Toorak

Toorak Melbourne, Victoria
Royal Terrace on Williams Road
Population	13,127 (2006)
• Density
Established	1850s
Postcode(s)	3142
Area	4.3 km2 (1.7 sq mi)
Location	6 km (4 mi) from Melbourne 29 km (18 mi) from Belgrave
LGA(s)	City of Stonnington
State electorate(s)	Malvern, Prahran
Federal division(s)	Higgins
Suburbs around Toorak: Richmond Burnley Hawthorn South Yarra Toorak Kooyong Prahran Armadale Malvern

Toorak is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Toorak had a population of 13,127.

The small suburb is located on a rise on the south side (or left bank) of a bend in the Yarra River. In popular Australian culture, the name Toorak has become synonymous with wealth and privilege. The suburb has long had the reputation of being Melbourne's most elite, and ranks among the most prestigious in Australia. Toorak has the highest average property values in Melbourne, and is one of the most expensive suburbs in Australia.

Toorak is bordered by South Yarra at Williams Road on the west, Malvern at Glenferrie Road on the east, Prahran and Armadale at Malvern Road to the south and the suburbs of Richmond and Hawthorn on the north side of the river.

Toorak takes its name from Toorak House, an Italianate residence built by James Jackson, a merchant in 1849. The name of the house "Toorak" may have originated from Aboriginal words of similar pronunciation, meaning black crow or reedy swamp.

History

From 1854 Toorak House served as the residence of the first Governor of Victoria, Captain Sir Charles Hotham KCB RN, and four of his successors until 1874 -- Sir Henry Barkly GCMG KCB, Sir Charles Darling KCB, John Manners-Sutton, 3rd Viscount Canterbury and Sir George Bowen PC GCMG. Bishopscourt in East Melbourne was then used before the present Government House was occupied in 1876. Toorak Post Office opened around June 1858.

Toorak House still stands today in St. Georges Road, and set the architectural tone for the suburb. Toorak House is presently owned by the Church of Sweden abroad. It also houses the Consulate of Sweden. The Swedish Church is open for visitors daily.

A mock-Tudor shop in Toorak Village.

During the "Marvellous Melbourne" era of the 1880s, many large and elaborate mansions were erected in Toorak. Following East Melbourne and then St Kilda, Toorak along with Brighton became the new favoured location for the wealthy. The suburb was hit particularly hard by the 1890s economic depression and many wealthy landowners declared bankruptcy and were forced to sell. Nonetheless, the suburb remained and is still Melbourne's home of old money. In the 1920s, a favoured style was Tudor revival.

While large mansions have survived in neighbouring Hawthorn, Kew and Armadale, only a few of the original mansions in Toorak remain. Two of the most notable are Illawarra House, which was acquired by the National Trust; and Coonac, the most expensive house in Melbourne. In Toorak, some of the old property names live on as street names and the names of blocks of flats, carved out of or built on their sites.

In the period of post-World War II prosperity, rising standards of living and land values caused Toorak to became highly sought after by a new generation of the wealthy, thought by some to be social climbers and Nouveau riche. For some of these people, the focus was simply to have the postcode of Toorak, which was SE 2 and now 3142. As a result, many of the larger mansions were demolished and large holdings were subdivided to make way for flats, town-houses and apartments. In the 1980s larger houses in Neo-Georgian and Neo-Classical styles began to appear, many of questionable stylistic integrity and taste.

Nevertheless, Toorak remains an appealling place to live and many aspire to live there; a leafy, quiet suburb of broad tree-lined nature-strips with established gardens and solid houses, often with swimming pools and tennis courts, behind high walls which preserve the privacy of the residents. It is close to the central business district, quality shopping areas and many private schools. The pre-eminent residential streets of Toorak are generally considered to be St. George's Road, Lansell Road, Hopetoun Road, Albany Road and Clendon Road, in the last of which is "Cranlana", the large estate still maintained by the family of Sidney Myer.

Politics

Toorak falls within the federal electorate of Higgins. The seat of Higgins was created in 1949 and held by Harold Holt CH 1949 - 1967, Sir John Gorton PC GCMG AC CH 1968 - 1975, Roger Shipton OAM 1975 - 1990, Peter Costello 1990 - 2009 and Kelly O'Dwyer since 2009 (all on behalf of the Liberal Party of Australia). At state level, it mostly falls within the electorate of Malvern (currently held by the Liberals' Michael O'Brien), with the western part of the suburb falling within the electorate of Prahran (currently held by the ALP's Anthony Lupton). At local council level, Toorak falls within the City of Stonnington.

Typically for a wealthy inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Toorak is solidly Liberal-voting.

Culture

The Toorak Village is a strip of shops and cafes, located in the suburb of Toorak in Melbourne.

Colloquially, many residents refer to the suburb as "Map 59" (of the Melway street directory).

St. John's Anglican Church, an 1862 Gothic Revival bluestone church designed by William Wardell dominates the skyline of Toorak with its sandstone spire and is one of the most popular churches for weddings in Melbourne. Other places of worship are St. Peter's Catholic Church, built in 1876 in the Romanesque style, Toorak Uniting Church (1876), in the Frenchified Gothic style and the Swedish Church. The Wesleyan church (1877), formerly on the corner of Toorak and Williams Roads, was illegally demolished in 1990 by developers and later replaced by a block of flats.

The Toorak Village and Hawksburn Village shopping areas, St Catherine's School, Loreto Mandeville Hall and St Kevin's College, Glamorgan (now Toorak Campus, the junior school of Geelong Grammar School), the Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club and the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club are all in Toorak. The Australian Open tennis tournament was regularly held at Kooyong until it's permanent relocation to Melbourne Park in 1988. There is also a state school, the Toorak Central School (1890).

Toorak Tractors

Four wheel drives line a street in Toorak.

In Australian slang, a "Toorak tractor", "Toorak taxi", "Toorak tank", or "Toorak truck" are pejorative names for a luxury four-wheel drive vehicle. Such vehicles are prized by some of the newer residents of the area as status symbols rather than for their designed off-road abilities.

In an episode of Top Gear Australia, aired on SBS TV, the presenters drove a $200,000 tractor along Toorak Road.

Transport

Luxury SUVs line a residential street in Toorak.

The most popular form of transport in Toorak is the automobile. CityLink runs along the northern eastern Toorak though there are no interchanges within the suburb, although there is access to the freeway via MacRobertson Bridge and interchanges at Burnley. Main arterials running north-south are Williams Road (at the eastern boundary), Grange Road, Orrong Road, St Georges Road and Kooyong Road. The east-west arterials include Alexandra Avenue (at the northern boundary), Toorak Road (which runs mid way through the suburb) and Malvern Road (at the southern boundary). Alexandra Avenue becomes St Georges Road and both along with Grange Road feed into the MacRobertson Bridge, Toorak's main river crossing. Toorak's road planning is an example of street heirarchy. As a result, there are numerous quiet pedestrian streets, however traffic congestion is an increasing problem along Toorak Road and Williams Roads. There is limited street parking along the main roads with just a couple of multi-storey car parks and parking lots within proximity of the main Toorak Road shopping strip. There are no level crossings in Toorak. Sport utility vehicles have become popular status symbols for wealthy residents and controversial for their luxury use (rather than for their off-road abilities). In popular Australian culture, terms such as Toorak tractor, Toorak taxi, Toorak tank, or Toorak truck have become Australian slang as pejoratives. An example of this was an episode of the popular program Top Gear Australia, aired on SBS TV, in which the presenters tongue-in-cheek drove a $200,000 tractor along Toorak Road.

File:Heyington-station-platform.jpg

Heyington railway station

Toorak's main railway station is Heyington on the Glen Waverley line which crosses the Yarra on the Heyington Bridge to the suburb's north. Despite its name Toorak is located in Armadale. The Pakenham, Frankston and Cranbourne railway line group to which this station belongs runs close to Toorak's southern boundary. Other nearby stations include Hawksburn in South Yarra and Kooyong in Kooyong.

Trams have run through Toorak road since 1888. Melbourne tram route 8 runs along Toorak Road to Glenferrie Road at the suburb's eastern boundary. Melbourne tram route 72 runs along Malvern Road, the suburb's southern boundary.

Cycling facilities are poor, with few marked on road lanes. Macrobertson bridge and Gardiners Creek pedestrian bridge, however provides pedestrians access to the Main Yarra Trail and shared bicycle and pedestrian paths in nearby Burnley. Pedestrians are serviced by an extensive network of footpaths and pedestrian crossings.

Demographics

A study by the Department of Primary Industries revealed the following facts about Toorak:

• In Toorak, 29.6 per cent of persons were employed in the industries of finance, property and business services. The Melbourne metropolitan average is 14.6 per cent.

• The proportion of Toorak residents aged 15 and over with a Bachelors degree or higher is 31.0 per cent. The Melbourne metropolitan average is 13.4 per cent.

• Toorak has the highest percentage of children attending non-government schools in Melbourne.

• There are very few infants and toddlers in Toorak. The proportion of the Toorak population who are infants or toddlers (those aged up to 4 years of age) is 3.8 per cent. The Melbourne metropolitan average is 6.9 per cent.

Water Restrictions

Because of the scarcity of water in Australia, restrictions have been established on water use. In Victoria, statistics from South East Water reveal that breaches of water restrictions were spread "across Melbourne but there are obviously pockets which seem to attract more interest than other suburbs." Areas like Toorak and Brighton have had a higher proportion of water breaches than other suburbs. A water patrolmen said that some Toorak and Brighton residents had a "what-me-worry attitude" to the threat of $500 fines. The recent drought resulted in many private bores being sunk in gardens to provide a source of water for gardens.

Property prices

Because of the economic crisis of 2008, which led to large falls in share prices, many wealthy home owners in Melbourne's prestigious suburbs were forced to sell their homes to cover share margin calls or because they had lost their jobs in the finance and banking sectors. In the six months to September 2008, the median value of houses in Toorak fell by 24 per cent. Prices also fell in the upmarket suburbs of Brighton, South Yarra, Hawthorn and Kew, while prices in the working-class suburb of Melton rose by 6 per cent in the same time period.

Notable residents

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Celebrities, philanthropists, cultural figures

• Dame Zara Bate DBE – fashion designer and wife (later widow) of Harold Holt, had a salon called 'Magg' in the Toorak Village
• Albert Dadon – Chair of the Australian Israel Cultural Exchange
• Eddie McGuire AM – Journalist, republican commentator, television and radio personality, president of the Collingwood Football Club from 1998 to present.
• Daniel Radcliffe – the Harry Potter star's family owns a house in Toorak.
• Peter Robb – Australian author. Born in Toorak in 1946.
• Sidney Myer - founder of the Myer Emporium, and Dame Merlyn Myer DBE - philanthropists.
• Martin Clemens CBE MC AM - war hero and philanthropist.
• Dame Hilda Stevenson DBE - philanthropist.
• Sir Norman Myer - businessman and philanthropist.

Politicians

• Harold Holt PC CH - Liberal Party politician, 17th Prime Minister of Australia
• Captain Sir Charles Hotham – Colonial politician, 2nd Governor of Victoria
• Duncan Gillies – Colonial politician, 14th Premier of Victoria and member for Toorak from 1897 to 1903
• Malcolm Fraser PC AC CH – Liberal Party politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. Born in Toorak.
• Ted Baillieu – Victorian Liberal Party politician, Leader of the Opposition from 2006 to present. Born in Toorak.

Businessmen

• John Blood - Chairman of Gazal Ltd, Canningvale Towels, Founder and former MD of Sportscraft and Cotton King of the 90's
• Paul Little - Managing director of Toll Holdings from 1986 to present.
• Ziggy Switkowski – Chief executive of Telstra from 1999 to 2004. Famously had a mobile phone microcell installed on his property.
• Solomon Lew – importer and retail supplier, currently resides in Toorak
• Peter Lew – Managing director of Witchery clothing, son of Solomon Lew
• Lindsay Fox AC – former Australian Rules footballer, owner of the Linfox transportation company.
• Sir Donald Trescowthick AC KBE
• David Haines - financier and racehorse breeder.
• Sir Keith Murdoch - journalist and newspaper-owner and Dame Elisabeth Murdoch DBE
• Ron Walker AC CBE – Lord Mayor of Melbourne from 1974 to 1976.
• Sir Leo Curtis - Lord Mayor of Melbourne from 1965 to 1967

Sportspeople

• Tup Scott – Victorian cricketer. Born in Toorak in 1858, later moved to New South Wales.
• Charlie McLeod – Australian test cricketer. Died in Toorak in 1918.
• Jack Saunders – Australian test cricketer. Died in Toorak in 1927.
• Clem Hill – Australian test cricketer. Resided in Toorak following his appointment as handicapper for the Victoria Amateur Turf Club (VATC) in 1937.
• Lou Richards – Australian Rules footballer who played for Collingwood from 1941 to 1955, was captain for four years. Currently resides in Toorak.
• Nathan Buckley – Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood from 1994 to 2007, was captain for seven years. Currently resides in Toorak.
• Andrew Demetriou – Chief executive of the AFL. Currently resides in Toorak.

See also

• City of Malvern - the former local government area of which Toorak was a part.
• City of Prahran - the former local government area of which Toorak was a part.

External links

• http://www.toorakvillage.com.au/