82-730: The St Kilda Pier in St Kilda, Victoria , Australia, is home to a colony of Australian little penguins , the St Kilda Pavilion , as well as the Marina of the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron . It was first built in 1853 as a small private timber jetty by the St Kilda Pier and Jetty company, but destroyed the same year, and rebuilt by 1855 as a public pier. It was extended many times, until it became
164-722: A 1944 ft pier with stone groins. A shelter at the beach end, a breakwater and an L-shaped extension sheltering the St Kilda Yacht Club by the 1880s. Moorings for the Port Phillip Bay excursion steamers were added in 1893, and the Pavilion was added in 1904. The pier became a favourite destination for promenading, fishing, excursions and small boat moorings for much of the 20th century, as St Kilda became Melbourne's entertainment district and most popular beach. The breakwater had been built in timber, and in 1955
246-511: A St Kilda landmark with its tall tower, built on Grey Street in 1890 is another church by Reed in partnership with Henderson & Smart architects. St Kilda is home to many major annual events. The largest of these is the St Kilda Festival . Hailed as Australia's Largest Free Music Festival the one-day event features live music, dance performances, community activities, carnival rides, street performances, market and food stalls, and
328-478: A cool fresh breeze during Melbourne's hot summer months. St Kilda became a separate municipality on 24 April 1857, and in the same year, the railway line connected St Kilda to Melbourne city, and a loop line to Windsor . These railway lines made the area even more attractive as a place to settle, and attracted visitors to St Kilda Beach , the St Kilda Pier , the privately run sea baths , and events like
410-536: A dedicated children's area. Since the first St Kilda Festival in 1980 the event has grown in scale and now attracts over half a million visitors each year. St Kilda also hosts the annual gay Pride March , which starts at Lakeside Drive and heads down Fitzroy Street to the Catani Gardens. The St Kilda Short Film Festival is Australia's longest running short film festival and has been showcasing Australian short films since 1983. The week-long event kicks off with
492-517: A favoured location for Melbourne's wealthier Jewish community in the 19th century, which continued through the interwar years. The community grew markedly just before and after World War II, with refugees from war-torn European, and developed an Orthodox community along with the existing Reformed one, opening new synagogues and schools. They settled in apartments in St Kilda, East St Kilda and Elwood, and Acland Street. Cafe Scheherazade on Acland Street
574-592: A ghost train. In the 1950s, the park was refurbished, including the addition of The Rotor in 1951. The park remained popular throughout the 1950s, 1960s and into the late 1970s, when some of the earlier attractions began to be replaced by modern mechanical rides. A fire in 1981 destroyed the Giggle Palace, and in the same year the River Caves were declared unsafe, and demolished. In 1989, the Big Dipper
656-679: A large number of objections. Alternative sites along the foreshore were ignored by council and all of the mature trees on the site were removed before the plans were presented for consultation. In February 2008, the Port Phillip Council's approval of the proposed Triangle site development despite over 5,000 written objections (representing over a quarter of the population of St Kilda) caused an uproar in St Kilda which saw media attention across Victoria with local resident lobby groups including Save St Kilda and UnChain St Kilda banding thousands of residents together in protest and enlisting
738-544: A major section of the Scenic Railway underwent major repairs and in 2010 the Coney Island Top Drop (a replica of Coney Tower at Coney Island's Luna Park) was purchased directly from Zamperla . The park's triangular beachfront site is on government land, bounded by the O'Donnell Gardens on one side and Cavell Street on the other. Across this street is a larger triangle of foreshore crown land known as
820-415: A manse and a hall. The small bluestone Gothic Wesleyan Methodist (later Uniting) Church on the corner Fitzroy and Princes Streets was built in 1858, designed by Crouch & Wilson , and became part of an apartment complex in the late 1990s. All Saints' Anglican Church , on the corner of Dandenong Road and Chapel Street, was designed by Nathaniel Billing with the foundation stone laid in 1858, becoming what
902-538: A median house price of A$ 1.34 million for a three bedroom house. In the 2016 census , there were 20,230 people in St Kilda. 51.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 5.2%, New Zealand 3.8%, India 2.1%, Ireland 1.9% and China 1.4%. 66.2% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 1.7%, Spanish 1.7%, Italian 1.5%, French 1.4% and Russian 1.2%. The most common response for religion
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#1732779764824984-616: A number of ovals which are home to Australian rules football clubs. These include the historic Junction Oval which has in the past been a prominent VFL/AFL venue and more recently a training facility for the Melbourne Football Club . Several amateur VAFA clubs also use the park for their home grounds including the Collegians Football Club (Harry Trott Oval), Powerhouse Football Club (Ross Gregory Oval) and Old Melburnians (Junction Oval) are based in
1066-758: A permanent installation of the Power Surge, which had previously been a seasonal ride. In 2014–15 the 'House of Carnivale' was built in the site that had once been the Jack'n'Jill, and later the Pinball Arcade, with food venues on the ground level and a function room upstairs. This was the first permanent building on the Luna Park site since the ghost train in 1936. Luna Park in St Kilda spawned three other Luna Parks that were eventually built or planned around Australia, and there were another two places that used
1148-426: A similar function for Melburnians as did Coney Island to the residents of New York City. with Acland Street and Fitzroy Street became lined with shops, often built in the front gardens of the earlier houses, which housed numerous restaurants and cafes. Apartment development also concentrated in the area, some in the gardens of the mansions, some replacing them, or transforming them, with the result that St Kilda became
1230-674: A star-studded Opening Night at St Kilda's Palais Theatre each year. St Kilda is also home to the many venues of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival . Until 2009, St Kilda was home to the Community Cup festival which celebrates grassroots Australian rules football having attracted record attendances of up to 23,000 and raising money for local charity the Sacred Heart Mission. A similar annual celebrity cricket match known as Batting for
1312-543: A wide range of other minor sports including the Collegians-X hockey club, the St Kilda baseball club, an ultimate disc club, and several social soccer clubs. St Kilda has a Lawn Bowls scene which attracts younger players and has been popularised in film and television. The St Kilda Lawn Bowls Club on Fitzroy Street has a long history and retains its heritage clubhouse building as well as hosts many community events. Luna Park, Melbourne Luna Park Melbourne
1394-542: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne , Victoria, Australia , 6 km (4 miles) south-east of the Melbourne central business district , located within the City of Port Phillip local government area . St Kilda recorded a population of 19,490 at the 2021 census . St Kilda was named by Charles La Trobe , then superintendent of
1476-481: Is a historic amusement park located on the foreshore of Port Phillip Bay in St Kilda , Melbourne , Victoria . It opened on 13 December 1912, with a formal opening a week later, and has been operating almost continuously ever since. Luna Park was built by American showman J.D. Williams , together with the Phillips brothers Harold, Leon and Herman. Not much is known of their background, but they were involved in
1558-430: Is believed to be the largest Anglican parish church in the southern hemisphere, able to seat 1400 people, All Saints' is also known for its male choir, which is the only parish church choir of its kind remaining in Australia. The former Baptist Church, built in 1876 at 16 Crimea Street served as a masonic hall before being acquired by St Michael's Grammar School . The St Kilda Parish Mission Uniting Church, built in 1877 on
1640-434: Is the oldest continuously operating roller coaster in the world, and the carousel (1913 restored 2000). Other historic attractions include the ghost train (1934), and the fairytale-castle-style dodgems building constructed to house the newly patented ride in 1927 (the ride itself was relocated from the first floor of this building to the ground level in the late 1990s). The park also includes many modern attractions such as
1722-536: The Port Phillip District of New South Wales , the area was known by several names, including 'Green Knoll', 'Punk Town' and 'The Village of Fareham'. It was eventually named after the schooner Lady of St Kilda , which was owned between 1834 and 1840 by Sir Thomas Acland. Acland sold the vessel in 1840 to Jonathan Cundy Pope of Plymouth. The vessel sailed for Port Phillip in February 1841. The ship
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#17327797648241804-483: The Port Phillip District , after a schooner , Lady of St Kilda , which moored at the main beach in early 1842. Later in the Victorian era , St Kilda became a favoured suburb of Melbourne's elite, and many palatial mansions and grand terraces were constructed along its hills and waterfront. After the turn of the century, the St Kilda foreshore became Melbourne's favoured playground, with electric tram lines linking
1886-588: The Prince of Wales Hotel for larger gigs and DJ's (and backpackers), The George Public Bar on Saturday afternoons, and the St Kilda Bowls Club. St Kilda has very strong historical links with Australian rules football . The St Kilda Football Club , nicknamed the Saints, formed in 1873, and currently competes in the national Australian Football League (AFL). Originally based locally at Junction Oval ,
1968-559: The Victorian Railways operated a tram line, described as an 'Electric Street Railway', from St Kilda Station to Brighton , via Grey Street, Barkly Street and Mitford Street in Elwood. The developing electric tram lines in the east and southeastern suburbs soon arrived as well, with two lines terminating in front of Luna Park by 1913, joined by the electric line that replaced the cable car in 1925, bringing cords of day-trippers to
2050-584: The 'Triangle Site', occupied by the grand 1920s Palais Theatre , the 1970s Palace nightclub (burned down in 2007), and car parking. The City of Port Phillip , in consultation with the Victorian State Government, ran a tender process in 2007 to restore the Palais Theatre and redevelop the remainder of the site. Lindsay Fox was part of a consortium that submitted a proposal which was unsuccessful. The remaining heritage features of
2132-471: The 'engineer-in-chief' in contemporary newspaper reports, while Vernon Churchill was described as the scenic artist "in whose fertile brain the various attractions have been arranged". In the years before World War I, the park was a great success, with attractions such as the Scenic Railway, Palais de Folies (later Giggle Palace), River Caves of the World, Penny Arcade, a Whitney Bros 'while-u-wait' photo booth,
2214-524: The 1980s. It has been rivalled in Melbourne in recent years by the Southbank art and craft market on Southbank promenade . St Kilda has a vibrant music scene that has produced many notable bands and artists. During the late 1970s, it became a hotbed of dark, noisy post-punk , pioneered by locals bands The Birthday Party (featuring Nick Cave and Rowland S. Howard ), The Moodists and Crime &
2296-577: The American Bowl Slide, as well as live performances in the Palace of Illusions and on a permanent high-wire. Williams returned to the US around 1913, and helped found First National Films which subsequently became Warner Brothers . The Phillips brothers stayed on and ran the park until their deaths in the 1950s. Luna Park closed for the war, although the Scenic Railway continued to operate, and
2378-714: The Battlers is played at the Peanut Farm opposite Luna Park and attracts a crowd of up to 2,000. Other local events include the St Kilda Film Festival and St Kilda Writers Festival. St Kilda even has its own, locally organised TEDx event TEDxStKilda, which is based on the TED format and ideals. St Kilda has run Melbourne's first major arts and crafts market which has been run on the Esplanade every Sunday since
2460-614: The City Solution . These and other groups such as Hunters & Collectors regularly played at the Crystal Ballroom , one of the city's most iconic venues. Paul Kelly , Tex Perkins , Fred Negro , and dozens of other independent musicians have also called St Kilda home at some point. Prominent local music venues include the Palais Theatre for larger concerts, the Esplanade Hotel (commonly known as "The Espy"),
2542-534: The Coney Drop, the Spider, a ferris wheel , and other mechanical thrill-rides. The park remains popular with children and their parents who have fond memories of the park from their youth. The remaining 28 years of a 50 years lease for Luna Park was sold in 1998, when two superannuation funds represented by BCR Asset Management bought it for $ 3 million. They spent $ 10 million on extensive refurbishments, upgrading
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2624-439: The Esplanade opening in 1891, making the suburb and the beachfront easily accessible. The boom of the 1880s ended with the bank crashes of the early 1890s and subsequent depression, affecting all levels of society, but ruining many of the newly wealthy. Many of St Kilda's mansions and spacious terrace houses became guest houses, and the wealthy elite retreated to other exclusive suburbs such as Brighton and Toorak . From 1906,
2706-464: The Palace, a legal battle ensued. Ironically, the Palace burned down spectacularly during an arson attack, and fears were held for the Palais. The winning development in 2007 plans a series of lanes, promenades and walkways rambling through eating and drinking spaces, art installations, entertainment venues, retail outlets and open grassy spaces. Further controversy over the new development was caused when
2788-424: The Palais de Danse, adjacent to the Palais was gutted by fire. The Palace nightclub was built in its place in 1971 (in 2007 this building was closed, gutted by fire, and demolished). In the late 1960s St Kilda Junction was rebuilt to create a Queens Way underpass connection to Dandenong Road, and in the early 1970s St Kilda Road (formerly High Street) from the junction to Carlisle Street was widened by demolishing all
2870-698: The St Kilda Cup. Cricket and bowling clubs were formed in 1855 and 1865 respectively. By the mid-1860s St Kilda had about fifteen hotels, including the George (which began as the Terminus in 1857). St Kilda's population more than doubled between 1870 and 1890, to about 19,000 persons. By the time of the Land Boom of the 1880s St Kilda had become a district of great mansions, large villas in extensive gardens, grand terraces, and palatial hotels, particularly along
2952-585: The St Kilda section of Albert Park. The Community Cup was a community Australian rules event, run for 14 years by the local Sacred Heart Mission, which until 2007 drew crowds of up to 23,000 spectators. St Kilda also has a strong cricket presence. The Junction Oval is home to the St Kilda Cricket Club and occasionally the Victorian Bushrangers Cricket Club and was the debut venue of Shane Warne . St Kilda has
3034-474: The area which is now St Kilda West was swampland, but was reclaimed and subdivided in the 1870s, with more large houses and terraces, mostly in the area close to Fitzroy Street. Cable tram lines across Melbourne were built in the late 1880s, with a line from Swanston Street in central Melbourne along St Kilda Road to St Kilda Junction completed in 1888, and a line from Windsor station at Chapel Street along Wellington Street and Fitzroy Streets, then around
3116-586: The beach front. Carlo Catani , a native of Italy , a local resident, and Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department, was a founding member of the St Kilda Foreshore Committee established in 1906, tasked with the beautification of the St Kilda foreshore, for which he did the design. His plan saw the creation of park and lawn areas, paths and promenades, rockeries and gardens and avenues of trees and palms right along
3198-574: The bohemian and artistic character of the area. In 1991, the St Moritz hotel opened in the site of the St Moritz ice rink, later the Novotel Bayside in 1993, then Novotel St Kilda in 1999, and itself demolished in 2020. On 11 September 2003, the St Kilda icon, the 99-year-old pier kiosk , burned down in an arson attack. In a swift and overwhelming response to the loss, the government committed to its original plans using what remained of
3280-607: The building of picture theatres in Spokane, Washington and Vancouver before coming to Sydney in 1909 and quickly establishing a chain of luxury cinemas in that city and then Melbourne. They then took the lease of the Dreamland site, a failed amusement park on the St Kilda foreshore, and reputedly brought out experts directly from the birthplace of the amusement park, Coney Island in New York, to build an up to date attraction. It
3362-461: The corner Chapel and Carlisle Streets, has a polychromatic brick and slate roof design. St Kilda Presbyterian Church, built in 1878 on the corner of Alma Road and Barkly Street was designed by Wilson & Beswicke architects, in a notably bold Italian medieval style. The Holy Trinity Church built between 1882 and 1889 on the corner of Brighton Road and Dickens Street is by renowned architect Joseph Reed of Reed & Barnes. The Sacred Heart Church ,
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3444-567: The corner of Fitzroy Street and Queens Road. Much of the area north of present-day Fitzroy Street was swampland, part of the Yarra River delta , which comprised vast areas of wetlands and sparse vegetation. The first European settler in St Kilda was Benjamin Baxter in around 1839. He was a settler from Melbourne on a grazing lease. In 1840, St Kilda was the home to Melbourne's first quarantine station for Scottish immigrants. The area
3526-546: The foreshore. The committee also oversaw the leases for the various amusement operators wishing to cater to the growing visitation to the area, which included the Dreamland amusement park (1906 - 1909), a new St Kilda Sea Baths (1910), which replaced the 1862 "Gymnasium Baths", Luna Park (1912), the Palais de Danse (1919 and 1926), the Palais Theatre (1927), and many others. Catani died in 1918 before he could see
3608-814: The full vision realised, and several landmarks along the foreshore have been named after him, including a memorial clock tower, gardens and an arch. Other amusements developed in the area, such as the Wattle Path Palais dance hall (later the St Moritz Ice Rink ) on the Upper Esplanade, and the Venue next door, and the Victory Cinema in 1928 on the corner of Barkly and Carlisle (later the National Theatre ). St Kilda served
3690-433: The help of celebrities including Dave Hughes, Magda Subzanski and Rachel Griffiths in their fight against the local council. The council had refused to allow a secret agreement between it, the developers and state government to be released which effectively allowed for the transfer of ownership of a large amount of Crown land to private owners. As well as the outrage over the sale of public land, many residents believed that
3772-470: The hi-rise Esplanade apartment building. For the 2006 Commonwealth Games , St Kilda hosted an interpretive public artwork called the Lady of St Kilda, a mock timber sculpture of the shipwreck . The installation was visited by locals and tourists and it was left erected for many months afterward. However, the sculpture was subject to vandals disassembling parts of it as well as concern for children's safety on
3854-557: The high unprotected bow of the "ship" so the local council removed it in November 2006. The area adjacent to the Palais Theatre known as the Triangle Site, including the Palace music venue, is the subject of a major re-development, first proposed in 2005. The proposals stipulated the restoration of the Palais Theatre, but controversially many advocated the demolition of the Palace, one of the area's main live music venues. To save
3936-480: The highest for a metropolitan area outside of Sydney. This density is reflected in the built form, which consists primarily of strata titled units, apartments and flats, including a single Housing Commission of Victoria tower. St Kilda has three historic theatres, each catering to a different niche use; all are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register . A cinema duplex called the George
4018-409: The junction of Acland and Fitzroy Streets marks the site of the block.) By 1845, Lawrence had subdivided and sold the land on which he had built a cottage. The land on the sea side of The Esplanade has continued to be Crown land. Within a few years St Kilda became a fashionable area for the wealthy, and the indigenous peoples were driven out to surrounding areas. The high ground above the beach offered
4100-457: The largest island in the St Kilda archipelago , on the western edge of Scotland . The Euroe Yroke area (now known as St Kilda) was inhabited an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years ago. Evidence has been found of shellfish middens and huts along Albert Park and Lake and axes which were most likely sharpened on the sandstone cliffs behind the main beach. Corroborees were held at the historic tree which still stands at St Kilda Junction , at
4182-409: The late 1960s, St Kilda had developed a culture of bohemianism , attracting prominent artists and musicians, including those in the punk and LGBT subcultures. While some of these groups still maintain a presence in St Kilda, since the 2000s the district has experienced rapid gentrification , pushing many lower socio-economic groups out to other areas, with the suburb again being sought after by
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#17327797648244264-548: The local artists. By the mid 1960s the Fitzroy Street area had become known for prostitution, with a number of strip-tease cabarets, notably at the once high-class George Hotel. In the early 1960s works to the Lower Esplanade turned it into a fast moving connection between Marine Parade and Beaconsfield Parade, creating a barrier to the beach, except for a pedestrian crossover and several traffic lights. In 1968,
4346-478: The main streets such as Fitzroy Street , Grey Street and Acland Street , while the other streets were lined with villas and terraces of more modest dimensions. The area known as St Kilda Hill, on the other side of High Street (now known as the St Kilda part of St Kilda Road and originally lined with shops), between Wellington Street, Alma Road, and Chapel Street was also developed with mansions and large houses, as well as St Kilda's Synagogue. The Esplanade Hotel
4428-468: The most densely populated suburb in Melbourne, often single people who moved away from family life, which combined with the numerous sometimes late night amusements, gave the suburb a racy reputation. This reputation was exacerbated by the Great Depression , and it became the growing focus of many of Melbourne's social issues including crime, prostitution and drug abuse . St Kilda had become
4510-591: The name. In 1930 the Phillips brothers branched out and built a second Luna Park in the Adelaide seaside suburb of Glenelg , managed by David Atkins. The Glenelg park had an exact clone of Melbourne's Big Dipper that operated at Sydney until 1979. In the face of Council's refusal to lower the rental, and local opposition, when a site in Sydney became available in Milsons Point Sydney, they dismantled
4592-555: The original materials. In mid-1998, Becton, new owners of the Esplanade Hotel announced its plan to build a 125-metre, 38-storey tower behind the historic hotel. The plans were later scaled down due to a strong community campaign, but in 2004, Baymour Court, a significant 1920s Spanish Mission flats behind were demolished despite the campaigning of the National Trust of Victoria and The Esplanade Alliance, as part of
4674-458: The owner of bayside infrastructure in Victoria, announced a plan to replace the current one, with two options. The pier remains a favourite destination for visitors to the St Kilda foreshore, with a walk to the end and back a popular activity. 37°51′53″S 144°58′04″E / 37.8646°S 144.9677°E / -37.8646; 144.9677 This Australian geography article
4756-475: The painted decoration to their original 1913 appearance. A consortium headed by Melbourne transport magnate Lindsay Fox bought Luna Park in early 2005, pledging to restore it to the glory he remembers from his 1940s youth, spent in nearby Windsor . As of 2021, none of these plans have come to fruition, but the Scenic Railway Station was given a facelift. Between December 2007 and June 2008,
4838-458: The park are listed on the National Trust of Australia , and the face and towers and Scenic Railway, and the carousel and its canopy, are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register . On 13 December 2012, the park celebrated its centenary. In August 2013, it was announced that a new permanent thrill ride would be installed in the coming months. The ride replaced the G-Force and was revealed to be
4920-599: The park itself was still used for "patriotic or fund-raising events". It did not re-open until an extensive overhaul in 1923 added new and improved attractions, such as the Big Dipper roller coaster, a water chute, a Noah's Ark, and a four-row carousel made in 1913 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (that had previously been at White City in Sydney). Between the wars, a number of new attractions were made, including dodgem cars in 1926–7, and in 1934,
5002-479: The park was soon closed, with the ballroom reopening in 1942 to become a popular part of the Brisbane entertainment scene until its shock demolition in 1982. In 1944 a small cluster of amusements on the foreshore of the seaside Brisbane suburb of Redcliffe adopted the name Luna Park, and operated until the last ride closed in the late 1960s. Another collection of rides, complete with a much-simplified version of
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#17327797648245084-414: The present building consecrated on 13 March 1927. Temple Beth Israel , the country's largest Progressive Jewish congregation, on Alma Road in East St Kilda, was consecrated in 1938. The oldest church is Christ Church on the corner Acland Street and Church Square, built in 1854-57 to the designs of Purchas & Swyer in Gothic Revival style and enlarged in 1874 and 1881. It is part of complex including
5166-411: The properties on the west side. The landmark Junction Hotel was lost, and High Street, once St Kilda's shopping centre, ceased to function as such. The widening also had the effect of creating a physical barrier between St Kilda's foreshore, civic area and eastern residential streets. The St Moritz ice rink was closed in 1981; around 1982, it was destroyed by a fire. In 1987, the St Kilda railway line
5248-423: The rides and relocated the venture. With a new face entrance and a version of the Giggle Palace called Coney Island, Luna Park Sydney was an immediate success, and still operates, albeit with the loss of most original rides. In 1938 T. S. Eslick reappeared in Australia and built the Cloudland Ballroom which was originally called Luna Park, and had a few rides clustered around it. World War II intervened, and
5330-409: The services and safety for the first time in decades, upgrading existing rides and installing new ones, whilst retaining the fun-fair, fantasy themes. The Scenic Railway was overhauled, the face rebuilt, with a new fibreglass version placed over the remnants of the original plaster one, and the towers repainted in their traditional primary colours. The carousel was also restored, returning the horses and
5412-449: The state government and council should have funded the restoration of the heritage Palais themselves rather than pass the costs on to the developers who had proposed a larger development to recover their own costs. In May 2008, the skate park development was stopped by the Supreme Court of Victoria, claiming that the council had acted inappropriately. A hearing was scheduled with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal . The mayor at
5494-423: The suburbs to the seaside amusement rides, ballrooms, cinemas and cafes, and crowds flocked to St Kilda Beach . Many of the mansions and grand terraces became guest houses, and gardens were filled in with apartment buildings, making St Kilda the most densely populated suburb in Melbourne. After World War II , St Kilda became Melbourne's red-light district , and the guest houses became low-cost rooming houses . By
5576-421: The team has played its home games at several venues outside St Kilda since 1965. Its current home ground is Docklands Stadium . The St Kilda City Football Club of the Southern Football League is based at the Peanut Farm. St Kilda also has Women's Australian rules football team, the St Kilda Sharks, who won back-to-back Victorian Women's Football League titles in 1998&99. Albert Park and Lake reserve has
5658-487: The tenants who vacated the Palais illegally removed its 80-year-old chandeliers. In 2006, plans went out for a foreshore re-development, which included promenade widening and saw the demolition of the bicentennial pavilion which marked the land end of the St Kilda pier. In 2006, the proposed development of a skate park and concrete urban plaza over parkland on Fitzroy Street next to the primary school at Albert Park caused significant local controversy. The council received
5740-428: The time, Janet Bolitho, was cited to have commented "the area would remain public open space – just maybe not green". In December 2009, a new council elected to largely replace the councillors who approved the Triangle development voted almost unanimously to terminate the agreement with the developers, agreeing to pay them $ 5 million over a period of three years. In the 12-month period to January 2020 St Kilda reported
5822-409: The wealthy. Since at least the 1950s, the suburb has been the centre of Melbourne's Jewish community. St Kilda is home to many of Melbourne's visitor attractions including Luna Park , St Kilda Pier , the Palais Theatre and the Esplanade Hotel . It hosts many of Melbourne's big events and festivals. Before being officially named St Kilda in 1842 by Charles La Trobe , who was superintendent of
5904-418: Was No Religion at 45.5%. Today, St Kilda is an area of sharp social contrast, with many homeless and other disadvantaged people living among the wealthy and fashionable who crowd its shops and cafes. The suburb is noted for its many itinerant backpackers , but also for its many long-term permanent residents. For many years, St Kilda has had the highest population density in the Melbourne statistical area, and
5986-516: Was built in 1878 overlooking St Kilda Beach, and the George Hotel opposite the station was greatly expanded in 1889. The smaller streets with smaller blocks between the big estates were developed with modest cottages and terraces, housing the working class population of the area. The flatter inland areas of St Kilda East was also dominated by mansions and large villas in extensive grounds, but also smaller more typical Victorian houses. Much of
6068-531: Was built in the 1990s on Fitzroy Street next to the George Hotel, and has been occupied since 2015 by The Alex Theatre. St Kilda is home to a large number of places of worship built over the years to serve primarily the Christian and Jewish faiths, although many of the churches have since been converted for other uses. The St Kilda Hebrew Congregation was established in the 1870s in Charnwood Road, with
6150-508: Was closed, rationalised and re-opened to become part of route 96 , one of the first light rail lines in Melbourne, which left the former rail line at Fitzroy Street, running around the Esplanade, terminating at Acland Street. St Kilda also experienced increased gentrification during the 1990s, particularly popular with yuppies due to its proximity to the CBD. The increased cost of rentals led many long-term residents to leave and removed much of
6232-420: Was demolished in anticipation of a new large roller coaster which never eventuated. The ride was also demolished due to safety concerns with its age, following a major derailment, that injured 20 people, on the older rollercoaster, the Scenic Railway. The main historic features of the park to remain include the iconic "Mr Moon" face entry and flanking towers (1912, restored 1999), the Scenic Railway (1912), which
6314-497: Was established in the 1950s, and served up borscht and latkes for decades, becoming an icon for this community. By the 1980s, the Jewish centre of Melbourne had moved eastward to more affluent Caulfield . Scheherazade moved to Caulfield in 2008. World War II saw servicemen flock to the beach amusements, where they also met members of the opposite sex, increasing St Kilda's reputation for loose morals. Leo's Spaghetti bar and gelateria
6396-599: Was officially named St Kilda in 1842. The first sale of Crown lands for the village of St Kilda took place on 7 December 1842. The first block was bought by James Ross Lawrence, who had been master of the Lady of St Kilda until 1842. Lawrence had now settled in Melbourne. His block was bounded by three unmade roads. One of these roads he named Acland Street, after Thomas Acland, who had been his employer until 1840 but who had never been to Port Phillip District. The remaining two became Fitzroy Street and The Esplanade. (A plaque at
6478-457: Was opened for the Olympics in 1956 by an Italian migrant as one of Melbourne's first Italian restaurants and quickly became a Melbourne establishment. With numerous small apartments, and plenty of meeting places, St Kilda became one of the city's main areas of bohemianism , as well as attracting a gay and lesbian population. From 1965, Mirka Mora 's Tolarno Hotel became the focus of many of
6560-430: Was replaced with a rubble stone one. In the 1970s, the timber pier was replaced with a concrete one, and the breakwater extended. Australian little penguins breeding amongst the rocks of the breakwater were first documented in 1974, with 100 altogether identified by 1989. They now number about 1200, and public viewing is a popular attraction. In 2017, with the pier nearing the end of its design life , Parks Victoria ,
6642-402: Was to be named Luna Park, perhaps after the first park of that name, the 1903 Luna Park on Coney Island , or Luna Park, Seattle , opened in 1906. Melbourne's Luna Park opened on 13 December 1912, to huge crowds and was an immediate success. It is not clear exactly who designed the famous mouth entrance; T.S. Eslick is credited with the design of the park in the opening day brochure, and as
6724-580: Was used in Port Phillip as a cargo vessel; in January 1842 it was docked in Hobson Bay and listed for sale by exchange of sheep. The vessel was moored at the main beach for the early part of 1842, which was soon known as "the St Kilda foreshore". The schooner Lady of St Kilda was named in honour of Lady Grange , who was imprisoned by her husband between 1734 and 1740 on the island of Hirta ,
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