St Kilda West
St Kilda West is a residential suburb on Port Phillip Bay, 5 km south-east of central Melbourne and immediately adjoining St Kilda.
St Kilda West’s eastern boundary is Albert Park reserve, and both areas were swampland. Until drainage works were completed in the 1870s very few subdivided lots in St Kilda West were developed. Beaconsfield Parade along the beach was formed in 1890s, and late Victorian/Edwardian houses are evidence of the area’s first real growth. Flats were built in the 1930s-1940s, notably along Cowderoy Street. The three storey Canterbury flats (c1914) are a spectacular early example.
West Beach has a cafe and a pavilion (1928) that was restored in 2009.
Catani Gardens (c1910), the centrepiece of the original foreshore reclamation works, are in St Kilda West.
The Melbourne to St Kilda train line (1857) ran along the eastern side of St Kilda West, and was converted to light rail in 1987. In addition there are trams along Park Street (1925) ending at Fitzroy Street, and along Fitzroy Street (1891) ending near Luna Park.
St Kilda West’s census populations have been:
| census date | population |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 3190 |
| 2006 | 3075 |
| 2011 | 2845 |
At the 2011 census, the suburb’s occupied dwellings were:
| Type |
% of total occupied dwellings |
|
|---|---|---|
| St Kilda West |
Australia |
|
| Separate house | 12.3 | 75.6 |
| Row house | 17.2 | 9.9 |
| Flat, unit | 70.0 | 13.6 |
