Background

• What is Fishermans Bend?

• Fishermans Bend is Australia’s largest urban renewal project covering approximately 480 hectares.

  Fishermans Bend encompasses five precincts:

  1. The National Employment and Innovation Cluster (NEIC)
  2. Lorimer
  3. Montague
  4. Sandridge and
  5. Wirraway.

  Two of the five precincts are located within the City of Melbourne:

  1. The NEIC precinct; which is set to be an internationally renowned centre of innovation in advanced manufacturing, engineering and design, and
  2. Lorimer; a vibrant, mixed-use precinct, connected to the Yarra River, Melbourne’s CBD, Docklands and emerging renewal area.

  The Montague, Sandridge and Wirraway precincts (within the City of Port Philip) are not part of this Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework project.

• Where is Fishermans Bend?

• Fishermans Bend covers parts of the existing suburbs of South Melbourne and Port Melbourne and consists of five precincts across two municipalities – the City of Melbourne and the City of Port Phillip.

  Fishermans Bend covers both the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (BLCAC) Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) area and the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation (WWCHAC) RAP area.

• How many people will live and work in Fishermans Bend?

• By 2050, Fishermans Bend will be home to approximately 80,000 residents and provide employment for up to 80,000 people.

• What is the plan for the area?

• The transformation of Fishermans Bend is being led by the State Government. The Fishermans Bend Framework, 2018 sets out a high-level plan to guide new development and for the location of proposed new parks, schools, streets, public transport and community facilities and services to ensure liveability as the precinct grows over the next 30 years.

  Precinct Implementation Plans for each of Fishermans Bend’s five precincts (the NEIC, Lorimer, Montague, Sandridge and Wirraway) are being developed to provide further detail to guide development and the delivery of the precincts.

  In the NEIC precinct, the Victorian Government has committed funding to deliver Stage 1 of the Fishermans Bend Innovation Precinct (FBIP), to be established on the former General Motors Holden (GMH) Site in Port Melbourne.

  The precinct will undergo a major transformation to put Victoria at the forefront of global innovation in advanced manufacturing, engineering and design.

  Stage 1, being delivered by Development Victoria, will include the delivery of key roads, a public park and crucial infrastructure to create an investment-ready precinct.

  The Stage 1 works are due to be completed in late 2025.

  In addition, The University of Melbourne are building a world-class engineering and design campus within FBIP. The first phase of the campus is planned to open in 2026.

• When will the renewal of Fishermans Bend begin?

• The development of Fishermans Bend has already begun, mostly concentrated in the Montague precinct in the City of Port Philip where a number of new residential towers have been built alongside a new primary school, park and local streets.

  In the NEIC precinct, Stage 1 works of the Fishermans Bend Innovation Precinct (FBIP) are due to be completed in late 2025 and the first phase of University of Melbourne’s new engineering and design campus is planned to open in 2026.

• Who is responsible for the planning and delivery of Fishermans Bend?

• The planning and development of Fishermans Bend is being led by the Victorian Government.

  The Fishermans Bend Development Board guides the planning and development of the project and is supported by the Fishermans Bend Taskforce within the Victorian Government Department of Transport and Planning.

  The Fishermans Bend Taskforce works in partnership with the City of Melbourne and the City of Port Phillip to manage the planning of the project, along with a range of public, private and community stakeholders.

Place naming framework

• What is a Place Naming Framework?

• The City of Melbourne is developing the Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework (the Framework) to guide the naming of new places in the NEIC and Lorimer precincts. A Place Naming Framework will establish a set of themes and principles to ensure future place naming celebrates the unique history, present context and future aspirations of the area. A similar approach was used in Docklands.

• Why is a Place Naming Framework required?

• Due to the scale of change expected in Fishermans Bend over the coming decades and the significant number of new streets and open spaces to be delivered, the development of a Framework will ensure that names follow an agreed set of naming themes, principles and protocols that are meaningful to the area.

• What will the Framework include?

• The Framework will outline naming themes, principles and protocols to be used to assess future proposals for place names within the NEIC and Lorimer precincts. It will include a map that shows potential spatial naming themes across the area. It may also identify specific names that could be used immediately for new streets and open spaces within the FBIP site, as Stage 1 of FBIP is due to open in late 2025.

• How will the Place Naming Framework be developed?

• Phase 1 of Engagement: Collecting community stories to inform the Draft Framework

  The Framework will be informed by broad engagement with existing and neighbouring residents, businesses, community groups, the broader community and key stakeholders through an online survey, pop-up events, in-person and virtual workshops, and targeted meetings.

  These engagement activities have commenced and will take place over six weeks from 28 August to 9 October 2023.

  Phase 2 of Engagement: Community review of Draft Framework

  In 2024, the Draft Framework will be available for review and feedback by the community. Follow this page to receive updates about current and future consultation.

• How will Traditional Owners be engaged?

• Fishermans Bend is located on both the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (BLCAC) Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) area and the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation (WWCHAC) RAP area. The City of Melbourne will support engagement with both RAPs throughout the development of the Place Naming Framework.

Scope

• What is the existing place naming process?

• The City of Melbourne is responsible for place naming within the municipality. The City of Melbourne’s current practice for place naming encourages and supports names that reflect local history, culture, and citizens with an emphasis on Aboriginal naming and significant women in history. This practice will be integrated and expanded in a more place-specific approach to place naming in the Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework.

  All place names in Fishermans Bend will be required to comply with the statutory requirements for the naming of places in Victoria. These are set out in the ‘Naming Rules for Places in Victoria’.

• What is the process for street and place naming?

• The process for street and place naming is extensive. Typically, developers or landowners would submit a place name to City of Melbourne as part of their development application, subdivision or ad hoc request to name an unnamed lane.

  The proposed name would be assessed by City of Melbourne, under the ‘Naming Rules for Places in Victoria’.

  Once approved, City of Melbourne submits the proposed names to Geographic Names Victoria (GNV) for further assessment.

  The process can take up to 6 months, which is why we need to develop the Place Naming Framework now to guide the selection of place names prior to this process and ensure place names in Fishermans Bend help create a unique identity and celebrate the precinct’s past, present and future.

  This infographic (PDF 122 KB) outlines how the Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework will fit into the City of Melbourne’s standard place naming process.

• What names will the Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework inform?

• The Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework will inform the names of new streets, parks, and other public places to be delivered in the NEIC and Lorimer precincts within Fishermans Bend over the coming decades.

  More specifics on the projects to be delivered will be detailed in separate Precinct Implementation Plans for the NEIC and Lorimer precincts to be engaged on over the next few years.

• When will new places be built?

• New streets, parks and other projects will be delivered progressively over the coming decades.

• Will existing places be renamed?

• No, the renaming of existing places (streets, parks, localities, etc.) is not within the scope of this project. The outcomes from this process will be used to inform a Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework for new places.

• What area does the Framework apply to?

• The Framework applies to the portion of Fishermans Bend within the City of Melbourne – the National Employment and Innovation Cluster (NEIC) and Lorimer precinct.

Process

• Who is leading the process?

• The City of Melbourne is leading the development of a Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework in partnership with the Fishermans Bend Taskforce (Department of Transport and Planning) and Development Victoria.

• Who will approve the Framework?

• The Framework will be considered for endorsement by the City of Melbourne’s Future Melbourne Committee.

• How will the Framework be used when it is complete?

• Once the final Framework is approved by Council, the Framework will be available for government, developers, landowners and the community to use to identify appropriate place names in Fishermans Bend.

  When new projects are delivered in accordance with the Precinct Implementation Plans, the City of Melbourne will submit new names with Geographic Names Victoria (GNV) for consideration by the Victorian Registrar of Geographic Names.

  This infographic (PDF 122 KB) outlines how the Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework will fit into the City of Melbourne’s standard place naming process.

• How can I provide input into future place names in Fishermans Bend?

• We want to hear about your connections to Fishermans Bend to ensure the names of new places capture meaningful stories of the area’s past, present, and future.

  We are speaking to the community and stakeholders to capture stories, narratives, and relationships with Fishermans Bend to help inform future place names.

• What should I do if I have an idea for a name?

• We would love to hear your ideas for new names through this engagement process. Please include why you think the name/s would be appropriate and meaningful for future places in Fishermans Bend. Ideas for names will help shape the naming themes, principles and protocols included in the Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework and will be considered for use for future places.