Southbank’s history is one of Melbourne’s most dramatic transformations — from industrial wasteland to cultural powerhouse in barely three decades.
Before Southbank
The land on the south bank of the Yarra was Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung country for thousands of years before European settlement. The river was a food source and meeting place. European settlement in the 1830s-40s quickly turned the south bank into an industrial zone — warehouses, factories, and wharves serving Melbourne’s growing trade economy.
The Industrial Years
For over a century, Southbank was defined by industry. Factories lined City Road and Sturt Street. Warehouses stretched along the riverfront. The area was working-class, noisy, and polluted. Nobody considered it a place to live — it was a place to work.
The National Gallery of Victoria opened on St Kilda Road in 1968, and Arts Centre Melbourne followed with the Theatres Building in 1984 and Hamer Hall in 1982. These were the first hints that the south bank of the Yarra might become something more than an industrial zone.
The Transformation — 1990s Onward
The real transformation began in the early 1990s when the Southgate complex opened (1992) and Crown Casino arrived (1997). Crown was controversial then and remains so — it brought jobs, tourism, and entertainment, but also gambling and the social issues that come with it.
The apartment towers followed. Eureka Tower (2006), at 297 metres, was Australia’s tallest residential building when completed. Southbank Boulevard, Clarendon Street, and Kavanagh Street filled with high-rise residential developments throughout the 2000s and 2010s. Australia 108 (2020) pushed even higher.
The Arts Precinct
The Melbourne Arts Precinct along Sturt Street has become one of the densest concentrations of world-class cultural venues in Australia: Arts Centre Melbourne, NGV, Melbourne Recital Centre, Malthouse Theatre, and ACMI. The ongoing Arts Precinct South development continues to expand this cultural infrastructure.
FAQ
When did Southbank become residential? The first major apartment towers went up in the late 1990s and early 2000s, following the opening of Southgate (1992) and Crown Casino (1997).
What was Southbank before the apartments? An industrial zone — factories, warehouses, and wharves. It was not residential.
When did Crown Casino open? 1997, at the temporary site. The permanent complex on the current site opened in 1997.
The Verdict
Southbank is Melbourne’s most deliberately manufactured suburb — built from scratch on former industrial land in barely 30 years. The result is a precinct with world-class cultural venues, spectacular river views, and residential density that rivals Hong Kong, but without the organic community character that develops over decades. Give it another decade — the infrastructure is there, and the community is slowly catching up. The Arts Precinct alone justifies Southbank’s existence.
More on Southbank:
Nearby suburbs: Melbourne CBD · South Melbourne · St Kilda
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