Princes Park is a 38.6 hectare (95.4 acre) park in the inner-

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 ...

suburb of Carlton North, Victoria. It is located directly north of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

and bounded on its eastern and western sides by Melbourne General Cemetery and Royal Parade respectively Although the park consists of a number of Australian rules football ovals, the

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

of the Prince’s Park Carlton Bowls Club Bowls, and a small stretch of parkland, it is best known as the location of Ikon Park, the old Prince’s Park Football Ground, the home of the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Me ...

. The park also contains a children's playground; the Within Three Worlds sculpture; a barbecue and picnic facilities. The park's site was originally proclaimed as "Prince's Park" on 9 June 1873 under ''The Land Act 1869'' by the Minister for Lands and Agriculture, J. J. Casey, and its size was expressed at 97 acres. It was named for Albert, Prince Consort. It was established at the same time as other existing and iconic parks. The Capital City Trail passes through the northern section of the park, following the path of the now-closed

Inner Circle railway line The Inner Circle Line was a steam era suburban railway line (later electrified) in Melbourne, Australia. It served the inner-northern suburbs of Parkville, Carlton North, Fitzroy North, and Fitzroy. At its closure, it ran from Roy ...

. In January 2006 and 2007

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

(a popular Australasian music festival) was held at Princes Park on the ovals at the park's southern end. The event's traditional venue, the

Royal Melbourne Showgrounds Melbourne Showgrounds is located in the inner north-western suburb of Ascot Vale, Victoria, Australia, next door to Flemington Racecourse. The largest and most flexible indoor/outdoor venue space in Melbourne the Showgrounds is the home of the an ...

was unavailable due to redevelopment. The running track around the perimeter of Princes Park is 3.183 kilometres. The track is made of compacted gravel and drains well in wet weather. Aside from general recreational use, the track is used also for running and walking events. Regular events include the Sri Chimnoy Prince’s Park Winter Running Festival, Victorian Road Runners Prince’s Park Fun Run, and the Parkville parkrun. In 2018, Australian comedian and actress Eurydice Dixon was murdered by James Todd in the park. Todd is currently serving a life sentence as.

References

External links

Satellite photo of Princes Park

Princes Park master plan
(n.d.) {{Coord, -37.7837, 144.9620, type:landmark_source:enwiki-googlemaplink, display=title Parks in Melbourne Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA) Sport in the City of Melbourne (LGA)