APPENDIX B - Interview Results

B.1 Interview Questions

No.   Section   Question     No.  of  respondents  
out  of  10  
1   Profile  of  participant   Age     10  
2   Profile  of  participant   Gender   10  
3   Profile  of  participant   Suburb  of  residency   10  
4   Leisure  time     What  locations  do  you  regularly   10  
frequent  in  Melbourne  for  
leisure/recreation?  
5   Leisure  time   What  activities  do  y ou  like  to  d o   10  
when  you  go  out  in  Melbourne?  
6   Leisure  time     What  type  of  events  do  you  like   10  
going  to?  
7   Comparing  recreational     How  w ould  you  rank  the   10  
destinations   following  d estinations:  1  being  
the  highest  and  5  being  the  
lowest?  
a. Federation  Square  
b. Melbourne’s  Docklands  
c. The  Arts  Centre  Precinct  
d. St  Kilda  Esplanade  
e. Port  Melbourne    
8   Comparing  recreational     Why  did  you  rate  __________________   10  
destinations   number  1?  
9   Comparing  recreational     What  are  the  main  attributes  of  a   10  
destinations   location  that  would  entice  you  to  
go  there?  
10   Comparing  recreational     What  places  would  you  say   10  
destinations   represent  the  personality  of  
Melbourne?  
11   Visitation  to  the  Docklands   How  many  times  h ave  you  been   10  
to  the  Docklands  in  the  past  
year?  
12   Experience  o f  the  Docklands   Why  would  you  go  to  the   10  
Docklands?  
13   Experience  o f  the  Docklands   Why  wouldn’t  you  go  to  the   10  
 Docklands?  
14   Experience  o f  the  Docklands   How  busy  do  y ou  believe  the   10  
Docklands  to  be?  
15   Experience  o f  the  Docklands   What  would  entice  you  to  go  to   10  
the  Docklands  in  the  future?  
16   Docklands’  d emographic   What  types  of  people  do  you   10  
believe  the  Docklands  attracts?  
17   Docklands’  d emographic   Do  any  of  your  friends  suggest   10  
going  to  the  Docklands?  
18   Docklands’  d emographic   What  opinions  have  you  h eard   10  
from  others  about  the  
Docklands?  
19   Docklands’  d emographic   What  do  you  believe  the   10  
Docklands  currently  o ffers  to  
people  in  the  age  group  of  20-­‐34  
years  old?  
20   Docklands’  d emographic   What  would  you  like  the   10  
Docklands  to  o ffer  people  in  the  
20-­‐34  year  o ld  age  range  in  the  
future?  

Table 10. Questions asked during the interviews, the type of information we were aiming to gain
(section) and the number of total respondents who chose to answer each question.

B.2 Data Analysis

B.2.1 Section 1: Participant Profile (See Table 10. Questions 1, 2 and 3)

The interviews consisted of 20 questions and were held in participant’s homes. Each
interview took between 15 to 30 minutes. Researchers were able to collect a sample of
10 respondents. The average age of participants interviewed was 24. They were
gathered from a variety of suburbs around Melbourne including Malvern (2),
Hawthorne (2), Kew (1), Blackburn North (1), Bulleen (1), Nunawading (1), and
Clayton (2). None of the participants interviewed resided in the Docklands.

B.2.2 Section 2: Leisure Time (See Table 10. Questions 4, 5 and 6)

B.2.2.1 Frequented Melbourne locations (See Table 10. Question 4)

Table 11. lists the top five ranked locations as mentioned by participants as locations
that they enjoy visiting during their leisure time.

Ranking Locations No. of times mentioned

1. CBD 8
2. Local parks 7
3. St Kilda 4
4. Shopping centres/outlets 4
5. Local recreational gyms 3
Local shops 3

Table 11. Top 5 ranked recreational/leisure destinations in Melbourne and the number of times they
were mentioned by respondents.

B.2.2.2 Preferred activities (See Table 10. Question 5)

Table 12. shows the type of activities participants like to do during their leisure time.

Ranking Activities No. of times

mentioned
1. Drinking (at bars and pubs) 8
2. Eating 7
3. Movies 5
Exercise/sport 5
4. Music (Listening to music, attending gigs) 4
5. Shopping 3
Drink coffee with friends 3

Table 12. Top 5 ranked leisure activities and the number of times they were mentioned by respondents.

B.2.2.3 Preferred events (See Table 10. Question 6)

Table 13. shows the type of events participants liked to attend. 100% of participants
responded with some sort of music event, most mentioning multiple types of events,
for example small gigs and concerts.

Ranking Events No. of times

mentioned
1. Musical Events 20
2. Festivals (music, comedy, cultural) 10
3. Markets 3
4. Theatre 3
5. Sporting events 2

Table 13. Top five ranked events attended in Melbourne and the number of times they
were mentioned by respondents.

B.2.3 Section 3: Recreational/Leisure Locations (See Table 10. Questions 7, 8, 9,

10)

B.2.3.1 Ranking Melbourne Recreational Locations (Question 7 and 8)

Table 14. shows the top rated recreational destinations from a list of five Melbourne
waterside locations. In this section respondents were asked to rank the following
locations: Federation Square, Melbourne Docklands, The Arts Centre, St Kilda
Esplanade and Port Melbourne on a scale of 1 being the highest and 5 being the
lowest.

Ranking Locations No. of times ranked Total no. of points received

No. 1 overall
1. St Kilda Esplanade 5 39
2. Federation Square 4 32
3. The Arts Centre 0 27
4. Port Melbourne 3 16
5. Docklands 0 7
Table 14. Five Melbourne waterside locations ranked 1 to 5, the number of times they were ranked
number one, and the overall points they received.

Respondents were then asked their reasons for ranking the relative location number
one. In addition to locations having a nice atmosphere and good places to eat and
drink, the most recurring reasons mentioned addressed ease of access. For example:

“Because it’s a convenient location.”

“Centrality; it’s a good meeting spot.”

“…very easy to get to via public transport.”

“…it was close by for me to get to.”

B.2.3.2 Main attractive attributes of a location (See Table 10. Question 9)

Table 15. shows the top five attributes that would entice participants to visit a
recreational destination.

Ranking Attributes of a location No. of times mentioned

1. Good Food/drink 7
2. Access 6
3. Atmosphere/vibe 4
4. Environment/scenery 4
5. Diversity/type of people 3
Affordability 3

Table 15. Top 5 ranked attributes of recreational/leisure locations and the number of times they were
mentioned by respondents.

B.2.3.3 Locations that represent Melbourne’s personality

Table 16. shows the top five locations that participants believed represented
Melbourne’s “personality”.
 Ranking Locations No. of times mentioned
1. Melbourne’s laneways (e.g. Hardware Lane) 5
2. Brunswick Street 4
Lygon Street 4
Sporting areas (eg. MCG) 4
3. St Kilda 3
Fed Square 3
4. Botanical Gardens 2
Smaller streets (Lt Burke, Lt Collins) 2
Flinders Street 2
South bank 2
5. Chapel St, Richmond, Fitzroy St, Arts Centre and 1
Eureka Tower

Table 16. Top five locations that participants believe represent Melbourne’s “personality” and the
number of times they were mentioned by respondents.

In addition to listing the locations that represent Melbourne’s personality, some

respondents articulated Melbourne’s personality, each offering a different perspective:

“Alternative, introspective and connoisseur.”

“Cultured, sporting and middle class.”

“Corporate and boring.”

B.2.4 Section 4: Visitation (See Table 10. Question 11)

B.2.4.1 Visitation to the Docklands in the past year

Table 17. shows the amount of times interviewees visited the Docklands in the past
year.

No. of times respondents visited the No. of respondents % of respondents

Docklands over the last year
 0 3 30
1 4 40
2-5 2 20
5-10 1 10
>10 0 0

Table 17. Number of times respondents visited the Docklands in the past year and the overall
percentage of respondents.

B.2.5 Section 5: Experience (See Table 10. Questions 12, 13, 14, 15)

The most common reasons participants gave for currently visiting the Docklands was
to see AFL matches at Etihad Stadium, or to visit the restaurants. The low visitation
numbers amongst the demographic may be attributed to the common belief amongst
our respondents that the Docklands precinct is not easily accessible:

“It’s very annoying to get to…the shops, food and coffee places currently offered
aren’t good quality – they don’t match the inconvenience of going so far to get
there.”

“Too far away from Etihad Stadium to bother going down to after the footy”

“It’s uninteresting and too far away, I think of it solely as a shipping port.”

“Annoying to get to”

“Not easy to get to.”

Further attributing to low visitation is the belief that the Docklands does not currently
have much to offer those between the ages of 20 - 34 years:

“I don’t think it has much, the only thing I’ve seen advertised for Docklands is
something about the residential apartments sinking.”
 “I honestly didn’t think there was much at the Dockland’s, I thought it was just a
shipping port.”

“It doesn’t offer me anything I can’t get closer to home”

“It’s expensive and dull, the area is quite boring”

“There is not enough nightlife.”

100% of respondents suggested some sort of music event such as a live band or music
festival would entice them to visit the Docklands in the future.

B.2.6 Section 6: Demographic (See Questions 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)

Only one of the 10 respondents said that their friends suggest visiting the Docklands.
This same respondent was the only respondent who believed the Docklands to be a
busy location. Most of the respondents believed the Docklands didn’t attract their
demographic:

“I can picture it being a middle class hide out. I don’t think it’s a place that attracts
young people”

“It currently caters to a very expensive demographic. Seems to attract people who are
older than 34 and are rich.”

“[The Docklands attracts] tourists and business people who work there.”

“(The Docklands attracts) families to the ice skating rink and maybe older people to
the restaurants.”

However some respondents did acknowledge that the Docklands had some aspects
that would appeal to 20 – 34 year olds:

“[It provides] a place to 'hang' or socialize”

 “ [I’ve heard the] factory Outlets are quite good”

“Shopping – The Factory Outlets are supposed to be pretty good”

“Cheap apartments, restaurants, close to the city and universities.”

Participants were asked what they would like Docklands to offer 20 – 34 year olds in
the future, again the majority mentioned entertainment and events:

“More events, more diversity, exhibitions of interest, fashion and a good working
environment.”

“Cheaper entertainment…more events such as music, sporting and cultural.”

“A park for music events”

“Good social scene -Bands/live music”