I'm doing night classes for the next two nights, so today I ventured down to the Docklands area.
Now, I thought the term Docklands was merely used as a descriptive term when referring to the newly developed area down near the harbour. I have since discovered however, that Docklands is actually a suburb. Docklands is focussed around Victoria Harbour & the banks of the Yarra River, up to the Charles Grimes Bridge. It is a very contemporary area & is the result of an urban renewal project to extend the CBD & is earmarked for completion by 2015. Docklands is home to a number of landmarks, such as Etihad Stadium, Southern Cross Station & the Melbourne Star Ferris Wheel. The area is touted as being Melbourne's new financial heartland, housing such financial institutions as ANZ, NAB, Bendigo Bank & AMP.
From around the 1880's, the area, which was formerly swamp, was used as a dock. An extensive network of wharves, the presence of heavy rail infrastructure & light industry all supported this purpose. By the 1990's, however, the dock became virtually abandoned, mostly as a result of the containerisation of shipping. Containerisation made the processes of loading & unloading, transferring & transporting goods in weather proof steel containers over long distances more efficient in terms of time & cost.
In the area are numerous high rises. There is a mix of big business, retail, restaurants & cafes & residential. The area has been widely criticised over the years for its lack of amenities with regards to families, particularly with there being no public school& few green areas. The area appears very prestigious, so I don't think lack of a school would be the only thing restricting families. You'd need some big dollars I would think.
The 2011 census showed a population of just under 6,000 people. By 2015, the projected population is estimated at 20,000. I found the streets narrow & there was very little traffic, either vehicular or pedestrian. Mind you, it was an extremely windy day which may have deterred people from venturing down to the harbour. The buildings are extremely quirky & well worth a look, which was the reason behind my trek down this way. These buildings are such a contradiction with the historic Victorian architecture you see elsewhere in the city.
The area is epitomised by this piece of art which is located at Central Pier, opposite Etihad Stadium. Believe it or not, it is titled "cow up a tree". Yep!
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