Toorak is a district of Melbourne , the capital of the Australian state of Victoria . It is part of the City of Stonnington Local Government Area . The district, whose origins go back to the 1850s, is located around 3 km southeast of the city center and had around 13,000 inhabitants in 2016. Toorak is on the south bank of the Yarra River, on the opposite bank of which is the Richmond district.
The name of the district was borrowed from the property "Toorak House", which was built in this area in 1849 by a Melbourne merchant and until 1878 also served as the residence of the state governors. Today it is used as a consulate. The word Toorak comes from the Aboriginal language and probably stands for “reed swamp” or “black crow”.
From the 1880s onwards, numerous imposing mansions were built that established Toorak's reputation. In the past few decades, many of these houses have been replaced by apartment blocks.
Toorak is considered to be the wealthiest and most exclusive district of Melbourne. Real estate prices are the highest in Australia and even exceed the Point Piper and Darling Point districts on Sydney Harbor . Expensive SUVs (SUVs) are in Melbourne often ironic Toorak Tractors called. Toorak Road, which leads from South Melbourne via South Yarra through Toorak in a west-easterly direction, is considered to be a high-end shopping street and is also lined with restaurants of the corresponding quality.
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