The street is thought to have been named after Edward Hawke.
In the early 1850’s this area was wide open and unobstructed bush land unlike its built form of today. It was free of buildings and the land would have had easy sight of Port Phillip bay and the ships therein.
W.M. Tennent writes “ Hawke street is most desirably situated, is a most healthy and elevated position and commands extensive views of the shipping in the bay and of all surrounding districts” The Argus October 6th 1853.
Hawke street has 4 cross streets that intersect with it, them being King street, Spencer street, Adderley street and Railway Place. When the founding fathers of Melbourne came up with the names of the new streets, naming Hawke street as they did makes perfect sense. King street is thought to have been named after the then reigning monarch of England, Spencer street is thought to have been named after Lord Spencer, head of the Whig party in the English house of commons. Adderley street is thought to have been named after Charles Bowyer Adderley, an old Staffordshire family and his wife, the daughter of Sir Edmund Craddock-Hartop, 1st Baronet Adderley and finally Railway place was named due to its location adjacent to main train lines leading into Spencer street train station.
Admiral of the English Fleet Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, KB, PC (1705-1781) son of Edward Hawke, a barrister and Elizabeth Hawke (née Bladen). Hawke benefited from the patronage of Colonel Martin Bladen, a Member of Parliament and his maternal uncle.
In 1737 Hawke married Catherine Brooke; they had three sons and one daughter.
During his lifetime Hawke went on to achieve a victory over a French fleet at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in November 1759 during the Seven Years’ War, preventing a French invasion of Britain. He developed the concept of a Western Squadron, keeping an almost continuous blockade of the French coast throughout the war.
Admiral Hawke was influential in the decision to give Captain James Cook command of his first expedition that left in 1768. When at a meeting in the Royal Geographical Society it was suggested that a civilian should lead the expedition Hawke is supposed to have remarked that, he would sooner have his right hand cut off than allow this to happen. Cook named a series of prominent places that he came across in the ‘New World’ after Hawke as a sign of his gratitude.
Towards the end of their life, Edward and Catherine Hawke had a country house in Sunbury-on-Thames and lived alternately there and at a rented home in North Stoneham, Hampshire. Hawke died at his house in Sunbury-on-Thames on 17 October 1781 and was buried at St. Nicolas’ Church, North Stoneham.
Back in Melbourne’s gold rush period, West Melbourne’s Hawke street was part of the great north-western expansion of the city of Melbourne that occurred during the start of the 1850’s.
Charles Laing, Architect and Surveyor’s December 8th 1847 “Plan of North Melbourne” shows a city that extended only as far as La Trobe street and included the then “far off” burial ground which is now known as the Queen Victoria Market, however no other official streets are shown beyond that in the north-western direction, just open bush land.
Fast forward five years later to Charles Laing’s 1852, “Plan of the City of Melbourne and its Extension Northwards” we can easily see many new roads including Hawke street adjacent to the Benevolent Asylum at North Melbourne.
Crown Land sales occurred in May 1853, therefore, we can safely say Hawke Street came into existence sometime after 1847 and before Laing’s 1852 map.
The Hawke street of the Victorian gold rush era was predominantly a residential street in a predominantly residential neighborhood that surrounded it and other street all the way back in Roden, Stanley, Rosslyn, Dudley, Batman and Jeffcott Streets to the city in 1853 from “notices to let” entries in local newspapers.
Government Land Sale. Town Lots. County of Bourke, Melbourne, Parish of North Melbourne. (The North Melbourne lots lie between Hawke, Roden, Stanley and adjacent to the Benelovent Asylum). May 1853. (3) Click image to view.
Take a walk today down Hawke Street and you will see it is no longer 100% terrace houses. When CBD rents became too high, commercial activities moved in and build factories such as the industrial chemist of Mr. S J Marshall at 1-11 Hawke Street in 1920 as well as other manufacturing buildings that now house the Apollo gym café and the old Don Kyatt building further down Hawke street towards railway place.
Melbourne City Council have records of street cards for every street in the municipality and the image below shows the card for Hawke Street.

Previous Address Samuel John Marshall Chemical Co, (3 to 5) & (7 to 11)
Constructed 1920 August
Style Inter-War Period : 1915 – 1940
Architect James A Wood
Builder Able Peters

Constructed 1917
Architect R J Werner
Builder R J Werner, 16 Ross Street, Port Melbourne



Previous Address 1 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 21/8/1868
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875
Builder Alexander McIntosh of 186 King Street


Previous Address 2 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 21/8/1868
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875
Builder Alexander McIntosh of 186 King Street


Previous Address 3 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 1/4/1869
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875
Builder Alexander McIntosh of 186 King Street


Previous Address 4 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 1/4/1869
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875
Builder Alexander McIntosh of 186 King Street


Previous Address 5 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 14/1/1870
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875
Builder Alexander McIntosh of 186 King Street


Constructed 4/7/1853
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875
Builder Colin Campbell

Constructed 23/11/1853
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875
Builder Colin Campbell



Previous Address 10 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Style Late twentieth century: 1960 – 2000

Previous Address 11 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 31/7/1869
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875
Builder John George Marley, 1 Courtney St Hotham

Constructed 31/7/1869
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875
Builder John George Marley, 1 Courtney St Hotham

Constructed 3/6/1871
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875
Builder John George Marley, 1 Courtney St Hotham

Previous Address 17 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 3/6/1871
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875
Builder John George Marley, 1 Courtney St Hotham

Previous Address 19 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 21/12/1869
Style Victorian : 1840-1890
Builder Crawford & Anderson of Peel Street West Melbourne.

Previous Address 21 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 1872
Style Victorian : 1840-1890
Architect Crouch & Wilson, 46 Elizabeth Street Melbourne

Previous Address 21.5 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 20/02/1883
Style Victorian, Late: 1875-1901
Architect Koch, J B
Builder Charles Nott, Normanby Road South Melbourne.

Previous Address 22 or 22a Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 20/02/1883
Style Victorian, Late: 1875-1901
Architect Koch, J B
Builder Charles Nott, Normanby Road South Melbourne.

Previous Address 23 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 1870 and 30/9/1878
Style Victorian, Late: 1875-1901
Builder Crawford and Anderson of Elizabeth Street North then Frederick Wittpan of 302 Rathdown Street North Carlton

Previous Address 25 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 16/5/1876
Style Victorian : 1840-1890
Builder Cockram & Connely (later T Cockram & Co) of O’Connell Street North Melbourne

Previous Address 27 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 16/ 05/ 1876
Style Victorian : 1840-1890
Builder Cockram & Connely (later T Cockram & Co) of O’Connell Street North Melbourne

Previous Address 29 Hawke Street before 1889
Constructed 1872
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875
Builder brothers James, John & Albert Thurgood

Previous Address 37 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 5/7/1871
Style Victorian : 1840-1890
Builder William Chrystal of Victoria street West Melbourne

Previous Address 37 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 5/7/1871
Style Victorian : 1840-1890
Builder William Chrystal of Victoria street West Melbourne

Previous Address 39 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Constructed 17/4/1878
Style Victorian : 1840-1890
Builder Mr T. F. Murphy

Previous Address 11 Hawke Street
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875

Previous Address 12 Hawke Street

Previous Address 13 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875

Previous Address 14 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875

Previous Address 15 Hawke Street (before 1889)
Style Victorian, Mid: 1860-1875









Constructed 1868
Style Early twenty first century 2000-2030
Architect William J Ellis
Builder Mr. F. J. Tadgell of 23 Provost Street North Melbourne


Constructed 5/08/1884
Style Victorian : 1840-1890
Builder Taylor, R – Spencer Street West Melbourne


