Collingwood, Victoria

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.[4][5]

Prefabricated houses imported from Singapore during the 1850s

Collingwood Coffee Palace in 1879. It now forms part of the facade of Woolworths in Smith Street.

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.[7] Collingwood was proclaimed a town in 1873, and later a city in 1876.[8]

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.

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.[9]

In the 1970s, 150 residents protested against plans for the F-19 freeway, with some putting themselves in front of earthmovers during the construction.[10][11] In 1979, two women were killed in their home on Easy Street in northern Collingwood in what became known as the Easy Street murders.

The hotel and music venue The Tote is considered an icon of Melbourne's rock and roll scene.

The Collingwood Action Group formed in 2006 to fight the "Banco" development, a large mixed use project on Smith Street.[12] In 2010, over 2,000 people rallied to save The Tote Hotel, a popular live music venue, which became a potential state election issue.[13] 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.[14][15]

Collingwood Football Club has a history dating back to 1892 as an incorporated football club. They were once housed at Victoria Park and are now based at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

In recent years they won the 2023 Grand Final against the Brisbane Lions. They have won 16 VFL/AFL premierships, which is the equal-most in the league along with Carlton and Essendon, and also won the 1896 VFA premiership.

The Johnston Street entrance to Collingwood Yards, which houses a number of galleries, studios, artist spaces and arts businesses

3CR is an independent community radio station that is located at the Victoria Parade end of Smith Street. The station has been based in the suburb since 1977 and its frequency is 855AM.[16]

PBS 106.7FM relocated from St Kilda to Collingwood and is located at 47 Easey Street. PBS is a community radio station that celebrated its 25th year of broadcasting in 2004.

The Collingwood Arts Precinct, known as Collingwood Yards, is located on the site of the former Collingwood Technical School and opened on 13 March 2021.[17] Circus Oz is also located in the Yards on Perry Street and has a purpose-built Melba Spiegeltent.[18]

Airline Jetstar, media distributor Madman Entertainment, vitamin brand Swisse and luxury cosmetics brand Aesop have their headquarters located in Collingwood.[19][20][21][15] Many architecture firms are based or have offices in Collingwood and neighbouring Fitzroy, including the headquarters of DKO Architecture.[22]

Smith Street in November 2006

The main commercial area is Smith Street, which borders Fitzroy. In 2021, Smith Street was named the coolest street in the world.[23][24][25][26]

Collingwood is one of Melbourne's gay villages with several gay oriented entertainment venues.[27] These include the Peel Dancebar which, in 2007, was granted the legal right to ban heterosexual patrons from the bar.[28][29][30] By November 2019, sex on premises venue Club 80 had operated in Collingwood for over twenty years, but was closed in 2020 after the sale of its building.[31][32]

Many of Collingwood's warehouses and factories have been converted into apartments.

Collingwood's housing consists of a large number of high-rise housing commission flats and a number of older single and double storey former workers cottages on small subdivisions.

More recently older warehouses and factories have been converted into apartments and there has been modern townhouse infill and medium density unit development.