Special issue: Manufacturing and the Australian City

Abstract This special issue contains five articles that focus on Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide to examine the transformative role of manufacturing in the evolution of the Australian city. While the Australian economy has never been highly industrialised, as manufacturing grew, peaking in importance at the end of the post‐World War II boom, its influence on the spatial structure of the nation's major cities was profound. This article provides an overview of the rise of Australian manufacturing after World War I, the post‐industrial contraction of the sector, and the effects of industrialisation on the spatial structure of cities, both in Australia and overseas.