| Fitzroy North Melbourne, Victoria | |||||||||||||||
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 View ofNicholson Street facing the Central Business District | |||||||||||||||
  Fitzroy North Location in metropolitan Melbourne | |||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 37°47′02″S144°59′10″E / 37.784°S 144.986°E /-37.784; 144.986 | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 12,781 (SAL2021)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3068 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 38 m (125 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 2.4 km2 (0.9 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 4 km (2 mi) NE ofMelbourne | ||||||||||||||
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| State electorate(s) | |||||||||||||||
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Fitzroy North is an inner-city suburb inMelbourne,Victoria, Australia, 4 km (2.5 mi) north-east of theMelbourne central business district, located within the Cities ofMerri-bek andYarralocal government areas. Fitzroy North recorded a population of 12,781 at the2021 census.[2]
Also referred to as North Fitzroy in reference to itssouthern neighbour, Fitzroy North has a distinct character, noted for its prevalence of wide streets, intactVictorian andEdwardian eraterraced housing and for theEdinburgh Gardens, a large inner-city park formerly home to theFitzroy Football Club. Fitzroy North is adjacent to, and shares a postcode and neighbourhood character withClifton Hill, both being government subdivisions set on elevated ground and to the same layout byClement Hodgkinson in the 1870s, and distinct from the earlier narrow and more crowded private subdivisions in the lower lying areas ofFitzroy andCollingwood to the south.
Housing stock includes many fine one and two storey terraces, many dating to the late Victorian period and including characteristic ironwork, verandahs, and stone embellishments. This is one of Melbourne's finest and most expensive inner-city locations. John McMahon, twice elected Mayor ofFitzroy built, firstly in 1886, two townhouses at 53/55 Alfred Crescent, and then in 1890 a large and impressive mansion which he called "Avonmore" at 75 Alfred Crescent. Both were designed by Olaf Nicholson, the architect. On one side of the crescent is a large park, overlooked by John's and other houses calledEdinburgh Gardens, with afamous football oval, bordered by Freeman Street,Brunswick Street,St Georges Road and Alfred Crescent. This park was saved for the people of Fitzroy by John McMahon, when he obtained permanent possession during his first year of Mayorship. An attempt was made by the Government of which Mr Vale was a member, to have a large portion of it excised for public housing. Mr McMahon had Minister Gaunson permanently gazette the land for the people. John also built a terrace of ten shops which he called "Gladstone Terraces" at St. Georges Road. John McMahon was also the chairman and founding president of theFitzroy Football Club. The Brunswick Street Oval was the home ground of the Fitzroy Football Club until 1967, playing in theVictorian Football League. A linear park, incorporating a section of theCapital City Trail bike path, runs along much of the northern edge of the suburb, on the easement for theInner Circle railway line, which closed in 1948.
Fitzroy North (also called North Fitzroy) is theoretically joined toFitzroy, but in reality the two are as separate as any suburbs in the inner city. They were always bisected by the width of Alexandra Parade (earlier Reilly Street), but with the building of theEastern Freeway in the 1970s and its connection to the Parade, the volume of traffic became an overwhelming barrier. Fitzroy North is also distinct in character, with less commercial activity, wider, quieter, leafier streets, and clear delineation to the east provided by the greenMerri Creek corridor.
Most of Fitzroy North is single and double storey Victorian and Edwardian housing, comprising rows of terraces, with a mixture of semi-attached and freestanding houses on small to moderately sized blocks. Large parts of the suburb are protected by heritage controls. The suburb is relatively intact and consistent in character, having had far less industrial and commercial development in its formative years than its southern namesake.
Fitzroy North also has some distinctive apartment complexes, mostly built within the last 15 years. Another, on St Georges Road at Park Street, is a redevelopment of the old Fire Station, with an extension at the back reminiscent of three concrete grain silos.
The main commercial activity in Fitzroy North is onBrunswick Street, St Georges Road and the northern side of Queens Parade, the latter having particularly wide footpaths for a Melbourne commercial strip.
To get to Fitzroy North from the Melbourne CBD, you can travel using the following options:
Five bus routes service Fitzroy North:
Kinetic Melbourne's Fitzroy North bus depots is located within the suburb onNicholson Street, adjacent to theformer tram depot.
One railway station services Fitzroy North:Rushall station, on theMernda line. Rushall station is located on Rushall Crescent, in the north east of the suburb.
Three tram routes service Fitzroy North:
fromCollins Street, alongBrunswick Street andSt Georges Road.
fromBourke Street, which also travels a short distance alongNicholson Street, turns atGertrude Street, turns again intoSmith Street and again into Queens Parade.
from Bourke Street, along Nicholson Street.
The suburb contains five schools –Fitzroy High School, Merri Creek Primary, Fitzroy Community School,[12]Deutsche Schule Melbourne, an independent co-educational English-German bilingual school andFitzroy North Primary School. Fitzroy North Primary School has received state media attention for its canteen's healthy menu.[13] It also has aLOTE program forItalian language, which is undertaken by all students and hosts large Italian-related events, such as Carnevale.
