Residents of Docklands, and particularly those residing in Flinders Wharf should be very concerned and on guard at what appears to be a land grab for part of the very limited public parkland in Docklands in an important historic precinct on the Yarra River upstream of the Charles Grimes bridge.

The goods shed and crane, the last of its kind in Victoria, (or Australia) and the adjacent Mission to Seafarers, the wharf and cobbled loading dock area opposite the old Duke and Orr dry dock now sheltering Polly Woodside give this area special significance.

‘Yarra development to merge CBD and Docklands’ This headline in the Property section of The Age newspaper March 20 2010 caught my eye, reported on plans by the State Government ‘to redevelop one of central Melbourne’s largest undeveloped sites … The Government quietly launched
a registration of interest campaign this week, seeking advice from consultants and developers to propose a new future for the site, likely to incorporate offices, shops and apartment towers, possibly with a component of affordable and social housing.’

The Information Memorandum issued by Knight Frank notes that ‘the property is currently zoned “Public Park and Recreation” with a small portion of the land in the north eastern corner zoned “Capital City 1” under the Melbourne Planning Scheme. In order to achieve the preferred development for the property, the Minister for Finance, Work Cover and Transport Accident Commission supports a rezoning of the land to “Capital City Zone Schedule 1” for all or part of the land.’

This land was formerly part of the development site taken up by Flinders Wharf Land Pty Ltd, and required to be returned to the crown as a future park as a condition of being granted the development rights to the lot adjacent to the World Trade Centre. It was subsequently landscaped by the State Government, in part funded by the developer of Flinders Wharf Apartments, and ‘Seafarers Rest’ park was opened by Minister Bronwyn Pike with Bishop Phillip Huggins of the Mission to Seafarers on Wednesday 14th December 2005.

Docklands residents and workers should be outraged by a proposed rezoning of scarce parkland in a historical precinct for short-sighted commercial gain. The wharf, goods shed and crane should be preserved and the shed redeveloped for either public or suitable commercial use.

Written by Tom McNair
– Docklands Resident