Fishermans Bend: past and future

Fishermans Bend covers parts of existing suburbs including South Melbourne and Port Melbourne and encompasses five precincts: the National Employment and Innovation Cluster (NEIC), Lorimer, Montague, Sandridge and Wirraway.

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

• The NEIC precinct, which is set to be an internationally renowned centre of innovation in advanced manufacturing, engineering and design, and
• 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 are within the City of Port Philip and are not part of this project.

Fishermans Bend is Australia’s largest urban renewal project that will be home to approximately 80,000 residents and 80,000 jobs by 2050. The transformation of Fishermans Bend is being led by the Victorian State Government.

Creating the Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework

The City of Melbourne is leading the development of the Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework, in partnership with Department of Transport and Planning and Development Victoria.

The Place Naming Framework will be used to guide the place naming of future streets and open spaces within the NEIC and Lorimer precincts to ensure names contribute to the existing place identity of Fishermans Bend and celebrate the area’s unique history and future aspirations.

The Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework will be used to guide future place naming of new streets and open spaces in the National Employment and Innovation Cluster (NEIC) and Lorimer precincts in Fishermans Bend, which fall within the City of Melbourne’s municipal boundary.

More information about Fishermans Bend can be found on the Fishermans Bend website or in the FAQs.

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

The street and place naming process

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’, and then submitted to Geographic Names Victoria (GNV) for further assessment.

The Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework will guide the selection of future place names prior to the standard place naming process to ensure that place names in Fishermans Bend help to build on the local area’s unique place identity and celebrate the area’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.

The role of community engagement in creating the Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework

The Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework will be informed by broad engagement with the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, existing and neighbouring residents, businesses, community groups, the broader community and key stakeholders through online surveys, pop-ups, in-person and virtual workshops, and targeted meetings.

This engagement will involve two phases of community consultation:

• Phase 1: community consultation to collect local stories and experiences of Fishermans Bend to inform the development of the Draft Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework.
• Phase 2: In 2024, the Draft Fishermans Bend Place Naming Framework will be available for review and feedback by the community.

Follow this page to receive updates about current and future consultation phases.

More about Fishermans Bend

• Fishermans Bend is located upon the lands and waters of the Bunurong peoples and the Wurundjeri peoples, who have ongoing social, cultural, spiritual and economic connections to the area.
• Before settlement, the natural landscape of Fishermans Bend was characterised by sand, water, scrub, dense tea tree scrub and native grasses. The area’s birdlife was also once prolific, key birds that were seen include wildfowl and English skylarks.
• Vegemite has been made at the Kraft factory in Fishermans Bend since 1945. The factory’s distinctive brick chimney can be seen from the nearby Westgate Freeway and the emanating smell of Vegemite cannot be mistaken.
• Australia’s first Holden car was built in Fishermans Bend. Prime Minister Ben Chifley introduced Australia's own car, the Holden, at the Fishermans Bend manufacturing plant, 29 November 1948.
• Fishermans Bend was home to a racetrack in the 1940s and 50s.
• Fishermans Bend has an important place in the history of Australian aviation as the home of the former Government Aircraft Factory and Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation.
• Todd Road follows the alignment of what was once a runway used to test aircraft.
• Westgate Park is located on the site of a former sand quarry and construction site for the Westgate Bridge. It is now an important nature reserve and one of the most biodiverse areas in metropolitan Melbourne.
• In April 2023, the Remix Raingardens pilot project was installed in Fishermans Bend at 80a Turner Street, Port Melbourne. It seeks to enable climate resilience through implementing a sustainable and cost-effective drainage design through the re-use of local hard waste. Find out more.

Significant women who helped to shape Fishermans Bend

• The General Motors Holden (GMH) Social Centre house large murals on either side of the canteen servery, which were designed and executed by Eileen Robertson. These murals are still there today!
• During World War II, with the male workforce considerably depleted, women took on a significant role within GMH to maintain the production of aircrafts.
• After the war, female migrants were given opportunities to work at GMH, including a woman who became the first female quality control inspector at the Fishermans Bend Plant.