This was published 11 months ago
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 at Pentridge Prison. But changes are sweeping down Sydney Road.
By Tom Cowie
Ellie Meisally, a resident at Pentridge in Coburg. Credit: Justin McManus
If you were looking for a symbol of how Coburg has changed, then Pentridge Prison is a good place to start.
The tall bluestone walls incarcerated some of the state’s most infamous criminals for nearly 150 years, including Ned Kelly and Chopper Read. Ronald Ryan, the last person to hang in Victoria, walked to the gallows here in 1967.
Until it closed in 1997, hardened men would do almost anything to escape the notorious conditions of the Victorian-era cells.
Now, the restored former penal institution is a place to be.
Children frolic around a modern playground, trying to avoid getting sprayed by water jets intermittently shooting from the ground. Their parents stand close by, nursing takeaway coffees and discussing which group chat messages they have forgotten to respond to.
Children play at a playground at the former Pentridge Prison site, which is now a housing development.Credit: Justin McManus.
A $1 billion redevelopment has resulted in several apartment buildings (and more on the way), as well as cafes, a supermarket, luxury hotel, cinema and brewery.
“I have a quirky personality anyway. So it really fits me well, living in a prison,” says 35-year-old accountant Ellie Meisally.
“It’s a conversation starter, I can see the walls from my living room.”
Meisally has lived in The Rook building at Pentridge since 2022. Originally from Indonesia, she moved to Coburg from Brunswick, beating a well-worn path of buyers and renters fleeing rising prices by heading further up Sydney Road.
She loves the neighbourhood feel at Pentridge, which includes a dog-sitting community, although she would be happy with a bit more variety in the retail businesses.
Like many who live in the area, Meisally commutes to the city for work. Her reliance on public transport makes her a model citizen of Merri-bek City Council, which is committed to getting people out of cars.
It’s an area well-served by public transport, with nearby train and tram lines. Coburg station was recently redeveloped as part of four level crossing removals on the Upfield Line.
“I don’t have a car, I refuse to have one actually,” she says. “As a former international student, I’ve lived in almost every area of Melbourne. The sense of community here is very strong.”
Melbourne’s multicultural heartland
Melbourne’s north has undergone huge shifts in recent years, as gentrification and increased housing density sweeps through the city’s former industrial, working-class and multicultural heartlands.
Further down Sydney Road, the lunchtime crowd at Half Moon Cafe is tucking into pitas stuffed with crispy fried Egyptian felafel (made with broad beans instead of chickpeas), tangy pickles, and juicy lettuce.
No matter what day you come to Half Moon, it’s always busy here thanks to a loyal customer base and strong word-of-mouth recommendations that have made it a dining destination.
Nabil Hassan, owner of Half Moon Cafe, one of Coburg’s best-known restaurants.Credit: Justin McManus
Outside, you’re just as likely to find a tradie in fluro with tahini on the edge of their mouth as a woman in a headscarf.
“My process is very simple and cheap, considering what’s going on,” says Half Moon Cafe owner Nabil Hassan, 70, who first opened his business nearly 21 years ago. “I’m happy with the way it is.”
Hassan’s story is classic Coburg. He moved to Australia from Cairo in the early 1980s, eventually settling in Melbourne’s north. He came with a degree in agricultural science and has certificates in accounting and IT but worked as a chef and taxi driver in Australia.
He is extremely proud of his restaurant’s reputation and, despite some of the challenges, loves living here.
“You find everything you want around here when shopping, the prices are reasonable compared to other places,” he says.
“People here are more friendly. I used to live in Toorak and South Yarra for 15 years. The people there were snobby, even if they had no money. Here it’s more down-to-earth.”
Coburg has long been known for its multiculturalism, owing to it being destination of choice for new migrants. In the early years of mass migration after World War II, they mostly came from southern Europe looking for a better life.
Tony Caruso, 62: drinks coffee with his mates and solves the world’s problems. Credit: Justin McManus.
Many worked at the Kodak factory in Coburg North, the largest of several factories in the area that have since disappeared.
Tony Caruso, 62, sits outside a coffee shop drinking a short black while he chats in Italian with his mates about solving the world’s problems. Their tough-on-crime opinions would probably make some of the former Pentridge guards blush.
He’s lived in the area all his life and used to work at the Lux Foundry in Brunswick making Chef stoves and ovens before it closed down a generation ago. The warehouse is now home to a cafe.
Like many from Coburg’s old school, Caruso is in an ageing demographic with kids and grandkids that have moved elsewhere.
“Before, most of the shops were Italian, Greek, Lebanese – it’s changed a lot,” he says.
Walking down Sydney Road these days, you’re more likely to pass by Arabic-speaking jewellers and Muslim fashion retailers than any signs printed in Italian or Greek. There is also the odd hipster bar thrown in.
Nabila Gyftakis, owner Zikkies Islamic thrift shop.Credit: Justin McManus
Nabila Gyftakis, opened Zikkies, Melbourne’s first Islamic op shop, because of the area’s nexus of thrift culture and a strong Muslim community.
“It’s a sweet spot for everyone,” she says.
But despite the regular arrival of new faces, there is evidence that Coburg is not as diverse as it once was.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the percentage of people born overseas living in the suburb dropped from 35 per cent at the 2001 Census to 29.7 per cent in 2022. At the same time, Melbourne’s migrant population has increased, from 28.2 per cent to 35.7 per cent.
Coburg’s working-class roots have also long since faded into the background.
The most common professions are now professionals and managers, while the industries they are most likely to work in are healthcare or social services and education.
Phil Cleary in his Coburg Football Club days.Credit: The Age
Phil Cleary, a former Coburg Football Club player and coach, as well as independent MP for Wills during the 1990s, knows the suburb’s history about as well as anyone.
“I walk places in Coburg and I’m full of memories,” he says.
Cleary watched as the first shoots of multiculturalism began to emerge in the area when the first generation migrants had children.
He remembers one of his star players, a practising Muslim named Billy Kaakour. Kaakour’s two best mates were Vin Taranto, the son of Italian immigrants, and Ken Ingram, who was from Broadmeadows.
Still, the place could be rough, says Cleary.
“The pubs were notorious,” he says. “Drums Hotel was a great old working-class haunt, the screws (guards) from the jail drank in their own little private room. Browns Hotel was rather renowned for being a place to be careful at.”
Cleary’s 25-year-old sister, Vicki, also died in Coburg in 1987 at the hands of her ex-boyfriend.
As with much of the changes taking place in other parts of Melbourne, the key influence behind Coburg’s transformation is property prices.
One of the many jewellery stores on Sydney Road. Credit: Justin McManus
It’s clear that many migrants from places such as India are now seeking cheaper houses on Melbourne’s outer fringe, rather than compete for highly desirable land less than 10 kilometres from the city.
If you want a decent-sized family home in Coburg, you won’t have much left over from $1.5 million. Unreachable for many younger people, this has led to 46 per cent of all homes in Merri-bek becoming townhouses and apartments.
These shifts are not limited to Coburg and can also be seen in nearby suburbs such as Thornbury, Preston and Reservoir. Bell Street, the truck and car-laden thoroughfare that cuts east-west through the north, has been labelled the “hipster-proof fence”.
Even that moniker seems dated now – after all, Pentridge is north of Bell Street.
Coburg’s (latest) plan for renewal
Despite the increase in property values, there are clear signs that some parts of Coburg are in desperate need of renewal. Many of the shops look tired, and there are several undercover pedestrian malls that appear unchanged since the 1970s.
Outside Half Moon Cafe, the setting is not particularly conducive to an enjoyable eating experience. For local traders, it is emblematic of a retail precinct that has become severely downtrodden.
Hordes of pigeons roam the outdoor tables, looking for scraps and leaving droppings across the pavement. Drug users and day drinkers sit outside the nearby Coburg Library, swearing at people who pass by and periodically asking diners for money.
“It’s not a family atmosphere,” says Sam Bakhour, owner of the Continental Grocery. “I don’t want my kids to be around listening to stuff like that.”
Merri-bek City Council is currently preparing long-term plans to try and revitalise the heart of Coburg, recognising that it needs a boost.
Council owns several large asphalt car parks along Victoria and Waterford streets, as well as two buildings that have Coles as tenants. It is prime land, located between Coburg station and the tramline, and council wants to do something with it.
One of the car parks that Merri-bek council wants to develop.Credit: Justin McManus
Some small steps have been taken. In 2021, one of the supermarkets was closed (it was a former Bi-Lo that became a Coles) and handed over to an art collective, Schoolhouse Studios.
Despite some initial misgivings, it has since been regarded as a positive move that has given the area more life.
“At the moment, this part of central Coburg is a bit of a barren wasteland of car parks,” says Merri-bek mayor Adam Pulford.
“It’s not a good experience to walk around — it’s hot and there’s not many trees. There’s so much potential for the area, and council owning the land means we have significant influence over its future.
“The vision that council is putting forward is one that is greener, more pedestrian and bike friendly and home to affordable housing. It’s the perfect location for housing, it’s right near shops and the train and tram line.”
Fadi Ghosn, owner Coburg Market Fruit and Vegetables. Credit: Justin McManus
The exercise of developing this part of Coburg is not without its challenges. For a start, the council doesn’t have the resources to complete the project themselves, so they will need to find a partner to help deliver it.
Merri-bek has just finished its initial consultation process and there are plenty of sceptics who worry that nothing will ever happen.
They have good reason to think that. In 2011, a $1 billion plan to develop the area, touted as one of Melbourne’s biggest urban regeneration projects, fell over due to financial concerns.
Merri-bek (then Moreland City Council) cancelled its partnership with its preferred developer, Lorenz Grollo’s Equiset, which scuppered the proposal.
The project was expected to create 9800 jobs and pour $3.2 billion each year into Coburg’s economy, turning the suburb into Melbourne’s “northern gateway”.
Simon Aubor, 36, has been a Coburg resident for 17 years. Credit: Justin McManus
The car parking that still dominates central Coburg would also have been banished underground and replaced with green spaces for people to gather.
More than 10 years later and another plan for the area is being put together.
“These are big things to negotiate and you need community input, so it can take time, which is why I think it’s remained how it has,” says Pulford.
While parts of Coburg can feel like a time warp, that hasn’t stopped people from moving to the area and loving it for what it is.
“I love Coburg because you can walk down the street and wear pyjamas and not look crazy,” says video maker Simon Aubor, 36, a Coburg resident for 17 years.
“No matter what background or gender or anything, it’s truly a neighbourhood of celebration.”
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.