Sydney Road Hume Highway Victoria
Sydney Road, Brunswick, looking south to the CBD
General information
Type	Road
Length	24 km (15 mi)[1]
Route number(s)	Metro Route 55(2005–present) Entire route Concurrencies: C722(1998–present) (through Craigieburn)
Former route number	National Highway M31(1997–2005) (Craigieburn–Fawkner) National Highway 31(1974–2005) (Fawkner–Brunswick) National Highway 31(1974–1997) (Craigieburn–Fawkner) National Route 31(1954–1974) Entire route
Major junctions
North end	Hume Freeway Craigieburn, Melbourne
	Western Ring Road
South end	Royal Parade Brunswick, Melbourne
Location(s)
LGA(s)	City of Hume City of Merri-bek
Major suburbs	Craigieburn,Somerton,Campbellfield,Coburg

Sydney Road (in its northernmost part also known as theHume Highway) is a major urban arterial in the northern suburbs ofMelbourne,Victoria,Australia.

Sydney Road starts at the northern end ofRoyal Parade at the boundary ofParkville andBrunswick and continues north throughBrunswick,Coburg,Coburg North,Hadfield,Fawkner,Campbellfield,Somerton andCraigieburn, where it joins theHume Freeway.

The section passing through Brunswick and Coburg, between Park Street at its southern end and Bell Street near the site of the formerPentridge prison, at its northern end, is Melbourne's longest continuous shopping strip, with an abundance of small businesses and a variety of restaurants and coffee shops, clothing stores, places of worship, and community services. It is well known for its wedding fashion shops, discount shopping and a number of specialist food stores.

Previously part ofHume Highway, the road was bypassed as the main route through northern Melbourne when theCraigieburn bypass opened in 2005; the road name was devolved back to its original identity asSydney Road as a consequence.

As a part of the Hume Highway, the road was signed as National Route 31 in 1954. TheWhitlam government introduced the federalNational Roads Act 1974,^[2] where roads declared as a National Highway were still the responsibility of the states for road construction and maintenance, but were fully compensated by the Federal government for money spent on approved projects.^[2]: S7 As an important interstate link between the capitals of Victoria and New South Wales, the Hume Highway was declared a National Highway in 1974.

With Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, the section betweenCraigieburn andFawkner (where it met theWestern Ring Road) was upgraded to National Highway M31; it was left as National Highway 31 south of the ring road along its original alignment into central Melbourne. Once the Craigieburn bypass was opened in 2005 and National Route M31 was re-routed onto the new bypass, the old route was replaced with Metropolitan Route 55 from Craigieburn to the central suburb ofDocklands.

The passing of theRoad Management Act 2004^[3] granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads toVicRoads: VicRoads declared this road asSydney Road (Arterial #5733), beginning from Bell Street inCoburg and ending at Brunswick Road,Brunswick in 2004,^[4] and asCoburg-Craigieburn Road (Arterial #5500), from Bell Street to where it meets Hume Freeway inCraigieburn in 2006;^[5] the road in its entirety is still presently known (and signposted) as Sydney Road.

In February 1841, George Jones opened a retail store on Sydney Road in Pentridge.^[6]

TheVictorian gold rush in the 1850s caused businesses to flourish on Sydney Road. Many were established to supply the miners on their trek north to the gold fields. Numerous hotels were built along Sydney Road in this period including the Brunswick Hotel, the Cornish Arms Hotel, the Sarah Sands Hotel, the Cumberland Arms Hotel, the Edinburgh Castle Hotel and the Court House Hotel. It was originally called Pentridge Road, as it connected the city withPentridge prison. It was renamed Sydney Road in 1859.

The early hub of business activity was between Weston Street and Albert Street in Brunswick, but by the 1880s businesses were rapidly being established beyond Albion Street. In the 1920s the clothing and textile industries grew; evidence of their presence in the area can still be seen in the existence of tailors shops, fabric shops and an abundance of wedding gown shops.

During the 1930s the Unemployed Workers Movement held street meetings on the corner of Sydney Road and Phoenix Street. These meetings were harassed and suppressed by the police, under the direct orders of Police Commissioner, GeneralThomas Blamey. Young Australian artistNoel Counihan played a significant part in this campaign. The State Government, concerned about the public sympathy being generated, eventually changed the law in regard to obstruction, with no requirement of permits to speak. A Free Speech memorial was built outside theMechanics' Institute on the corner of Sydney and Glenlyon Roads to commemorate the success of the free speech fights. Counihan's work as an artist and local resident is also commemorated by the Counihan Gallery on Sydney Road run by theCity of Merri-bek Council.

During the second world war and in the 1950s, Sydney Road came alive with late night shopping. This included late night shopping parades with floats. The construction of the Barkly Square shopping complex immediately to the east of Sydney Road in the 1980s coincided with a decline in the success of the strip. The Sydney Road Brunswick Association was formed in the early 1990s to provide a focus for action to revive the strip, utilising a range of community development and marketing techniques.

With postwar immigration, many migrant families established businesses. The multicultural nature of business on Sydney Road is reflected in the cuisines offered by its restaurants and cafes. Italian, Greek and Balkan cuisines were once the dominant non-Anglo fare, but since the 1980s Sydney Road's eateries have diversified and increased in number, so that the food available now includes Lebanese, Afghan, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, North and East African, Balinese, Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Nepali cuisines. In the early 2000s, several hotels (pubs) were renovated and have become very popular live music venues. Property prices in Brunswick and Coburg (south of Bell Street) rose sharply in the 1990s and early 2000s. The signs ofgentrification are increasingly evident in the southern quarter of Sydney Road, with a rising number of clothing boutiques and many new eateries serving eclectic and contemporary Australian 'fusion' cuisine in stylish, designer environments, producing an increasingly diversified street life.

As a majoractivity centre inMerri-bek, Sydney Road is a key component in any strategies of urban intensification to meet the requirements of the Victorian Government's metropolitan strategy,Melbourne 2030. In his first speech in December 2006, newly elected Moreland Mayor Mark O'Brien proposed turning the entire 4.5 km commercial strip between Brunswick Road and Bell Street into a promenade, which would transform the usually congested Sydney Road into one of the longest pedestrian streets in the world.^[7]

Sydney Road contains many historical landmarks. Many of the hotels date from the 1850s, including the Cornish Arms hotel and the Sarah Sands Hotel on the corner of Brunswick Road. TheBombay Rock at the corner of Phoenix Street, was one of the pre-eminent rock music venues in Melbourne in the 1970s and 80s.

Brunswick Town Hall, built in 1876 on the corner of Dawson Street, is an imposing Victorian edifice. It was saved from planned destruction by the municipal council in 1973-1974 whenVic andVida Little, along with theBrunswick Progress Association, led a successful campaign to preserve it. The building was significantly extended and renovated in the early 1990s to upgrade the library, offices and public assembly spaces.

Diagonally opposite from the Town Hall stands the Mechanics Institute, built in 1868, and used for worker education and social activities. A monument to the Free Speech fights of the 1930s stands near the corner. The history of many of the single and double story shop fronts can be seen in the names and years moulded into the upper portions of the building facades. TheMechanics Institute now provides a popular performance space and offices for local arts administrators.

Sydney Road has a number of institutions that are notable for their contribution to the broader cultural life of Melbourne. The Mediterranean supermarket, between Victoria and Blyth Streets is a long-established, large and well-known source of Italian and other European foodstuffs. The A1 Middle Eastern Bakery, at the top of Brunswick Hill is the most high-profile of a number of such bakeries in the area, well known for products such as flat bread that are supplied across Melbourne. A tour of these bakeries forms part of Melbourne's annual Food and Wine festival. Savers is a very popular supermarket-sized second-hand clothing store, located between Albert Street and Glenlyon Road. Well known for its bridal shops, a recent arrival in Sydney Road isMariana Hardwick's emporium in the eponymously (re)named building betweenSparta Place and Ballarat Street.

Tram route 19 runs along the inner section of Sydney Road, starting at Bakers Road inCoburg North and ending inElizabeth Street atFlinders Street station in the city. TheUpfield railway line from the city loop runs parallel to Sydney Road about 200m to the west, with stations atJewell,Brunswick,Anstey,Moreland andCoburg. The road has historically been signed as Route 31, but since the opening of theCraigieburn Bypass has been relegated to Route 55.

LGA	Location[1][4][5]	km[1]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Hume	Craigieburn	0.0	0.0	Hume Freeway (M31 north) – Seymour,Shepparton,Wodonga	Northbound exit and southbound entrance ramps only Northern terminus of road and Metro Route 55
		2.1	1.3	Grand Boulevard (west) – Craigieburn Amaroo Road (east) –City viaHume Freeway (M31 south)
		3.5	2.2	Craigieburn Road West (C722) – Craigieburn,Mickleham	Concurreny with route C722 overNorth East railway bridge
		3.8	2.4	North East railway line
		4.3	2.7	Craigieburn Road East (C722) – Wollert,Epping,City viaHume Freeway
	Somerton	8.7	5.4	Somerton Road (Metro Routes 35/58 west) – Roxburgh Park,Bulla Cooper Street (Metro Route 58 east) – Epping,South Morang
	Campbellfield	11.4	7.1	Barry Road – Broadmeadows
		13.9	8.6	Camp Road (Metro Route 48 west) – Broadmeadows,Tullamarine Mahoneys Road (Metro Route 48 east) – Thomastown,Greensborough
Hume–Merri-bek boundary	Fawkner	14.2	8.8	Western Ring Road (M80) – Greensborough,Laverton North	Single-point urban interchange
Merri-bek		14.5	9.0	Anderson Road – Fawkner
		15.2	9.4	Jukes Road – Fawkner
		15.6	9.7	Box Forest Road – Glenroy
		17.2	10.7	Boundary Road (west) – Hadfield Queens Parade (east) – Fawkner
	Coburg North	18.2	11.3	Bakers Road – Coburg North
		18.9	11.7	Gaffney Street (west) – Pascoe Vale Murray Road (east) – Preston
	Coburg	19.3	12.0	Ohea Street (west) – Pascoe Vale South Pentridge Road (east) – Coburg, toBell Street eastbound – Heidelberg
		19.7	12.2	Bell Street (Metro Route 40) – Heidelberg,Strathmore	No left turn southbound to Bell Street eastbound; no right turn northbound from Bell Street westbound
		23.7	14.7	Moreland Road  – Thornbury,Essendon
	Brunswick	23.7	14.7	Brunswick Road (Metro Route 38) – Northcote,Moonee Ponds
				Royal Parade (Metro Route 55) – Parkville,City	Southern terminus of road, Metro Route 55 continues south alongRoyal Parade
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Route transition

Australian roads portal

• Donati, Laura (2005).Almost Pretty: A History of Sydney Road. Brunswick West, Victoria: Publishing Solutions.ISBN 1-920892-38-9.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSydney Road, Melbourne.

• Sydney Road Brunswick Association
• Sydney Road Street Party

• Streets in Melbourne
• Highways and freeways in Melbourne
• Shopping districts and streets in Australia
• Transport in the City of Hume
• Transport in the City of Merri-bek

• CS1 maint: url-status
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from October 2021
• Use Australian English from January 2013
• All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
• WikiProject Australian Roads articles with a junction list using templates
• Commons category link from Wikidata