[1] The name Toorak has become synonymous with wealth and privilege, the suburb long having the reputation of being Melbourne's most elite, and ranking among the most prestigious in Australia.

The name of the house may have originated from the Woiwurrung language of the indigenous inhabitants, with words of similar pronunciation meaning "black crow" or "reedy swamp".

The suburb was hit particularly hard by the 1890s economic depression and many wealthy landowners declared bankruptcy and were forced to sell.

[7] In the period of post-World War II prosperity, rising standards of living and land values caused Toorak to become highly sought after by a new generation of the wealthy, thought by some to be social climbers and nouveau riche.

As a result, many of the larger mansions were demolished and large holdings were subdivided to make way for flats, townhouses and apartments.

Toorak has an unusual mix of high-, low- and medium-density housing, due to intense subdivision of larger lots in the 1880s, 1920s and 1960s.

Some of these homes are in the form of traditional mansions or newer large residences on significant-sized estates, owned by Melbourne's wealthy and social elite.

There are also extant stands of semi-detached housing (20.1%), including terraces, which were traditionally fashionable with the middle class and later gentrified.

The seat of Higgins was created in 1949 and held by Harold Holt CH 1949–1967, Sir John Gorton PC GCMG AC CH 1968–1975, Roger Shipton OAM 1975–1990, Peter Costello AC 1990–2009, Kelly O'Dwyer 2009–2019 and Katie Allen 2019–2022 (all on behalf of the Liberal Party of Australia).

At State level, it mostly falls within the electorate of Malvern (currently held by the Liberals' Michael O'Brien) since the 2006 Victorian State Election, with the western part of the suburb falling within the electorate of Prahran (currently held by Sam Hibbins on behalf the Australian Greens).

The Wesleyan Church (1877), formerly on the corner of Toorak and Williams Roads, was illegally demolished in 1990 by developers and later replaced by a block of flats.

An example of this was an episode of the popular program Top Gear Australia, aired on SBS TV, in which the presenters, tongue-in-cheek, drove a $200,000 tractor along Toorak Road.

The Pakenham, Frankston and Cranbourne railway line group to which this station belongs runs close to Toorak's southern boundary.