10 Biggest Shopping Centres In Australia

Shopping is an activity in which a person buys certain goods and commodities according to their taste and liking. With the advent of time, lakhs and lakhs of shopping centres have opened up all around the world where people can directly pick their favourite items right from the shelves.

During a visit to any mall, people look for experiences that are way beyond traditional shopping. Some of these malls are so big that they almsot resemble a small city. In this article, we have jotted down 10 of Australia’s biggest malls.

10. Westfield Parramatta

Area: 1,482,970 sq ft
Location: Parramatta, New South Wales

Westfield Parramatta is one of the largest shopping malls in the suburb of Parramatta in New South Wales. This mall opened in three different stages and was initially used by huge retail properties. With a floor space of 1,482,970 square feet, this mall houses stores like David Jones, H&M, Zara, Cotton On, Rebel, Myer, Kmart, Target, and many more.

This huge mall also multi-story cinema and lifestyle complex which is connected to the main mall through an air pedestrian bridge. As of today, this mall has over 500 retail stores, an 11 screen complex featuring 3 Gold Class theatres, 1 GMAX theatre, and 7 regular movie cinemas.

9. Macquarie Centre

Area: 1,491,000 sq ft
Location: Macquarie Park, New South Wales

Located in the suburb of Macquaire in New South Wales, this mall occupies an area of a whopping 1,491,000 square feet. This mall is managed by AMP Capital Shopping Centres and has a vehicle parking capacity of 4,900. Opened 40 years ago in 1981, this mall was the third mall in Australia to have an incline design.

The Macquaire Centre has an Olympic sized ice rink and 130 retail stores. This ice rink is home to Sydney Bears and Sydney Ice Dogs ice hockey teams. When the matches are not going on, this rink is used for ice skating, ice dance, speed skating and ice hockey. In 1994, an eight screen multiplex and leisure precint opened on the terrace of this mall. Now the multiplexes have expanded from eight to 16.

The retail stores that this mall houses are ydney’s first H&M, Zara, Uniqlo and Sephora, David Jones, Myer. As of today this mall has a support trade for 337,770 people.

8. Westfield Garden City

Area: 1,525,860 sq ft
Location: Upper Mount Gravatt, Queensland

Also known as Garden City, this mall is one of the major malls in Australia. Covering an area of 1,525,860 sqaure feet, this mall was previously owned by AMT Limited. It currently houses 470 shopping retail stores, cafes, restaurants and many other services.

Another tourist attraction of this mall is the Town Square, which is an outdoor dining area that has many cafes and fun activities. This mall has a parking space for 6,254 vehicles.

7. Westfield Knox

Area: 1,529,100 sq ft
Location: Wantirna South, Victoria

The Westfield Knox mall opened in 1977 and at that time it had 88 stores and a parking spcae for 2300 vehicles. Located at Wantirna South in Victoria, this mall now has over 230 stores and a parking space of 6300 vehicles, all free of cost.

The mall also has a seven story office tower on its southern side, an indoor food court and an outdoor restaurant strip mall. In October 2012, the Westfield Group acquired AMP’s share of the centre and was subsequently rebranded as Westfield Knox.

This huge mall has also been a site for shooting of movies. Australian television soaps like Neighbours has been shot here. It was also used in the comic show full frontal in season 2 mainly using the entrance of Village Cinemas

6. Highpoint Shopping Centre

Area: 1,630,000 sq ft
Location: Maribyrnong, Victoria

Highpoint is one of the largest shopping centres in Australia and has an area of about 1,630,000 square feet. It is located in the sururb of Maribyrnong in Victoria. Being the sixth largest shopping malls in Australia, Highpoint has an annual turnover of $778 million with 15 million visitors thronging the mall each year.

The mall opened its gates to the public in 1975 and has been in service for as many as 46 years now. Initially it was named Highpoint West, which was later changed to Highpoint City and eventually just Highpoint. The mall has four floors and a parking space for 6200 vehicles at one time.

5. Pacific Fair

Area: 1,670,000 sq ft
Location: Broadbeach, Queensland

One of the major shopping centres in Australia, the Pacific Fair mall was Queensland’s largest regional shopping centre until 2006. It opened in 1977 with 96 retail stores. However, after numerous expansions, this mall now has more than 400 specialty stores and four anchor tenants.

This shopping centre was also featured on the third season of The Mole. The mall has a parking space of over 6,500 vehicles.

4. Westfield Sydney

Area: 1,804,700 sq ft
Location: Sydney, New South Wales

Westfield Sydney is a large shopping centre located in Sydney, New South Wales. It has an area of 1,804,700 square feet and it stands right underneath the Sydney Tower and is located on Pitt Street Mall, adjacent to the MidCity, Glasshouse and near The Strand Arcade.

Just a short walk from Town Hall and St James railway stations, this mall has a total of six floors and 172 valet parkings. Owned by the Scentre Group, Westfield Sydney opened in 1972 with 52 stores.  The major attraction of Westfield Sydney is Sydney Tower which includes the Sydney Tower Eye observation deck, SKYWALK, Infinity at Sydney Tower, Bar 83 at Sydney Tower, SkyFeast at Sydney Tower.

3. Westside Chermside

Area: 1,904,470 sq ft
Location: Chermside, Queensland

One of the largest shopping malls in Australia, the Westside Chermside mall has an area of 1,904,470 square feet. The mall has 15.5 million visitors each year and this makes it Australia’s second busiest mall.

This mall has a total of four floors with 515 retail stores. It has a parking space for 7,300 vehicles and was first opened in 1957. Since then many modifications and renovstions have taken place here. When the mall was first opened to public in 1957, the police has to be deployed to keep as many as 15,000 people in queues waiting for secure bargains at the mall.

2. Westfield Fountain Gate

Area: 1,908,340 sq ft
Location: Narre Warren, Victoria

Westfield Fountain Gate is the second largest mall in Australia with a total area of 1,908,340 square feet. Located at Narre Warren in Victoria, this mall has all three discount department stores, Big W, Target and Kmart. It is the location of the first-ever Krispy Kreme in Victoria.

The scene from the movie Bad Eggs where a car rolls into the actual shopping mall was shot in this mall. In the movie, the name of the mall was Crystal Heights Shop Kingdom. The mall has two floors and 465 retail stores. It also has a parking capacity of as many as 7,000 vehicles.

1. Chadstone Shopping Center

Area: 2,514,700 sq ft
Location: Malvern East, Victoria

Chadstone Shopping Centre is the biggest mall in Australia. It has a total area of 2,514,700 square feet and is located at malvern East in Victoria. This mall opened to public back in 1960 and during that time, it drew people away from the custom of downtown shopping.

Today, this mall houses the best international brands and has an annual turnover of $1.4 billion. This super regional shopping centre attracts about 400,000 tourists a year from interstate and 200,000 from overseas. This shopping centre is also called ‘chaddy’ colloquially.

With a total of 3 floors and 530 retail stores, this mall has a car space of 10,000. The major retailers, which are located at either end of the centre, include David Jones, Myer, Zara, Sephora, Woolworths, Coles, Legoland, Discovery Centre and Hoyts Cinema.