South Melbourne | |||||||||||||
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  South Melbourne | |||||||||||||
 Interactive map of South Melbourne | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates:37°50′06″S144°57′36″E / 37.835°S 144.960°E /-37.835; 144.960 | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Victoria | ||||||||||||
| City | Melbourne | ||||||||||||
| LGA | |||||||||||||
| Location |
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| Established | 1840s | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 2.5 km2 (0.97 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Elevation | 10 m (33 ft) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 11,548 (2021 census)[2] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 4,620/km2 (11,960/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 3205 | ||||||||||||
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South Melbourne is an inner suburb inMelbourne,Victoria,Australia, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Melbourne'sCentral Business District, located within theCity of Port Philliplocal government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the2021 census.[2]
Historically known asEmerald Hill, South Melbourne was one of the first of Melbourne's suburbs to adopt full municipal status and is one of Melbourne's oldest suburban areas, notable for its well preserved Victorian era streetscapes.
The current boundaries are complex. Starting at the east end of Dorcas Street, it runs along the rear of properties onSt Kilda Road, then south along Albert Road, north up Canterbury Road, along the rear of the north side of St Vincent Place, zigzags west along St Vincent Street, then north up Pickles Street. There is then an arm of former industrial land to the west between Boundary Road, the freeway and Ferrars Street. It then runs along Market Street to Kingsway, then up Dorcas Street to St Kilda Road.
Before European settlement, the area now called South Melbourne stood out as largely flat with central hill (where the Town Hall now stands) surrounded by swampy land to the north and south. The hill was a traditional social and ceremonial meeting place forAboriginal Australian peoples.[who?][citation needed]
The area was colonised by Europeans in the 1840s and became known as Emerald Hill.[citation needed]
During theVictorian Gold Rush of 1851 a tent city, known as "Canvas Town" was established. The area soon became a massive slum, home to tens of thousands of fortune seekers from around the world.[citation needed]
Subdivision and land sales at Emerald Hill began in 1852, and while the hill itself was reserved as the site for an orphanage, Canvas Town was soon replaced by modest often single storey terraces and cottages, including many that were prefabricated overseas in timber and corrugated iron and imported in the early 1850s. Independence from the City of Melbourne was granted when Emerald Hill was proclaimed aborough on 26 May 1855.[3] In 1857, Melbourne's second railway line, toSt Kilda, was created running through the new municipality.[citation needed]
On 6 August 1868, a weekly newspaper,The Record, began publication.[4] In 1872, it changed its name toThe Record and Emerald Hill and Sandridge Advertiser, reverting toThe Record in 1881.The Record continued publication until 22 December 1954.[5]
The new municipality developed rapidly and by 1872 Emerald Hill was proclaimed a town.[citation needed] By the 1870s, parts of South Melbourne became a favoured place of residents for the wealthy, particularly inSt Vincent Place (which mostly lies inAlbert Park), with large lots laid out around a generous green space, The orphanage on the hill relocated in 1878, and the crest of the hill become the site of theSouth Melbourne Town Hall, built between 1879 and 1880,[6] designed in suitable grandeur to evoke the city's booming status, and establishing a civic heart at Bank Street. In 1883 Emerald Hill became a city, changing its official name to South Melbourne.[citation needed]
Like many other working class inner city suburbs, South Melbourne experienced a decline from the 1950s as Melbourne sprawled outwards, and the condition of the mostly rented cottages deteriorated. During the 1960s, theHousing Commission of Victoria stepped up their 'slum clearance' activities, and two several high-rise public housing towers in teh locality, including the earliest,Emerald Hill Court, and the tallest,Park Towers (1969). At the same time the suburb became home to postwar European migrants, adding a multicultural flavour to the area.[citation needed]
In the 1980s, like other inner suburban areas, South Melbourne'sgentrification got under way, and many of the terrace houses and cottages were renovated and a new middle class moved in. From the 1990s, the industrial districts of South Melbourne, closer to the city, and includingSouthbank, have been redeveloped with mid and high rise apartments; in 1996 the most intensively developed part of Southbank was transferred to the City of Melbourne. At the same time, the City of South Melbourne was amalgamated with the Cities of St Kilda and Port Melbourne to create theCity of Port Phillip.[citation needed]
In the 2016 Census, were 10,920 people in South Melbourne. 55.5% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 4.8%, China 3.0%, New Zealand 2.8%, India 1.5% and Malaysia 1.4%. 66.5% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 3.9%, Greek 2.8%, Russian 1.9%, Cantonese 1.3% and Italian 1.2%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 40.7% and Catholic 17.3%.[7]
South Melbourne is served bytram routes1,12,58, and96. Route 96 runs along the formerSt 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 theCity of Port Phillip and theCity of Stonnington, by connectingroute 112 withroute 8 via Park Street. This would have required less than 100 metres of track to be laid along the Park Street gap to create the new route.[8]
The main commercial district is centred on Clarendon Street and side streets, including an area around theSouth Melbourne Market, with many retailers, cafes, eateries, art galleries and more.
Like the Melbourne CBD, there are many small laneways in South Melbourne, most of them cobbled inbluestone.
South Melbourne's predominant housing is terraced or semi-detached Victorian.
Park Towers is a notable example of Housing Commission of Victoria hi-rise public housing. There are a number of such towers in parts of South Melbourne, built since the 1960s.
In recent years,South Melbourne has seen an increase in population density, due to apartment development in nearby Southbank, where development has spilled over from the Melbourne CBD. To the east, towards theSt Kilda Road complex, are many high rise office buildings.
The Victorian era terraced house and cottage areas of South Melbourne are extensive and mostly heritage-listed. A handful of original prefabricated cottages have survived, with a corrugated iron example in Coventry Street now a museum run by the National Trust. The elaborate town hall with its tall clock tower is one of the landmarks of Melbourne's heritage ofVictorian architecture. The block that the town hall stands on was all developed in the late 1870s-1880s with substantial terrace houses and shops, and remains intact to this day.
See Yup Temple is a Chinese temple, built in 1856, is Melbourne's most notable reminder of the Chinese immigration during the gold rush.[9]
South Melbourne features television production studios owned by theSeven Network andGlobal Television in the south of the suburb. This was formerly the Melbourne studios of theSeven Network prior to them moving to theMelbourne Docklands's Digital Broadcast Centre. SeveralSeven Network shows likeDeal or No Deal,Dancing with the Stars, andIt Takes Two were filmed at the South Melbourne location whilstSeven News is filmed at Docklands.
South Melbourne FC is regarded as one of Australia's most successfulsoccer clubs, with four national titles to their name. They currently play in theVictorian Premier League atLakeside Stadium, a rectangular stadium built on Lake Oval, the former home ground of theSouth Melbourne Swans. Historically, they have been known asSouth Melbourne Hellas, a tribute to the migrant Greek founders of the club and traditionally played atMiddle Park.[citation needed]
It was once home to the South Melbourne Swans, which played in theVictorian Football League (VFL), which played out of the Lake Oval (now Lakeside Stadium) in nearbyAlbert Park, before relocating to Sydney in 1982 in a radical move, which eventually spawned the national Australian Football League.[citation needed]
A new athletics track and field facility replaced the earlier updated soccer ground, but soccer is still present in the centre of the track.[citation needed]
Notable people from or who lived in South Melbourne include:
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