Where we live: The changing face of Victoria’s neighbourhoods
In this series, The Age profiles Victorian suburbs and towns to reveal how they’ve changed over the decades.
Three days inside the climate-controlled confines of Chadstone sent this reporter into a daze
It seems every Melburnian has a Chaddy story. The shopping mecca has drawn generations, who have worked, wandered, spent and even got married in the precinct.
- by Stephen Brook
How this ‘daggy’ suburb became a rising cultural hotspot (with world-class croissants)
Indulging in a sublime pastry while having a rubber stamp custom-made, your violin repaired and your tarot read. Welcome to the suburb named after a corrupt former premier considered ‘Bent by name, bent by nature’. It’s a rich mosaic of all things ordinary and gloriously niche.
- by Bridie Smith
The historical planning quirk that means only single dwellings are allowed in this suburb
One of Melbourne’s biggest suburbs is preserved in amber-coloured brick, with a focus on family, pride and an easy way of identifying an interloper.
- by Tom Cowie
The fight to save a hidden Hollywood, only a stone’s throw from Melbourne
No one goes to Little River. Even the train station is shut. You get your coffee at the servo. And those are just some of the reasons why the locals love it.
- by Liam Mannix
From Smellbourne to Softwood: The small but enduring suburb of Spotswood
The inner-west neighbourhood has a tiny population but it has claims to fame: It is the birthplace of Melbourne’s modern sewage system and the subject of a movie starring Oscar-winners Russell Crowe and Anthony Hopkins.
- by Brittany Busch
Most people don’t even know where this suburb is. That suits residents to a tee
If you Google ‘Derrimut’, the top result is a gym franchise, and one of its main claims to fame is actually in the next suburb over – but that out-of-the-way reputation is what has attracted families.
- by Hannah Hammoud
Some locals call this suburb ‘the island’ and it’s on the rise
Known to locals as ‘the island’, Richmond is a hub for healthcare, business, public transport and hospitality. The footy club’s done OK too.
- by Madeleine Heffernan
The suburb that lost its grunge, but kept its cutting-edge cool
The Italians and Greeks are no longer quite so numerous, but a $20 barber cut can still be had in Northcote, where there is plenty of live music, and an abundance of lesbians.
- by Alex Crowe
The name of this vibrant, foodie paradise was drawn out of a hat
Once a painter’s paradise, this suburb has swapped towering gums and dense bush for looming skyscrapers and the Suburban Rail Loop.
- by Angus Delaney
Ringwood keeps its feet on the ground as lofty future takes shape
The clock tower remains an icon but also serves as a yardstick to measure the scale of change and development in the suburb.
- by Patrick Hatch
End of the train line: Life on Melbourne’s fringe
Shiny new build homes surround the station and then give way abruptly to green paddocks with cows grazing in them.
- by Cara Waters
The urban fringe suburb that used to be known as ‘Tradie Town’
No one knows how Diamond Creek got its name but the locals have a favourite story: about a bull who met his end near the water.
- by Brittany Busch
How a derelict theatre revived a whole suburb and attracted Hollywood royalty
Much like the solar system, the suburb of Yarraville revolves around its own Sun. The popular art deco theatre has many crediting it with helping revitalise the inner west.
- by Caroline Schelle
Tracksuits and Tan walkers: Wealth, ambition and Melbourne’s Lululemon elite
Wearing Adidas in South Yarra? Chances are you’re an outsider in one of Melbourne’s most glitzy suburbs.
- by Liam Mannix
Rich man, poor man, gangland, parmesan: Melbourne’s constantly shifting suburb
Perched on the edge of Melbourne’s CBD, Carlton has risen and fallen with the city’s fortunes. After the gangland war, it is forging a new path.
- by David Estcourt
Spawned from inner-city muck, this suburb full of lawyers is getting younger
On Gold Street in Clifton Hill there is a stark reminder of the suburb’s past and future. On one side is a primary school – on the other side, an aged care home.
- by Angus Delaney and Josh Gordon
‘If Brighton and Daylesford had a baby’: The seaside cul de sac that could have been Melbourne’s CBD
It has no traffic lights and a “graceful, provincial” feel, but happy locals in this suburb still have a clear view of Melbourne’s skyscrapers.
- by Rachael Dexter
The gracious, spacious suburb people move to – and never leave
They call Ivanhoe a “long-held suburb” for a reason. But residents are being asked to handle growth upwards, not outwards.
- by Carolyn Webb
Our island home: Phillip Island and its residents, both human and non-human
Phillip Island’s population is booming and tourism surging. Can its precious wildlife and environment be protected? It’s a delicate dance.
- by Benjamin Preiss
From tobacco factory to artistry, this suburb is the southside’s northside
Creatives, breweries, patisseries and young families are springing up in the suburb’s once-gritty industrial precinct, which used to be home to soft drink manufacturers and big tobacco companies.
- by Melissa Cunningham
This suburb is ‘centre of the universe’. Can it keep up with demand?
Among Chinese migrants, there is a term used to describe Glen Waverley. ‘Yu zhou zhong xin’ means ‘the centre of the universe’.
- by Sophie Aubrey
The rich used to send it their sewage, now this suburb is an oasis of creatives
Once a place where the poorest endured toxic run-off from Melbourne’s wealthy, Collingwood is reaching for an affluent, sustainable future. It’s not all smooth going.
- by Tony Wright
The town that shed its lingering smell wants to shed its lingering reputation
Bordered by market gardens and a giant sewage treatment farm, the former farm town of Werribee is experiencing irresistible population growth.
- by Adam Carey
The part of Melbourne with 1500 tennis courts, a ‘Bunnings hotel’ and no train line
Doncaster is known for the shopping centre and having no railway links, but the large blocks that attracted families in the past are making way for towers and denser living.
- by Tom Cowie
Melbourne’s migrant and manufacturing heart has taken some hits, but it’s still burning with ambition
Waves of migrants have called Broadmeadows home, wooed by cheap housing and plentiful jobs. As they brace for future growth, residents hope better education and community services are part of the plan.
- by Patrick Hatch
How St Kilda remains St Kilda against all odds
St Kilda is a place constantly in transition. While cash is flowing into the bayside suburb, it’s also an area that locals will fight doggedly to protect.
- by Cara Waters
They call it ‘MoPo’: Dame Edna’s hidden gem of the north is changing
Even the concreted-over creek is being brought back to life as Moonee Ponds ascends into the sky.
- by Rachael Dexter
City life
Burwood was ‘the bush’. Now it’s a university hub with towers to come
It was once conservative, culturally homogenous and rough in parts. These days it’s young, ethnically diverse and dominated by a university.
- by Madeleine Heffernan
The suburb trying to avoid the fate of Docklands as towers shoot up
North Melbourne has long been gentrified, and its mixed-income residents have always co-existed, but a windfall of government and private investment could change that.
- by Najma Sambul
Brighton isn’t all Karens and mansions – but it would help if they locked their doors
Locals love the Bayside bubble, but police say locals leaving homes unlocked is allowing young offenders to get inside and steal car keys.
- by Stephen Brook
Merrick Watts’ simple rule during Eltham pub fights: ‘Grab the till and run’
Once Eltham was an “amazing dichotomy between ruthless bogans and the arts”. Nowadays, the leafy suburb is fighting not to look like everywhere else.
- by Clay Lucas
More than just a market, South Melbourne is a village too
Built on the success of the gold rush, South Melbourne has ridden the highs and lows of Victorian history. It’s carved out a place on the edge of the CBD.
- by Wendy Tuohy
Big-city problems surfing in on Torquay as newcomers embrace a sea change
The Torquay community is fiercely protective of its surrounding environment – both ocean and land – as its population boom threatens its coastal character.
- by Benjamin Preiss
‘My soul will flash back to The Junction’: The suburb where residents fight for their leafy idyll
For decades Camberwell residents have risen up to defend their suburban calm from developers.
- by Jewel Topsfield
The winds of change are coming to Hawthorn. Some welcome it, others are wary
The genteel demographic of Hawthorn is slowly being replaced by apartments, young people and chain stores. But some question what the suburb could lose as a result.
- by Clay Lucas
Melbourne’s original suburb is trapped in time by a river – with no train
Kew is now 10 times larger than when it was described as a “prettily-situated township” in 1875, but much of it remains unchanged.
- by Josh Gordon
St Albans, so long a rough diamond of the west, is beginning to shine
It has welcomed successive waves of migrants. It is home to a beloved market and foodie strip. And it’s just half an hour from the CBD. It is St Albans – and proud of it.
- by Melissa Cunningham
The tale of three Heidelbergs, suburbs full of contradictions
They are neighbours on the map, but Heidelberg, Heidelberg Heights and Heidelberg West are resolutely worlds apart. As the fast pace of change beckons, locals are keen to keep the community spirit.
- by Bianca Hall
Epping’s new growth spurt: The suburb showing signs it might be on the cusp of boom time
The suburb has been steadily sprawling northward since Melbourne’s urban boundary was extended in 2010.
- by Adam Carey
In pursuit of the Australian dream, no one planned for Pakenham to be this big
A mega-suburb on Melbourne’s outer fringe, Pakenham is showing no signs of slowing down despite challenges with infrastructure and congestion.
- by Najma Sambul
‘A city to be reckoned with’: Springvale is the beating heart of our refugee diaspora
The first home of many Vietnamese and Cambodian migrants is ready to embrace a greater ambition for its future.
- by Cara Waters
Car parks, jail cells and the Coburg ‘time warp’: The profound shift sweeping down Sydney Road
Coburg was once Melbourne’s multicultural and industrial heartland, as well as home to the city’s worst criminals. But changes are sweeping down Sydney Road.
- by Tom Cowie
Frankston’s future as luxe bayside suburb a distant dream in derelict town centre
Underloved Frankston is having a moment in the sun, with a byelection due in March and big plans brewing for the city centre. But not everyone is happy.
- by Adam Carey
Oakleigh and Clayton were outer suburbs. They are about to transform into a new CBD
If the plans come to pass, these suburbs – home to Greek and Chinese migrants – will have as many jobs as Melbourne’s CBD currently does. Many residents don’t mind.
- by Melissa Cunningham and Patrick Hatch
Special report
Footscray in flux: The suburb showing the symptoms of profound demographic shift
While tattooed hipsters sip craft beers and modern high-rises begin to fill the skyline, retailers say Footscray still has an underbelly of crime and antisocial behaviour.
- by Marta Pascual Juanola and Najma Sambul
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