South Melbourne, Victoria
Encyclopedia
South Melbourne is an inner city
Inner city
The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...

 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...

, 2 km south from 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 are the Cities of Port Phillip
City of Port Phillip
The City of Port Phillip is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the northern shores of Port Phillip, south of Melbourne's central business district. It has an area of 20.62 km² and has an estimated population of 96,110 people....

 and 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, South Melbourne had a population of 8790.

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.

History

Before European settlement, the area now called South Melbourne featured a single hill (where the Town Hall now stands) surrounded by swamps. 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
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...

 of 1851 a tent city, known as Canvas Town was established. The area soon became a massive slum, home to tens of thousands of migrants from around the world.

Land sales at Emerald Hill began in 1852 and independence from Melbourne was granted when Emerald Hill was proclaimed a borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

 on 26 May 1855. Many of the residents of Canvas Town moved to prefabricated cottages in suburbs like Collingwood and South Melbourne and some of these early homes remain in South Melbourne's Coventry Street.

The new municipality developed rapidly, and by 1872 Emerald Hill was proclaimed a town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

. During the late 1870s, South Melbourne became a favoured place of residents for Melbourne's middle class with fashionable terraced housing becoming the norm including some English style squares, the best example of which was St Vincent Gardens. The South Melbourne Town Hall
South Melbourne Town Hall
South Melbourne Town Hall is a civic building located at Bank Place in South Melbourne, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It is of state heritage significance to Victoria being listed on the Victorian Heritage Register .-Architecture:...

 was built between 1879 and 1880 and designed in suitable grandeur to evoke the city's booming status establishing a civic heart at Bank Street bordered by Clarendon, Park, Cecil and Dorcas streets. 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
Housing Commission of Victoria
The Housing Commission of Victoria was a State Government body responsible for public housing in Victoria, Australia...

 stepped in and erected several high-rise public housing towers, the tallest and largest of which, Park Towers (c.1969) is in South Melbourne. 'Emerald Hill Court' is the other housing commission building located in South Melbourne (c.1962). The result was an injection of migrants adding to the multicultural flavour of the area.

In the 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...

, South Melbourne experienced one of Melbourne's biggest waves of 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...

. Many of the terrace homes were restored and renovated and a new middle class moved in. As a result of the development of Southbank in 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...

, Clarendon Street has become one of the highest rental yielding commercial streets in the entire city of Melbourne, attracting many of the residents from the apartment buildings to shop.

Recently, there has been some new developments within South Melbourne and at the Southbank end of Clarendon Street, including Australia's largest hotel.

Transport

South Melbourne is served by tram routes 1
Melbourne tram route 1
Tram route 1 is a public transport service in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs from the terminus at Nicholson Street and Bell Street in East Coburg to the corner of Victoria Avenue and Beaconsfield Parade in Albert Park....

, 112
Melbourne tram route 112
Tram route 112 is a public transport service in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs from West Preston, in the northern suburbs to St Kilda.Like most tram routes in Melbourne, it falls within Metcard/myki ticketing Zone 1....

 and 96
Melbourne tram route 96
Melbourne tram route 96 is a public transport tram and light rail route in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.It is one of Melbourne's busiest tram route carrying 39,700 passengers a day with a frequency of every 10 minutes or less during peak...

. Route 96 runs along the former St Kilda railway line, 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 City of Port Phillip
City of Port Phillip
The City of Port Phillip is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the northern shores of Port Phillip, south of Melbourne's central business district. It has an area of 20.62 km² and has an estimated population of 96,110 people....

 and City of Stonnington
City of Stonnington
The City of Stonnington is a Local Government Area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It comprises the inner south-eastern suburbs, between 3 and 13 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD...

 by connecting route 112
Melbourne tram route 112
Tram route 112 is a public transport service in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs from West Preston, in the northern suburbs to St Kilda.Like most tram routes in Melbourne, it falls within Metcard/myki ticketing Zone 1....

 with route 8
Melbourne tram route 8
Tram route 8 is a public transport service in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs from Toorak to Moreland through the suburbs of Carlton and South Yarra...

 via Park Street. This would require less than 100 metres of track to be laid along the Park Street gap to create the new route.

Commercial areas

The main commercial district is centred around Clarendon Street and side streets including an area around the South Melbourne market
South Melbourne Market
The South Melbourne market is located in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It began operating in 1867.The market has recently undergone an upgrade, which includes a new design and refurbishment....

 with many retailers, cafes, eateries and art galleries.

Like Melbourne CBD, there are many small laneways in South Melbourne, most of them cobbled in bluestone
Bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...

.

Housing

South Melbourne's predominant housing is terraced or semi-detached Victorian.

Park Towers is a notable example of Housing Commission of Victoria
Housing Commission of Victoria
The Housing Commission of Victoria was a State Government body responsible for public housing in Victoria, Australia...

 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, Victoria
Southbank, Victoria
Southbank is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia located direct south of the Yarra River opposite Melbourne's Hoddle Grid. The northernmost area is considered part of the Central Business District and Central Activities District of the city. Its Local Government Area are the...

, where development has spilled over from the Melbourne CBD. To the east, towards St Kilda Road complex are many high rise office buildings.

Heritage

The town hall
South Melbourne Town Hall
South Melbourne Town Hall is a civic building located at Bank Place in South Melbourne, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It is of state heritage significance to Victoria being listed on the Victorian Heritage Register .-Architecture:...

 precinct is home to some of Melbourne's best examples of Victorian architecture
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...

.

Seeyup Temple is a Chinese temple dating back to the gold rush era (c.1856).

Television industry

South Melbourne features some television production studios owned by the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

 and Global Television, in the south of the suburb, but Seven's news programs are broadcast from the Melbourne Docklands
Melbourne Docklands
Docklands is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia occupying an area extending up to 2 km west of and adjacent to Melbourne's Central Business District . Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...

's Digital Broadcast Centre. Several Channel Seven shows like Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (Australian game show)
Wheel of Fortune was an Australian television game show produced by Grundy Television. The programme aired on the Seven Network from 1981 to 2004 and November 2005 to July 2006, and is mostly based on the same general format as the original US version of the programme...

, Deal or No Deal
Deal or No Deal (Australian game show)
Deal or No Deal is an Australian game show airing on the Seven Network and in New Zealand on Prime . It was the first international version of the game show, after the original Dutch version. It was the first of the versions to use the Deal or No Deal name...

, Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series)
Dancing with the Stars is a Logie Award-winning, Australian light entertainment reality show airing on the Seven Network and filmed live from the HSV-7 studios in Melbourne...

and It Takes Two are filmed there.

Sport

South Melbourne FC
South Melbourne FC
South Melbourne FC is a football club based in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Considered the most successful association football club in Australia, they have won four national championships, a string of Victorian State League titles, and represented Oceania in the 2000 FIFA Club World...

 is regarded as one of Australia's most successful football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 club with four national titles to their name. They currently play in the Victorian Premier League
Victorian Premier League
The Victorian Premier League is the highest State level association football competition in Victoria, Australia, and second highest nationally after the A-League...

 at Bob Jane Stadium, a rectangular stadium built on Lake Oval, the former home ground of the South Melbourne Swans. Historically, they have been known as South Melbourne Hellas, a tribute to the migrant Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 founders of the club, and traditionally played at Middle Park
Middle Park
Middle Park may refer to:*Middle Park, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne in Australia**Middle Park , a former football stadium located in Melbourne, Australia*Middle Park, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane in Australia...

.

It was once home to the South Melbourne Swans team which played in the Victorian Football League (VFL/AFL), which played out of the Lake Oval (now Bob Jane Stadium) in nearby Albert Park
Albert Park, Victoria
Albert Park is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip. At the 2006 Census, Albert Park had a population of 5827....

 before relocating to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 in 1982 in a radical move which eventually spawned the national Australian Football League.

Notable former residents

  • Dally Messenger
    Dally Messenger
    Herbert Henry "Dally" Messenger was an Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer, recognised as one of the greatest ever players in either code. Messenger, or 'The Master' as he was dubbed, represented his country in both rugby football codes, playing two rugby union tests and seven...

  • Gentleman Jack McGowan
    John Reid McGowan
    John Reid "Gentleman Jack" McGowan was an Australian boxing champion. During his long career in the ring he fought over 110 battles, and was the first fighter to win three Australian titles at different weights, holding the titles of bantam, feather, and light-weight champion of...

  • William John Wills
    William John Wills
    William John Wills was an English surveyor who also trained for a while as a surgeon. He achieved fame as the second-in-command of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, which was the first expedition to cross Australia from south to north, finding a route across the continent from the settled...


External links

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