History of Collingwood — From Factory Floor to Flat White

Collingwood’s story explains why the suburb feels the way it does in 2026. The converted warehouses, the mix of housing commission flats and renovated terraces, the particular energy of Smith Street — none of it makes sense without understanding where it came from.

See our full Collingwood suburb guide for the current picture.

Before European Settlement

The land that became Collingwood was Wurundjeri country, part of the Kulin Nation. The area around the Yarra River and its tributaries — including the Merri Creek, which forms Collingwood’s eastern boundary — was used for thousands of years before European arrival. The river flats provided food, materials, and travel routes.

This history is acknowledged by the City of Yarra, which governs Collingwood today, and is reflected in place names and public art throughout the suburb.

The 1850s-1890s: A Working Suburb Takes Shape

Collingwood was one of Melbourne’s first suburbs, formally established in the 1850s during the Gold Rush era. It was never a wealthy area. While the wealthier classes settled in East Melbourne and South Yarra, Collingwood attracted workers — labourers, tradespeople, and new immigrants who needed affordable housing close to the city.

The street grid was laid out in this period: Smith Street running north-south as the commercial spine, Johnston Street crossing east-west, and residential streets like Easey Street, Cambridge Street, and Langridge Street filling in between. The Victorian terrace houses that still line these streets were built as worker housing — narrow, close together, with shared rear laneways.

By the 1880s, Collingwood was one of Melbourne’s most densely populated suburbs. It was also one of the poorest. The Yarra River flats flooded regularly, sanitation was primitive, and disease outbreaks were common. The phrase “Collingwood flat” became Melbourne slang for somewhere you didn’t want to end up.

The Factory Era: 1890s-1950s

The boot and shoe industry defined Collingwood’s economy for decades. The warehouse buildings along Gipps Street, Wellington Street, and Peel Street were leather factories, boot manufacturers, and clothing workshops. At its peak, Collingwood produced a significant share of Australia’s footwear.

Other industries followed: textile mills, brewing, engineering workshops. The suburb’s proximity to the city centre and the rail network made it ideal for light manufacturing. The factories employed the local population, and the pubs — the Victoria Hotel on Smith Street, the Tote Hotel on Johnston Street — served as social hubs for workers.

The Collingwood Football Club, founded in 1892 at Victoria Park on Lulie Street, became the suburb’s defining institution. The club’s identity — working-class, combative, loyal — was Collingwood’s identity. Victoria Park hosted games until 1999, and the club’s presence shaped the suburb’s culture in ways that persist today.

Post-War Migration: 1950s-1970s

After World War II, Collingwood absorbed waves of migration. Greek, Italian, and Eastern European communities settled along Smith Street and Johnston Street, establishing the food shops, cafes, and community organisations that transformed the suburb’s character.

Johnston Street developed a significant Spanish-speaking community — largely from Latin America — which established the annual Johnston Street Fiesta, one of Melbourne’s longest-running multicultural street festivals.

Vietnamese migration from the 1970s onwards brought the bakeries and food businesses that remain central to Collingwood’s identity today. N. Lee Bakery, which opened on Smith Street in 1991, is a direct product of this wave.

Housing Commission: The 1960s-1970s Flats

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Victorian government demolished large sections of Collingwood’s older housing stock and replaced it with high-rise and medium-rise public housing towers. The towers near Hoddle Street remain the most visible legacy of this era.

The housing commission flats brought a new population to Collingwood and changed the suburb’s social dynamics. The towers sit within a few hundred metres of Smith Street’s cafe strip — a proximity that highlights the economic divides within the suburb more sharply than in almost any other Melbourne neighbourhood.

This is not a comfortable part of Collingwood’s history, and it remains a live issue. The towers are home to thousands of residents, many from refugee and migrant backgrounds, and the gentrification of surrounding streets has intensified the contrast.

Gentrification: 1990s-2010s

The transformation started slowly. Artists and musicians moved into the warehouse spaces along Gipps Street and Wellington Street in the 1990s, attracted by cheap rent and large open-plan buildings. Studios, galleries, and rehearsal spaces opened in former factories.

By the 2000s, the pattern was familiar: artists made the area interesting, property values followed, and the artists were gradually priced out. The cafes came next — Proud Mary opened on Oxford Street, terror-twilight on Johnston Street — and Collingwood’s food scene began to attract citywide attention.

Smith Street was named Melbourne’s best food street by multiple publications. Property prices climbed. The terraces that had been workers’ housing sold for $500,000, then $800,000, then over a million. The warehouses that had been art studios became luxury apartments.

Collingwood in 2026

Today, Collingwood carries all of its history simultaneously. You can walk from the Stomping Ground Brewery on Gipps Street (a converted warehouse) past the housing commission towers (1960s social housing) to a Victorian terrace on Easey Street (1880s worker housing) to a new apartment development on Smith Street — and cover less than a kilometre.

The suburb is governed by the City of Yarra, postcode 3066. It sits 3km east of the Melbourne CBD, bordered by Fitzroy to the west, Clifton Hill to the north, Abbotsford to the east, and Richmond to the south.

The tension between old and new is Collingwood’s defining characteristic. The long-term residents, the housing commission community, the newcomers who arrived for the coffee and stayed for the lifestyle — they coexist on the same streets, often uneasily. Whether that tension is productive or destructive depends on who you ask and which street you’re standing on.

Key Historical Dates

FAQ

When was Collingwood established? Collingwood was established as a suburb in the 1850s during Melbourne’s Gold Rush era. It was one of the city’s first working-class suburbs.

Why is Collingwood called Collingwood? The suburb was named after Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, who served alongside Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

What were the factories on Gipps Street? Most were boot and shoe factories, leather works, and clothing manufacturers. Collingwood was a major centre for Australia’s footwear industry from the 1890s through the mid-20th century. Many of these buildings have been converted into apartments, studios, and breweries — Stomping Ground Brewery occupies a former warehouse on Gipps Street.

When did Collingwood gentrify? The process started in the 1990s with artists moving into cheap warehouse spaces, accelerated in the 2000s with the emergence of the Smith Street food and cafe scene, and continues today. It’s an ongoing process rather than a completed one.

The Verdict

Collingwood’s history is not a polished heritage story. It’s a story of poverty, industry, migration, demolition, creativity, and money. The suburb today carries all of those layers — the bluestone laneways from the 1850s, the factories from the 1900s, the housing towers from the 1960s, the breweries from the 2010s. Understanding that history doesn’t just explain Collingwood; it explains why Smith Street feels different from Chapel Street, why Wellington Street feels different from Lygon Street, and why Collingwood residents get annoyed when their suburb is described as “up and coming.” It came. It’s been here a while.

More on Collingwood: Neighbourhood Guide | Honest Guide | Family Guide

Nearby suburbs: Fitzroy | Abbotsford | Richmond | Clifton Hill