FISHERMANS BEND HISTORY

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Fishermans Bend (formerly Fishermen's Bend) 

is a precinct within the City of Port Phillip and the City of Melbourne. It is located on the south of the Yarra River in the suburb of Port Melbourne and opposite Coode Island, close to the Melbourne central business district. Fishermans Bend originally included the area now known as Garden City, which was renamed in 1929.

Since 2012 the area has been designated as a major urban renewal area, with plans for 80,000 residents by 2050. The future framework for Fishermans Bend includes one major employment precinct and four primarily residential suburbs.

Early Settlement

Fishermen began settling 'Humbug Reach' and 'Fishermen's Bend' along the lower Yarra River in the 1850s. Thirty families lived on the 'Bend', frequently finding additional work in the docks and cargo ships and loading ballast for ships returning to Europe. Habitation was in rough shacks along the Bend, made from corrugated iron, flattened kerosene tins or wood. There were no roads, shops, or sewerage. Water was collected from hanging out sail canvases, and stored in iron tanks or casks. Milk came from a nearby farm. Fishing continues on the bay. The last remaining shack on the Bend was demolished in 1970, as Webb Dock expanded; the Life Saving Victoria headquarters stand on the site today.

INDUSTRY

The neighbourhood of Fishermans Bend also has a significant place in Australian aviation history, being the home of several prominent historical Australian aircraft design and manufacturing companies, including the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation, Holden, Smorgon Steel, Government Aircraft Factories, the Aeronautical Research Laboratories and regional facilities for Boeing. Fishermen's Bend Aerodrome remained in use until 1957.

Prime Minister of Australia Ben Chifley at the launching of the first mass-produced Australian car at the General Motors-Holden factory, Fisherman's Bend.
Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Information, Central Office - National Archives of Australia,

RAAF Bristol Beaufort Mk.V torpedo bombers at the Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) plant in Fisherman's Bend, circa 1941.
United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division.

Previous industries included the car manufacturers Australian Motor Industries (Later Toyota Australia) and the Rootes Group, GKN Aerospace Engineering Services and a campus of RMIT University dedicated to aerospace engineering.


Fishermans Bend is a primarily industrial centre at the foot of the West Gate Bridge and contains major establishments for the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, Holden, Hawker de Havilland, the Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures, Kraft Foods, Specsavers, Toyota Australia, and port security. It also has a marina, known as d'Albora Marinas Pier 35, and the Webb Dock container terminal. Fishermans Bend has a single large reserve known as Westgate Park, a large artificial wetland.             Source:Wikipedia

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