West Melbourne
West Melbourne is a large suburb that lies on the very edge of the Melbourne CBD. Rivalled only by Port Melbourne in inner city size and sharing strong similarities, not only by the shared boundary line, but the large percentage of the suburb retaining its industrial heritage.
Having large industrial sections occupying significant portions of West Melbourne, such as the Dynon Railway Yards, the Port of Melbourne, and Coode Island, it would be easy to assume the suburb would lack a sense of lifestyle and culture. However, West Melbourne is home to a number of renowned Melbourne landmarks and venues.
While the industrial section occupies the west of the suburb, in the east you will find the renowned Festival Hall, built in 1913, originally intended to host boxing and pro wrestling matches. Over the years diversified to host a large selection of famous names and events among them performances from the Beatles, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra and Oasis. In 1955 after a tragic fire, the stadium was rebuilt to host the 1956 Olympics and soon after the first Indoor Tennis Exhibition featuring John McEnroe.
In the far-east corner sits the leafy Flagstaff Gardens, the Witches in Britches musical-theatre restaurant and bordering the eastern boundary is the Queen Victoria Market, providing residents with delightful selection of fresh produce.
From a transport perspective, the current North Melbourne train station is actually situated within West Melbourne. With the introduction of the Melbourne Metro Tunnel, bringing the addition of a train station in North Melbourne, the existing station will soon be renamed “West Melbourne “ to better reflect its geographical location and allow the new North Melbourne station to be aptly named.
When it comes to houses in West Melbourne, there are many distinctive Victorian terraces, both single and double-storey, in the east centred around Victoria Street and the cross-streets towards North Melbourne and the train lines in the south. There are now, new apartment complexes lining the streets, with apartment and townhouse developments, taking over the old warehouses and factories that once serviced the West Melbourne precinct.
Home to a number of schools, including Western Senior Secondary College, Simonds Catholic College for boys, and the Haileybury City campus which caters for students from Early Learning right through to Year 12.
From a retail perspective the waterfront at Docklands is an easy saunter for restaurants and events, while North Melbourne’s Errol Street is your closest set neighbourhood strip of shops, with alfresco cafés, banks and a couple of small supermarkets. Further afield in North Melbourne off Macaulay Road is a new Woolworth’s complex catering for all residents needs.