Albert Park, Victoria.html



Albert Park Melbourne, Victoria
Albert Park foreshore, near Kerferd Road
Population:	5,827 (2006)1
Established:	1860s
Postcode:	3206
Area:	3.2 km² (1.2 sq mi)
Property Value:	AUD $955,000 2
Location:	4 km (2 mi) from Melbourne
LGA:	City of Port Phillip
State District:	Albert Park
Federal Division:	Melbourne Ports
Suburbs around Albert Park: Port Melbourne South Melbourne Melbourne Port Melbourne Albert Park Melbourne Middle Park Middle Park

Albert Park is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in the City of Port Phillip. At the 2006 Census, Albert Park had a population of 5827.

The suburb is characterised by wide streets, open air cafes and many parks.

Local landmarks

• Albert Park - the massive Albert Park Reserve, (formerly South Park in the 19th century until it was also renamed after Prince Albert) is nearby. It is a significant state park managed by Parks Victoria. It is also known as the site of the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, home to the Formula One Australian Grand Prix each March; usually on the Labour Day weekend.
• Bridport Street - centre of affluent living ³
• Victoria Avenue - known for its cafes, delicatessens and boutiques
• Kerferd Road - Kerferd Road is a royal boulevard of elm trees with a giant reserve between flanked on either side by an unusual array of eclectic semi-detached Edwardian homes
• Kerferd Kiosk - an iconic Edwardian pavilion
• Kerferd Pier - terminates Kerferd Road and is a jetty out onto Port Phillip Bay. Many use it for fishing. Sharks have occasionally been found around the pier.
• Beaconsfield Parade - a main thoroughfare between St Kilda and Port Melbourne which runs along the Port Phillip Bay foreshore and is flanked by grand buildings and Victorian terrace homes
• Victoria Hotel - a grand hotel (formerly a Coffee Palace) built in 1887 on Beaconsfield Parade - now apartments and cafe bar.
• The Biltmore - a former Coffee Palace converted into apartments in the 1990s.
• Andrew's Hamburgers - known for their succulent, mouth-watering hamburgers, since 1957. Have also been featured in the Herald Sun on numerous occasions.
• St Vincent Gardens - the most important 'square' development in Victoria, if not Australia, based on similar models in London
• Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre - large swimming centre which hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games squash, swimming and diving events. MSAC has basketball and table tennis courts too.
• Bob Jane Stadium - Large stadium specially designed for football (soccer). As well as being the home of South Melbourne FC, the venue has also hosted games by the Socceroos⁴, Young Socceroos, Australia's national women's team the Matildas, and home games and finals of South Melbourne Hellas in the NSL and Victorian Premier League competitions.

History

Indigenous Australians first inhabited the area that is now Albert Park around 40,000 years ago. The area was a series of swamps and lagoons.

The main park after which the suburb was named was declared a public park and named in 1864 to honour Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert.⁵

Albert Park was used as a garbage dump, a military camp and for recreation before the artificial lake was built.

The suburb of Albert Park extends from the St Vincent Gardens to Beaconsfield Parade and Mills Street. It was settled residentially as an extension of Emerald Hill, South Melbourne.

In 1854 a land-subdivision survey was done from Park Street, South Melbourne, to the northern edge of the parkland (Albert Road). St. Vincent Gardens were laid out and the surrounding streets became the best address for successful citizens. Street names commemorated Trafalgar and Crimean War personalities.⁶

Heritage Victoria notes that Albert Park's St Vincent Gardens, Melbourne "is historically important as the premier 'square' development in Victoria based on similar models in London. It is significant as the largest development of its type in Victoria and for its unusual development as gardens rather than the more usual small park" and "was first laid out in 1854 or 55, probably by Andrew Clarke, the Surveyor-General of Victoria. The current layout is the work of Clement Hodgkinson, the noted surveyor, engineer and topographer, who adapted the design in 1857 to allow for its intersection by the St Kilda railway. The precinct, which in its original configuration extended from Park Street in the north to Bridport Street in the south, and from Howe Crescent in the east to Nelson Road and Cardigan Street in the west, was designed to emulate similar 'square' developments in London, although on a grander scale. The main streets were named after British naval heroes. The development of the special character of St Vincent Place has been characterised, since the first land sales in the 1860s, by a variety of housing stock which has included quality row and detached houses and by the gardens which, although they have been continuously developed, remain faithful to the initial landscape concept."''

St Vincent's is a garden of significant mature tree specimens registered with the National Trust and is locally significant for the social focus the gardens provide to the neighbourhood. Activities in the park range from relaxing walks, siestas to organised sports competition. The Lawn Bowls Club was established in 1873 and the Tennis Club established 1883 on the site of an earlier croquet ground."

Origin of the name

The suburb was named after Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's late husband), after his tragic early death in the mid 19th century.

Events

Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg racing at the 2008 Australian Grand Prix

The suburb has been home to the Formula One Australian Grand Prix since 1996 and there have been protest's by the Save Albert Park group about the grand prix being in Albert park since 1995. In preparing the Reserve for the race many trees were cut down and replaced during landscaping, roads were improved and World War II facilities were demolished and funds injected for larger, more modern replacement facilities, most notably the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. Today, the lake circuit is popular with strollers, runners and cyclists. Dozens of small yachts sail around the lake on sunny days. In December 2006 Polo (with horses) returned to Albert Park reserve after an absence of 100 years. Albert Park is also home to Albert Park Football Club.

Famous former citizens

• Roy Cazaly - Australian rules football legend (birthplace).

Gallery

The Biltmore in Albert Park. A former coffee palace now prestigious apartments	Victoria Hotel, Beaconsfield Parade. Now apartments and a cafe.	Terrace houses along Beaconsfield Parade. White painting signals the arrival of the urban gentry.	Rochester Terrace in St Vincent Gardens
Details of Rochester Terrace's main pavilion	Old Lake Oval Grandstand, unused and in a state of disrepair	Landmark Edwardian home on Canterbury Road	Victorian Terrace houses on Canterbury Road
Terraces on the corner of Kerferd and Canterbury Roads	Former Albert Park Rail Station building. Now a plant nursery	Terraces and shops in Bridport Street	Timber decorated terraces in Madden Street
A variety of terrace house styles in Madden Street	View over Albert Park Lake	Albert Park foreshore, near Kerferd Road	Beach near South Melbourne Life Saving Club
Albert Park Lake showing Eureka tower near to completion in March 2006 during the 2006 Commonwealth Games

See also

• City of South Melbourne - the former local government area of which Albert Park was a part.

External links

• Albert Park, Victoria is at coordinates 37°50′31″S 144°57′00″E / -37.842, 144.950Coordinates: 37°50′31″S 144°57′00″E / -37.842, 144.950
• Albert Park Yacht Club
• Albert Park (The Park)
• St Vincent Gardens
• Albert Park Primary School

Reference list

• Barnard, Jill and Keating, Jenny, "People's Playground: A History of the Albert Park", Chandos Publishing, 1996.
• Melway, 29th Edition, Ausway Publishing, 2001.