Greek Precinct, Melbourne

Last updated

The Greek Precinct, Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, is a Greek cultural area centred on the eastern end of Lonsdale Street in the Melbourne city centre. [1] The area runs adjacent to Melbourne Chinatown on Little Bourke Street.

Contents

According to the 2016 Australian census, Melbourne has the largest Greek population in Australia with 173,598 Greeks, making up 3.87% of Greater Melbourne's population. Globally, Hellenic identity and values are passed on from one generation to the next and do not depend upon one's location in the world. As such, 88% of Greek Australians (regardless of country of birth) speak Greek and 91% are members of the Greek Orthodox Church. [2]

Australia and Greece have a close bilateral relationship based on historical ties and the rich contribution of Greek Australians to Australian society. In 2019, the export of Australian services to Greece was valued at $92 million, while services imports from Greece totalled $750 million. Australia's stock of investment in Greece in 2019 totalled $481 million. Investment in Australia from Greece was $192 million. [3]

As a result of the extensive historical and cultural ties between the Greek community of Melbourne and their Greek homeland, Melbourne is a sister city to Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city and cultural centre. [4]

The Precinct

The Greek Precinct is located between Swanston Street and Russell Street, along Lonsdale Street, in the Melbourne city centre. It is home to many Greek restaurants and Greek cultural shops. Located on the corner of Lonsdale Street and Russell Street is the Greek Community Centre of Melbourne, [5] and at 209 Lonsdale Street is the Sam Papasavas Building - the home of the Australia-Greek Learning and Resource Centre of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). [6]

Located nearby, on the corner of La Trobe Street and William Street, is the Hellenic Foundation for Culture's centre and the Hellenic Museum of Melbourne. [7] Both the centre and museum are housed in the historic former Melbourne Mint, and is contiguous with the National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research of La Trobe University. [8]

In March 2009, the Government of Victoria and the City of Melbourne announced that the Greek Precinct would receive a A$3.5 million rejuvenation. [9]

Antipodes Festival

The annual Melbourne Antipodes Festival is held on Lonsdale Street over a week in March, and has been held since 1987. The festival is renowned for its Lonsdale Street "Glendi" (Greek for "party") - a weekend-long event that is held to coincide with the Greek National Day (25 March). [10]

Antipodes brings a weekend of Greek culture, food and entertainment to Melbourne's historic Greek Precinct. The festival features three stages of free entertainment, children's rides and activities and over 60 food, drink and craft stalls. [11]

The annual Greek Film Festival is held in Melbourne over two weeks in September, and has been held since 1990. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Melbourne Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Docklands, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Docklands, also known as Melbourne Docklands, is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km (1.2 mi) west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. Docklands recorded a population of 15,495 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RMIT University</span> Public university in Melbourne, Australia

RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Library Victoria</span> State library in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the world. It is also Australia's busiest public library and, as of 2023, the third busiest library globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bundoora</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Bundoora is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 km (9.3 mi) north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Banyule, Darebin and Whittlesea local government areas. Bundoora recorded a population of 28,068 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thornbury, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Thornbury is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km (4.3 mi) north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Darebin local government area. Thornbury recorded a population of 19,005 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Trobe Street</span> Street in Melbourne, Victoria

La Trobe Street is a major street and thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly east–west and forms the northern boundary of the central business district. The street was laid out as an extension of the original Hoddle Grid in 1839 and was named after Charles La Trobe. La Trobe Street extends from Victoria Street in the east to Harbour Esplanade in the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lonsdale Street</span> Street in Melbourne, Victoria

Lonsdale Street is a main street and thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, Australia. It runs roughly east–west and was laid out in 1837 as one of Melbourne's original boundaries within the Hoddle Grid. The street extends from Spring Street in the east to Spencer Street in the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne Central Shopping Centre</span> Shopping mall in Victoria, Australia

Melbourne Central is a large shopping centre, office, and public transport hub in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, and opened in 1991.

In Australia, Glendi is an annual weekend long festival that celebrates Greek culture in Australia. Established in 1978, it's held in Adelaide during the last weekend of November at Bonython Park since 2013 and is the largest ethnic festival in South Australia. The festival has been taking place for over 40 years. Glendi is the Greek word for "party" or "celebration".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne central business district</span> Central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Melbourne central business district is the city centre and main urban area of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, centred on the Hoddle Grid, the oldest part of the city laid out in 1837, and includes its fringes. The Melbourne CBD is located in the local government area of the City of Melbourne which also includes some of inner suburbs adjoining the CBD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daryl Jackson</span> Australian architect

Daryl Sanders Jackson AO is an Australian architect and the owner of an international architecture firm, Jackson Architecture. Jackson also became an associate professor at University of Melbourne and Deakin University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne</span> Capital city of Victoria, Australia

Melbourne is the capital of the Australian state of Victoria and the second-most populous city in Australia, after Sydney. Its name generally refers to a 9,993 km2 (3,858 sq mi) metropolitan area known as Greater Melbourne, comprising an urban agglomeration of 31 local municipalities, although the name is also used specifically for the local municipality of City of Melbourne based around its central business area.

RMIT Link is a division of RMIT University around student life and historically was an unincorporated entity, the campus union of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was formed in 1968 and currently consists of the following branches: Arts and Culture, Sport, City Fitness, "Recreation", "Orientation and Transition" and Administration.

The Melbourne City campus of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology is located in the city centre of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is sometimes referred to as "RMIT City" and the "RMIT Quarter" of the city in the media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Italy, Melbourne</span> Italian cultural precinct around Lygon Street, Melbourne, Australia

Little Italy in Victoria, Australia, is a Little Italy cultural precinct of the Italian community of Melbourne. It is situated along Lygon Street in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Carlton.

The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne (RDHM) is based in Carlton, just north of Melbourne's CBD, and provides general, specialist and emergency dental care to all eligible Victorians. It is also a teaching hospital, which means patients may be treated by a variety of dental professionals, students, specialists in training, or other qualified staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellenic Museum</span> Greek museum in Victoria, Australia

The Hellenic Museum is an art and history museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia promoting Hellenic culture, both ancient and contemporary, through programs, exhibitions and events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greeks of Melbourne</span>

Greeks of Melbourne compose one of the largest Greek diaspora communities in the world and Melbourne hosts the largest Greek-speaking population outside of Greece and Cyprus. According to the 2016 Australian census, Melbourne has the largest Greek population in Australia with 173,598 Greeks, making up 3.87% of Greater Melbourne's population. In Greek Australians, the Hellenic identity and values are passed down from one generation to the next. As such, 88% of Greek Australians speak Greek and 91% are members of the Greek Orthodox Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne bus route 202</span> Bus route in Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne bus route 202 is a limited-stop bus route operated by Kinetic Melbourne between Yarra Bend Park and the University of Melbourne's Parkville campus in Melbourne, Australia.

References

  1. "Greek precinct". City of Melbourne What's On. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  2. SBS. "Greek Culture - Cultural Atlas" . Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  3. https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/greece/greece-country-brief.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. City of Melbourne. "International relations - Thessaloniki" . Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  5. "Greek Community of Melbourne and Victoria homepage" . Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  6. Collections Australia Network. "Australian-Greek Resource and Learning Centre, RMIT" . Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  7. Hellenic Foundation for Culture. "Centres: Melbourne" . Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  8. La Trobe University. "National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research". Archived from the original on 8 September 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  9. Office of the Premier of Victoria. "$3.5m boost for Melbourne's Lonsdale Street Greek Precinct" . Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  10. Melbourne Antipodes Festival. "Lonsdale Street Glendi" . Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  11. Greek Centre for Contemporary Culture. "Lonsdale Street Greek Festival" . Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  12. Melbourne Antipodes Festival. "Greek Film Festival" . Retrieved 7 August 2009.