Modern Melbourne

Modern Melbourne, authored by Rod Giblett, tells the fascinating story of Melbourne's transformation from its founding in 1835 among marshes and beside a sluggish stream into a world-class modern city. Drawing on a wide range of historical, literary, and artistic sources, this book delves into the cultural and environmental history of the city and its site.

The narrative traces Melbourne's evolution from its swampy origins in a squatter’s settlement nestled in the marshy delta of the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers. Giblett illuminates the city through its visible structures and the invisible history of its site.

By comparing and contrasting Melbourne with other major cities built on or beside wetlands—such as London, New York, Paris, Los Angeles, and Toronto—the book places the city within an international context. It is the first book to apply the work of European thinkers and writers on modernity and the modern city, including Walter Benjamin and Peter Sloterdijk, to an analysis of Melbourne.

Giblett explores the intertwining of nature and culture, people and place, and cities and wetlands in this bioregional and ecocultural analysis. Placing the city in its proper bioregional and international contexts, Modern Melbourne offers a rich historical analysis of the cultural capital of Australia.