1875 Flinders Street looking West
MI_1062
$10.50
A photo looking west along Flinders Street from the intersection with Swanston Street.
The famous Young & Jackson's Prince's Bridge Hotel on the far right was originally built as a three-storey bluestone residence in 1853, with butcher James Graham's shop on the ground floor, and a young ladies school run upstairs by a Mrs Nicole Cook. (As Miss Nicole Newcome she had accompanied the Batman family from Launceston in 1836, acting as governess for the family's children. In 1837 she married, and having left the employment of the Batman family, commenced her school. The original school building was on this block but facing Flinders St and slightly west of the actual corner.) The block of land that this building is on was originally purchased by John Batman in 1837 for £100, during the first land auction.
The Prince's Bridge Hotel opened there on 1st of July 1861, with John Toohey (yes - of Toohey's Beer) as the first licensee. The licence was transferred to James Hogan in 1862, then to Joshua Roberts Mooney in 1866 (see photo displaying "Mooney's" over the front door). In 1875 the licence was acquired by two Irish gold diggers from Dublin, cousins Henry Young and Thomas Jackson, who had been licencees of the Sparrow's Hotel in St Kilda. Fortunately for Melbourne, the Princes Bridge Hotel still stands, and since 1904 has been the home of "Chloe", a very famous French nude painting from 1875.
The large building on the left was originally built as Melbourne's Fish Market in 1865. As Melbourne grew and health regulations and traffic congestion increased, a new location for the Fish Market was built at the western end of Flinders Street, on the south-east corner of its intersection with Spencer Street. The original building continued as a fruit market and bicycle stables until the late 1890s, at which time plans were being developed for an enlarged Flinders Street Station which was completed in 1909, and the new Fish Market was completed in 1892.
All text © HotPress
Photograph by Charles Nettleton.
Notes from the State Library tell us that this image is of "Flinders Street, Melbourne, ca.1870 showing the fish market. Shows street scene with buildings, horse drawn carts and people at the intersection."
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.
