Memory and Place of Carlton

Memory and Place of Carlton With Relation to Melbourne

This focus of this study is Carlton, a suburb in Melbourne, Australia. It sits on the edge of the CBD, and has a strong role in tying the city together. The Carlton United Brewery Site sits at very edge of Carlton and the Central Business District (CBD) of Melbourne, and has historically had a major influence on the two. It has been abandoned for years now, but sits on the Swanston Street axis, which pierces through the city and has the city's famous Shrine of Remembrance at the other end, the Anzac memorial. There remains, though, a clear need for the renovation of the Carlton United Brewery site make Carlton more connected with this burgeoning part of the city. To this end, this study provides a review of the relevant peer-reviewed, scholarly and governmental literature concerning memory and place aspects of Carlton with relation to Melbourne, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

History of Melbourne and Carlton.

Melbourne was first settled by Europeans in 1835; following its modest beginnings as a tent city in what is now the Central Business District (CBD), the city rapidly grew from immigration caused by the gold rush that started in the mid-nineteenth century (Berry & McGreal, 1999). According to these authors, "In 1851, the Colony of Victoria separated from New South Wales. Other settlements in Victoria had earlier beginnings, usually related to whaling or squatting, but Melbourne's rate of growth led to its ascendancy. By the 1880s, Marvellous Melbourne was one of the largest and most elegant cities in the Southern Hemisphere" (p. 227). This rapid growth reached its peak during in the land boom of the 1880s; however, this growth began a downward spiral in the closing decade of the nineteenth century after a series of scandals, bankruptcies and defaults hampered further growth (Cannon, 1995).

The city's prominence, though, did not necessarily fade or become diminished in other ways. For example, Melbourne remained the seat of Australian government after Federation during the period 1901 until 1926, when the Federal Parliament was transferred to the Australian Capital Territory and the City of Canberra (Berry & McGreal). A longstanding interstate rivalry also emerged between Victoria and New South Wales after separation and that remains firmly in place today (Berry & McGreal). In addition, Melbourne remained Australia's leading city until well after the end of World War II (Berry).

During this period, the city was also the financial capital of Australia and it contained the leading industries, company head offices, universities and private schools; nevertheless, the history and shaping of each of the commercial, retail and industrial property markets in Melbourne is distinctive based on its being more a function of historical development than formalised town planning; however, as the post-war emphasis moved from agriculture and manufacturing to finance and services, Melbourne began to be overtaken by Sydney as Australia's leading international city, a competitive state, like its interstate rivaly with New South Wales, also remains firmly in place today (Berry & McGreal, 1999).

Australia's states and location of Melbourne.

Source: Berry at p. 227.

Planning regions in Victoria are established on a specific needs basis rather than as an overall system, so that many parts of the state are not in any designated region. Metropolitan Melbourne is a planning region comprised of 31 local government areas. It covers 7,700 km2 or about 3.5 per cent of the State of Victoria as shown in Figure ____ above. Victoria has a population of approximately 5 million inhabitants, and Metropolitan Melbourne has about 3.2 million (Berry & McGreal). The Victorian workforce comprises 2 million persons of whom 1.5 million are in Metropolitan Melbourne (Berry & McGreal).

The City of Melbourne (one of the 31 metropolitan local government areas) is only 36 km2 and it contains the CBD of approximately 3 km2. The City of Melbourne contains around 43,000 residents, mostly in suburbs surrounding the CBD which were developed during the Victorian era. These have been undergoing gentrification and redevelopment over the past two decades. Normally when one talks of Melbourne one refers to Metropolitan Melbourne and not just the designated City of Melbourne (see Figure ____ below).

Figure ____. Metropolitan Melbourne.

Source: Berry & McGreal at p. 228.

The topography of Metropolitan Melbourne is relatively flat which enabled the city to be laid out in a rectilinear grid from the outset. The CBD is characterised by blocks approximately 200 meters square separated by streets 30 meters wide (1.5 chains) as shown in Figure __ below.

Figure ____. Metropolitan Melbourne.

Source: Berry & McGreal at p. 229.

Today, Melbourne is the seat of the state government of Victoria; in addition, Victoria has a total of 78 local government areas, each with its own municipal plan (Berry & McGreal). Based on the close proximity of Melbourne with Port Phillip Bay to the south, the principal areas of non-residential property development comprise the CBD, the western region and the south-east. The north, east and south are predominantly residential (Berry & McGreal). According to the city's Web site, "Melbourne is set around the shores of Port Phillip Bay. The city itself, laid out in a large rectangle and boasting a lively and cosmopolitan pulse, sits on the northern banks of the Yarra River, about five kilometres from the bay" (Melbourne's city precincts, 2008, p. 3). As to the city's CBD, "One glance at a map [see Figure ____ below] and it's obvious that Melbourne is a planned city: a tidy, balanced grid of neatly angled streets. But beneath this sense of everything in its place restraint lies a restless creative energy constantly pushing back at the city's seeming conservatism. The CBD is made up of precincts - distinct enclaves each with its own flavour and charm. Some are just a lane or two, while others cover the banks of the Yarra River or a busy CBD street" (Melbourne's city precincts, pp. 3-4).

Figure __. Melbourne's city precincts

Source: Melbourne's city precincts, p. 1.

Compared to other world cities, Melbourne has an inordinately large percentage of commercial, retail and industrial property and an unusually highly developed infrastructure (including a suburban arterial transport system of road, rail and tram) for its modest population. At December 1997, Melbourne CBD accounted for 3.2 million m2 of office space (Berry & McGreal).

Public Spaces.

The main Melbourne commercial office markets comprise the CBD rectangle, the St. Kilda Road axis (including the Southbank urban regeneration precinct) and the south-eastern suburbs of Box Hill, Hawthorn, Camberwell, Waverley and Dandenong (Berry & McGreal, p. 237). The city hosts a number of historic and modern attractions that enjoy the effective use of public spaces in their planning and design. During the 1980s, though the CBD market was massively overbuilt resulting in increasing vacancies and concomitant decreases in both rents and property values (Berry & McGreal).

Other recent additions to the public places of Melbourne include a new stadium on the Docklands site adjacent to the CBD. According to Hay, Haig-Muir and Mewett (2000), "In Melbourne, where an extraordinary winter intoxication known as 'football fever' wracks hundreds of thousands of people, VFL Park's very existence was a contest. There were those who saw it as an unwanted appendage dangling on the city's outskirts, deprived of public transport and atmosphere. They called it a 'white elephant'. Others looked to it as an exclusive temple wherein the rites of one of the world's most spectacular field games were practised now and forever" (p. 158). Waverly Park's development has been marked by controversies which have influenced the public perceptions of the stadium, but which reflect important changes in Victoria's and Australia's sporting and social history. This was recognised by Heritage Victoria, when the stadium and its surrounds were placed on the Victorian Heritage Register in August 2000. In his explanatory notes to the decision of the Heritage Council Registration Committee, its committee chair Andrew Lemon emphasized that:

The inescapable conclusion of the Committee, regardless of the ways in which it approached the question was that Waverley Park was of great historical and social significance to Victoria in the second half of the twentieth century. Waverley Park is like no other sporting ground in Victoria, before or since: and the impact of the plan to build it, the use of the ground, and the numerous controversies that have surrounded it throughout its existence have contributed to that significance. (quoted in Hay et al. p. 159)

The construction of the stadium and its facilities involved many pioneering exercises in Australian architectural, constructional and technological experience. The scale of its initial conception was originally one-of-a-kind, and was designed as the second largest stadium in the world. In this initiative, innovative techniques (at least in Australia) were used for the first time including the scissors frame design of the main grandstands. The use of reinforced concrete instead of brick was not original but the scale once again was unprecedented. Cantilever roofing and the clean design of the underside of the roof were novelties on that scale (Hay et al.).

Waverley Park was designed for and reflected a demographic shift in Melbourne's population away from the inner suburbs to the south and east. Waverley Park was a symbol of, and a contributor to, the shift of the locus of power within the Victorian, later Australian, Football League from the clubs to the league, a change whose consequences are still being felt in 2000. The stadium reflected an Australian tradition of multi-sports facilities despite its genesis in Australian Rules, both in its conception and subsequent development. Waverley Park played a significant role in the development of post-war Australian football, cricket and baseball. In April 2000 it was nominated for the Victorian Heritage Register by the City of Greater Dandenong (Hay et al.).

Waverley reflected also a major geographic shift, taking the game away from the traditional inner urban areas to outlying suburbs where a more affluent society with discretionary income and tastes was increasingly located. As Hay and his colleagues advise, "This was a society that could drive to games and spend on facilities, food and drink and merchandise, much though some traditionalists might regret it. Waverley, in the motor age, began to attract (often reluctant) spectators from as far away as Geelong, nearly two hundred kilometres by road to the west, which played some of its 'home' games at VFL Park" (p. 158). Beyond the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, people from the Latrobe Valley and East Gippsland increasingly considered the stadium to be even more accessible than central city or suburban venues; while there is a great deal of publicity regarded the trend to inner-city living and the potential for 'theatre-going' sports audiences in central Melbourne, for some time to come the spectator base in the eastern half of Victoria will be very substantial (Hay et al.).

According to Crozier (2003), the Department of Political Science at the University of Melbourne is Australia's oldest political studies department. This author reports, "It had its origins in the groundbreaking efforts of William Macmahon Ball during the 1930s, culminating in the establishment of a dedicated program in Political Science in 1939. Macmahon Ball ('Mac Ball' or simply 'Mac') was appointed foundation professor of Political Science in 1949" (Crozier, p. 8). The University's Department of Political Science enjoys a long tradition of research and training, formative work on Australian politics, international relations, political sociology and political psychology, as well as other influential areas in Australia's history. As Crozier points out, "Academics and alumni from the Department have gone on to become prominent figures in the academy in Australia and overseas, in public affairs and politics at all levels, in the print and electronic media, and in public controversy across the decades" (p. 8).

Beautifully located on the southern bank of the Yarra River in Melbourne, Crown Towers sets the benchmark for luxury hotels in Australia. Lavishly appointed and offering an impeccable standard of customer service and attention to detail, Crown Towers is a hotel that truly understands the meaning of opulence. All of Crown Towers' 482 plush and well-appointed oversized guest rooms feature postcard-perfect views to the city or Port Phillip Bay and offer guests a world-class level of comfort and finish; in addition, every room has the latest in room technology including a 42-inch plasma television (Crozier).

Located just a short stroll from Melbourne's Central Business District and boasting flexible, purpose built meeting and conference facilities, Crown Towers enables visitors to conduct business in comfort and style. For those wanting to relax, hotel guests have access to the spectacular Crown Spa, the culinary delights of our superb signature restaurants and the amazing Crown Entertainment Complex with its cinemas, nightclubs, bars, shopping, indoor entertainment theme park and the 24-hour excitement of the world renowned Crown Casino.

Few hotels in the world can match this level of opulence and excitement. As Crozier enthuses, "If you're seeking luxury in Melbourne, Crown Towers is the hotel for you. Crown Towers recently won the Australian Tourism Awards for Luxury Accommodation -- one of the highest honours in the Australian Tourism industry. Finalists were winners of the State and Territory Tourism Awards (Crown Towers won the Victorian Tourism Award for Luxury Accommodation and was inducted into the Hall of Fame after winning the award for 3 consecutive years)" (and the winners are..., 2007, p. 20).

Memory and Place.

Many visitors to Melbourne will remember their shopping experience above many of the other attractions available to them because of the vast diversity of brick-and-mortar retail facilities available. As Berry and McGreal point out, "Melbourne has one of the highest levels of retail provision in Australia and is generally held to have the widest range of retailers of any Australian city" (p. 239). Whilst the CBD commands the highest rents in its prime core (reflecting the limited size of the retail core and the very large CBD daytime population), the relative yields are indicative of the risks associated with the outlook for CBD retailing generally in Australia. The trend towards enclosed suburban centres has placed pressure on the viability of the CBD. Melbourne City Council, like many other city authorities around the world, has implemented the familiar programmes of pedestrianisation, CBD periphery car parking provision, retail heart regeneration, focused marketing, executive management teams and so forth in an endeavour to revitalise the CBD retail core; however, these initiatives have experienced varying degrees of success thus far (Berry & McGreal).

The renovation of the Carlton brewery facility into a prime piece of real estate just makes good sense. In this regard, Berry and McGreal emphasize, some types of vacant properties are more amenable to renovation into public places today. According to these authors, "In contrast to industrial property, the demand for shopping centres and office buildings in abandoned industrial sites is very strong. According to these authors, investors in Taipei City took advantage of an abandoned beer brewery's location and historical value to increase the return on their investment ten-fold. "One key project, Jin-Hua Shopping Centre," Berry and McGreal advise, "was the redevelopment of a large derelict beer brewery (7.8 hectares) into a modern shopping centre. Its land price after rezoning for commercial use was about U.S.$100,000/m2" (p. 96).

According to Ryan (2003), "Melbourne became marvellous in 1885, when George Augustus Sala appealed to the vanity of the colonial city with a series of articles that included one entitled 'Marvellous Melbourne' -- indeed Graeme Davison asserts that the colonial inferiority complex of the time ensured that 'if London's Mr. Sala said Melbourne was 'marvellous,' then marvellous it surely was'" (p. 81). In her essay, "New Victoria," Jacobsen (2001) reports that, "The two biggest cities in Australia are not very far apart, but they could be in different countries. Sydney is laid back, lounging relaxed in the sun round its marvellous romantic harbour, where bush still sometimes meets the sea as it did before the whites arrived, and where the undistinguished commercial towers of the CBD aspire to picturesque grandeur on the hilly Georgian plan" (p. 37). Melbourne is less climatically favorable as Sydney and remains.".. primly European and uptight on a dreary flat site firmly ordered by a nineteenth-century grid, with the tower blocks contained in the blocks. But there is another side to Melbourne's culture: a tradition of rebellion against Victorian stuffiness - the 'cult of larrikinism,'wildness which at its most extreme produced the Irish bushranger hero, Ned Kelly, and today still permeates much of the city's best architecture and painting, with a larky yet edgy ethos" (Jacobsen, p. 37).