BACKGROUND:
Due to the change to larger shipping now used for freight the original Melbourne docking facilities were not suitable for modification as the river access could not be dredged to a sufficient depth. New facilities were established at the mouth of the river which freed up over 200 hectares of space of the original Victoria Docks, 160 hectares of which was useable land space with the rest being waterways. The location adjoined the central business district of Melbourne located on the western boundary as shown in Figure 1. The Victorian State Government, who owned the original Victoria Dock precinct, decided to redevelop the site with a mixture of residential, commercial, retail and recreational facilities. Due to the extreme nature of the redevelopment it was broken up into several distinct areas as shown in Figure 1 with different bodies responsible for the development within these areas with the overall development controlled by the Victorian Docklands Authority. The estimated total overall cost of the entire development is AUD$8 Billion. The redevelopment commenced in 1997 and is due for completion in 2015.