St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne , Victoria, Australia , 6 km 4 miles south-east of the Melbourne central business district , located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. St Kilda recorded a population of 19, at the census. After the turn of the century, the St Kilda foreshore became Melbourne's favoured playground, with electric tram lines linking the suburbs to the seaside amusement rides, ballrooms, cinemas and cafes, and crowds flocked to St Kilda Beach.
Many of the mansions and grand terraces became guest houses, and gardens were filled in with apartment buildings, making St Kilda the most densely populated suburb in Melbourne. By the late s, St Kilda had developed a culture of bohemianism , attracting prominent artists and musicians, including those in the punk [ 3 ] and LGBT subcultures.
Since at least the s, the suburb has been the centre of Melbourne's Jewish community. It hosts many of Melbourne's big events and festivals. It was eventually named after the schooner Lady of St Kilda , which was owned between and by Sir Thomas Acland. Acland sold the vessel in to Jonathan Cundy Pope of Plymouth. The vessel sailed for Port Phillip in February The schooner Lady of St Kilda was named in honour of Lady Grange , who was imprisoned by her husband between and on the island of Hirta , the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago , on the western edge of Scotland.
The Euroe Yroke area now known as St Kilda was inhabited an estimated 31, to 40, years ago. The area was officially named St Kilda in His block was bounded by three unmade roads. The remaining two became Fitzroy Street and The Esplanade. A plaque at the junction of Acland and Fitzroy Streets marks the site of the block. By , Lawrence had subdivided and sold the land on which he had built a cottage. Within a few years St Kilda became a fashionable area for the wealthy, and the indigenous peoples were driven out to surrounding areas.
The high ground above the beach offered a cool fresh breeze during Melbourne's hot summer months. St Kilda became a separate municipality on 24 April , [ 20 ] and in the same year, the railway line connected St Kilda to Melbourne city, and a loop line to Windsor.
