy professionals followed, establishing mansions there. The plan of the alignment of streets was adopted in July 1849.

In the 1960s and 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...

, while other inner city suburbs were experiencing gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...

, East Melbourne, traditionally a blue ribbon district, experienced a temporary decline. Flats began to appear and replace many of the old mansions. Many remaining mansions had been converted to rooming houses over the years. The construction of the Hilton Hotel saw the demolition of Cliveden mansions, a five storey Victorian era terrace and the largest mansion in Melbourne. (A small section of the panelling, doors and other decoration of the ballroom is retained in formal restaurant of the Hilton.) Office development and expansion of the hospitals in the area affected much of the area surrounding Victoria Parade.

During the 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...

, East Melbourne once again experienced a sharp increase in property prices. The Becton development at Jolimont, modelled on a picturesque Georgian village, created one of inner city Melbourne's first exclusive enclaves. Many of the remaining mansions and terraces were placed on heritage registers and subdivided into apartments. Later the Victoria Brewery was also converted into exclusive apartments named "TriBeCa" after the Manhattan neighbourhood
TriBeCa
Tribeca is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York in the United States. Its name is an acronym based on the words "Triangle below Canal Street", and is properly bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Vesey Street...

.

East Melbourne's proximity to the city, its small size and its relatively unspoilt streetscapes mean that property prices are high and highly sought after.

Public and Institutional Buildings

East Melbourne is home to many famous Melbourne landmarks.

Treasury Place is notable for its government buildings on Spring Street, including Parliament House of Victoria
Parliament House, Melbourne
Parliament House in Melbourne, located at Spring Street in East Melbourne at the edge of the Melbourne city centre, has been the seat of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia, since 1855 .- History :In 1851, even before the colony of Victoria acquired full parliamentary self-government, Governor...

(built in 1856 to the design of Peter Kerr) and the old Treasury Building
Old Treasury Building, Melbourne
The Old Treasury Building on Spring Street in Melbourne, was once home to the Treasury Department of the Government of Victoria, but is now a museum of Melbourne history, known as the Old Treasury Building.-History:...

(built in 1857 to the design of John James Clark
John James Clark
John James Clark , an Australian architect, was born in Liverpool, England. Clark’s 30 years in public service, in combination with 33 in private practice, produced some of Australia’s most notable public buildings, as well as at least one prominent building in New Zealand.-Biography:John James...

). Treasury Place forms Australia's finest Renaissance revival streetscape, combining the facades of the Premier's Department and Treasury, State Offices now occupied by the Education Department, former Government Printing Office and Commonwealth Government Offices (built 1912 - 1914 to the design of John Smith Murdoch), all overlooking the Treasury Gardens. The rear of these offices is a feature of St Andrews Place.

Religious Buildings

Nearby Cathedral Place is home to St Patrick's Cathedral and many other former religious buildings now serving mixed use.

The former Baptist Church House, built between 1859 and 1863, although substantially modified during conversion into an office building, is one of the finer classical styled buildings in East Melbourne and was designed by Thomas Watts.

On the corner of Hotham and Powlett Streets, the large Cairns Memorial Presbyterian Church, which was built in the 1880s was subject to an innovative apartment conversion after the church was gutted by fire in the 1988, leaving only the exterior sandstone shell.

Commercial Buildings

Other notable buildings include the Arts & Crafts style of the Victorian Artists Society (1892) by Richard Speight
Richard Speight
Richard Speight was an English-born railway commissioner in Victoria, Australia. After a career in railway management in England, he accepted the new post of railway commissioner of the Railways Department of Victoria, in 1883. He was tasked with implementing the Railway Construction Act 1884,...

 and Harry Tompkins, the Eastern Hill Fire Station
Eastern Hill Fire Station
Eastern Hill Fire Station is the central fire station of Melbourne, Australia, located in on the corner of Victoria Parade and Gisborne Street, opposite St Peter's, Eastern Hill, one of the highest points in the city of Melbourne...

(1893) and the East Melbourne Synagogue
East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation
The East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation , also known as East Melbourne Shule, East Melbourne Synagogue, Melbourne City Synagogue or City of Melbourne Synagogue is a historically significant Jewish congregation in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...

(1877) by Crouch & Wilson.

ICI House, built on the edge of the Melbourne CBD on Nicholson Street between 1955 and 1958 and designed by Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, is notable as being one of the first curtain wall glass skyscrapers in the world and the first skyscraper to break Melbourne's strict height limits. Until 1961, it was also Australia's tallest building.

The Dallas Brooks Hall, one of Australia's finest examples of the "stripped classical" style, was completed in 1969 and has served as a major events venue for many years. The building caused controversy after 2001 when it owners, Freemasons Victoria announced that it was to be sold and demolished to make way for multi-purpose commercial development. Despite the building's architectural and cultural significance, its heritage protection status remains unknown.

Victoria Brewery (1882) between Albert and Victoria Streets is notable as an early work of William Pitt
William Pitt (architect)
William Pitt born in Melbourne was an architect, public servant and politician working in Victoria, Australia in the later part of the 19th century and early 20th century....

. Its castellated facade has since been partially restored and converted into the TriBeCa apartments.

Housing

East Melbourne is home to some of Melbourne's earliest houses. While notable terrace housing is predominant in the area, the suburb also has some fine remnant mansions, the oldest and largest in East Melbourne being the blue stone
Blue stone
Blue stone is a generic mineral description commonly applied to a variety of minerals. Perhaps the most common reference is to the hydrated copper sulfate mineral, chalcanthite. The name "blue stone" is also applicable to lazurite, the core constituent of lapis lazuli, a sulfide of sodium aluminium...

 colonial mansion Bishopscourt
Bishopscourt, East Melbourne
Bishopscourt is a large colonial mansion, located on Clarendon Street in East Melbourne, Australia.Designed by Newson & Blackburn using blue stone in a style of gothic architecture, it was completed in 1853. The red brick wing was added in 1903....

 (designed by Newson & Blackburn), which dates back to 1853, was used as Victoria's Government House in 1874-1876 and has been the residence for all of Melbourne's Anglican Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

s and Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

s since its completion. It is on the Victorian Heritage Register
Victorian Heritage Register
The Victorian Heritage Register lists places of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 1995 which establishes Heritage Victoria as the permit authority...

. The two storey house at 157 Hotham Street, built in 1861 is notable as a rare example of bluestone gothic applied to residential architecture. The house is often attributed to Joseph Reed
Joseph Reed (architect)
Joseph Reed , a Cornishman by birth, was probably the most influential Victorian era architect in Melbourne, Australia. He established a practice, Reed and Barnes in Melbourne in 1852. The practice now known as Bates Smart is one of the oldest continually operating in the world.Reed's buildings...

 and considered one of his early residential works. Accordingly it is also listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

Several terrace houses are notable, including Tasma Terrace (1878) by architect Charles Webb
Charles Webb (architect)
Charles Webb was an architect working in Victoria, Australia during the 19th century....

, arguably Melbourne's finest terrace home and headquarters of the National Trust
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....

 in Victoria, Clarendon (the home of the Menzies Foundation), East Melbourne Terrace, Annerley in George St and Cypress Terrace (1867) in Hotham St.

The large Queen Anne styled apartment building known as Queen Bess Row is also notable. Completed in 1887 and designed by architect firm Tappin, Gilbert and Dennehy, this impressive red brick building building dominates a main residential corner. Another landmark is Eastbourne Terrace, an eclectic Edwardian terrace on the corner of Simpson St and Wellington Parade.
East Melbourne is also characterised by Art Deco houses and apartment buildings. One unique example of the architectural legacy is the 'Dorijo' apartment building located at 458 Victoria Parade. Designed by the distinctive hands of architect I.G Anderson in 1934, Dorijo's significant aspects include a reduction in the size of the three balconies that progress up the facade of the building structure and the unmistakable tower at the top of the building, with links to his other, more controversial site, Lonsdale House.

Parks and Public Space

East Melbourne has many impressive Victorian era gardens with well established plantings, the largest of which are the Treasury Gardens
Treasury Gardens, Melbourne
The Treasury Gardens consist of 5.8 hectares on the south-eastern side of the Melbourne Central Business District, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The gardens are bounded by Wellington Parade, Spring Street, Treasury Place, and by the Fitzroy Gardens across Lansdowne street to the west...

 and the Fitzroy Gardens
Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne
The Fitzroy Gardens are 26 hectares located on the southeastern edge of the Melbourne Central Business District in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...

. Yarra Park
Yarra Park, Melbourne
Yarra Park is part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct - the premier sporting precinct of Victoria, Australia. Located in Yarra Park is the Melbourne Cricket Ground and numerous sporting fields and ovals, including the associated sporting complexes of Melbourne & Olympic Parks...

 in Jolimont is used for picnicking and, controversially, carparking for the MCG. Parliament Gardens a small square with a fountain adjacent to Parliament House was granted public space by the City of Melbourne in 1934 and a modern fountain feature was later constructed.

Transport

East Melbourne is served by major tramlines on Wellington Parade and Victoria Parade, both connecting with the CBD in the western edge of the suburb.

East Melbourne is also served by rail, with two main stations, Parliament underground station on Spring Street (part of the City Loop that runs underneath Melbourne) and Jolimont, which is used primarily by patrons attending events at the MCG.

Punt Road/Hoddle Street
Hoddle Highway
Hoddle Highway is an urban highway in Melbourne linking CityLink and the Eastern Freeway, allotted metropolitan route . The name "Hoddle Highway" is almost completely unknown to most drivers - who refer instead to its constituent parts: Hoddle Street and Punt Road.It starts at the Eastern Freeway...

, on the suburb's eastern boundary, is a major bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

route.

Health

Due to its proximity to a number of hospitals many medical practitioners also have their rooms in East Melbourne. These hospitals include The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (RVEEH), and the Freemasons' Hospital
Freemasons' Hospital, Melbourne
Established in 1937, the Freemasons Hospital, Melbourne was a practical expression of the work of Freemasonry inthe Victorian community. It is now run by Epworth Healthcare....

.

In addition, St Vincent's Hospital
St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne
St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne is the major hospital in Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia.It is operated by the St Vincent's Health service, previously known as the Sisters of Charity Health Service, Melbourne...

 and St Vincent's & Mercy Private Hospitals
St Vincents & Mercy Private Hospital
St Vincents & Mercy Private is a hospital in Victoria of Australia, which is located across three campuses in the Melbourne suburbs of Fitzroy, East Melbourne and Kew. The private hospital is jointly owned by the catholic Sisters of Charity and the Sisters of Mercy, as a result of a joint venture...

 are located in adjacent Fitzroy
Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. Its borders are Alexandra Parade , Victoria Parade , Smith Street and Nicholson Street. Fitzroy is Melbourne's...

, after relocating from their original site in East Melbourne.

Localities within East Melbourne

Jolimont
Jolimont, District of Melbourne
Jolimont is an unbounded neighbourhood of the suburb of East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Situated to the south east of the city's primary axis, Jolimont features parks, business precincts and a limited amount of residential accommodation...

 is a locality within the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 of East Melbourne.

Jolimont only covers a very small area. Most of it is occupied by the Melbourne Cricket Ground and surrounding Yarra Park and has its own railway station. The remainder of Jolimont is made up by a single block of housing, consisting of many Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

 terrace houses and office buildings.

The first superintendent of the Port Phillip
Port Phillip
Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...

 District, and later lieutenant-governor, Charles La Trobe
Charles La Trobe
Charles Joseph La Trobe was the first lieutenant-governor of the colony of Victoria .-Early life:La Trobe was born in London, the son of Christian Ignatius Latrobe, a family of Huguenot origin...

 lived in Jolimont with his family in a pre-fabricated cottage. The La Trobe's Cottage
La Trobe's Cottage
La Trobe’s Cottage is a historic cottage in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, built in 1839 for the first superintendent of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales, Charles La Trobe, and his family. The cottage was constructed out of prefabricated materials imported from England on 50,000 square...

 was moved in 1963 to the Kings Domain where it is open to the public. Other notable people who have lived in Jolimont include William Guilfoyle
William Guilfoyle
William Robert Guilfoyle was a landscape gardener and botanist in Victoria, Australia, acknowledged as the architect of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne and was responsible for the design of many parks and gardens in Melbourne and regional Victoria.-Early life:Guilfoyle was born in Chelsea,...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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