St Kilda East, Victoria

East St Kilda is one of the more diverse and densely settled neighbourhoods of Melbourne. It has a prominent Hasidic Jewish community descended from Polish and Russian immigrants.

It is well served by the main Balaclava shopping area in Carlisle Street which is also home to many of the civic buildings of the former City of St Kilda, now part of the City of Port Phillip.

Quiet and residential, East St Kilda is quite a different neighbourhood from the spectacle of its adjacent neighbourhood, St Kilda.

1 History
2 Transport
3 Localities within St Kilda East
4 Local Landmarks
5 Famous Residents
6 External links

[edit] History

The East St Kilda area was first settled in the 1850s.

Smaller timber shacks were common during the early 1860s to 1870s with larger houses on the bigger subdivisions.

During the late 1870s, terraced housing began around the railway line.

Alma Park was laid out and areas surrounding the park were set aside for religious purposes, resulting in a large number of convents and chapels along Chapel Street and either side of Dandenong Road.

In the 1950s, speculative development resulted in the destruction of many of the suburb's streetscapes. Centred around Chapel Street and to the east of the railway line, dog box flats are now common in the area.

Recent development of the suburbs, rising land values and excellent access to public transport has seen recent gentrification in the area. Modern infill medium density apartments are being built on many blocks with the Carlisle Street area designated an activity centre under the Melbourne 2030 planning scheme.

[edit] Transport

East St Kilda is one of the most highly serviced areas in Melbourne in terms of public transport.

The main railway station, Balaclava is on the Sandringham railway line.

Major tram routes operate on Chapel Street, Carlisle Street, Dandenong Road and St Kilda Road.

Hotham Street operates as a major bus way.

A main taxi rank operates on Carlisle Street outside of Coles Supermarkets.

[edit] Localities within St Kilda East

Balaclava is a locality within East St Kilda. It is situated 7 kilometres south-east of the Melbourne CBD.

It was named after the battlefield in the Crimean War (1853-6), known as the Battle of Balaclava. A number of streets in Balaclava are named after famous persons and places in that war, such as Alma, Malkoff, Nightingale, Inkerman, Raglan and Sebastopol.

The main shopping centre on Carlisle Street is in the locality of Balaclava.

[edit] Local Landmarks

St Kilda Town Hall
St Kilda library (1971-73) - At 150 Carlisle Street is a notable brutalist design by architect Enrico Taglietti, uniquely designed to open like a book. Also includes Ashton Raggatt McDougall’s award winning extension (1994)^[1].
Caulfield Campus of Caulfield Grammar School - the suburb's largest school.
Red Stitch theatre, Dandenong Road
St Colman's School Hall, Carlisle Street (1938-39) - designed to complement the church next door (now King David School's Carlisle campus)
The 7/11, CNR of Carlisle Street and Hotham Street.

St Kilda Town Hall, Carlisle Street	Lady of St Kilda mural, Carlisle Street	Main shopping strip. Carlisle Street	St Kilda public library, Carlisle Street
St Colman's School Hall, Carlisle Street

[edit] Residential architecture

Late 1870s Terrace housing in Inkerman Street

Clement House, Inkerman Street (built 1888). One of the suburb's grander surviving polychrome Victorian era terraces.

Combinations of Victorian terraces and late Edwardian duplexes and a variety of sub-tropical palms

[edit] Places of Worship

There are many churches in St Kilda East, many of the modern places of worship serve the Jewish Faith, but many of the older buildings have at some point served various Christian religions. Many of the church buildings in St Kilda East are historic and heritage registered and form various religious precincts. Historic church buildings include:

St Colman's Church, Carlisle Street (1913, designed by Watts & Sons)
All Saints Anglican Church (1861) and Parish Hall (1909 - restored in 2005 and converted into a boutique gymnasium)
East St Kilda Uniting Church, Chapel Street (1881. Hillson Beasley architect). Leased byby St Michael's Grammar School since 1990.
St George's Presbyterian Church, Chapel Street. Built in 1877-80 to the design of Albert Purchas. Listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
Former Balaclava Corps Hall

St Colman's Church, Carlisle Street. Twin decorative towers were removed in the 1960s.

St George's Presbyterian Church

All Saints Anglican Church

All Saints Parish Hall

[edit] Public Spaces

East St Kilda has a notable lack of public space. The main park is Alma Park, a large park designed by Clement Hodgkinson in 1867, which was split in two linear park by railway lines in 1858. The park has recreational facilites including a heritage 1880s rotunda, cricket and football (soccer) oval and large stands of elm trees, Moreton Bay Figs, bike paths and native vegetation areas. The St Kilda Town Hall features a small public garden facing the corner of busy Brighton Road and Carlisle Street. St Kilda Cemetery covers a large block bordered by Dandenong Road, Alma Road and Hotham Street. It is bounded by a historic wall and contains many Victorian era grave buildings. The cemetary is the resting place of Alfred Deakin and Albert Jacka, VC, MC and Barrister and mayor of St Kilda (1930).

Picturesque rotunda in Alma Park built in the 1880s

[edit] Famous Residents

Graham Kennedy, the famous Australian television entertainer grew up in the Balaclava area. After his death, the local council erected a plaque commemorating him on the house he lived in.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Category:St. Kilda, Victoria

Coordinates: -37.862° 144.997°

Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
- Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
Australian Places - St Kilda East
Australian Places - Balaclava

Suburbs of the City of Glen Eira
Bentleigh \| Bentleigh East \| Caulfield \| Caulfield East \| Caulfield North \| Caulfield South \| Carnegie \| Elsternwick \| Glen Huntly \| McKinnon \| Murrumbeena \| Ormond \| St. Kilda East