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Produced and published by the School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne
Published July 2008
Published July 2008
Partners
(3207, 4 km W, Melbourne City)
Situated in Port Melbourne on the south bank of the Yarra River, opposite Coode Island, Fishermans Bend was originally sandy and poorly suited to development. The name has also been applied to the former Sandridge Beach area, known from 1929 as Garden City and incorporated into the municipality of Sandridge in 1863. The area is best known as an industrial hub and the location of early aviation development, where from the 1930s the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation manufactured aircraft in its Lorimer Street factory. A large industrial estate is currently home to manufacturing and other commercial activities, including the Defence Science & Technology Organisation's Aeronautical and Maritime Research Laboratory (Defence scientific establishment) and General Motors-Holden. Fishermans Bend also features Westgate Park, a rehabilitated wetland habitat, and a campus of RMIT.