I lived in Melbourne for more than 1.5 years, St Kilda Road became my home road. Wondering why? I used to pass this road back and forth in my daily travel while living in the city because the service apartment that I stayed-in is located along this road.
I remembered the first time I arrived in the hotel-service apartment, I was clueless which direction to and away from the city. On my first day at work I took a tram away from the city. I checked my mobile phone and realized I was in wrong direction. The tram I took already passed few stations and I ended at the last station that still in St Kilda Road before tram will take another street.
St Kilda Road (towards the city)
The location of my accommodation in my first impressions seems quiet since its weekend when I arrived in the city and I thought that the road was infamous but I was wrong for both. The road is busy not only because of the tram tracks placed on it but because the road is location of many offices where people also flocks during business hours. The road is very strategic location to live and to work in Melbourne.
St Kilda Road (away from the city)
St. Kilda Road is one of the major road and where 9 routes of tram passed on it which gives advantage to me because I can take at least 6 out of 9 routes as they passed the accommodation that I lived. The road become advantageous to people who live along or nearby the road, who doesn’t have a car like me and very dependent to public transportation.
The hotel-service apartment that I lived in Melbourne is part of Seasons Apartment Hotel Group. I specifically stayed in Seasons Heritage Melbourne. The lobby of the hotel is actually one of the old mansions that was part of old prestige of the road in its old times called Warwillah. Warwillah is one of the mansions that still survive at this time as many mansions had been fall down due to development that change the city. St Kilda Road is a road of fame and prestige during 19th century, one of the discovery that I learned while living in Melbourne.
Historically, the area of St Kilda become fashionable area where wealthy settlers starts to live here. St Kilda Road starts as a dirt track and become impassable after rain because of muds. While living in St Kilda, I can still feel its prestige every time I passed the road because old mansions that still existing that are evidence that St Kilda was once home of rich and wealthy people during its settlement years.
St Kilda Road starts from Flinders Street in CBD where more than 100 years old Flinders Street Station is located and Federation Square building at the other side of the road. The road ends in Carlisle Street where St Kilda Townhall is just around the corner. There are significant structures and parks to see and to enjoy along this road, they are the following (some has photos included):
Structures, Buildings, Sculptures and Parks
Flinders Street Station
Federation Square
Hamer Hall
Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre, Playhouse Arts Centre and The Pavilion
Royal Botanic Gardens
1. Alexandra Gardens
2. Queen Victoria Gardens
Floral Clock
Edward VII Monument
3. Kings Domain
Boer War Monument
4. Shrine of Remembrance
National Gallery of Victoria
VCA School of Music
Victorian College of the Arts (VCA)
Victoria Barracks, Melbourne
Tennis World Albert Reserve
Royce Hotel (previously an automobile showroom at 379 St Kilda Road)
Airlie Mansion (452 St Kilda Road)
Rathgael (Estella Mansion -462 St Kilda Road)
Majella Mansion (473 St Kilda Road)
New Charsfield (formerly Charsfield Mansion – 478 St Kilda Road)
Chevron Green Apartments (Chevron Hotel – 539 St Kilda Road)
Seasons Heritage Melbourne (formerly Warwillah – 572 St Kilda Road)
Royal College of Anaesthetist of Australia and New Zealand (formerly Ulimaroa – 630 St Kilda Road)
St Kilda Townhall
Embassy Offices
- French Honorary Consulate General (Melbourne)
- Consulate General of India
- Consulate General of Chile in Melbourne
- Consulate General of Malaysia Melbourne
- Italian Consulate General
- Royal Thai Consulate General
- USA Consulate
- Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Melbourne
There are lots of hotel and accommodations that can be found along the road aside from offices because the road is not far from Albert Park where F1 Race in Australia being held every year and during my stay in the service hotel I got a chance to experience twice the sounds of F1 race as one of the tracks they used is not far from St Kilda Road.
