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East Melbourne

East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km (1.2 mi) east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 census.

East Melbourne is a small area of inner Melbourne, located between Richmond and the Central Business District. Broadly, it is bounded by Spring Street, Victoria Parade, Punt Road/Hoddle Street and Brunton Avenue.

One of Melbourne's earliest suburbs, East Melbourne has long been home to many significant government, health and religious institutions, including the Parliament of Victoria and offices of the Victoria State Government in the Parliamentary and Cathedral precincts, which are located on a gentle hill at the edge of the Melbourne's Hoddle Grid, known as Eastern Hill. The world-famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is located in Yarra Park, in the East Melbourne locality of Jolimont. East Melbourne has been affluent since its first establishment and contains some of the oldest Victorian homes and terrace houses and parks and gardens in Melbourne.

The Parliamentary and Cathedral precincts are located on a gentle hill, known as Eastern Hill. Jolimont railway station is at the top of a ridge, which extends towards Bridge Road in Richmond, from which Jolimont slopes downwards towards the Yarra River and the residential section to the north slopes gradually towards the flatter areas of Fitzroy and Collingwood to the north and Richmond to the south.

The area now known as East Melbourne was inhabited from an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years ago and Eastern Hill was originally known as Ngár-go (or "high ground") by the Wurundjeri along with Fitzroy. The flat ground known today as Jolimont extending toward the Yarra was part of the area also known by the Wurundjeri as Quo-Yung (or "dead trees").

It was named East Melbourne in 1837 by Port Phillip District surveyor Robert Hoddle, but was not actually settled until 1840, some time after neighbouring Fitzroy and Collingwood. Among the first settlers was Charles La Trobe, who built a transportable dwelling in 1840 and wealthy professionals followed, establishing mansions there. The plan of the alignment of streets was adopted in July 1849.

In the 1960s and 1970s, while other inner-city suburbs were experiencing gentrification, East Melbourne, traditionally a blue ribbon district, experienced a temporary decline. Flats began to appear and replace many of the old mansions. Many remaining mansions had been converted to rooming houses over the years. The construction of the Hilton Hotel saw the demolition of Cliveden mansions, a five-storey Victorian era terrace and the largest mansion in Melbourne (a small section of the panelling, doors and other decoration of the ballroom is retained in the formal restaurant of the Hilton). Office development and expansion of the hospitals in the area affected much of the area surrounding Victoria Parade.

During the 1990s East Melbourne once again experienced a sharp increase in property prices. The Becton development at Jolimont, modelled on a picturesque Georgian village, created one of inner-city Melbourne's first exclusive enclaves. Many of the remaining mansions and terraces were placed on heritage registers and subdivided into apartments. Later the Victoria Brewery was also converted into exclusive apartments, named "TriBeCa", after the Manhattan neighbourhood.

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suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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