Fitzroy North, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 4 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district
Melbourne city centre
Melbourne City Centre is an area of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne...
. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Yarra
City of Yarra
The City of Yarra is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the inner eastern and northern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of 19.5 square kilometres, and at the 2006 census it had a population of 69,330...
and Moreland
City of Moreland
The City of Moreland is a Local Government Area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 10 kilometres from the Melbourne city centre....
. At the 2006 Census, Fitzroy North had a population of 11,069.
Merri Creek
Merri Creek
The Merri Creek is a waterway in southern parts of Victoria, Australia which flows through the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It begins in Wallan north of Melbourne and flows south for 70km until it joins the Yarra River at Dights Falls...
delineates the border between Fitzroy North and the neighbouring suburb of Northcote
Northcote, Victoria
Northcote is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Darebin...
. Smith Street and Queen's Parade form the border with Clifton Hill
Clifton Hill, Victoria
Clifton Hill is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. The border between Clifton Hill and Fitzroy North is Queens Parade and Smith Street. Merri Creek defines the eastern border of Clifton Hill. Its Local Government Area is...
.
History
Fitzroy North Post Office opened on 2 February 1874.Today
Housing stock includes many fine one and two storey terraces, many dating to the late Victorian period and including characteristic ironwork, verandahs, and stone embellishments. This is one of Melbourne's finest, and most expensive, inner-city locations.John McMahon, twice Mayor of Fitzroy built firstly in 1886 two townhouses at 53/55 Alfred Crescent, and then in 1890 a large and impressive mansion at 75 Alfred Crescent. Both were designed by Olaf Nicholson, the architect. On one side of the crescent, is a large park, overlooked by John's and other houses called Edinburgh Gardens, with a famous football oval, bordered by Freeman Street, Brunswick Street, St Georges Road and Alfred Crescent. This park was saved for the people of Fitzroy by John McMahon when he obtained permanent possession during his first year of Mayorship. An attempt was made by the Government of which Mr.Vale was a member, to have a large portion of it excised for public housing. Mr. McMahon had Minister Gaunson permanently gazette the land for the people.John McMahon was also the chairman and founding president of the Fitzroy Football Club The Brunswick Street Oval was the home ground until 1967 of the Fitzroy Football Club playing in the Victorian Football LeagueAustralian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
. A linear park, incorporating a section of the Capital City Trail
Capital City Trail
The Capital City Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which circles the Melbourne city centre and some inner eastern and northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
bike path, runs along much of the northern edge of the suburb, on the easement for the Inner Circle railway line, which closed in 1948.
Description
Fitzroy North (often called North Fitzroy) is theoretically joined to FitzroyFitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. Its borders are Alexandra Parade , Victoria Parade , Smith Street and Nicholson Street. Fitzroy is Melbourne's...
, but in reality the two are as separate as any suburbs in the inner city. They were always bisected by the width of Alexandra Parade (earlier Reilly Street), but with the building of the Eastern Freeway in the 1970s and its connection the Parade, the volume of traffic became an overwhelming barrier. Fitzroy North is also distinct in character, with less commercial activity, wider, quieter, leafier streets, and clear delineation to the east provided by the green Merri Creek corridor.
Residential architecture
Most of Fitzroy North is single and double storey Victorian and Edwardian housing, comprising rows of terraces with a mixture of semi-attached and freestanding houses on small to moderately sized blocks. Large parts of the suburb are protected by heritage controls. The suburb is relatively intact and consistent in character, having had far less industrial and commercial development in its formative years than its southern namesake.Fitzroy North also has some distinctive apartment complexes, mostly built within the last 15 years. Another, on St Georges Road at Park Street, is a redevelopment of the old Fire Station, with an extension at the back reminiscent of three concrete grain silos.
Commerce
The main commercial activity in Fitzroy North is on Brunswick StreetBrunswick Street
Brunswick Street can refer to three different locations in Australia:*Brunswick Street, Brisbane, a major thoroughfare in Brisbane, famous for the Brunswick Street Mall....
, St Georges Road and the northern side of Queens Parade, the latter having particularly wide footpaths for a Melbourne commercial strip. Piedimontes, at the corner of St Georges Road and Scotchmer Street is a well-established independent supermarket well-known for its continental delicatessen.
Transport
To get to North Fitzroy from the Melbourne CBD, you can travel on the- Number 96 tramMelbourne tram route 96Melbourne tram route 96 is a public transport tram and light rail route in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.It is one of Melbourne's busiest tram route carrying 39,700 passengers a day with a frequency of every 10 minutes or less during peak...
from Bourke StreetBourke Street, MelbourneBourke Street is one of Melbourne's best known streets. Historically been regarded as Melbourne's "second street", with the main street being Collins Street and "busier than Bourke Street" is a popular catchphrase. Bourke Street has traditionally been Melbourne's entertainment hub...
, along Nicholson StreetNicholson Street, MelbourneNicholson Street is a street in inner Melbourne. It is named after William Nicholson, then member of the Legislative Council, and later Premier of Victoria from 1859 to 1860.-Geography:...
or the - Number 112 tramMelbourne tram route 112Tram route 112 is a public transport service in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs from West Preston, in the northern suburbs to St Kilda.Like most tram routes in Melbourne, it falls within Metcard/myki ticketing Zone 1....
from Collins StreetCollins Street, MelbourneCollins Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district and runs approximately east to west.It is notable as Melbourne's traditional main street and best known street, is often regarded as Australia's premier street, with some of the country's finest Victorian era buildings.The...
, along Brunswick StreetBrunswick Street, MelbourneBrunswick Street is a street in inner northern Melbourne, known for cafés, live music venues and alternative fashion shops.-Geography:Brunswick Street runs north-south through the inner northern Melbourne suburbs of Fitzroy and Fitzroy North, from Victoria Parade at its southernmost end, crossing...
and St Georges Road, or the more "colourful" route on - Number 86 tramMelbourne tram route 86Tram route 86 is a public transport service in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs from Bundoora in the northern suburbs to Waterfront City Docklands in the city. It is one of Melbourne's busiest tram routes carrying 44,200 passengers a day...
from Bourke Street, which also travels a short distance along Nicholson Street, turns at Gertrude Street, turns again into Smith Street and again into Queens Parade. - Alternatively, take the train to Rushall StationRushall railway stationRushall railway station was a station on the South Staffordshire Line. It was opened in 1849. It was the first station to fall on the line, closing in 1909...
, on the Epping Line. Rushall Station is located on Rushall Crescent, in the north east of the suburb.
Education
The suburb contains five schools - Fitzroy High SchoolFitzroy High School
Fitzroy High School is a school catering for Years 7 to 12, located in Falconer Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia. The school was first opened in 1915, but closed in 1992. After a long community campaign, it re-opened in 2004.History...
, Merri Creek Primary, Fitzroy Community School, Deutsche Schule Melbourne
Deutsche Schule Melbourne
Deutsche Schule Melbourne is an independent co-educational school located in North Fitzroy, a Northern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Established in 2008, the school caters for students from Prep to year 6....
, an independent co-educational English-German bilingual school and North Fitzroy Primary School
North Fitzroy Primary School
North Fitzroy Primary School is a state school in the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy North.- LOTE :...
. North Fitzroy Primary School has received state media attention for its canteen's healthy menu. It also has a LOTE
Lote
Lote is a village in the municipality of Eid in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The population of Lote was 132. The village is located about southeast of Nordfjordeid and about northwest of Sandane in Gloppen municipality...
program for Italian language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
which is undertaken by all students, and hosts large Italian-related events such as Carnevale.
See also
- City of FitzroyCity of FitzroyThe City of Fitzroy was a Local Government Area located about northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , making it the smallest municipality by land area in Victoria, and existed from 1858 until 1994....
- the former local government area of which Fitzroy North was a part.