Melbourne City Histories by ACC Art Books

This edition © Kulturalis Ltd, 2027

Contents

Text © Old Treasury Building, Melbourne, 2027 Illustrations © various; see p. 64 for details The authors have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as authors of this work. First published in 2027 by Kulturalis Ltd 14 Old Queen Street London SW1H 9HP United Kingdom www.kulturalis.com In association with Old Treasury Building 20 Spring Street East Melbourne VIC 3002 www.otb.org.au ISBN 978-1-83636-038-4 Project manager and copy-editor: Catherine Bradley Designer: Matt Wilson Indexer: Nic Nicholas Reproduction by Opero, Verona Printed and bound in China by 1010 Printing

The Old Treasury Building

Introduction

First Peoples

Claiming Port Phillip

City of Gold

4 Marvellous Melbourne 5

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

A New Century

6 Making Modern Melbourne

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the Authors and Publisher.

30 38 46

Millennial Melbourne

Select Bibliography

Index

Image Credits

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. EU GPSR Authorised Representative: EASY ACCESS SYSTEM EUROPE OÜ, Mustamäe tee 50, 10621, TALLINN, Estonia email: info@easproject.org

Front cover: James Northfield (1887—1973),

Melbourne. The Garden Capital of Victoria, Australia — Take a ‘Kodak’, lithograph, 1936. © James Northfield Heritage Art Trust, courtesy of State Library Victoria

Back cover and inside front cover:

Old Treasury Building Museum, 2012. © Dan Gossie Photography

PUBL I SHER’S NOTE: This book contains material that refers to deceased persons, content that is distressing and colonial records that use language now considered offensive. They are included here as historical evidence.

This edition © Kulturalis Ltd, 2027

Contents

The Old Treasury Building

Introduction

First Peoples

Claiming Port Phillip

City of Gold

4 Marvellous Melbourne 5

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

A New Century

6 Making Modern Melbourne

30 38 46

Millennial Melbourne

Select Bibliography

Index

Image Credits

Front cover: James Northfield (1887—1973),

Melbourne. The Garden Capital of Victoria, Australia — Take a ‘Kodak’, lithograph, 1936. © James Northfield Heritage Art Trust, courtesy of State Library Victoria

Back cover and inside front cover:

Old Treasury Building Museum, 2012. © Dan Gossie Photography

was discharged straight into the Yarra, which soon became a noisome polluted stream. We can trace the precocious growth of Melbourne through a remarkable series of sketches by artist, architect and surveyor Robert Russell. He drew the city from the same perspective at intervals from 1836 until 1854, copying and colouring his sketches in the 1880s.

hunting and foraging grounds destroyed by the settlers’ flocks, they were increasingly dependent on government rations for survival. William Thomas, Assistant Protector of the Wurundjeri people, wrote: ‘I could not but feel for the poor blacks. They had till this visit an undisturbed range among the lagoons … now one side of the

Above: William Thomas

Yarra is forever closed from them.’

his Journal of Proceedings,

(1793—1867), excerpt from March to May 1841.

Public Record Office Victoria, VPRS 4410/P0, unit 3

RA MPAN T G ROW TH Meanwhile the settler population grew in leaps and bounds.

Opposite and below:

In 1842 Melbourne was officially proclaimed a town; in 1847 it

1876), Panoramic Sketch of

Samuel Jackson (1807—

became a city. In 1846 10,954 people were living in Melbourne. By 1851 this had increased to 23,143, to the great detriment of the local environment. Most of the waste of people, animals and industry

Melbourne Port Phillip from the Walls of Scots Church on the Eastern Hill, 1841, watercolour.

State Library Victoria

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

2 : C laiming P ort P hillip

Above: William Thomas

Yarra is forever closed from them.’

his Journal of Proceedings,

(1793—1867), excerpt from March to May 1841.

Public Record Office Victoria, VPRS 4410/P0, unit 3

RA MPAN T G ROW TH Meanwhile the settler population grew in leaps and bounds.

Opposite and below:

In 1842 Melbourne was officially proclaimed a town; in 1847 it

1876), Panoramic Sketch of

Samuel Jackson (1807—

became a city. In 1846 10,954 people were living in Melbourne. By 1851 this had increased to 23,143, to the great detriment of the local environment. Most of the waste of people, animals and industry

Melbourne Port Phillip from the Walls of Scots Church on the Eastern Hill, 1841, watercolour.

State Library Victoria

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

2 : C laiming P ort P hillip

CHAPTER 3

City of Gold Opposite: N. Chevalier

In March 1851 gold was found near the New South Wales town

(1828—1902), Emigrants

of Bathurst. By July there were reports of good finds in Victoria,

Wharf, Melbourne, c. 1850s,

at Clunes and Anderson’s Creek near Warrandyte, followed by the discovery of rich deposits at Ballarat, Bendigo and Mount

Landing at the Queen’s

wood engraving on paper. National Library of Australia

Below: Edmund Thomas

Alexander. The news spread like wildfire. Stories of fabulous

(1827—1867), Canvass Town [sic], 1853, engraving with

discoveries in California were already well known; now the

hand colouring.

State Library Victoria

goldfields of Victoria promised the same opportunity. Here was a chance for independence from a life of wage-labour —

Tents could be rented at

a chance, with luck, to make a fortune.

shillings per week, but

‘Canvas Town’ for a few conditions were poor and illness rife.

T H E GOLD R U S H Melbourne was thrown into chaos as working men rushed to the

During 1852 alone, 45,000 passengers from

goldfields. Businesses foundered, banks were stripped of cash to

Britain arrived in Melbourne, mostly gold-seekers.

buy supplies and prices soared. In reporting conditions to London

They were soon joined by thousands from Europe,

in October 1851 Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe wrote:

America, China and New Zealand, all keen to try their luck. The influx overwhelmed the city, leaving

Melbourne and Geelong and their large suburbs have been

immigrants to fight for space in overcrowded

almost emptied of many classes of their male inhabitants.

hotels and boarding-houses. Hundreds were forced

… Cottages are deserted, houses to let, even schools are

to spend a night on the wharves and thousands

closed. In some of the suburbs, not a man is left.

more braved ‘Canvas Town’, a sprawling tent city on the south bank of the Yarra River. Most would-be

One-third of Melbourne’s adult male population was said to have

miners set out for the diggings as quickly as they

left for the diggings. Deserted wives and families struggled to pay

could — while their money lasted.

for basic food and clothing. By 1852 news of the gold strikes had

The chaos of Melbourne was more than

reached London and every available ship was rushed into service.

matched by the hardships of life on the diggings.

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

3 : C ity of G ol d

CHAPTER 3

City of Gold Opposite: N. Chevalier

In March 1851 gold was found near the New South Wales town

(1828—1902), Emigrants

of Bathurst. By July there were reports of good finds in Victoria,

Wharf, Melbourne, c. 1850s,

at Clunes and Anderson’s Creek near Warrandyte, followed by the discovery of rich deposits at Ballarat, Bendigo and Mount

Landing at the Queen’s

wood engraving on paper. National Library of Australia

Below: Edmund Thomas

Alexander. The news spread like wildfire. Stories of fabulous

(1827—1867), Canvass Town [sic], 1853, engraving with

discoveries in California were already well known; now the

hand colouring.

State Library Victoria

goldfields of Victoria promised the same opportunity. Here was a chance for independence from a life of wage-labour —

Tents could be rented at

a chance, with luck, to make a fortune.

shillings per week, but

‘Canvas Town’ for a few conditions were poor and illness rife.

T H E GOLD R U S H Melbourne was thrown into chaos as working men rushed to the

During 1852 alone, 45,000 passengers from

goldfields. Businesses foundered, banks were stripped of cash to

Britain arrived in Melbourne, mostly gold-seekers.

buy supplies and prices soared. In reporting conditions to London

They were soon joined by thousands from Europe,

in October 1851 Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe wrote:

America, China and New Zealand, all keen to try their luck. The influx overwhelmed the city, leaving

Melbourne and Geelong and their large suburbs have been

immigrants to fight for space in overcrowded

almost emptied of many classes of their male inhabitants.

hotels and boarding-houses. Hundreds were forced

… Cottages are deserted, houses to let, even schools are

to spend a night on the wharves and thousands

closed. In some of the suburbs, not a man is left.

more braved ‘Canvas Town’, a sprawling tent city on the south bank of the Yarra River. Most would-be

One-third of Melbourne’s adult male population was said to have

miners set out for the diggings as quickly as they

left for the diggings. Deserted wives and families struggled to pay

could — while their money lasted.

for basic food and clothing. By 1852 news of the gold strikes had

The chaos of Melbourne was more than

reached London and every available ship was rushed into service.

matched by the hardships of life on the diggings.

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

3 : C ity of G ol d

With gold came a decade of unparalleled economic growth. Before the rush some 50 merchants operated in the city, but by 1860 there were more than 300. The total value of imports was £15 million, more than five times that of 1851. This new merchant class challenged the previously unrivalled power of the pastoral generation. As author E. Carlton Booth recalled: ‘Every shopkeeper became a merchant and every merchant a prince.’ Increasing wealth and a growing middle class stimulated a range of cultural activities. New theatres were built in the city, the fare ranging from the popular to the serious. An influx of skilled artists saw the growth of professional art societies, schools and galleries. Booksellers and publishers prospered too, and the increased

Top: François Cogné

Above: François Cogné

Henry Burn (1807—1884),

and the eight-hour day for some lucky workers (1856), along with

circulation of daily newspapers such

(1829—1883), Treasury Buildings, 1863, tinted lithograph.

1864, lithograph with hand

North from Princes

universal male suffrage (1857). The thriving city took pride in its

as The Age, Argus and Australasian also

State Library Victoria

(1829—1883), Collins Street, colouring.

Melbourne, 1862, looking Bridge, lithograph.

State Library Victoria

brought reading into people’s homes.

The Treasury Building (now Old

With Melbourne’s wealth and

Treasury), commissioned in 1857,

Retail activity in the city had

Henry Burn painted this

was designed in the Renaissance

now settled into a pattern,

view of grand Gold Rush

Revival style. The Italianate,

one maintained in Melbourne

Melbourne from Princes

progress came a demand for industrial

palazzo-style sandstone structure,

to this day. Bourke Street

Bridge in 1862. It features

and political rights. This period saw

built between 1858 and 1862,

became the preferred ‘strip’,

St Paul’s Church,

the introduction of the secret ballot

expressed the rapidly growing

while Collins Street had

demolished in 1885.

wealth of Gold Rush Melbourne.

smaller, more specialist stores.

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

3 : C ity of G ol d

achievements. As The Age wrote in April 1858: We have the ballot; we have manhood suffrage; we have abolished the property qualification for the Assembly … in liberality of public opinion and feeling we have made wonderful advances.

Top: François Cogné

Above: François Cogné

Henry Burn (1807—1884),

and the eight-hour day for some lucky workers (1856), along with

circulation of daily newspapers such

(1829—1883), Treasury Buildings, 1863, tinted lithograph.

1864, lithograph with hand

North from Princes

universal male suffrage (1857). The thriving city took pride in its

as The Age, Argus and Australasian also

State Library Victoria

(1829—1883), Collins Street, colouring.

Melbourne, 1862, looking Bridge, lithograph.

State Library Victoria

brought reading into people’s homes.

The Treasury Building (now Old

With Melbourne’s wealth and

Treasury), commissioned in 1857,

Retail activity in the city had

Henry Burn painted this

was designed in the Renaissance

now settled into a pattern,

view of grand Gold Rush

Revival style. The Italianate,

one maintained in Melbourne

Melbourne from Princes

progress came a demand for industrial

palazzo-style sandstone structure,

to this day. Bourke Street

Bridge in 1862. It features

and political rights. This period saw

built between 1858 and 1862,

became the preferred ‘strip’,

St Paul’s Church,

the introduction of the secret ballot

expressed the rapidly growing

while Collins Street had

demolished in 1885.

wealth of Gold Rush Melbourne.

smaller, more specialist stores.

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

3 : C ity of G ol d

CHAPTER 4

A.C. Cooke (1836—1902), Melbourne,

Still visible in this isometric panorama are ‘the Falls’ intersecting

State Library Victoria

to straighten the river and correct its propensity to flood.

1882, colour engraving.

the Yarra. They were blown up in 1883 in one of many attempts

Marvellous Melbourne After the frenetic growth of the Gold Rush decade, the 1860s and 1870s were years of adjustment. Population growth slowed, although Melbourne still doubled in size. By 1881 268,000 people lived in the city and inner suburbs; about 66,000 inhabited the City of Melbourne municipality. From 1865 Melbourne was the largest city in Australia and easily the richest, with brick and stone buildings predominating. As gold mining contracted, however, thousands of surplus miners competed for work. These were to prove turbulent years in both

Below: De Gruchy &

the economy and politics.

Melbourne, 1863, lithograph.

In the 1880s confidence returned; soon Melbourne was booming again. Commerce flourished and capital followed, as a seemingly inexhaustible line of credit financed opulent new buildings, extensive public works and a property boom. City buildings began to creep

Leigh, Panoramic View of State Library Victoria

A view of Spring Street in 1863. The Treasury Building is shown on the far left and other stone buildings on Collins and Bourke Streets.

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

4 : M arvellous M elbourne

CHAPTER 4

A.C. Cooke (1836—1902), Melbourne,

Still visible in this isometric panorama are ‘the Falls’ intersecting

State Library Victoria

to straighten the river and correct its propensity to flood.

1882, colour engraving.

the Yarra. They were blown up in 1883 in one of many attempts

Below: De Gruchy &

the economy and politics.

Melbourne, 1863, lithograph.

Leigh, Panoramic View of State Library Victoria

A view of Spring Street in 1863. The Treasury Building is shown on the far left and other stone buildings on Collins and Bourke Streets.

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

4 : M arvellous M elbourne

Opposite: Moreland Road, The Land of Promise,

West Brunswick, Close to

Essendon, 1888, lithograph. State Library Victoria

B O O M A ND B U ST However, the late 1880s saw a renewed frenzy of property speculation. With no effective regulation, property changed hands at absurdly inflated prices, all of which rested on credit. When the inevitable credit squeeze came, it hit hard. Between 1891 and 1893 a succession of financial institutions collapsed, land values dropped and the economy contracted sharply. Thousands lost jobs, homes and savings while the government did little to help. Many in Melbourne suffered cruelly as the city that had once grown so confidently contracted. Only two bright spots enlivened this bleak decade. The first was the final completion of a sewerage system, opened with great flourish in February 1898. The other was progress towards a federated nation, finally enacted in 1900. As the twentieth century dawned, Melbourne emerged from depression to become the interim capital city of the new Commonwealth of Australia.

John Macfarlane (1857—

1936), Among the Workless — Feeding the Hungry,

1892, wood engraving. State Library Victoria

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

4 : M arvellous M elbourne

Opposite: Moreland Road, The Land of Promise,

West Brunswick, Close to

Essendon, 1888, lithograph. State Library Victoria

John Macfarlane (1857—

1936), Among the Workless — Feeding the Hungry,

1892, wood engraving. State Library Victoria

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

4 : M arvellous M elbourne

benefits of its 27 years as national capital, with local investment from both state and federal governments. A start was made on beautifying the city, rejuvenating and expanding the ring of parks that eventually encircled it.

A LOW-R IS E CI T Y Two landmarks of the city date from this first decade — Flinders Street Railway Station and the new City Baths (1904). Flinders Street Station was one of few

Above: Flinders Street Station,

Right: Rose

buildings begun during the

State Library Victoria

Swanston Street &

c. 1913, photograph.

1890s. Built in red brick with

Stereograph Co.,

The clocks showed the next departure

white masonry and a distinctive

times for trains on each line. Such was

copper dome, the station opened

when the system was automated in 1983.

their popularity that they were retained

Manchester Unity

Building, Melbourne, c. 1935, photograph. State Library Victoria

in 1910 and swiftly won a place in Melburnians’ hearts. Meeting

construction and internal lifts. However, concern at the

‘under the clocks’ at Flinders

proliferation of such ‘skyscrapers’, along with fear of fire, led

Street Station became a tradition

governments to limit the height of city buildings to 132 feet — the

that lasts to this day, while many

height of the fire brigade’s ladders. This restriction remained in

flocked to the public balls held in

place for four decades. Only one city building exceeded this limit:

the upper-floor ballroom.

the Manchester Unity Building, one of few constructed during

Inspired by examples in

the Great Depression. Hailed as ‘a new symbol of enterprise and

the United States Melbourne’s

confidence’, the building housed Melbourne’s first escalators.

buildings crept upwards,

James Northfield (1887—1973), Melbourne. The Garden Capital

These proved a real attraction, with thousands visiting the Unity

enabled by steel-frame

Building merely to ride on them.

of Victoria, Australia — Take a Kodak, lithograph, 1936.

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

5 : A N ew C entury

A LOW-R IS E CI T Y Two landmarks of the city date from this first decade — Flinders Street Railway Station and the new City Baths (1904). Flinders Street Station was one of few

Above: Flinders Street Station,

Right: Rose

buildings begun during the

State Library Victoria

Swanston Street &

c. 1913, photograph.

1890s. Built in red brick with

Stereograph Co.,

The clocks showed the next departure

white masonry and a distinctive

times for trains on each line. Such was

copper dome, the station opened

when the system was automated in 1983.

their popularity that they were retained

Manchester Unity

Building, Melbourne, c. 1935, photograph. State Library Victoria

in 1910 and swiftly won a place in Melburnians’ hearts. Meeting

construction and internal lifts. However, concern at the

‘under the clocks’ at Flinders

proliferation of such ‘skyscrapers’, along with fear of fire, led

Street Station became a tradition

governments to limit the height of city buildings to 132 feet — the

that lasts to this day, while many

height of the fire brigade’s ladders. This restriction remained in

flocked to the public balls held in

place for four decades. Only one city building exceeded this limit:

the upper-floor ballroom.

the Manchester Unity Building, one of few constructed during

Inspired by examples in

the Great Depression. Hailed as ‘a new symbol of enterprise and

the United States Melbourne’s

confidence’, the building housed Melbourne’s first escalators.

buildings crept upwards,

James Northfield (1887—1973), Melbourne. The Garden Capital

These proved a real attraction, with thousands visiting the Unity

enabled by steel-frame

Building merely to ride on them.

of Victoria, Australia — Take a Kodak, lithograph, 1936.

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

5 : A N ew C entury

CHAPTER 6

Making Modern Melbourne Melbourne grew rapidly after the Second World War, reaching a population of 2.5 million by 1971. Primary and secondary industry expanded, unemployment averaged an astonishing 1.9 per cent

Below left: Assembly Line,

and individual incomes increased at an annual rate of almost four

General Motors-Holden at

per cent. Historians call this period following the Second World

Fishermans Bend, 1951—52, photograph.

War until the early 1970s the ‘long boom’.

National Library of Australia

Victoria prospered, with high investment in protected

Urban society was also changing. Postwar immigrants brought new

manufacturing industries such as cars, clothing and electrical

ideas and ways of living. Young people distinguished themselves

goods. Manufacturing output

from older generations through culture and politics, while women’s,

yearly between 1949 and

First Nations and other activist groups demanded social change. Gone were antiquated liquor laws, compelling pubs to close at 6 pm: the city and its people were growing up.

increased six per cent 1967, while the number of factories in Victoria almost doubled. In 1951 over 40 per cent of wage earners were employed in manufacturing.

Left: Bruce Postle (1940—),

Above left: Laurie Richards

Above: Edwin G. Adamson

1970, photograph.

at Melbourne Town Hall,

c. 1950s, photograph.

The Melbourne Moratorium March,

(1895—1974), Scott’s Hotel,

20 February 1969, photograph.

This photograph of 8 May 1970

A measure introduced in 1916

Women’s groups were active

6 pm to reduce drunkenness. The

shows 80,000 Melburnians marching down Bourke Street to demonstrate against Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Such protests against the Vietnam War (1962—73) crystallised the growing divide within society, with young people demanding a greater voice.

(1907—1985), Equal Pay Protest

throughout the 1960s in support of equal pay and issues such as legal, safe abortion. In 1972 the Arbitration Commission ruled in favour of the principle of ‘equal pay for work of equal value’, but wage equality remains an elusive goal.

Royal Historical Society of Victoria

forced public bars to close at unforeseen result was a frantic rush to consume as much alcohol as possible before closing time. On 1 February 1966 drinking hours were extended to 10 pm, ending the infamous ‘six o’clock swill’.

CHAPTER 6

Below left: Assembly Line,

and individual incomes increased at an annual rate of almost four

General Motors-Holden at

per cent. Historians call this period following the Second World

Fishermans Bend, 1951—52, photograph.

War until the early 1970s the ‘long boom’.

National Library of Australia

Victoria prospered, with high investment in protected

Urban society was also changing. Postwar immigrants brought new

manufacturing industries such as cars, clothing and electrical

ideas and ways of living. Young people distinguished themselves

goods. Manufacturing output

from older generations through culture and politics, while women’s,

yearly between 1949 and

First Nations and other activist groups demanded social change. Gone were antiquated liquor laws, compelling pubs to close at 6 pm: the city and its people were growing up.

increased six per cent 1967, while the number of factories in Victoria almost doubled. In 1951 over 40 per cent of wage earners were employed in manufacturing.

Left: Bruce Postle (1940—),

Above left: Laurie Richards

Above: Edwin G. Adamson

1970, photograph.

at Melbourne Town Hall,

c. 1950s, photograph.

The Melbourne Moratorium March,

(1895—1974), Scott’s Hotel,

20 February 1969, photograph.

This photograph of 8 May 1970

A measure introduced in 1916

Women’s groups were active

6 pm to reduce drunkenness. The

(1907—1985), Equal Pay Protest

Royal Historical Society of Victoria

CHAPTER 7

Right: Laurie Thomas (1933—),

Southbank Precinct, Melbourne, 1983, photograph.

Millennial Melbourne

Manufacturing jobs declined by one-

third between 1971 and 1981. A further third was lost with the recession of

1982. Whole sections of the inner city,

including Southbank, were abandoned.

The transition from industrial to postindustrial has been difficult for many people and communities, but unlike the experiences of some cities … Melbourne’s story isn’t simply a tale of abandonment. Seamus O’Hanlon, 2010 The period from 1970 to 2025 saw Melbourne transformed once again, as factories made way for office and residential towers. Melbourne’s

competition from an industrialising Asian market combined to hit

central business district (CBD) is now

industry hard. When the Australian government removed tariff

a high-rise residential city surrounded

protection, many industries could no longer compete. Between

by low-density suburbs that stretch

1973 and 1980 over 3,000 factories closed. By 2001 just 16 per cent

over 70 km.

of wage earners were employed in manufacturing: by 2016 the figure had fallen to only 7.8 per cent. Alternative employment was

UR BAN DECLI NE

slow to emerge and many factory workers were forced into low-

By the mid-1970s Australia’s ‘long

paid, casual work, lacking the benefits of full-time employment.

boom’ was over. The economy

In the city centre things were grim. Retail activity waned

stagnated and Melbourne, along

as suburban shopping malls burgeoned. Employment in inner-city

with much of the Western world,

retail fell, with almost 7,000 jobs (one-quarter) lost between 1971 and

experienced years of recession. Global

Les Thompson, Melbourne, View from the

1981. In the same period the city’s residential population dropped by

inflation, rising oil prices and increased

courtesy of Royal Historical Society of Victoria

25 per cent. Weekends saw the central city all but deserted.

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

7 : M illennial M elbourne

CHAPTER 7

Right: Laurie Thomas (1933—),

Southbank Precinct, Melbourne, 1983, photograph.

Millennial Melbourne

Manufacturing jobs declined by one-

third between 1971 and 1981. A further third was lost with the recession of

1982. Whole sections of the inner city,

including Southbank, were abandoned.

competition from an industrialising Asian market combined to hit

central business district (CBD) is now

industry hard. When the Australian government removed tariff

a high-rise residential city surrounded

protection, many industries could no longer compete. Between

by low-density suburbs that stretch

1973 and 1980 over 3,000 factories closed. By 2001 just 16 per cent

over 70 km.

of wage earners were employed in manufacturing: by 2016 the figure had fallen to only 7.8 per cent. Alternative employment was

UR BAN DECLI NE

slow to emerge and many factory workers were forced into low-

By the mid-1970s Australia’s ‘long

paid, casual work, lacking the benefits of full-time employment.

boom’ was over. The economy

In the city centre things were grim. Retail activity waned

stagnated and Melbourne, along

as suburban shopping malls burgeoned. Employment in inner-city

with much of the Western world,

retail fell, with almost 7,000 jobs (one-quarter) lost between 1971 and

experienced years of recession. Global

Les Thompson, Melbourne, View from the

1981. In the same period the city’s residential population dropped by

inflation, rising oil prices and increased

courtesy of Royal Historical Society of Victoria

25 per cent. Weekends saw the central city all but deserted.

CITY HISTORIES: MELBOURNE

7 : M illennial M elbourne

UR BAN T RAN SFORMATIO N

buildings and warehouses

By the late 1980s Melbourne’s CBD was widely considered an

Below: Katie Dunning

for residential use. It was

urban backwater. Residential and retail activity had largely shifted

(1985—), Melbourne’s City

Skyline Showing Southbank,

a resounding success. The

to the suburbs and the streets were dominated by noisy cars and

a High-Density Urban Living

number of residential units in

Old Treasury Building Melbourne

Melbourne increased from

Unfortunately windowless

738 in 1980 to 9,895 in 2002,

trams. The population in the city centre was estimated to be just 2,000 people. Urban policies such as ‘Postcode 3000’ (1992) sought to

Community, 2026, photograph.

bedrooms exist in almost

then to 40,000 in 2024.

one-quarter of new residential

repopulate the city. The policy encouraged the building of new

developments, prompting

apartments and the re-purposing of vacant offices, heritage

the ‘slums’ of the future.

Residential towers now

concerns that the city is building

cram inner-city blocks at record densities and heights. They are occupied by students, ‘empty nesters’ and young professionals, with fewer than 10 per cent of inhabitants employed in manufacturing. Residents still reflect the diversity Above: Vietnamese Shops

encouraged by immigration policies, but the city’s ethnic make-up

Street, Richmond, 1994,

has changed. Until the 1970s most immigrants were from Britain,

and Shoppers in Victoria photograph.

National Archives of Australia, NAA: A12111, 3/1994/13B/31

The White Australia Policy was dismantled from the mid-1960s. Today Melbourne is one of the world’s great, multicultural metropolises. More than one-half of its current residents were born overseas.

Greece, Italy and the Mediteranean. Today most hail from Asia, Africa and India, although rising costs in the central city have encouraged immigrants to gravitate towards the outer suburbs. As in the city, Melbourne’s inner industrial suburbs of Collingwood, Richmond, Carlton and Fitzroy have been gentrified and colonised by well-paid workers in post-industrial professions. Whole manufacturing precincts have been re-invented as fashionable places in which to live, work and play. Property prices now prohibit low-income earners and public housing is at risk, located as it is on prime real estate.

7 : M illennial M elbourne

UR BAN T RAN SFORMATIO N

buildings and warehouses

By the late 1980s Melbourne’s CBD was widely considered an

Below: Katie Dunning

for residential use. It was

urban backwater. Residential and retail activity had largely shifted

(1985—), Melbourne’s City

Skyline Showing Southbank,

a resounding success. The

to the suburbs and the streets were dominated by noisy cars and

a High-Density Urban Living

number of residential units in

Old Treasury Building Melbourne

Melbourne increased from

Unfortunately windowless

738 in 1980 to 9,895 in 2002,

trams. The population in the city centre was estimated to be just 2,000 people. Urban policies such as ‘Postcode 3000’ (1992) sought to

Community, 2026, photograph.

bedrooms exist in almost

then to 40,000 in 2024.

one-quarter of new residential

repopulate the city. The policy encouraged the building of new

developments, prompting

apartments and the re-purposing of vacant offices, heritage

the ‘slums’ of the future.

Residential towers now

concerns that the city is building

encouraged by immigration policies, but the city’s ethnic make-up

Street, Richmond, 1994,

has changed. Until the 1970s most immigrants were from Britain,

and Shoppers in Victoria photograph.

National Archives of Australia, NAA: A12111, 3/1994/13B/31

7 : M illennial M elbourne