A photograph from around 1880 looking east along Bourke Street. We are looking across Elizabeth Street towards Parliament House in Spring Street. The photo was taken at 2:50pm, most likely on a Sunday, as there are very few people in the photo.
The building on the left is the first stage of the GPO, just the original 2 storey, with the third level and a new clock tower added in 1887.
At the end of the street is the partially constructed Parliament House. Behind it is the partially constructed St Patrick's Cathedral.
This part of Bourke Street was the retail and entertainment centre of Melbourne, and continues to be today. Shops, hotels, theatres and a large market attracted visitors day and night.
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Photograph attributed to Charles Nettleton.
The notes from the State Library tell us that this image is "Looking east along Bourke Street from just before Elizabeth Street intersection. General Post Office on left corner, Beehive Clothing Company on right. Line of horse and carriages travelling on left side of road and figures of men standing in street blurred by motion. Parliament House visible in distance.".
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