Edinburgh Gardens, Melbourne
Encyclopedia
Edinburgh Gardens is a large park located in North Fitzroy
. It is bounded by Brunswick Street
and St Georges Road to the west, the curve of Alfred Crescent to the north and east, and Freeman Street to the south. It was created from a grant of land in March 1862 by Queen Victoria
and laid out by Clement Hodgkinson
, who designed many of Melbourne's parks and gardens,. At approximately 24 hectares (59.3 acre) in size, the park is large by inner urban standards.
in 1978.
The park is unique due not only to the size, but also the strange features, and unusual history of the reserve. For example, the centrepiece of the park is a pedestal designed to hold a large statue of Queen Victoria. However, this statue only stood watch over the gardens for three years before mysteriously going missing more than a century ago. It was never replaced, and the bare plinth remains as a strange reminder.
once bisected the gardens. The Fitzroy spur diverged from the line along Park Street, followed Mark Street across Alfred Crescent and finished at the former Fitzroy Station
, located behind Brunswick Street Oval. This passenger service was never viable, and was closed only a few years after being built. The area was then used as a freight yard until the 1980s.
Some sections of the old track are still visible through the park. Level crossings were retained when the tracks were removed. The old line has been replaced with a shared path that joins the Linear Park Reserve and leads to the nearby Capital City Trail
.
Factories associated with the line have been demolished and the land either returned to the Edinburgh Gardens or sold.
A timber pedestrian bridge remained in the south-west of the gardens until about 2003. it was sold and removed to make way for a low-rise development for the Office of housing.
An Australian rules football
oval located at the south-western corner of the gardens, the W.T. Peterson Community Oval (named after a 21-year veteran of the Fitzroy City Council) (GC: 37°47′20.54"S 144°58′51.26"E
) is better known to generations of Fitzroy Football Club
supporters as the Brunswick Street Oval
. The ground has a capacity of approximately 15 000 spectators. It served as the club's home ground in the VFA
competition, and later the VFL
competition from 1883 until 1966. The last game played there was in August 1966 when Fitzroy played St Kilda. Fitzroy lost that match by 84 points. Currently the ground is used by the Fitzroy Football Club playing in the VAFA and the Fitzroy Junior Football Club in the YJFL, it is considered the spiritual home ground of Fitzroy. The playing ground is now framed by the remaining original features of the oval: the visiting members gate structure at the corner Freeman and Brunswick Streets, and late nineteenth century grandstand
, gates and ticket box on the opposite side of the oval. The main grandstand is on the Victorian Heritage Register
.
The ground record crowd for Brunswick Street Oval was set on May 6, 1935
when 36,000 fans saw Fitzroy draw with Collingwood
. Both sides scored 14 goals and 9 behinds and were deadlocked on 93 points.
UPDATE: The fire gatherings don't happen anymore.
Fitzroy North, Victoria
Fitzroy North is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Yarra and Moreland. At the 2006 Census, Fitzroy North had a population of 11,069....
. It is bounded by Brunswick Street
Brunswick Street, Melbourne
Brunswick Street is a street in inner northern Melbourne, known for cafés, live music venues and alternative fashion shops.-Geography:Brunswick Street runs north-south through the inner northern Melbourne suburbs of Fitzroy and Fitzroy North, from Victoria Parade at its southernmost end, crossing...
and St Georges Road to the west, the curve of Alfred Crescent to the north and east, and Freeman Street to the south. It was created from a grant of land in March 1862 by Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
and laid out by Clement Hodgkinson
Clement Hodgkinson
Clement Hodgkinson was a notable English naturalist, explorer and surveyor of Australia. He was Victorian Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey from 1861 to 1874.- Exploration in New South Wales :...
, who designed many of Melbourne's parks and gardens,. At approximately 24 hectares (59.3 acre) in size, the park is large by inner urban standards.
Statement of Significance 1978
Edinburgh Gardens were nominated for inclusion on the Register of the National EstateRegister of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...
in 1978.
"The Edinburgh Gardens are significant in terms of the large number of established trees and garden beds and the associated garden furniture - cast iron bollards, drinking fountain, fixed seats and bandstand. The tennis club house, train track and fixed train engine and the Bowling Club house and lawns are integral to this significance, while the adjacent cricket ground, with its two gatehouses and historic grandstand, is of complementary significance. They are also notable for the open space they provide and the manner in which they complement and close the vistas observable while passing along Alfred Crescent. The significance of the precinct is seen to lie in the marriage of the built environment with a sylvan landscape. It is enhanced by the quality of individual elements, both built and floral, in terms of their historical, architectural, recreational and visual amenity".
Statement of Significance 2004
"The area later known as the Edinburgh Gardens was set aside as a temporary public reserve in 1862. Soon after the reservation was gazetted, the first of the sporting organizations to become associated with the place, the Collingwood Commercial Cricket Club was given occupancy, establishing a tradition of organised sport within the Gardens which continues today. Around 1872 the reserve acquired its name, commemorating Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh. The balance of the Gardens was not immediately laid out or cultivated, and grazing of the land continued until the early 1880s. While the various sporting clubs had already made improvements to their respective areas, the Fitzroy Council was not appointed as managers of the Gardens until 1878. In 1882 the Gardens were permanently reserved and in 1883 a formal layout, trenching and tree planting commenced to the straightforward design of Joseph Martin Reed, Victorian Lands Department district surveyor. In 1888 the Gardens were divided by an excision of land through the centre for construction of the Fitzroy spur line of the Inner Circle Railway. The Gardens continued to be redeveloped to various degrees throughout the twentieth century with the addition of further sporting, ornamental and memorial structures and plantings.
The Edinburgh Gardens retains most of its earliest path system as well as a number of subsequent additions. It also retains avenues of mature elms, together with other specimen trees and significant twentieth century examples of rare perimeter planting. A substantial number of significant nineteenth and early twentieth century structures and buildings survive within the Gardens."
Description
The Edinburgh Gardens precinct is defined by the escargot shaped reserve originally set aside for Public Gardens, the Fitzroy and the North Fitzroy Cricket Grounds and a [former] railway station and line. The unique shape of the gardens stems from the resolution between different street grids and the desire to create a circus along Georgian lines. The scheme for a grand crescent with central gardens, playing grounds and rail facilities was developed as the most logical answer to this dilemma.
The park is unique due not only to the size, but also the strange features, and unusual history of the reserve. For example, the centrepiece of the park is a pedestal designed to hold a large statue of Queen Victoria. However, this statue only stood watch over the gardens for three years before mysteriously going missing more than a century ago. It was never replaced, and the bare plinth remains as a strange reminder.
Former Railway in Edinburgh Gardens
A spur of the former Inner Circle RailwayInner Circle railway line, Melbourne
The Inner Circle was a steam era suburban railway line in Melbourne, Australia. It covered the inner-northern suburbs of Parkville, Carlton North, Fitzroy North, and Fitzroy...
once bisected the gardens. The Fitzroy spur diverged from the line along Park Street, followed Mark Street across Alfred Crescent and finished at the former Fitzroy Station
Fitzroy railway station, Melbourne
Fitzroy is a former railway station that was on a branch line of the Inner Circle line in Melbourne, Australia. It was located in the Edinburgh Gardens, behind the Brunswick Street Oval. The station was opened in 1888, but poor patronage led to its closure to passenger services in May 1892. The...
, located behind Brunswick Street Oval. This passenger service was never viable, and was closed only a few years after being built. The area was then used as a freight yard until the 1980s.
Some sections of the old track are still visible through the park. Level crossings were retained when the tracks were removed. The old line has been replaced with a shared path that joins the Linear Park Reserve and leads to the nearby Capital City Trail
Capital City Trail
The Capital City Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which circles the Melbourne city centre and some inner eastern and northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
.
Factories associated with the line have been demolished and the land either returned to the Edinburgh Gardens or sold.
A timber pedestrian bridge remained in the south-west of the gardens until about 2003. it was sold and removed to make way for a low-rise development for the Office of housing.
W.T. Peterson Community Oval
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
oval located at the south-western corner of the gardens, the W.T. Peterson Community Oval (named after a 21-year veteran of the Fitzroy City Council) (GC: 37°47′20.54"S 144°58′51.26"E
) is better known to generations of Fitzroy Football Club
Fitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
supporters as the Brunswick Street Oval
Brunswick Street Oval
The Brunswick Street Oval, currently known as WT Peterson Community Oval, also known as the Fitzroy Cricket Ground is a cricket and Australian rules football ground located in Edinburgh Gardens in Fitzroy North, Victoria...
. The ground has a capacity of approximately 15 000 spectators. It served as the club's home ground in the VFA
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
competition, and later the VFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
competition from 1883 until 1966. The last game played there was in August 1966 when Fitzroy played St Kilda. Fitzroy lost that match by 84 points. Currently the ground is used by the Fitzroy Football Club playing in the VAFA and the Fitzroy Junior Football Club in the YJFL, it is considered the spiritual home ground of Fitzroy. The playing ground is now framed by the remaining original features of the oval: the visiting members gate structure at the corner Freeman and Brunswick Streets, and late nineteenth century grandstand
Grandstand
A grandstand is a large and normally permanent structure for seating spectators, most often at a racetrack. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap all or most of the way...
, gates and ticket box on the opposite side of the oval. The main grandstand is on the Victorian Heritage Register
Victorian Heritage Register
The Victorian Heritage Register lists places of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 1995 which establishes Heritage Victoria as the permit authority...
.
The ground record crowd for Brunswick Street Oval was set on May 6, 1935
1935 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1935.-Premiership season:In 1935, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus one substitute player, known as the 19th man...
when 36,000 fans saw Fitzroy draw with Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
. Both sides scored 14 goals and 9 behinds and were deadlocked on 93 points.
Fire gatherings
Activity in the park in the last few years has been occasioned by a weekly fire-twirling night, traditionally held on Wednesdays near the rotunda. This runs all year round, usually quietening down in the Winter and then peaking in attendance during the summer months when the nights are warmer and the energy is high. The gatherings are mostly attended by Melbourne fire-twirlers and members of the local hippie and psychedelic trance scenes. Usually beginning at 8:30-9pm and running until midnight, it has provided a wonderful opportunity for pros and newcomers alike to learn new tricks, demonstrate skills and share stories and advice about all things fire-twirling.UPDATE: The fire gatherings don't happen anymore.