Collingwood, Victoria

Collingwood Melbourne, Victoria
Aerial view of Collingwood looking south west toward Victoria Parade; Hoddle Street (left) and Smith Street on (top right)
Collingwood
Coordinates
Population	6,467 (2011)
• Density	4,974/km2 (12,880/sq mi)
Established	1850s
Postcode(s)	3066
Area	1.3 km2 (0.5 sq mi)
LGA(s)	City of Yarra
State electorate(s)	Richmond
Federal Division(s)	Melbourne
Suburbs around Collingwood: Fitzroy North Clifton Hill Clifton Hill Fitzroy Collingwood Abbotsford Melbourne East Melbourne Richmond

Collingwood is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, 3 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the City of Yarra. At the 2011 Census, Collingwood had a population of 6,467.

Collingwood is one of the oldest suburbs in Melbourne and is bordered by Smith Street, Alexandra Parade, Hoddle Street and Victoria Parade.

Collingwood is notable for its historical buildings, with many nineteenth century dwellings, shops and factories still in use.

It was named in 1842 after Baron Collingwood or an early hotel which bore his name.

History

Prefabricated houses imported from Singapore during the 1850s

Toponomy

It was 'named after' Lord Horatio Nelson's 'favourite admiral' Baron Collingwood (or, possibly after the Collingwood Hotel which existed there and was named after the admiral) by surveyor Robert Hoddle, under instructions from Superintendent Charles La Trobe, in 1842.

Australian author Frank Hardy set the novel Power Without Glory in a fictionalised version of the suburb, named Carringbush. The name is used by a number of businesses in the area, such as "Carringbush Business Centre". At one time a ward in the City of Yarra that includes part of Collingwood was actually named Carringbush.

Establishment

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.

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.

Collingwood Coffee Palace in 1879 – now the facade of Woolworths in Smith St Fitzroy

In the 1870s, Smith Street became the dominant shopping strip, with its tram line established in 1887. Many of Collingwood's grand public buildings were erected in the 1880s, including the post office and town hall. Collingwood also had a strong temperance movement, with two "coffee palaces" springing up in the 1870s, including the large and grand Collingwood Coffee Palace (now the facade of Woolworths – minus original classical pediment and mansard).

At the turn of the century Collingwood's Smith Street rivalled Chapel Street in Prahran as the dominant home of suburban emporiums and department stores. The first G.J. Coles store was opened in the street in 1912.

Since the 1950s, Collingwood has been home to many groups battling to save the suburb's unique character against development and gentrification.

In 1958 residents rallied at Collingwood Town Hall against the Housing Commission of Victoria's slum reclamation projects, which would see demolition orders for 122 of the suburb's homes.

File:Smith street collingwood in 1907.jpg

Smith Street Collingwood in 1907

In the 1970s, 150 residents protested against plans for the F-19 freeway, with some putting themselves in front of earthmovers during the construction.

The Collingwood Action Group formed in 2006 to fight the "Banco" development, a large mixed use project on Smith Street.

In 2010, over 2,000 people rallied to save The Tote Hotel, a popular live music venue, which became a potential state election issue.

Geography

Collingwood's topography is mostly flat, but a prominent slope extends from Hoddle Street up to Smith Street, and also along sections of Hoddle Street.

The suburb is notable for its historical buildings, with many nineteenth 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 the 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.

Culture

Sport

The Collingwood Australian rules football Club (the Magpies) has a history dating back to 1892 as an incorporated football club. They were once housed at Victoria Park. In recent years they won the 1990 premiership and the 2010 grand final rematch against St Kilda.

Community Radio

3CR is an independent community radio station that is located at the Victoria Parade end of Smith St. The station has been based in the suburb since 1977 and its frequency is 855AM.

PBS 106.7FM relocated from St Kilda to Collingwood and is located at 47 Easey Street. PBS is a community radio station that celebrated its 25th year of broadcasting in 2004.

Gay village

Collingwood is Melbourne's second largest gay village, featuring several gay oriented entertainment venues. These include the Peel dancebar, which in 2007 was granted the legal right to ban heterosexual patrons from the bar, which has been argued to both promote discrimination, or to be a justified manner of protection for patrons.

Economy

Madman Entertainment has its head office in Collingwood.

Commercial areas

File:Smith street collingwood looking north.jpg

Smith Street

The main commercial area is Smith Street, which borders Fitzroy.

Education

Collingwood Technical School was established in July 1912 as a trades and technical training school. The school closed in 1987 and, forming along with the Preston Technical School, was the basis for the formation of the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE, which continues to have a Collingwood campus in Otter Street.

Collingwood College, a state P-12 school, is located in the suburb.

Demographics

In 2011 Collingwood had a population of 6,467. 54.0% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of foreign birth were Vietnam 5.8%, New Zealand 3.2%, England 3.0%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 2.2% and Ethiopia 1.5%.

Housing

1960s high rise housing commission towers

Collingwood's housing consists of a large number of high-rise housing commission flats and a number of older single and double storey former workers cottages on small subdivisions.

More recently older warehouses and factories have been converted into fashionable apartments and there has been modern townhouse infill and medium density unit development.

Public and commercial buildings

File:Former collingwood post and telegraph office.jpg

Former Collingwood Post & Telegraph office, Smith Street

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 and is similar to Rupertswood, with its tall tower.

Prominent hotels include the Leinster Arms Hotel, established in 1865 and is the only single storey hotel built in Melbourne in that era, the Sir Robert Peel ("The Peel") Hotel and the Vine Hotel.

The ornate Collingwood Town Hall is an imposing building that was used until 1994 as the centre of local government for the City of Collingwood.

Notable people

Emma Minnie Boyd (1858–1936) artist

John Cowan Duncan (1901–1955) company manager

John Hunter Patterson (1841–1930) grazier and mining investor

Transport

Transport within 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 Victoria Street (tram route 109) and Smith Street (route 86), which are on the edge of the suburb. Johnston, Wellington and Langridge Streets are the main arterials going through the suburb.

The Collingwood railway station is in neighbouring Abbotsford.

See also

• City of Collingwood – the former local government area
• Collingwood Children's Farm
• Collingwood Football Club

External links

• Australian Places – Collingwood
• Collingwood Historical Society