Collingwood, Victoria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Collingwood Melbourne, Victoria
Smith Street looking North
Population:	5,082 (2001)[1]
Established:	1850s
Postcode:	3066
Property Value:	AUD $412,500 [2]
LGA:	City of Yarra City of Melbourne
State District:	Richmond
Federal Division:	Melbourne
Suburbs around Collingwood Fitzroy North Clifton Hill Clifton Hill Fitzroy Collingwood Abbotsford Melbourne East Melbourne Richmond

Collingwood is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is in the Local Government Area of the City of Yarra. Collingwood is one of the oldest suburbs in Melbourne and is bordered by Smith St, Alexandra Parade, Hoddle St. and Victoria Parade.

The suburb is named after Baron Collingwood, a famous British admiral.

The suburb is notable for its historical buildings, with many 19th century dwellings, shops and factories still in use.

Australian author Frank Hardy set the novel Power Without Glory in a fictionalised version of the suburb, named Carringbush^[3]. The name is often used as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the real-world locale^{[citation needed]}, and is also used by a number of businesses in the area, such as "Carringbush Business Centre". At one point, a ward in the City of Yarra that includes part of Collingwood was named Carringbush.

[edit] History

Subdivision and sale of land in Collingwood began in 1838, and was mostly complete by the 1850s. Collingwood was declared a municipality separate from the City of Melbourne on 24 April 1855, the first to follow the state's major population centres of Melbourne and Geelong. Collingwood was proclaimed a town in 1873, and later a city in 1876 ^[4].

Collingwood's early development was directly impacted by the boom in Melbourne's population and economy during the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s and 1860s. This resulted in the construction of a large number of small dwellings, as well as schools, shops and churches to support this new population. Around the same time, large industrial developments such as a flour mill and the Fosters brewery were being established.

Since the 1870s, Smith Street has been the dominant shopping strip, with its tram line established in 1887. Smith Street was also the site of a number of Melbourne's earliest large variety stores and department stores, including the first G.J. Coles store in 1912.

An example of the prefabricated houses imported from Singapore during the 1850s, which were popular in Collingwood at the time

[edit] Culture and Sport

The Collingwood Australian rules football Club has a long history (dating back to 1892 as an incorporated football club), though in recent years (despite the 1990 AFL premiership), many jokes are made about its inability to win big-occasion matches helped coin the phrase the "Colliwobbles".

PBS 106.7FM also resides in Collingwood at 47 Easey St, just off Smith St. PBS is a community radio station that celebrated its 25th year of broadcast in 2004.

[edit] Architecture

The suburb is notable for its historical buildings, with many 19th century dwellings, shops and factories still in use. From its early days large commercial buildings often coexisted with small dwellings occupied by working-class families, and that mixture of industry and community continues to the present time. For example, Oxford and Cambridge Streets are dominated by imposing red-brick factories and warehouses formerly occupied by the Foy and Gibson company, but also feature a number of stone, brick and timber dwellings that date back to the earliest days of the suburb.

[edit] Non-residential architecture

Collingwood has many buildings listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and several notable commercial and public buildings. Yorkshire Brewery, built in 1880 to the design of James Wood with its polychrome brick and mansard roof tower was once Melbourne's tallest building. For many years it has been subject to development proposals and the heritage stables were at one stage demolished without a permit, however the site remains neglected. The former Collingwood Post Office was built between 1891 and 1892 in the Victorian Mannerist style to the design of John Marsden is similar to Rupertswood with its tall tower.

Former Collingwood Post & Telegraph office, Smith Street

Yorkshire Brewery

Sir Robert Peel Hotel ("The Peel")

The Vine Hotel

[edit] Transport

Transport in Collingwood consists mainly of narrow one way streets. The suburb is bounded by main roads, Smith Street to the west, Victoria Parade to the south, Hoddle Street to the east and Alexandra Parade to the North. Major tramlines are on Hoddle and Victoria Streets which are on the edge of the suburb. Johnston, Wellington and Landridge streets are the main arteries which go through the suburb.

The Collingwood Railway Station is actually in neighbouring Abbotsford.

[edit] Gay Village

Collingwood is Melbourne's second largest Gay village, catering mostly to the bears, gay skinheads, leathermen and SM subcultures. Referred to sometimes as the "Northside", while sizeable it does not generally compete with the trendy/youth scene of nearby South Yarra (often referred to as the "Southside"), though Collingwood venues do get a large number of visitors from that Southside scene on Friday nights.

A string of Gay businesses and venues can be found in the Collingwood/Abbotsford area. These include Club 80, The Gatehouse and The Peel (originally "The Sir Robert Peel Hotel") on and around Peel Street. Further east are the Wet on Wellington bathhouse on Wellington Street, The Glasshouse and The Laird on Gipps Street, and The Star Hotel, Dungeon Warehouse and Eagle Leather on Hoddle Street. There is also a significant Gay population residing in and around Collingwood itself.

[edit] References

1. ^ 2001 Census, Australian Bureau of Statistics
2. ^ Collingwood accessed 27th November 2006
3. ^ Hardy, Frank (1950) Power Without Glory, Random House.
4. ^ Monash University (1999) Gazetteer of Australian Cities, Towns and Suburbs

[edit] See also

• Collingwood Children's Farm

[edit] External links

Coordinates: -37.803° 144.988°

• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
• Australian Places - Collingwood
• Collingwood Historical Society