City of Stonnington
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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. The city covers an area of 25.6 square kilometres and includes the suburbs of South Yarra, Prahran, Windsor, Toorak, Armadale, Kooyong, Glen Iris, Malvern and Malvern East.
Within 20 years of the settlement of Melbourne in 1835, the Prahran Road Board (later City of Prahran) was formed in 1855, followed by the Gardiner Road Board (later City of Malvern) in 1856. The late 19th century saw substantial residential and commercial development such that by 1891 Prahran had a population of almost 40,000 and Malvern 11,000. The election of the Kennett government in the Spring of 1992 heralded a comprehensive reorganisation of local government in Victoria and brought about the amalgamation of the Cities of Malvern and Prahran to form the City of Stonnington.
After the amalgamatian of the City of Malvern with the City of Prahran in 1994 to form the City of Stonnington, the Malvern Town Hall was renamed the Stonnington City Centre and it became the the corporate headquarters of the new Stonnington City Council, (City of Stonnington).
The name Stonnington comes from the Charles D'Ebro designed mansion built in 1890 for a founding partner of Cobb and Co, John Wagner, who named the house after his wife’s birthplace in Stonington (sic), Connecticut, USA. The house is located in Glenferrie Road, Malvern.
The city has a multicultural (27% born overseas) population of just over 86,000 with a higher proportion of 18 to 34 year olds than the Melbourne average. The population are also greater users of public transport which provides a comprehensive service to the city.
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[edit] History
Prior to European settlement, the land of the City of Stonnington was occupied by the Wurundjeri, an Indigenous Australian Woiwurrung speaking people of the Kulin nation.
The establishment of European settlers in what was then the Port Phillip District of New South Wales in 1835, was soon followed by pastoralist John Gardiner, together with Joseph Hawdon and John Hepburn, driving cattle south from Yass to Kooyong Koot (later named Gardiner's) Creek, in the area now known as Malvern, and establishing a homestead and grazing property.
The year 1840 was the beginning of Crown land auctions of land to the east of Melbourne and south of the Yarra River and Gardiners Creek. The high ground between Gardiner's Creek Road (now Toorak Road) and the river returned the best prices and it was here that most of the grand mansions of the period were built. Much of the land south of Toorak Road was swampy. This area was subdivided into much smaller blocks for workman's cottages and later to house gold-rush immigrants. The distinction between the two areas remains today in the suburbs of Toorak and South Yarra. Further auctions of land in the Prahran area took place in 1849 and 1850.
The early 1850s saw the return of many miners from the gold diggings to Prahran resulting in increased development and the gazetting as a municipality in 1855. The population of Prahran at the time of the first council elections was about 8,000. Meanwhile, Government land sales within the area bounded by Kooyong Road, Gardiners Creek and Wattletree Road were held in 1854 and a small settlement grew around Malvern and Glenferrie Roads. The area known as Gardiner (later Malvern) was proclaimed a Roads Board District in 1856 and became a municipality in 1871, taking the name Malvern in 1878.
The 1880s and 1890s saw substantial residential and commercial development in the City of Prahran such that by 1891 Prahran had a population of almost 40,000. The development of Malvern followed from 1900 onwards and by 1921 Malvern's population was almost 33,000.
[edit] Geography
The western part of the city, around South Yarra, Prahran and Windsor were originally part of the River Yarra flood plain and much of the area was covered by swamps, bogs and creeks formed from the run-off from the Malvern Hills to the East. The Albert Park Lake to the west is a remnant of the original flood plain.
The City of Stonnington is bounded by the Yarra River and Gardiners Creek to the north, Warrigal Road to the east, Dandenong Road and Queens Way to the south, and Punt Road to the west. Stonnington has numerous tree-lined streets and over 120 parks and gardens. Many public reserves occur along the Gardiners Creek valley. The city has some of Melbourne's major shopping precincts in Chapel Street, Glenferrie Road, High Street, Malvern Road and Toorak Road as well as the Chadstone Shopping Centre. Local sporting venues include Malvern Valley Golf Club, Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club and Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre.
[edit] Demographics
The following demographic information is from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
- Population - Stonnington has a population of 86,090, of which 51% are female. There are 39,793 occupied dwellings in the city.
- Age - the age structure of the population of Stonnington is different to the Melbourne average with a higher percentage of persons aged 18-34 (32.8%) and a lower percentage of children aged under 18 (16.5%).
- Country of birth - Stonnington has a multicultural population with 26.7% being born overseas. The top five countries of birth are United Kingdom, Greece, New Zealand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
- Language spoken - in 19.1% of homes a language other than English is spoken. The top five languages are Greek, Chinese, Italian, Indonesian and Russian.
- Religion - 57.5% of people stated their religion as Christian, 10.1% as non-Christian and 32.4% as no religion or did not indicate a religion.
- Weekly income - the median household income is between $800 and $1000. Stonnington has a higher percentage of households (33.8%) earning over $1500 per week when compared to the Melbourne average.
- Education qualifications - 29.2% of the populations has a Bachelor or higher degree compared to the Melbourne average of 14.2%.
- Employment - the unemployment rate in Stonnington was 5.1%.
- Computers - 51% of the population are computer users and 56% have access to the internet.
- Transport to work - Public transport, bicycle or walking was used by 26.7% of people compared to Melbourne's average of 13.6%.
- Dwellings - Stonnington has a higher proportion of people living in flats or apartments (43%) compared to the Melbourne average of 14.3%.
[edit] Government
[edit] Federal
The Federal Parliament deals with national matters such as defence, international relations, management of the economy, social security, immigration, taxation, overseas trade, telecommunications, postal services, etc. The City of Stonnington is within the Federal Electorate of Higgins. The present Federal Representative is Hon Peter Costello, MP who is also Treasurer of Australia.
[edit] State
The State Parliament deals with issues such as health and community services, housing, education, transport, law and order, local government, electricity, gas and water. State Representatives for Stonnington are Tony Lupton, MP, the Member for Prahran and Robert Doyle, MP, the Member for Malvern and Leader of the Opposition in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. Stonnington's representatives in the Legislative Council (the State's Upper House) are the Members for Monash Province The Hon. Andrea Coote, MLC and The Hon. Johan Scheffer, MLC.
[edit] Local
Stonnington City Council is the third tier of government and deals with services such as garbage collection, building permits and approvals, roads, drainage, health services, food safety, parks and gardens, library services, pets, street parking permits and the collection of rates and charges.
Stonnington has three multi-councillor wards - East, North and South, which are each represented by three councillors. Council elections are conducted by postal voting and votes are counted using proportional representation. Voting is compulsory for residents who are on the voters' roll for local council elections but voters aged 70 years or over are not obliged to vote at local council elections.
| Ward | Candidate | Elected order |
1st preference votes |
| East | Anne O'Shea | 1st | 3300 |
| East | Judy Hindle | 2nd | 4077 |
| East | Steve Stefanopoulos | 3rd | 3577 |
| North | Sarah Davies | 1st | 4250 |
| North | Tas Athanasopoulos | 2nd | 2029 |
| North | John Chandler | 3rd | 2903 |
| South | Melina Sehr | 1st | 4378 |
| South | Chris Gahan | 2nd | 2222 |
| South | Claude Ullin | 3rd | 1906 |
Councillor John Chandler was elected Mayor of the City of Stonnington on 29 November, 2006. Cr. Chandler has been a councillor for the City of Stonnington since 1996 and was previously a Councillor and Mayor of the former City of Prahran. The next election for Stonnington City Council will take place in November 2008.
[edit] Education
Australia has a system of public (state government) and private (independent) schools. Most public schools are co-educational. Most private schools are administered by their own boards and receive a government subsidy besides having their own fee structure. Schooling is compulsory for students until the age of fifteen although many students continue on to complete Year 12. The following are Secondary colleges (High schools) in the City of Stonnington:
- De La Salle College, Malvern
- St Kevin's College, Toorak
- The King David School, Armadale
- Korowa Anglican Girls' School, Glen Iris
- Lauriston Girls' School, Armadale
- Loreto Mandeville Hall, Toorak
- Presentation College, Windsor
- Sacre Coeur College, Glen Iris
- St Catherine's School, Toorak
- Melbourne High School, South Yarra
Higher education is provided by Universites, Vocational Education and Training (VET) facilities and Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions.
Deakin University has a campus in Glenferrie Road, Malvern and Swinburne University of Technology has its Prahran campus in High Street.
Monash University's medical school is also attached to The Alfred Hospital on Commercial Road.
[edit] Public transport
Stonnington is extremely well serviced by Melbourne's public transport system. Three branches of rail lines and eight tram services pass through the City of Stonnington as well as a number of bus services including 12 services to Chadstone Shopping Centre.
[edit] Railways
The Cranbourne, Pakenham and Frankston railway lines provide a regular service to South Yarra, Hawksburn, Toorak, Armadale and Malvern stations. The Sandringham railway line services South Yarra, Prahran and Windsor stations and the Glen Waverley line runs along the northern boundary of Stonnington to Heyington, Kooyong, Tooronga, Gardiner, Glen Iris, Darling, East Malvern and Holmesglen stations.
[edit] Trams
All major east-west roads in Stonnington have tram services. Tram route 3 runs along Balaclava Road and Waverly Road to East Malvern and tram route 5 services Dandenong Road and Wattletree Road and ends at Burke Road in Malvern. Tram route 6 runs along High Street and terminates at Malvern Road in Glen Iris while tram 72 services Commercial Road, Malvern Road and Burke Road and tram 8 travels along Domain Road and Toorak Road and ends at Glenferrie Road in Toorak. Trams 78 and 79 run north-south in Chapel Street and tram 16 in Glenferrie Road.
[edit] Buses
The suburbs within the City of Stonnington are serviced by the following bus routes:
| Suburb | Bus Services |
| South Yarra | 216, 219, 220, 246, 605 |
| Prahran | 216, 219, 220, 246 |
| Windsor | 246 |
| Toorak | 605 |
| Kooyong | - |
| Armadale | 220, 605 |
| Malvern | 624 |
| Glen Iris | 612, 734 |
| Malvern East | 612, 623, 624, 627, 767, 822 |
[edit] Media
In addition to the newspapers, radio and television of the Melbourne media Stonnington has a free local newspaper, the Leader Newspaper Group's Stonnington Leader, which is a part of News Limited. It has a circulation of about 50,000.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Betty Malone's introduction to Sally Wilde's 'History of Prahran, Vol II: 1925-1990'. Retrieved 14 March, 2006
- City of Stonnington Community Profile. Retrieved 12 March, 2006
- National Centre for Australia Studies - Australian Places: Prahran, Victoria. Retrieved 10 March, 2006
- National Centre for Australia Studies - Australian Places: Malvern, Victoria. Retrieved 10 March, 2006
- Victorian Electoral Commission - Results for Stonnington City Council Elections 2004. Retrieved 9 March, 2006
- John Butler Cooper, The History of Prahran. Retrieved 9 March, 2006
- John Butler Cooper, The History of Malvern. Retrieved 9 March, 2006
[edit] External links
| Local Government Areas of Melbourne | |||
| Metropolitan City of Banyule • City of Bayside • City of Boroondara • City of Brimbank • City of Casey • City of Darebin • City of Frankston • City of Glen Eira • City of Greater Dandenong • City of Hobsons Bay • City of Hume • City of Kingston • City of Knox • City of Manningham • City of Maribyrnong • Maroondah City Council • City of Melbourne • City of Monash • City of Moonee Valley • City of Moreland • City of Port Phillip • City of Stonnington • City of Whitehorse • City of Whittlesea • City of Wyndham • City of Yarra • Outer Metropolitan Shire of Cardinia • Shire of Melton • Shire of Mornington Peninsula • Shire of Nillumbik • Shire of Yarra Ranges |
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