Winter has arrived in Docklands

This is a great time to rug up and take a walk around Docklands’ waterways, enjoy winter warmers at the numerous cafes and restaurants, discover our rich maritime heritage and even learn about the people who lived here before Melbourne was born.

Melbourne is turning 180 this year! She has been a major port city for over 100 years and we owe our development to the many people and the trade that arrived by sea. Today, with the restructure of our ports that used to be our back door, Docklands is emerging as a vibrant new precinct. In amongst all of this there are great stories to tell.

Docklands’ emergence provides a unique point of difference for Melbourne with our vast expanse of water. It is worth telling that the ports we see today were excavated by hand and steam shovels during the late 1880s. The project was completed in 1892. More than 2.3 million cubic metres of earth was removed and relocated to fill West Melbourne Swamp.  

Originally Docklands was part of the Lower Yarra Delta and a low lying area of wetland that supported an essential ecosystem of waterfowl and fish. For centuries the area had been a hunting ground and meeting place for local Aboriginal communities.  Looking at Docklands today it is hard to imagine all that!

Docklands represents a unique opportunity to showcase our rich maritime heritage alongside the stories of the original peoples who roamed these shores. People visiting Docklands should be able to learn the history of the place and how we became what we are today.

These are great stories and represent the building blocks to create a living museum home to a heritage fleet and a place to discover the people who lived here before. What a unique attraction that would be for the world’s most liveable city.

The Docklands Chamber of Commerce is working hard to support businesses in Docklands.

Our new executive officer Stefanie Schulz has started in her new role, with the first order of business supporting the executive in reaching an agreement with Destination Docklands on an office share arrangement. This will help forge stronger collaboration between the two organisations.

Please join me in thanking Alan Maxwell for his role as executive officer during the interim period whilst we searched for a replacement for Nandini Bose. We also welcome a new member to our executive, Paul Salter.

The chamber continues to remain focused on a number of initiatives. The Fountains and Flames project is attracting strong interest from both the community and the corporate sectors, and we are happy to support this new attraction gain the momentum it needs to become a major attraction to Docklands.

Coming up as part of Docklands – An Aged Friendly Program and working with the senior community, the chamber will be hosting two members in customer service training sessions in June.  There will be one breakfast and one evening session. Members are encouraged to send representatives to this. Invitations will be out shortly.

July and August will also see a return of the Friday night Fireworks at 7.00pm, courtesy of the City of Melbourne.  Make sure you and your business are ready to welcome the visitors to our waterways during this time.

The ever-popular joint chamber/Docklands News networking lunch is on again Friday, June 12, at the Merchant Society in Merchant St. Make sure you book soon, as this event sells out, because it is always a great opportunity for businesses to mingle and build relationships.

Looking further ahead preparations are under way for a number of events that will bring visitors to Docklands. These include supporting the Melbourne Regatta and Blessing of the Fleet as we celebrate  Melbourne Day on the weekend August 29 and 30.  At the same time the event will acknowledge the original people who lived here for centuries and ensure that story is told.

Chamber members are also working with the City of Melbourne and DHHS Seniors Program to bring the Seniors Festival to Docklands on the weekend of October 10 and 11.  We will again have the free ferry services running for this festival to bring Victoria Harbour alive, with entertainment across Docklands. Both of these events will proudly showcase our magnificent waterways.

Also, Melt Away Chocolate Festival will be coming to Docklands in August and will bring with it the delights of chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. Watch this space for more information on this new event to Docklands.  Also the whisper is that there will be special guests from a very high rating TV show joining in the festivities.