Roma Street is a major street in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, the capital of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. It is named after Diamantina Bowen (née di Roma), the wife of the first

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial func ...

, George Bowen.

Geography

Roma Street is the main north-west road connecting the Brisbane central business district to the inner north-western suburbs of Milton, Petrie Terrace and beyond. It is approximately in length from its junction with Ann Street to its junction with Countess and Saul Streets. Roma Street does not terminate as such at Countess and Saul Streets, but extends further towards the inner north-western suburbs, but becomes named as Upper Roma Street (presumably reflecting the rising terrain), although the street numbering is contiguous with Roma Street, supporting that it is viewed as part of the same street. Upper Roma Street continues for a further .

History

StateLibQld 1 79099 Interior view of a butcher shop established in Roma Street, Brisbane, ca

In the 1840s the Roma Street area was used for a major gathering of Aboriginal groups from south-east Queensland, consisting of several hundred people at which the Ipswich group performed a new corrobboree. It is thought to be the last time Aboriginal groups used the area for major gatherings due to the urban growth of Brisbane. On 12 November 1915 the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

opened Queensland's first State butcher's shop in Roma Street. In the 1915 Queensland state election, T. J. Ryan's Labor government won office in wartime Queensland on the strength of promises to improve living standards, principally by addressing the problems of high commodity prices, price-fixing and the emergence of monopolies. They believed in public ownership of key economic activities, in competition with private enterprise, but at fair prices. From 1915 to 1929, 90 State butcher's shops operated in Queensland for various periods, but all were eventually closed as being uneconomic to operate.

Landmarks

Many Brisbane landmarks are located on Roma Street (as numbered, starting from the intersection at Ann Street): * 109: Emma Miller Place, formerly known as Roma Street Forum, is an area of parkland long associated with public protests and

soapbox A soapbox is a raised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. The term originates from the days when speakers would elevate themselves by standing on a wooden crate originally used for shipmen ...

speakers. It was renamed in honour of Emma Miller, a pioneer

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

organiser,

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

, and key figure in organisations which led to the founding of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms ...

*110: Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law, Brisbane, a modern courthouse complex occupying an entire triangular city block addressing Roma Street, George Street and Turbot Street *unnumbered:

Transcontinental Hotel Transcontinental Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at 462-468 George Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and built from 1883 to 1884. It was added to the Queen ...

, a heritage-listed hotel on the intersection with George Street * Brisbane CBD Roma Street police HQ

154-158: King George Chambers, built in 1927 as part of a program to modernise the area as a retail precinct (now heritage-listed) * 151-171: Brisbane Transit Centre, a major railway and bus transport hub for South-East Queensland, sitting beside and partially above Roma Street railway station * 159:

Roma Street railway station Roma Street railway station is located in the Brisbane central business district, Queensland, Australia. It is the junction station for the North Coast railway line, Queensland, North Coast, Main Line railway, Main, Gold Coast railway line, Go ...

, a major railway hub for South-East Queensland rail transport including the heritage-listed 1873 Roma Street railway station building *(unnumbered): Roma Street Parkland (behind the Roma Street railway station) *(unnumbered): Roma Street busway station *200:

Queensland Police Service The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old mott ...

headquarters, including the Queensland Police Museum

Upper Roma Street

Notable landmarks on Upper Roma Street include: * the site of the

First Brisbane Burial Ground The First Brisbane Burial Ground is a heritage-listed archaeological site at Skew Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as Skew Street Cemetery. It was established in 1825 as part of the Moreton Bay ...

(now a park) * Roma Street fire station * E.E. McCormick Place, a park named after Edward Escott McCormick who had enabled the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisdic ...

to acquire the site * numerous backpacker hostels * 436:

Hellesvere Hellesvere is a heritage-listed detached house at 436 Upper Roma Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built . It is also known as Eton. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. H ...

, a heritage-listed house, built in 1873 for

Francis Curnow Francis Curnow (died 24 April 1901) was the third commissioner of the Queensland Railway Department in Australia. Railway career By 1866 Curnow had settled in Ipswich, Queensland, as a railway storekeeper, a position made necessary by the openin ...

, Commissioner of the Queensland Railways

References

External links