The area of South Yarra centred along Commercial Road was for several decades one of Melbourne's gay villages.

Residential land price records (per square metre) have been set by properties in Domain Road, Walsh Street and Fairlie Court.

South Yarra was originally inhabited by the Yalukit-willam clan of the Boonwurrung people who called the area Terneet, the meaning of which has been lost.

John Browne, James Jackson and George Augustus Robinson who was the Chief Protector of Aborigines in the region.

Several large houses were built and, together with neighbouring Toorak, it maintained its upper-class reputation into the post-World War II period.

[6] From the 1930s, the area around Park Street, where large numbers of flats had been built, became a popular neighbourhood for middle-class homosexuals; at that time an illegal subculture in the state of Victoria.

On 12 October 1988, police officers Steven Tynan and Damian Eyre were murdered in Walsh Street, South Yarra.

An important area for Art Deco enthusiasts can be found along Alexandra Avenue, Lawson Grove and Darling Street.

This area was subject to renewal in the 1920s and 1930s by entrepreneurial builder Mr Lawson, as a kind of medium-density village enclave development.

As a result, a large number of Art Deco apartment buildings were built in a Hollywood Hills style overlooking the Yarra River.

One of the most famous of these apartment buildings, "Beverly Hills", on Darling Street, retains the original 1930s grotto-style swimming pool for the use of all residents.

The synagogue of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, which was built in 1929 to the design of Nahum Barnet, features a giant order portico and a great copper dome.

Melbourne High School is located in South Yarra, and the 1930s Gothic main building is a local landmark.

Melbourne Girls Grammar School Merton Hall campus is located in Anderson Street South Yarra, opposite the Royal Botanical Gardens, while its junior school, Morris Hall, is in Caroline Street South Yarra.

The report found that of all Melbourne suburbs, South Yarra was the most liveable due to good proximity to the CBD, schools, cafes, and restaurants; access to trains, trams, and buses; and abundance of open spaces and trees.

It is probably best known for its railway station and nearby "Hawksburn Village", a small strip shopping centre on Malvern Road.

Many of South Yarra's older homes and terraces are located close to Cromwell Crescent and the Hawksburn railway station.

[5] The Domain Precinct is the most prestigious part of South Yarra, traditionally home to many of Melbourne's old money families.

Driven by proximity to Government House, the Central Business District and the Botanical Gardens, Fawkner Park, and Melbourne's elite private schools and boutique shopping, this area is graced with both large mansions, terrace houses and high-end apartments.