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.
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
Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/where-we-live-the-changing-face-of-victoria-s-neighbourhoods-20240329-p5fg7b.html