City of Stonnington

The City of Stonnington is a local government area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It comprises the inner south-eastern suburbs, between 3 and 13 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The city covers an area of 25.6 square kilometres and includes the suburbs of South Yarra, Prahran, Windsor, Toorak, Armadale, Kooyong, Glen Iris, Malvern and Malvern East.

Within 20 years of the settlement of Melbourne in 1835, the Prahran Municipality (later City of Prahran) was formed in 1855, followed by the Gardiner Road Board (later City of Malvern) in 1856.

The late 19th century saw substantial residential and commercial development such that by 1891 Prahran had a population of almost 40,000 and Malvern 11,000. Following the election of the Kennett government in the Spring of 1992, as part of a comprehensive reorganisation of local government in Victoria, the Cities of Malvern and Prahran were amalgamated to form the City of Stonnington. The Malvern Town Hall was renamed the Stonnington City Centre and it became the corporate headquarters of the new Stonnington City Council.

The name Stonnington comes from Stonington mansion, the Charles D'Ebro designed mansion built in 1890 for a founding partner of Cobb and Co, John Wagner, who named the house after his wife’s birthplace in Stonington (sic), Connecticut, USA. The house is located in Glenferrie Road, Malvern.

The city had a diverse (27% born overseas) population of 93,145 at the 2011 Census, with a higher proportion of 18 to 34 year olds than the Melbourne average. The population are also greater users of public transport which provides a comprehensive service to the municipality.

History


Prior to European settlement, the land of the City of Stonnington was occupied by the Wurundjeri, an Indigenous Australian Woiwurrung speaking people of the Kulin nation.

The establishment of European settlers in what was then the Port Phillip District of New South Wales in 1835, was soon followed by pastoralist John Gardiner, together with Joseph Hawdon and John Hepburn, driving cattle south from Yass to Kooyong Koot (later named Gardiner's) Creek, in the area now known as Malvern and establishing a homestead and grazing property.

The year 1840 was the beginning of Crown land auctions of land to the east of Melbourne and south of the Yarra River and Gardiners Creek. The high ground between Gardiner's Creek Road (now Toorak Road) and the river returned the best prices and it was here that most of the grand mansions of the period were built. Much of the land south of Toorak Road was swampy. This area was subdivided into much smaller blocks, for workman's cottages and later to house gold-rush immigrants. The distinction between the two areas remains today in the suburbs of Toorak and South Yarra. Further auctions of land in the Prahran area took place in 1849 and 1850.

The early 1850s saw the return of many miners from the gold diggings to Prahran, resulting in increased development and the gazetting as a municipality in 1855. The population of Prahran at the time of the first council elections was about 8,000. Meanwhile, Government land sales within the area bounded by Kooyong Road, Gardiners Creek and Wattletree Road were held in 1854 and a small settlement grew around Malvern and Glenferrie Roads. The area known as Gardiner (later Malvern) was proclaimed a Roads Board District in 1856 and became a municipality in 1871, taking the name Malvern in 1878.

The 1880s and 1890s saw substantial residential and commercial development in the City of Prahran, such that by 1891 Prahran had a population of almost 40,000. The development of Malvern followed from 1900 onwards and by 1921 Malvern's population was almost 33,000.

Geography
The western part of the city, around South Yarra, Prahran and Windsor, were originally part of the River Yarra flood plain and much of the area was covered by swamps, bogs and creeks, formed from the run-off from the Malvern Hills to the east. The Albert Park Lake to the west is a remnant of the original flood plain.

The City of Stonnington is bounded by the Yarra River and Gardiners Creek to the north, Warrigal Road to the east, Dandenong Road and Queens Way to the south and Punt Road to the west. Stonnington has numerous tree-lined streets and over 120 parks and gardens. Many public reserves occur along the Gardiners Creek valley. The city has some of Melbourne's major shopping precincts in Chapel Street, Glenferrie Road, High Street, Malvern Road and Toorak Road, as well as the Chadstone Shopping Centre. Local sporting venues include Malvern Valley Golf Club, Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club and Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre.

Demographics
The following demographic information is from the 2006 Census of Population and Housing, Australian Bureau of Statistics.


 * Population - Stonnington has a population of 89,883, of which 52% are female. There are 40,655 occupied dwellings in the city.


 * Age - The age structure of the population of Stonnington is different to the Melbourne average with a higher percentage of persons aged 25–54 (47.4%) and a lower percentage of children aged under 15 (13.3%).


 * Country of birth - Stonnington has a multicultural population with 27.1% being born overseas. The top five countries of birth are United Kingdom, New Zealand, Greece, China, and India.


 * Language spoken - In 28.0% of homes a language other than English is spoken. The top five languages are Greek, Mandarin, Cantonese, Italian, and Russian.


 * Religious Affiliation - 21.3% of people stated their religion as Catholic, 20.9% as no religion, 16.9% as Anglican and 6.0% as Eastern Orthodox.


 * Weekly income - The median household income is $1346. Stonnington has a higher household income when compared to the Melbourne median of $1079.


 * Occupation - 55.7% of the populations gave their occupation as Professional or Manager, compared to the Melbourne average of 35.1%.


 * Employment - The unemployment rate in Stonnington was 4.1%.


 * Marital Status - 44.6% of the population have never married, compared to the Melbourne average of 34.8%.


 * Dwellings - Stonnington has a higher proportion of people living in flats or apartments (45.2%), compared to the Melbourne average of 16.1%.


 * Housing loan repayments - The median monthly housing loan repayment in Stonnington is $1950, compared to the Melbourne average of $1300.

Current composition and election method
Stonnington has three multi-councillor wards - East, North and South, which are each represented by three councillors. Council elections are conducted by postal voting and votes are counted using proportional representation. Voting is compulsory for residents who are on the voters' roll for local council elections, but voters aged 70 years or over are not obliged to vote at local council elections. The Mayor is elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the Council, and is still to be determined after the 2012 election.

The current Council, elected in 2012, in order of election by ward, is:

Past Stonnington Councillors
The previous Stonnington councillors are as follows:

Education
Australia has a system of public (state government) and private (independent) schools. Most public schools are co-educational. Most private schools are administered by their own boards and receive a government subsidy besides having their own fee structure. Schooling is compulsory for students until the age of fifteen, although many students continue on to complete Year 12. The following are Secondary colleges (High schools) in the City of Stonnington:
 * De La Salle College, Malvern
 * St Kevin's College, Toorak
 * The King David School, Armadale
 * Korowa Anglican Girls' School, Glen Iris
 * Lauriston Girls' School, Armadale
 * Loreto Mandeville Hall, Toorak
 * Presentation College, Windsor
 * Sacré Cœur School, Glen Iris
 * St Catherine's School, Toorak
 * Melbourne High School, South Yarra

Deakin University formerly had its Toorak campus in Glenferrie Road, Malvern, but this was closed in 2006. Swinburne University of Technology maintains its Prahran campus in High Street, but this is also faced with closure as of 2012.

Public transport
Stonnington is extremely well serviced by Melbourne's public transport system. Three suburban railway lines and eight tram services pass through the City of Stonnington, as well as a number of bus services, including 12 services to Chadstone Shopping Centre.

Railways
The Cranbourne, Pakenham and Frankston railway lines provide a regular service to South Yarra, Hawksburn, Toorak, Armadale and Malvern stations. The Sandringham railway line services South Yarra, Prahran and Windsor stations and the Glen Waverley line runs along the northern boundary of Stonnington to Heyington, Kooyong, Tooronga, Gardiner, Glen Iris, Darling, East Malvern and Holmesglen stations.

Trams
All major east-west roads in Stonnington have tram services. Tram route 3 runs along Balaclava Road and Waverly Road to East Malvern and tram route 5 services Dandenong Road and Wattletree Road and ends at Burke Road in Malvern. Tram route 6 runs along High Street and terminates at Malvern Road in Glen Iris, while tram 72 services Commercial Road, Malvern Road and Burke Road and tram 8 travels along Domain Road and Toorak Road and ends at Glenferrie Road in Toorak. Trams 78 and 79 run north-south in Chapel Street and tram 16 in Glenferrie Road.

Buses
The suburbs within the City of Stonnington are serviced by the following bus routes:

Media
In addition to the newspapers, radio and television of the Melbourne media Stonnington has a free local newspaper, the Leader Newspaper Group's Stonnington Leader, which is a part of News Limited. It has a circulation of about 50,000.