1852 Map of Melbourne

Map of early Melbourne, from 1852, prepared and published by a real estate company from that period. This detailed map shows suburbs, streets, parks and major buildings of the day.

There is no Flinders Street Station as that didn't happen until 1854 when the first passenger railway line in Australia was opened between Port Melbourne (known as Sandridge then) and the city, where the station was located in Flinders Street at the bottom of Elizabeth Street. Spencer Street Station wasn't built until 1859.

This was one of the last maps produced from that period that did not show the MCG. At that time the Melbourne Cricket Club (established in 1838) was looking for a permanent location, having used a number of "grounds" around Melbourne. In 1853 the club was given a number of choices by Governor LaTrobe and it chose a ten-acre (about 4 hectares) section of the Government Paddock at Richmond next to Richmond Park. Soon after, the Richmond Cricket Club (established in 1854), was given the rights to six-acres (about 2.4 hectares) a few hundred metres to the east of the Melbourne Cricket Club's ground.

Notes from the State Library of Victoria tell us that this is a "Map of the city of Melbourne and its extension [cartographic material] : together with Collingwood, Richmond, Hawthorne, the Emerald Hill, and a portion of Prahran / compiled from the government plans and private survey by William Green."

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This is a digitally retouched reproduction of the original held by the State Library of Victoria. All prints are reproduced without the HOTPRESS watermarks.

Our team of conservators have worked on a high resolution digital image in order to remove blemishes and artifacts such as stains, mould, scratches and damage caused by the handling of the original. We strive to provide authentic representations of the original work that are suitable for enlargements that retain the tones and character of the original.