Fitzroy, Victoria
Encyclopedia : F : FI : FIT : Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is in the Local Government Area of the City of Yarra. Its postcode is 3065.
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. The Moran and Cato warehouse designed by R.A. Lawson is considered to be of high architectural merit.
History
Fitzroy takes its name from Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, the Governor of New South Wales from 1846-1855.
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 adjourning suburbs, Fitzroy was ideally suited to working mens' 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.
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 later build two Commission housing estates in Fitzroy: 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 expensive apartments, and the corresponding rising rent prices in Fitzroy saw many of the area's residents move to Northcote and Brunswick.
In June 1994, the City of Yarra was created by combining the cities of Fitzroy, Collingwood and Richmond.
Culture and sport
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.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, 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 due to rising rents. One of the most important bands in Fitzroy is Architecture In Helsinki, a twee pop band.The offices of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival are in Johnston Street.
Sport
The Fitzroy Football Club (the Fitzroy Lions) was formed in 1883 as part of the VFL/AFL. The club ran into financial difficulties in the 1980s, and was forced to merge with the Brisbane Bears to form the Brisbane Lions. The original club remains as an amateur club which still plays out of the suburb.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.Transport
There are no railway stations or train lines in Fitzroy. The nearest train stations are Collingwood and Parliament railway station.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.
| Melbourne suburbs near Fitzroy (City of Yarra) | ||
| Carlton North | Fitzroy North | Clifton Hill |
| Carlton | Fitzroy | Collingwood |
|---|---|---|
| Melbourne | East Melbourne | Richmond
|
| Suburbs of the City of Yarra | |
|---|---|
|
Abbotsford |
Alphington |
Burnley |
Carlton North |
Clifton Hill |
Collingwood |
Cremorne |
Fairfield |
Fitzroy |
Fitzroy North |
Richmond |
Yarra Bend
| |
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