Spencer Street is a major street and thoroughfare in the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The street was gazetted in 1837 as the westernmost boundary of the

Hoddle Grid Hoddle Grid is the contemporary name given to the approximately grid of streets that form the Melbourne central business district, Australia. Bounded by Flinders Street, Spring Street, La Trobe Street, and Spencer Street, it lies at an angle ...

. Spencer Street is named for

John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer, (30 May 1782 – 1 October 1845), styled Viscount Althorp from 1783 to 1834, was a British statesman. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Grey and Lord Melbourne from 1830 to 1834. Due to his ...

, former

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

under

Lord Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

Location

Running roughly north–south, Spencer Street forms the western edge of the original

. To the north Spencer Street becomes Dynon Road, whilst to the south it becomes Clarendon Street after crossing the

Spencer Street Bridge The Spencer Street Bridge is a road and tram bridge over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia. It connects Spencer Street on the north bank with Clarendon Street on the south. The idea of a bridge at this point was first put forward in the m ...

over the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stre ...

. Spencer Street denotes the boundary between Melbourne and Docklands to the west, West Melbourne in the north and Southbank in the south, near

Batman Park Batman Park is an urban park, located on the northern bank of the Yarra River in central Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Batman Park is a small open grassed space with paths and planted Eucalyptus trees bordered by Spencer Street at the west, F ...

History

Spencer Street was the site of the first permanent buildings in the settlement now called Melbourne. The home of

John Batman John Batman (21 January 18016 May 1839) was an Australian grazier, entrepreneur and explorer. He is best known for his role in the founding of Melbourne. Born and raised in the then-British colony of New South Wales, Batman settled in Van Die ...

was built on nearby

Batman's Hill Batman's Hill in Melbourne, Australia was named for the Vandemonian adventurer and grazier John Batman. Now removed, the 18-metre-high hill was located to the south of today's Collins Street and Southern Cross railway station, and is the site o ...

where he lived until his death and the early camps of Captain William Lonsdale and

Charles La Trobe Charles la Trobe, CB (20 March 18014 December 1875), commonly Latrobe, was appointed in 1839 superintendent of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales and, after the establishment in 1851 of the colony of Victoria (now a state of Australi ...

were located along the street. With the creation of

Melbourne Docklands Docklands, also known as Melbourne Docklands, is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. Docklands recorded a population ...

in 2000, the construction of

Southern Cross railway station Southern Cross railway station (until 2005 known as Spencer Street station) is a major railway station in Docklands, Victoria, Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, Melbourne, Spencer Street, between Collins Street, Melbourne, Collins ...

in 2006 and the addition of a

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

, the area has undergone significant urban renewal.

Notable buildings

Many buildings and structures on Spencer Street are listed on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

and/or classified by the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

. Others are more modern and significant for their current or future function. These include:

Heritage Listed

* Grand Hotel and Grand Central Apartments (the former

Victorian Railway Offices Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

) * Former Mail Exchange * Overhead Water Tank (part of the former

Spencer Street Power Station Spencer Street Power Station was a Victorian era coal and (later) oil-fired power station which operated on Spencer Street, Melbourne, Spencer Street in central Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The station was opened in 1894, ...

, demolished 2008) * History of Transport Mural by artist Harold Freeman (at

) * Sands and McDougall's Warehouse

Other Buildings

Southern Cross station Southern Cross railway station (until 2005 known as Spencer Street station) is a major railway station in Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, between Collins and La Trobe Streets, at the western edge of the Melbourne central busi ...

(formerly Spencer Street station), *

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

newspaper offices * Former

Charles Hotham Sir Charles Hotham, KCB, RN (14 January 180631 December 1855)B. A. Knox,Hotham, Sir Charles (1806–1855), '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 429-430. was Lieutenant-Governor and, later, Governor of Victoria, ...

hotel *

HM Melbourne Assessment Prison The Melbourne Assessment Prison (MAP) is an Australian remand and reception prison located in Spencer Street, West Melbourne, Victoria. The facility is operated by Corrections Victoria. Function and history The prison is also known by the n ...

Under Construction

Several apartment buildings and hotels are currently under construction, including the

Ritz-Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addit ...

which will be Australia's tallest hotel when completed. Victoria's largest police station, the City West Police Centre, is located on Spencer Street. The

Victoria Police Centre Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

is set to open adjacent to it on Spencer Street as the new headquarters for

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victo ...

in 2020.

Transport

Spencer Street is served primarily by the

and is both a major terminus for

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cross ...

regional passenger trains and a major stop for metropolitan trains. The street is served by tram routes 11, 12, 35, 96 and 109 at its southern end and 30, 75 and 86 towards the north.

Ghost sightings

There have been reports of supposed sightings of the ghost of John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer roaming around the corner of Francis Street and Spencer Street. This local attraction has brought ghost hunters from around Australia to investigate the phenomena, and is a common stop for local ghost tours.

References

{{coord, 37.8131, S, 144.951, E, source:kolossus-nlwiki, display=title Streets in Melbourne Streets in Melbourne City Centre