Collingwood is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3km north-east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Collingwood recorded a population of 9,179 at the 2021 census.
The area now known as Collingwood is thought to have been named Yálla-birr-ang by the Wurundjeri people, the original Indigenous inhabitants of the area. Following colonisation, the suburb was named in 1842 after Baron Collingwood or an early hotel which bore his name. Collingwood is one of the oldest suburbs in Melbourne and is bordered by Smith Street, Alexandra Parade, Hoddle Street and Victoria Parade.
Collingwood is notable for its historical buildings, with many nineteenth century dwellings, shops and factories still in use. Its major thoroughfare Smith Street, is one of Melbourne's major nightlife and retail strips, and has been voted the coolest street in the world. A former industrial suburb, Collingwood is now considered one of Melbourne's gay villages and houses a number of creative arts businesses.
History
Toponymy
It was 'named after' Lord Horatio Nelson's 'favourite admiral' Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (or, possibly after the Collingwood Hotel which existed there and was named after the admiral) by surveyor Robert Hoddle, under instructions from Superintendent Charles La Trobe, in 1842.
Establishment
Subdivision and sale of land in Collingwood began in 1838, and was mostly complete by the 1850s. Collingwood was declared a municipality, separate from the City of Melbourne on 24 April 1855, the first to follow the state's major population centres of Melbourne and Geelong. Collingwood was proclaimed a town in 1873, and later a city in 1876.
Collingwood's early development was directly impacted by the boom in Melbourne's population and economy during the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s and 1860s. This resulted in the construction of a large number of small dwellings, as well as schools, shops and churches to support this new population. Around the same time, large industrial developments such as a flour mill and the Fosters brewery were being established.
19th and 20th centuries
In the 1870s, Smith Street became the dominant shopping strip, with its tram line established in 1887. Many of Collingwood's grand public buildings were erected in the 1880s, including the post office and town hall. Collingwood also had a strong temperance movement, with two "coffee palaces" springing up in the 1870s, including the large and grand Collingwood Coffee Palace (now the facade of Woolworths – minus original classical pediment and mansard).
At the turn of the century Collingwood's Smith Street rivalled Chapel Street in Prahran as the dominant home of suburban emporiums and department stores. The first G.J. Coles store was opened in the street in 1912.
Since the 1950s, Collingwood has been home to many groups battling to save the suburb's unique character against development and gentrification.
In 1958 residents rallied at Collingwood Town Hall against the Housing Commission of Victoria's slum reclamation projects, which would see demolition orders for 122 of the suburb's homes.
In the 1970s, 150 residents protested against plans for the F-19 freeway, with some putting themselves in front of earthmovers during the construction. In 1979, two women were killed in their home on Easy Street in northern Collingwood in what became known as the Easy Street murders.
Recent history
The Collingwood Action Group formed in 2006 to fight the "Banco" development, a large mixed use project on Smith Street. In 2010, over 2,000 people rallied to save The Tote Hotel, a popular live music venue, which became a potential state election issue. The 2016 Bendigo Street housing dispute occurred in north-east Collingwood, in which the community took control of up to 15 empty state government owned houses, in an attempt to provide housing for Melbourne's rising homeless population, in the absence of adequate public housing.
In recent years, the office sector has grown in Collingwood, with a number of developments in its southern former industrial area, with some major companies locating their headquarters in the suburb.
Geography
Collingwood's topography is mostly flat, but a prominent slope extends from Hoddle Street up to Smith Street, and also along sections of Hoddle Street.