West Melbourne, Victoria
| West Melbourne Melbourne, Victoria | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Victorian terraces in Capel Street | |||||||||||||||
| Population | 3037 (2006) [1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | Lua error: Unable to convert population "3037 (2006) '"`UNIQ--ref-00000000-QINU`"'" to a number. | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3003 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 6.4 km2 (2.5 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 3 km (2 mi) from Melbourne | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of Melbourne | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Melbourne | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Melbourne | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
West Melbourne is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, West Melbourne had a population of 3037.
West Melbourne is bounded by Victoria Street and the Footscray Rail line in the North, Footscray Road and the Moonee Ponds Creek and the Yarra River in the south. Peel Street and the Flagstaff Gardens help form the Eastern Boundary, with the Western Boundary defined by the Maribyrnong River and Coode Island, a locality of West Melbourne which is home to Victoria's largest toxic chemical storage facility.
Being largely an industrial area, a significant portion of West Melbourne is occupied by the Port of Melbourne, the Dynon railway yards and the Melbourne Markets. These include the Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable and Fish Markets as well as the National Flower Centre. It also contains a small pocket of residential and commercial properties, consisting of a mixture of Victorian single and double storey terraces and converted warehouses at the north-west corner of the Melbourne CBD. Also is home to the Queen Victoria Market located on corner of Victoria and Peel Streets.
Transport
The North Melbourne railway station is actually situated in West Melbourne, opposite the Railway Hotel on Ireland Street. The '401' bus service connects the train station with the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Carlton.
A number of tram routes run along the periphery of the suburb, along Victoria Street, Peel/William Street and LaTrobe Street.
Culture
Churches
- West Melbourne Baptist
- St Mary's Catholic
- St James Old Cathedral (Melbourne's oldest cathedral, built in 1842)
Hotels
- Carron Tavern, Spencer Street
- McMahons Hotel (Moomba Hotel, formerly North West Hotel), Spencer Street
- Railway Hotel, Ireland Street
- Royal Mail Hotel (formerly Maitz), Spencer Street
- Royal Standard Hotel, William Street
- Hotel Spencer, Spencer Street
- Three Crowns Hotel, Victoria Street
Restaurants
- Citrus Mint
- Kathmandu Cottage
- Warung Agus
- Le Taj
- Wild East
- Amiconi
- Fraus
- Tandoori Dhaba
Entertainment venues
- Festival Hall
- Witches in Britches
- The Looney Bin
Localities
North of the railway lines
The area bounded by Railway Parade and Spencer St has undergone significant change since 2000. While the region has always been mixed industry and residential, the industrial flavour of the area has diminished rapidly, as West Melbourne's population increases. In Dryburgh, Laurens, Ireland, Stanley and Adderley Streets, the majority of the warehouses have been converted to townhouse developments. The development nearby of the Docklands has had a significant impact on the perceived prestige of the area, and it is rapidly losing its status as one of the most affordable precincts with such proximity to the CBD.
Shopping
West Melbourne lays claim to the southern side of Victoria Street, meaning that a small range of restaurants and shops lie within its boundaries. Otherwise it has no shopping area of its own. However the Direct Factory Outlet development on Spencer St in the CBD, and Errol St North Melbourne sit just outside the boundary of West Melbourne.
Coode Island
Coode Island is a locality in West Melbourne's industrial zone. It is unusual in that although it is a locality of West Melbourne, with the creation of Melbourne Docklands and Bolte Bridge the area has become completely disonnected from the main area of the suburb.
It is the site of Victoria's major petrochemical storage facility. Named for engineer John Coode, despite the name the area is no longer an island.
Coode Island was created in 1886 when the Yarra River was straightened, in a project devised by John Coode.[3] A shipping canal was constructed the the south of the existing course of the river through Fishermans Bend, to allow access from the Port of Melbourne to Yarraville. The former course of the river to the north, and associated swamps was then progressively filled in.
By 1909 the area was being used as an animal quarantine station and sanatorium for victims of bubonic plague. By the 1920s the area was inhabited by hermits living in huts and abandoned ships. In 1927 the Larkin Aircraft Supply Company had set up operations on the island, including a factory and aerodrome,[4] which was used until World War II.
In 1960 the area began being used for the storage of petrochemicals. In 1968 the Swanson Dock container terminal was constructed, which reduced the size of Coode Island.
On August 21 1991 lightning struck one of the storage tanks, resulting in the Coode Island explosion. 8.5 million litres of chemicals burned, creating a toxic cloud over nearby residential suburbs, which were fortunately dispersed by high winds.[5] Proposals were made to move the facility to Point Lillias near Geelong,[6] but environmental and Aboriginal heritage concerns thwarted the plans. In 2000 the Bracks Government announced that Coode Island would be the site of Victoria's major petrochemical storage facility, with six companies leasing the facility from the Melbourne Port Authority.
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "West Melbourne (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
- ^ West Melbourne, accessed 04 July 2008
- ^ "History of the port". Port of Melbourne. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
- ^ "Larkin, Herbert Joseph (1894 - 1972)". Australian Dictionary of Biography Online. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
- ^ "Coode Island, Melbourne, Vic: Explosion & Chemical Fire". Emergence Management Australia. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
- ^ "About Coode Island". Coode Island Community Consultative Committee. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
External links
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