The dramatic growth of a Hindu sect has ignited a feud between worshippers and residents in one of Melbourne’s most exclusive suburbs over the noise, traffic and smells generated by an inner-city temple.
The Melbourne branch of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), the primary organisation of the Hare Krishna movement, has been based on Danks Street in Albert Park for almost 50 years.
ISKCON temple president Aniruddha Dasa.Credit: Joe Armao
But the growing Indian diaspora has fuelled a resurgence in members, pushing the Albert Park temple to capacity as complaints from locals intensify about the temple kitchen that pumps out thousands of meals weekly.
A petition with 182 signatures calling for the kitchen’s relocation was presented to Port Phillip Council earlier last month, claiming the temple was now a “commercial activity” for an industrial site.
However, Hare Krishna Melbourne argues the kitchen should remain there because it complies with an existing use right for the temple’s current operations. Council lawyers are assessing the claim before a vote in June.
Temple president Aniruddha Dasa said he appreciated neighbours’ concerns, as the temple had experienced a “mind-boggling” increase in popularity since the pandemic, particularly as border restrictions lifted and Indian university students returned.
However, Shirley Lanning and Maria Mercurio, petitioners from the “Keep Albert Park Peaceful” group, argue disruptions are linked to the temple’s kitchen, which expanded significantly around 2017.
The kitchen powers the Hare Krishna Food For Life charity that feeds thousands of people experiencing food insecurity across Melbourne. Temple worshippers also get three free meals a day, and weekend feasts draw large crowds. Some food is also prepared for ISKCON’s low-cost restaurant in the CBD.
“The ends are laudable. They’re to be congratulated. But the means don’t make sense in a residential zone,” Mercurio said. “It’s a large industrial-scale production kitchen.”
Planning approval for the kitchen was granted in 2010 with the condition that staffing levels were limited, but this was later found to be unenforceable by the council.
Some in Albert Park believe the Hare Krishna temple’s large commercial kitchen needs to be moved.Credit: Joe Armao
The residents’ petition also complains about increased traffic, waste in a rear lane and “pungent smells from the large-scale food production pervading the environment”. It also said that “very loud chanting and drumming” can be heard from the temple, which opens at 4.30am.
Dasa argued the group was doing its best to manage the “Hare Krishna explosion” and had moved major events away from Albert Park. It now has chapters in Casey, Wyndham and Craigieburn.
“We’ve been here for 50 years. It’s hard to remove the spiritual significance of the location. We’re taking steps to manage a transition. It takes time, and it’s expensive,” Dasa said.
“But this notion that there’s all hell breaking loose in Albert Park is – I would suggest – a little overdone.”
The Hare Krishna temple is surrounded by homes.Credit: Joe Armao
In response to the petition, council officers said two tests done at recent temple events found “noise emissions were within legally acceptable limits”.
No food or public health law breaches have been reported after 30 council inspections, although a “significant waste management breach and liquid spill” occurred in August 2022.
A council spokesperson said ISKCON claims its kitchen has prepared food for at least 15 years, but complaints increased around 2020.
“If the kitchen is found to not have existing use rights, ISKCON would need to apply for a planning permit for it to continue operating there,” the spokesperson said.
“We are very sympathetic to residents’ amenity concerns and are doing everything we can within our powers to investigate or address amenity issues. We also value what the temple brings to our community.”
Dasa, however, said the kitchen could not be separated from the temple.
“The kitchen is a fundamental part of Hindu devotional culture. The deity is worshipped with offerings,” he said. “To move the kitchen would kill the temple.”
ISKCON Australia’s most recent public financial report said the national charity’s revenue was $24.4 million, including $11 million in food sales, contributing to a $3.5 million surplus in 2023.
Dr Angela Burt, an expert on the Hare Krishna movement, said religious leader A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada founded ISKCON to spread his strand of Hinduism throughout the West. The Beatles’ George Harrison was an early convert.
Burt said ISKCON had since evolved from Western followers living in ashrams to a congregational religion.
The migration of Hindu Indians looking for familiar temple communities spurred its recent growth in the West, she said.
Hare Krishna Melbourne’s annual Sri Krishna birthday events attract thousands of people, but Dasa said the celebrations would now be held across four locations.
Hare Krishna leader A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada at Sydney Airport after arriving from Melbourne in 1974.Credit: Craig Golding/Fairfax Media
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