Fitzroy, Victoria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fitzroy Melbourne, Victoria |
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High Victorian architecture in Brunswick Street |
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Population: | 8814 (2006) [1] | ||||||||||||
Established: | 1850s | ||||||||||||
Postcode: | 3065 | ||||||||||||
Area: | 1.4 km² (0.5 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
Property Value: | AUD $620,000 [2] | ||||||||||||
Location: | 3 km (2 mi) from Melbourne CBD | ||||||||||||
LGA: | City of Yarra | ||||||||||||
State District: | Richmond | ||||||||||||
Federal Division: | Melbourne | ||||||||||||
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Fitzroy (sometimes referred to as South Fitzroy) is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is in the Local Government Area of the City of Yarra. Its postcode is 3065. Fitzroy has two of the 82 designated Major Activity Centres in the Melbourne 2030 Metropolitan Strategy - the commercial strips of Brunswick Street and Smith Street.
Fitzroy is one of the oldest suburbs in Melbourne and is bordered by Victoria St/Parade, Nicholson St, Smith St, and Alexandra Parade. The heart of Fitzroy can be found in Brunswick Street, which is one of Melbourne's major retail, eating, and entertainment strips. Fitzroy is inhabited by a wide variety of ethnicities and socioeconomic groups, but it is best known as an eclectic gathering of the creative community.
Fitzroy is characterised by a fairly tightly-spaced rectangular grid of medium-sized and narrow streets with numerous back lanes. There are many one-way streets. Fitzroy is Melbourne's smallest suburb in terms of area, being approximately 100 Ha.
Fitzroy takes its name from Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, the Governor of New South Wales from 1846-1855.
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[edit] History
This section does not cite any references or sources. (April 2008) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Fitzroy was Melbourne's first suburb, created when the area between Melbourne and Alexandra Parade (originally named Newtown) was subdivided into vacant lots and offered for sale. Newtown was later renamed Collingwood, and the area now called Fitzroy (west of Smith Street) was made a ward of the Melbourne City Council. On 10 September 1858, Fitzroy became a municipality in its own right, separate from the City of Melbourne. Surrounded as it was by a large number of factories and industrial sites in the adjoining suburbs, Fitzroy was ideally suited to working men's housing, and from the 1860s to the 1880s, Fitzroy's working class population rose dramatically. The area's former mansions became boarding houses and slums, and the heightened poverty of the area prompted the establishment of several charitable, religious and philanthropic organisations in the area over the next few decades. A notable local entrepreneur was Macpherson Robertson, whose confectionery factories engulfed several blocks and stand as heritage landmarks today.
The establishment of the Victorian Housing Commission in 1938 saw swathes of new residences being constructed in Melbourne's outer suburbs. With many of Fitzroy's residents moving to the new accommodation, their places were taken by post-war immigrants mostly from Italy and Greece, and the influx of Italian and Irish immigrants saw a marked shift towards Catholicism from Fitzroy's traditional Methodist and Presbyterian roots. The Housing Commission would build two public housing estates in Fitzroy in the 1960s: one in Hanover Street and one at the southern end of Brunswick Street.
Like other inner-city suburbs of Melbourne, Fitzroy underwent a process of gentrification during the 1980s and 1990s. The area's manufacturing and warehouse sites were converted into apartments, and the corresponding rising rent prices in Fitzroy saw many of the area's residents move to Northcote and Brunswick. The remaining population, colloquially known as Fitzroyalty, exhibit a striking combination of social and commercial capital unmatched in other inner Melbourne suburbs.
In June 1994, the City of Yarra was created by combining the cities of Fitzroy, Collingwood and Richmond.
[edit] Local Landmarks
[edit] Non-Residential Architecture
The Moran and Cato warehouse designed by R.A. Lawson is considered to be of high architectural merit. The Old Tramways sheds are on the Victorian Heritage Register. The Champion Hotel is notable for its fanciful Edwardian design.
Fitzroy Town Hall clock tower |
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[edit] Residential Architecture
Fitroy's architecture is very diverse and features some of the finest Victorian era architecture in Melbourne. The entire suburb is a heritage precinct with many individual buildings covered by heritage controls[3]. Among the earliest homes, Royal Terrace (1853-1858) on Nicholson Street overlooking the Carlton Gardens was one of the first terrace houses in Melbourne.
The character of Fitroy's architecture is a legacy of its early history when a mixture of landuses was allowed to develop in close proximity to each other, producing a great diversity of types and scales of building[4]. While many of Fitzroy's streets have examples of fine Victorian houses, there are also many examples of workers cottages, terraces, corner shops and pubs, warehouses and factories rubbing shoulders in the space of few metres. Additionally, there are examples of infill development from the 1970s such as 'six-pack' style flats and units, along with the large-scale results of 'slum clearance' programs of the Housing Commission in the 1960s that bestowed some of Melbourne's most well-known and visible high-rise public housing in the form of the Atherton Gardens estate on the corner of Brunswick and Gertrude Sts. that houses about 3,000 people, or a third of Fitzroy's population.
Due to its desirability as a place to live, Fitzroy faces increasing pressure for residential development. Recent residential projects in Fitzroy have sought to express a sense of Fitzroy's urban character in various ways and have been hotly contested in some cases[5][6][7]. The Fitzroy Residents' Association has become a significant voice for residents concerned to protect the character of the suburb[8].
[edit] Culture and sport
[edit] Art
Fitzroy is considered one of the centres of contemporary art in Melbourne. There are many small commercial art galleries, artist-run spaces and artist studios located within the suburb. Fitzroy has a thriving street art community and is also the home of Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces and the Centre for Contemporary Photography.
[edit] Live performance
Fitzroy is a hub for live music in Melbourne, and plays host to several prominent venues: the Rob Roy Hotel, Bar Open, the Evelyn Hotel, Gertrudes Brown Couch, Cape Live and the Empress Hotel (in Fitzroy North). The well-known Punters Club was also located in the area; however, it was forced to close in 2002.
The offices of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival are in Johnston Street.
[edit] Pubs
Fitzroy has a large number of pubs for such a small suburb. The former Devonshire Arms hotel was located in Fitzroy Street and remains the oldest building in Fitzroy. There are many other pubs in Fitzroy.
[edit] Cafes
Known locally as "The Land of Breakfast", the tiny suburb of Fitzroy has many cafes with good kitchens. One of the earliest still surviving of the 'grunge style' cafes is The Black Cat On Brunswick Street, which opened in the 1980s. With the advance of gentification, a variety of cafes in different styles have opened up and down Brunswick St, on Smith St, parts of Gertrude St and in some of the back streets in former Milk bars.
[edit] Sport
The Fitzroy Football Club (the Fitzroy Lions) was formed in 1883 as part of the VFL/AFL. The club had some early success before relocating its home games several times and finally running into financial difficulties in the 1980s, forcing it to merge with the Brisbane Bears to form the Brisbane Lions. The club sponsors the Fitzroy Reds who play in the Victorian Amateur Football Association and play out of the Brunswick Street Oval.
[edit] Health
The health needs of Fitzroy residents and other Melburnians is served by St Vincent's Hospital. It is a well staffed and equipped hospital. It also houses one of the clinical schools of University of Melbourne's medical course.
[edit] Social and Community Services
Fitzroy has a long tradition of community activism and civil society with many social and community service organisations having been been based there. Organisations currently operating in the suburb include: the Fitzroy Legal Service, Yarra Community Housing Limited, Transitional Housing St.Vincent de Paul, Brotherhood of St. Lawrence
Organisations which were formed in Fitzroy and have since moved their base include: Hanover Housing Services
[edit] Transport
There are no railway stations or train lines in Fitzroy. The nearest train stations are Rushall in North Fitzroy, Collingwood and Parliament.
Three tram lines pass through Fitzroy or its boundaries:
- Route 86 (Bundoora-Docklands): travels along Nicholson Street, Gertrude Street and Smith Street.
- Route 96 (East Brunswick-St Kilda): travels along Nicholson Street.
- Route 112 (West Preston-St Kilda): bisects Fitzroy along Brunswick Street.
[edit] Heritage places
Being Melbourne's oldest suburb, Fitzroy has many old buildings and a large number that have been classified as having heritage significance. There are many individual buildings with a heritage listing and almost the entire suburb is subject to heritage protection in the City of Yarra planning scheme.
[edit] Heritage listed places
The following places in Fitzroy are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register:
- H0166 Falconer Terrace, 40 Napier Street Fitzroy
- H0147 Fitzroy Town Hall, Napier Street Fitzroy
- H0528 Former Devonshire Arms Hotel, 38 Fitzroy Street Fitzroy
- H0177 Blanche Terrace, 169 Victoria Parade Fitzroy
- H0181 Blanche Terrace, 177 Victoria Parade Fitzroy
- H0590 Terrace, 203 Victoria Parade Fitzroy
- H0182 Blanche Terrace, 179 Victoria Parade Fitzroy
- H0180 Blanche Terrace, 175 Victoria Parade Fitzroy
- H0178 Blanche Terrace, 171 Victoria Parade Fitzroy
- H0179 Blanche Terrace, 173 Victoria Parade Fitzroy
- H0168 Falconer Terrace, 44 Napier Street Fitzroy
- H0169 Falconer Terrace, 46 Napier Street Fitzroy
- H0170 Falconer Terrace, 48 Napier Street Fitzroy
- H1607 Osborne House, 40 Nicholson Street Fitzroy
- H0171 Falconer Terrace, 50 Napier Street Fitzroy
- H0165 Falconer Terrace, 38 Napier Street Fitzroy
- H0167 Falconer Terrace, 42 Napier Street Fitzroy
- H1726 Residence, 17 Bell Street Fitzroy
- H0559 Shops, 236-252 Brunswick Street And 33-62 Greeves Street, Fitzroy
- H0886 Shops, 181-183 Gertrude Street And 89 George Street Fitzroy
- H0162 Residence, 35 Hanover Street Fitzroy
- H0164 Falconer Terrace, 36 Napier Street Fitzroy
- H1687 'Aqua Profonda' Sign, Fitzroy Pool, Alexandra Parade Fitzroy
- H1939 Former Melbourne Veterinary College, 38-40 Brunswick Street Fitzroy
- H0160 Holyrood Terrace, 333 Gore Street Fitzroy
- H0159 Holyrood Terrace, 331 Gore Street Fitzroy
- H0161 Holyrood Terrace, 335 Gore Street Fitzroy
- H0149 Residence, 11 Brunswick Street Fitzroy
- H1031 Former National School, 40-48 Bell Street And John Street Fitzroy
- H0097 Christian Israelite Sanctuary, 193 Fitzroy Street Fitzroy
- H0470 Terrace, 39-49 Brunswick Street Fitzroy
- H0148 Methodist Church, 472 Nicholson Street Fitzroy
- H0816 Former Eastern Hill Hotel, 77 Victoria Parade And Corner Brunswick Street Fitzroy
- H0539 Residence, 122 Nicholson Street Fitzroy
- H0157 Cobden Terrace, 219 Gore Street Fitzroy
- H0155 Cobden Terrace, 215 Gore Street Fitzroy
- H0152 Cobden Terrace, 209 Gore Street Fitzroy
- H0156 Cobden Terrace, 217 Gore Street Fitzroy
- H0158 Cobden Terrace, 221 Gore Street Fitzroy
- H0153 Cobden Terrace, 211 Gore Street Fitzroy
- H0154 Cobden Terrace, 213 Gore Street Fitzroy
- 1-9 Little George Street
- H0446 Glass Terrace, 64-78 Gertrude Street Fitzroy
- H0553 St Marks Anglican Church, 268 George Street Fitzroy
- H0507 Convent Of Mercy And Academy Of Mary Immaculate, 88 Nicholson Street Fitzroy
- H0150 Shop And Residence, 13 Brunswick Street Fitzroy
- H1706 Dodgshun House, 9 Brunswick Street Fitzroy
- H1005 Cairo Flats, 98 Nicholson Street Fitzroy
- H0172 Royal Terrace, 50-68 Nicholson Street Fitzroy
- H0584 MMTB Building, Corner Gertrude Street And 48 Nicholson Street Fitzroy
- H1967 Cathedral Hall, 20 Brunswick Street Fitzroy
- H1280 Former Union Bank Of Australia, 165-167 Smith Street Fitzroy
[edit] See also
- City of Fitzroy - the former local government area of the same name.
[edit] References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). Fitzroy (State Suburb). 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
- ^ Fitzroy, accessed 15 October 2007
- ^ [1] "And click on the following black codes in the maps - 1HO, 2HO, 5HO and 6HO. These are planning scheme maps of the Heritage Overlays"
- ^ "Fitzroy : Melbourne's first suburb / Cutten History Committee of the Fitzroy History Society. Published South Yarra, Vic. : Hyland House, 198 ISBN 0947062521"
- ^ [2] "There goes the neighbourhood?"
- ^ [3] "Fitzroy gets set for new development battle"
- ^ [4] " 'Urban Joke' campaign against 'Urban Jazz' "
- ^ "Fitzroy Residents Association website"[5]
[edit] External links
- Fitzroy, Victoria is at coordinates Coordinates:
- Fitzroyalty Fitzroy based local blog
- Local History of Fitzroy
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