Collingwood, Victoria
Collingwood is an
inner city suburb in
Melbourne,
Victoria,
Australia. It is in the
Local Government Area of the
City of Yarra.
Collingwood is one of the oldest suburbs in
Melbourne and is bordered by
Smith St, Alexandra Parade,
Hoddle St. and Victoria Parade.
The
Collingwood Railway Station is actually in neighbouring
Abbotsford. The suburb is named after
Baron Collingwood, a famous British admiral.
Subdivision and sale of land in Collingwood began in
1838, and was mostly complete by the
1850s. Collingwood was declared a municipality separate from the
City of Melbourne on
24 April 1855, the first to follow the state's major population centres of
Melbourne and
Geelong. Collingwood was proclaimed a town in
1873, and later a city in
1876.
Collingwood's early development was directly impacted by the boom in Melbourne's population and economy during the
Victorian gold rush of the
1850s and
1860s. This resulted in the construction of a large number of small dwellings, as well as schools, shops and churches to support this new population. Around the same time, large industrial developments such as a
flour mill and the
Fosters brewery were being established.
Since the
1870s, Smith Street has been the dominant shopping strip, with its
tram line established in
1887. Smith Street was also the site of a number of Melbourne's earliest large variety stores and department stores, including the first
G.J. Coles store in
1912.
The suburb is notable for its historical buildings, with many 19th century dwellings, shops and factories still in use. From its early days large commercial buildings often coexisted with small dwellings occupied by
working-class families, and that mixture of industry and community continues to the present time. For example, Oxford and Cambridge Streets are dominated by imposing red-brick factories and warehouses formerly occupied by the
Foy and Gibson company, but also feature a number of stone, brick and timber dwellings that date back to the earliest days of the suburb.
The
Collingwood Australian rules football Club has a long history (dating back to
1892 as an incorporated football club), though in recent years (despite the
1990 AFL premiership), many jokes are made about its inability to win big-occasion matches.
Collingwood is Melbourne's second largest
Gay village, catering mostly to the
bears,
gay skinheads,
leathermen and
SM subcultures. While sizable, it does not generally compete with the trendy/youth scene of nearby
South Yarra, though Collingwood venues do get a large number of visitors from that scene on Friday nights.
A string of
Gay businesses and venues can be found from
Club 80,
The Gatehouse and
The Peel (on and around Peel Street) to
Wet on Wellington (Wellington Street),
The Glasshouse and
The Laird (Gipps Street),
The Star Hotel,
Dungeon Warehouse and
Eagle Leather (
Hoddle Street). There is also a significant
Gay population residing in and around Collingwood itself.
Collingwood Children's Farm*
Collingwood Historical Society
