Melbourne Docklands

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

Docklands Melbourne, Victoria
Logo of the Docklands Authority
Established:	2000
Postcode:	3008
Area:	3 km²
Location:	2 km from Melbourne CBD
LGA:	Docklands Authority
State District:	Melbourne
Federal Division:	Melbourne
Suburbs around Docklands Footscray West Melbourne North Melbourne Yarraville Docklands Melbourne Port Melbourne Port Melbourne Southbank

Melbourne Docklands is an area within Melbourne, Australia. Recently, much of this area has been reconstructed to become a new inner city suburb and urban renewal project in Melbourne.

The Docklands precinct was originally used for docks but fell out of use following the containerisation of shipping traffic. The space remained vacant and unused during the 1980's and was used for "special events" during the 1990's, becoming notable for a number of dance and rave parties.

When completed in 2015, the redeveloped area is expected to almost double the size of the city's central business district. With a population primarily living in high-density highrise apartments, its population is expected to reach 20,000 in 2015, and become home to over 25,000 office workers. The precinct is already a major tourist destination and Melbourne's tourist authorities anticipate over 20 million visitors per year in future years.

Melbourne Docklands is best known as home to the Telstra Dome, Southern Cross Station and a large number of modern buildings and eccentric public artworks.

It has become one of the city's most sought after business addresses^{[citation needed]}, already attracting the national headquarters of the National Australia Bank, ANZ, AXA, Bendigo Bank, Medibank and the Bureau of Meteorology in campus style office buildings^[1].

Contents 1 History 2 Districts 2.1 Batman's Hill 2.2 Stadium Precinct 2.3 Digital Harbour @ Comtechport Precinct 2.4 Victoria Harbour 2.5 New Quay 2.6 Yarra's Edge 2.7 Southern Cross (previously Spencer Street) Station 2.8 Waterfront City 2.9 Central City Studios 3 Docklands rave history 4 Photo gallery 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

With the advent of containerisation in the shipping industry, the docks along the Yarra River east of the modern Bolte Bridge, and within Victoria Harbour immediately to the west of the central business district, became inadequate for the new container ships. The principal docking area shifted closer to the mouth of the Yarra, creating a vast amount of vacant inner-city land. In 1989 several architectural firms were invited to discuss how the area could best serve the Melbourne public. A set of design principles was established by the Docklands Authority, which intended to maintain the quality of the public domain. The commission to design the overall plan was granted to Ashton Raggatt McDougall by the Docklands Authority.

[edit] Districts

This article or section contains information about expected future buildings or structures. It is likely to contain information of a speculative nature, and the content may change as building construction begins and new information becomes available.

The area is broken up into a number of precincts, which are each being designed and built by a different development company.

[edit] Batman's Hill

The Batman's Hill precinct is adjacent to the western edge of the city and bordered by the Yarra River to the south, Spencer Street to the east, Telstra Dome to the north and Victoria Harbour to the west. The precinct is named after the historical landmark Batman's Hill, which was once situated within the area.

Batman's Hill is a mixed use precinct including commercial and retail space, entertainment, hotels, residential sections, restaurants and cultural sites. The area is 100,000 square metres. Collins Street extends into the precinct, providing businesses with an address that is considered to be prestigious.

More than half the precinct is already built, committed or under construction, and includes the Victoria Police headquarters (previously part of World Trade Centre, 3005), Watergate apartments, 700 Collins Street, 800 Collins Street, Village Docklands, Kangan Batman TAFE Automotive Centre for Excellence, Flinders Wharf Apartments and the Fox Classic Car Museum. [1]

[edit] Stadium Precinct

Telstra Dome (originally Docklands Stadium then Colonial Stadium) was opened in March 2000 and since has established itself as a popular destination due to its ability to host different sports such as Australian Rules Football, soccer and rugby as well as concerts.

The complex is managed by Stadium Operations Ltd, which is owned by the Seven Network. [2]

[edit] Digital Harbour @ Comtechport Precinct

This precinct on the waterfront has an area of 44,000 square metres, with development intended to eventually expand to include 220,000 square metres of commercial, residential, SOHO units and retail space.

[3]

[edit] Victoria Harbour

The Victoria Harbour Precinct is the centrepiece of Melbourne Docklands. The precinct includes a proposed extension of Collins and Bourke Streets to meet at the water's edge. It has an area of 280,000 square metres with 3.7 kilometres of waterfront; the 12-year construction plans for Victoria Harbour include residential apartments, commercial office space, retail space, community facilities and the development of public spaces such as Grand Plaza, Harbour Esplanade, Docklands Park and Central Pier.

Victoria Harbour features the colourful National Australia Bank headquarters, which accommodates approximately 3,600 staff. The building features large, open flexible floor plates, sunny atria in the heart of the building, a campus-style workplace and a four-star energy rating.

In September 2006, plans were unveiled for ANZ's new world headquarters to be located at Victoria Harbour. The complex will feature a vast low rise office building, shops, car parking facilities and a childcare centre. The new complex will enable 5500 ANZ staff to work in one integrated area, however ANZ will maintain its flagship building, 100 Queen Street Melbourne. The new ANZ headquarters will be the largest office complex in Australia. Construction is set to commence late 2006 with completion expected in late 2008. The building will have a Collins Street address after the extension of Collins Street to meet Bourke Street is completed.

[4]

[edit] New Quay

[5]

Opened in 2002, New Quay is a residential development currently with five residential buildings. Looking at the development from the water, the buildings are the Nolan, Arkley, Palladio, Boyd, and Conder.

The flagship building Palladio - which is shaped like the prow of a ship - is named after Italian architect Andrea Palladio. The rest are named after Australian artists: Sidney Nolan, Howard Arkley, Arthur Boyd, and Charles Conder.

NewQuay plays host to some of Melbourne's most sought after venues.^{[citation needed]} The award winning restaurants offer fine dining.^{[citation needed]} There is also harbourside dining at cafés in the precinct. The types of cuisines include Italian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Cantonese, Moroccan, Cambodian and Modern Australian. [6]

[edit] Yarra's Edge

Yarra's Edge is a residential precinct, and the only Docklands precinct south of the Yarra River. When complete, it will consist of 11 apartment towers, costing AU$1.3 billion, and cover 0.15 km².

Yarra's Edge was one of the first developments in the Docklands and is the only north facing precinct.

The precinct currently comprises five completed apartment towers with gymnasium, a public promenade, Point Park (with an outlook towards the CBD) and mix of restaurants, cafes and retail including a day spa and convenience store. Yarra's Edge also has a 175-berth marina, giving boat owners previously unavailable proximity to Crown Casino and the city.

[7]

[edit] Southern Cross (previously Spencer Street) Station

Main article: Southern Cross Station

[edit] Waterfront City

Waterfront City is a shopping and entertainment area that will include the planned observation wheel. Shops and cafes will be centred around this area.

The precinct on Victoria Harbour features an integration of retail, waterfront entertainment, tourism, dining, commercial and urban community. It has an area of 193,000 square metres.

Stage One was completed in December 2005 in time for the Melbourne Stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race in January – February 2006 and the Commonwealth Games in March 2006.

The precinct currently features a large circus tent which hosts the International Circus Spectacular. Waterfront City will also feature Australia's Olympic Winter Institute, a $60 million ice sports centre scheduled to begin construction in 2006.

Stage Two includes plans for a public entertainment area incorporating the 120 metre high Southern Star Observation Wheel[8] and a brand direct outlet centre, Harbour Town. Waterfront City will also feature restaurants, cafes, bars as well as cinemas, bowling and other family entertainment options.

[9]

[edit] Central City Studios

Opened in 2004, Central City Studios is Melbourne's largest film and television studio complex. The site is located approximately 1.5 km from the city's Central Business District. It has an area of 60,000 square metres and currently consists of five film and television sound stages of various sizes, from 743 to 2,323 square metres, and one warehouse/workshop measuring 6,793 square metres.

Eventually the Studios will include seven sound stages plus buildings to house art departments, wardrobe facilities, a construction workshop, production offices and storage. The Studios will cater for all forms of production including domestic and international television drama, TV commercials and film production and will achieve the Government's requirement of access for local production.

The first major contract for the new studios was the American film Ghost Rider; with a budget of nearly $120 million, it is the biggest feature film to be made in Victoria and features scenes involving Melbourne landmarks. Also filmed at the new studios was the international production of Charlotte's Web, a film based on the book. [10]

[edit] Docklands rave history

While the Docklands precinct is now a modern urban reconstruction zone, many of Melbourne's younger generation will remember the site as host to a number of dance parties hosted by Future Entertainment and Hardware Corporation during the 1990s.

DJs and performers such as Paul van Dyk, Carl Cox, Jeff Mills, Frankie Knuckles, David Morales, Marshall Jefferson and BT headlined these events.

The biggest event hosted, in terms of attendance, was the "Welcome 2000" New Years Eve dance party hosted on 31 Dec 1999. The rave garnered worldwide attention from the dance music press and was one of the City of Melbourne's most celebrated and successful millennium events.

[edit] Photo gallery

A panorama of the Melbourne skyline and parts of Docklands from Yarra's Edge at twilight

A view of Melbourne Docklands from the Observation Deck at Rialto Tower

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Coordinates: -37.814° 144.943°

• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
• Official website
• NewQuay website
• Waterfront City website
• Victoria Harbour website
• Yarra's Edge website
• Central City Studios website
• Digital Harbour website
• Victoria Online - Docklands Authority
• Australian Places - Docklands

Suburbs of the City of Melbourne
Carlton | Carlton North | Docklands | East Melbourne | Flemington | Kensington | Melbourne CBD | North Melbourne | Port Melbourne | Parkville | Southbank | West Melbourne

v • d • e Melbourne landmarks
Buildings	Arts Centre Spire · Crown Casino · Federation Square · Flinders Street Station · Luna Park · Melbourne Central · Melbourne Cricket Ground · Parliament House · Queen Victoria Market · Rialto Towers · Royal Exhibition Building · Shrine of Remembrance · Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Precincts	Chinatown · Melbourne Docklands · Southbank · St Kilda
Nature and Parks	Birrarung Marr · Carlton Gardens · Fitzroy Gardens · Royal Botanic Gardens
Cultural Institutions	Melbourne Zoo · Melbourne Museum · National Gallery of Victoria · State Library of Victoria · Victorian Arts Centre
Transportation	Flinders Street Station · Melbourne Airport · Southern Cross Station