City of Stonnington

About the area

Key Statistics

Location

The City of Stonnington is located in Melbourne's inner south-eastern suburbs, about 3 to 13 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The City of Stonnington is bounded by the City of Yarra and the City of Boroondara in the north, the City of Monash in the east, the City of Glen Eira and the City of Port Phillip in the south, and the City of Melbourne in the west.

Included Areas

The City of Stonnington includes the suburbs of Armadale, Glen Iris (part), Kooyong, Malvern, Malvern East, Prahran, South Yarra (part), Toorak and Windsor (part).

Land Use

The City of Stonnington is a residential and commercial area, with some industrial, office and institutional land use. The City includes some of Melbourne's most prestigious residential localities. Commercial areas include shopping and lifestyle strips along several of the main roads. The City encompasses a total land area of about 26 square kilometres.

Name Origin

The City of Stonnington is named after a historically significant mansion in the area, which was named after Stonington in Connecticut, USA.

Indigenous Meaning

The original inhabitants of the City of Stonnington were the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Aboriginal people.

Settlement

European settlement dates from the 1830s. Land was used mainly for farming, especially cattle grazing. Crown land sales began in 1840, with homes built adjacent to the Yarra River and Gardiners Creek, and many mansions built on the high ground. In the 1880s and 1890s substantial residential and commercial development took place around a grid of arterial roads, especially in the western section. Growth then spread into the eastern section, with considerable development between 1900 and 1930, including the subdivision of many large estates in the western section. Significant development occurred in the post-war years, particularly between the 1940s and early 1960s. Many flats were built in the 1960s and 1970s, especially in the western section and some central parts. During the 1970s and 1980s many industries moved out of the area and major commercial and mixed-use developments were built in the older commercial areas, such as Chapel Street and Toorak Road. Since the 1980s development has been mainly infill, with many dual occupancies, semi-detached dwellings and apartments built, although some larger scale residential developments have been constructed on former educational, institutional and industrial land use sites. The population increased gradually from the 1990s, with much of the recent growth in the suburb of South Yarra.

Major Features

Major features of the City of Stonnington include Chadstone Shopping Centre, the shopping precincts/retail areas of Chapel Street, Glenferrie Road, Greville Street, High Street, Malvern Road and Toorak Road, Jam Factory Shopping Centre, Prahran Market, Holmesglen Institute of TAFE (Chadstone Campus), Melbourne Polytechnic (Prahran Campus), Cabrini Hospital - Malvern, Malvern Valley Public Golf Club, Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, Harold Holt Swim Centre, Prahran Aquatic Centre, Chapel off Chapel (arts venue), Como House and Garden, Central Park, Hedgeley Dene Gardens, Urban Forest Reserve and numerous schools, including many prestigious private schools.

Transport

The City of Stonnington is served by Citylink, the Monash Freeway, Princes Highway, Punt Road, the Glen Waverley, Frankston/Stony Point, Pakenham/Cranbourne and Sandringham train lines, and a number of tram lines.

City of Stonnington

economic profile