La Trobe Street

Some might not realise the northern side of La Trobe Street is officially part of the suburb of West Melbourne. One can see the left hand side of the above photo shows the CBD while the right hand side shows Flagstaff Gardens. The corner of La Trobe and William Streets right where Flagstaff Gardens lies is the southeastern boundary where the suburb of West Melbourne and the CBD meet. The street was laid out as an extension of the original Hoddle Grid in 1839 and was named after Charles Joseph La Trobe. La Trobe Street extends from Victoria Street in the east to Harbour Esplanade in the west. The northern side of La Trobe Street is within West Melbourne and begins at William Street and ends at Adderley Street. Two portions of land known as Section 33 and 34 on the northern side of La Trobe Street were put up for sale at a Crown Land Auction in May 1850 at an upset price of £300 per acre. Among the land buyers were John Pascoe Fawkner in section 33 and John O’Shannassy in section 34.

Batman Street

Batman Street has previously been called Roebuck Street (1a 1b) then in 1851 it was changed to Franklin Street West (2) according to old maps, Sands & McDougall directories and the Government Gazette. “Colonial Secretary’s Office, Melbourne, 6th November, 1851, HIS Excellency the Lieutenant Governor having been pleased to sanction the alteration of the names of the undermentioned Streets situate in the City of Melbourne, in the Colony of Victoria: Notice is hereby given, that such alteration will take effect from and after the day if the day of the date of this notice. By His Excellency’s command, W. Lonsdale” In 1895 Franklin Street (as it was known) had 50 Victoria era homes, a Wesleyan church, a vinegar brewery, a paper mill, a hotel and the rear of Victorian Iron Rolling works. Long gone are all of the historically valued terrace homes, these days the street hosts high rise blocks of flats, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade and St Jame’s Old Cathedral on the corner of Batman and King Street. (1a) 1852 map Plan of the City of Melbourne And Its Extension Northwards created by Charles Laing, surveyor, held by State Library of Victoria. (1b) John Arthur Roebuck (28 December 1802 …