Carlton, Victoria
Carlton Federal division(s) | Melbourne | ||||||||||||||
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Carlton is an inner-city suburb in
Immediately adjoining the CBD, Carlton is known nationwide for its Little Italy precinct centred on Lygon Street, for its preponderance of 19th-century Victorian architecture and its garden squares including the Carlton Gardens, the latter being the location of the Royal Exhibition Building, one of Australia's few man-made sites with World Heritage status.
Due to its proximity to the
History
Carlton was founded in 1851, at the beginning of the
In 1927, Squizzy Taylor, an Australian gangster, was wounded in a gunfight with rival, John "Snowy" Cutmore, at a house in Barkly Street, Carlton, and later died at St Vincent's Hospital.[4]
In the 1960s, the residents in some parts of the suburb were forced to move from their homes due to redevelopment by the Housing Commission of Victoria. Despite that, a number of areas in Carlton have survived intact.[5][6] In the 1970s, Carlton was the site of three trade union green bans. One related to an abandoned block where a developer wanted a warehouse but local residents wanted a park, now the Hardy-Gallagher Reserve (named after Labor councillor Fred Hardy and union leader Norm Gallagher).[7] Another allowed a vacant lot in Cardigan street to be turned into a park, and another saved a number of terraced houses from demolition.[8]
The Carlton Magistrates' Court closed on 1 February 1985.[9]
Urban structure
Housing
Carlton is characterized by medium- to high-density housing, with a mix of apartments and student accommodation, attached and semidetached terraces mostly from the Victorian era and mix-use buildings
Apartments (83.2%) are the most common form of housing.[10] Carlton's apartments are low incomes, including crisis and student accommodation, with Housing Commission of Victoria towers and modern student apartment buildings. The two main housing commission estates are between Lygon and Rathdowne Streets, and between Nicholson and Canning Streets. These are configured as a mixture of 4 and 5-storey walk-up flats and 22-storey high-rise towers which are in the process of being redeveloped as mixed-tenure housing. 76.8% of Carlton's housing is rented,[10] the vast majority of which is concentrated in these apartment towers. The development of new apartment buildings to accommodate international student market since the late 1990s has transformed the once low-rise skyline of Swanston Street, so that its predominant height is about 10–11 storeys. Some strata-titled apartments are clustered fronting suburb's parks and gardens.
Semi-detached housing makes up most of the remaining occupied private dwellings (14.7%).[10] Much of this type of housing is the suburb's remaining stock of terrace houses which proliferated in the Victorian era. Today these homes are highly sought after, attract high prices and have been the primary of gentrification. Many are contained within heritage overlays and have individual heritage listings. Some of the best examples of this style can be found on Drummond Street, a long wide boulevard flanked by grand homes, including Rosaville (no46 built 1883), Drummond Terrace (no 93-105 built 1890–91), Lothian Terrace (no175-179 built 1865–69), Terraces at 313&315 (1889). Though many terraces in Carlton no longer function as residences and have either been converted for mixed-use or facaded as part of larger developments.
In the 12-month period to January 2020 Carlton reported a median house price of A$620,000 for a two bedroom unit.[11]
Public spaces
Carlton's public spaces were planned in the Victorian era and notably are all garden squares. These are rectilinear green spaces surrounded by buildings, based on a model fashionable in Europe. There are five main garden squares within the suburb – Carlton Gardens, University Square, Lincoln Square, Argyle Place and MacArthur Place.
The largest of these squares is the 26 hectare Carlton Gardens, planned for the World Exhibition.
Lincoln Square on Swanston Street has a
The northern part of Argyle Square, adjacent to Lygon Street, has been redeveloped into an Italian style piazza, known as Piazza Italia, in a joint project between the City of Melbourne and its twin city, Milan. A giant sundial is the main feature of the piazza.
Little Italy
Little Italy, Melbourne, also sometimes referred to as the "Italian Precinct" or simply "Lygon Street", is a "Little Italy" cultural precinct centred around Lygon Street in Carlton.[12]
Lygon Street is home to a large concentration of Italian restaurants, and is the birthplace of Melbourne's "café culture".[12]
Culture
Arts
The famous
Ray Lawler's seminal 1955 play Summer of the Seventeenth Doll is set in a Carlton terrace. The 1977 cult-classic novel Monkey Grip by Helen Garner is also set in Carlton and its surrounds.
Landmarks and heritage
Carlton is home to some of Melbourne's most historically significant buildings such as
Carlton has many 19th century public buildings. The Carlton Club, which was built in 1889 by Inskip & Robertson, is notable for its decorative Australian native
Sport
Carlton is the home of the
Lygon Street, Grattan Street and Queensberry Street were part of the route of the marathon in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, which was hosted in Melbourne. Lygon and Cardigan Streets are part of the seventh course of the annual cycling tour, Jayco Herald Sun Tour.
Economy and commerce
Lygon Street, which runs through the heart of Carlton, is a centre of Italian culture and cuisine. It is popular among Melburnians and foreigners alike for its numerous restaurants, especially Italian restaurants. Lygon Street is also home to coffee roasters, brunch cafes, pubs, rooftop bars, specialist gelaterias, and several continental cake cafes.[13]
Although Lygon Street is most renowned for its cafes and restaurants, it is also home to some notable retail stores including Readings bookstore and Cinema Nova.
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
2001 | 9,966 | — |
2006 | 12,050 | +20.9% |
2011 | 13,509 | +12.1% |
2016 | 18,535 | +37.2% |
In the 2016 census, there were 18,535 people in Carlton. 27.3% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were China 22.6%, Malaysia 6.4%, Indonesia 3.1%, India 2.6% and Singapore 2.3%. 33.8% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 25.7%, Cantonese 4.3%, Indonesian 2.8%, Somali 2.3% and Arabic 2.1%. The most common responses for religion was No Religion at 47.5%.[10]
The area is noted for its diverse population that has been the home in earlier days of
Carlton also has a sizable tertiary student population, local and international, due to its proximity to the
Politics
Carlton falls within the federal electorate of Melbourne (currently held by Adam Bandt of The Greens) and the state electorate of Melbourne (currently held by Ellen Sandell of The Greens).
A traditional working-class suburb, it traditionally saw a high vote for the ALP. However, like many other inner-city suburbs undergoing a process of gentrification, The Greens have been gaining an increasing share of the vote.
The suburb contains three polling booths (Carlton, Carlton Central and Carlton South), which collectively produced the following primary-vote results at the 2019 federal election: Greens 2534 or 62.58%; Labor 668 or 16.5%; Liberal 605 or 14.94%; Reason 212 or 5.24% and United Australia 30 or 0.74%.
Education
Due to Carlton's close proximity to the
Primary education is provided by two schools; Carlton Gardens Primary School and Carlton Primary School. CGPS was founded in 1884 and is one of Melbourne's oldest schools[citation needed] and the closest to the Melbourne CBD.
The Melbourne University Regiment (MUR) is based in Grattan Street, Carlton. MUR serves to train potential officers in the Australian Army Reserve. MUR was founded in 1884 as D company, 4th Battalion of the Victorian Rifles, and changed to its current name and role in 1948. Famous alumni include Sir John Monash, Sir Robert Menzies, Sir Ninian Stephen, Barry Humphries, and Andrew Peacock.[14]
Health
Carlton is also very well serviced by the health sector. The
Places of worship
There are a number of churches in Carlton, which serve the spiritual needs of Carlton residents.
Transport
Carlton is served by many of Melbourne's tram routes, running along Swanston Street and terminating at Melbourne University. Routes 1 and 6 continue through to Carlton North and beyond via Lygon Street.
Buses serve Carlton via Lygon, Elgin, and Rathdowne Streets. There are currently no trains to Carlton, with the closest station being Melbourne Central. There were talks and proposals of extending the City Loop to service Carlton, but no concrete plans have been proposed.
Rod Eddington's East West Link Needs Assessment does mention however, that there will be subway(s) in Carlton, as a part of the proposed 17 km Metro Tunnel.[16]
Notable residents
- Sir Carleton Kemp Allen (1887–1966), scholar[17]
- Sir Thomas Malcolm Ritchie (1894–1971), electrical engineer and Liberal Party president[18]
- Harry Stein (1919–1994), communist and jazz enthusiast
- Kalev Vann (1956–2011), Australian rules footballer
- Very Rev Alexander Yule (1830–1907) Moderator of Victoria in 1891 and of the Federal Assembly of Australia in 1901
See also
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Carlton (Vic.) (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Carlton (Vic.) (Suburbs and Localities)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 11 April 2008.
- ^ "Melbourne gangster Squizzy Taylor died after a shootout in Carlton. What happened to the house?". ABC News. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- ^ "Small Streets of Carlton", Carlton Community History Group, retrieved 9 September 2019
- ^ "Carlton", The University of Melbourne, retrieved 9 September 2019
- ^ "Green sites saved by a red union". CBD News. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- ^ Burgmann, Verity and Meredith (1998). Green Bans, Red Union: Environmental Activism and the New South Wales Builders Labourers' Federation. pp. 49–50.
- ^ "Special Report No. 4 - Court Closures in Victoria" (PDF). Auditor-General of Victoria. 1986. p. 79. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Carlton (Vic) (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
- ^ "Real Estate - Properties for Sale, Rent and Share - Domain". www.domain.com.au.
- ^ Government of Victoria. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ "Carlton | Places to visit in Melbourne". Zebrahood. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ .Melbourne University Regiment Archived 20 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Melbourne's first mosque turns 50 | Yarra City Council".
- ^ "melbourne metro – ‘new generation’ rail tunnel"[permanent dead link]
- ^ Wheare, K.C. (1979). "Allen, Sir Carleton Kemp (1887–1966)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- ^ Hancock, I.R. (2002). "Ritchie, Sir Thomas Malcolm (1894–1971)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 30 March 2015.