Flinders Street is a street in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Victoria, Australia
Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...
. Running roughly parallel to 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 st ...
, Flinders Street forms the southern edge of the
Hoddle Grid. It is exactly in length and one and a half
chains () in width.
The street is named after the English explorer,
Matthew Flinders
Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then ...
, who was erroneously credited with discovering
Port Phillip
Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...
at the time of its naming. It extends eastwards as far as
Spring Street and the
Treasury Gardens and, originally, westwards to Spencer Street, but now continues past
Batman's Hill
Batman's Hill in Melbourne, Australia was named for the Vandemonian adventurer and grazier John Batman. Now removed, the hill was located to the south of today's Collins Street, Melbourne, Collins Street and Southern Cross railway station, and i ...
to the
Melbourne Docklands. As the closest street to the river, Flinders Street served Melbourne's original
river port
An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port.
Examples
The United States Army Corps of Engineers pub ...
. The Customs House, now the site of Victoria's
Immigration Museum, is on Flinders Street.
The street is home to
Flinders Street station, the central station in Melbourne's suburban rail network.
Tram
A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
routes
70 and
75, as well as the
City Circle route, run along Flinders Street, and the
Flinders Street Viaduct runs roughly parallel to the street, linking the city's two major railway stations.
Other landmarks along Flinders Street include
Federation Square
Federation Square (marketed and colloquially known as Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Street ...
,
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...
,
Young and Jackson Hotel, the
Banana Alley Vaults, the old
Herald & Weekly Times building,
Melbourne Aquarium and
Batman Park, which adjoins the Yarra River. The land between the south side of Flinders Street and the railway viaduct between Spencer and King Streets was once home to the Melbourne City Markets, an ornate building constructed in 1890, covering 23,000 square metres. The market buildings were demolished between 1958 and 1960, after which the site became a public carpark. The site is now home to the three towers of the Northbank Place complex which includes office space, residential apartments, retail outlets and a multi-level carpark. The Melbourne Fish Market was situated on the south side of the railway viaduct, facing Spencer Street, having been displaced from the south-west corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets when the present Flinders Street station was constructed in the early 1900s. The site of the former Fish Market now forms the western end of Batman Park.
King Street Overpass
In the late 1950s, an overpass was built to take Flinders Street over its intersection with
King Street, as part of the construction of the
King Street Bridge and Kings Way. The overpass extended from Downie Street to just east of Custom House Lane.
Excavation commenced on the foundations of the southern side of the overpass on 6 January 1959 and, by 7 September, the first steel girders were erected.
Upon completion of the first stage on 21 November 1959, trams were diverted onto temporary tracks laid by the
Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board
The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) was a government-owned authority that was responsible for the tram network in Melbourne, Australia between 1919 and 1983, when it was merged into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It had be ...
on that part of the structure. On 23 November 1959, construction on the foundations on the northern side of the overpass commenced and, by 20 February 1960, the remainder of the steelwork on that portion was erected.
Following the erection of beams and the concreting of decks and permanent tram tracks, trams were diverted from the temporary tracks during the weekend of 11–13 June 1960. The northern traffic lanes heading eastbound were opened to traffic on 1 July 1960, with southbound lanes open not long afterwards.
Many businesses and properties were overshadowed by the overpass which resulted in property values dropping and the closure of hotels, shops and showrooms. Plans to revitalise the area in the early 1960s never eventuated. In May 2002, the state government announced it would be demolished, but it was May 2005 before work commenced, with preparations for Melbourne's
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...
acting as a catalyst.
The project concluded in August.
2017 car attack
On 21 December 2017, a driver ploughed through a crowd on Flinders Street, injuring 19 pedestrians. The perpetrator, Saeed Noori, appeared in court on 23 December, charged with 18 counts of attempted murder and one count of reckless conduct endangering life. According to the Melbourne Police, Noori, a 32-year-old Australian of Afghan descent, had a history of assault, drug use and mental health issues. He was remanded in custody and ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment.
See also
*
Wailing Wall (Melbourne)
Notes
References
{{coord, -37.8186, 144.9637, dim:1000_region:AU, display=title
Streets in Melbourne City Centre