Back to search results »

Back to search page »

Former Northern Cattle Market Reserve Wall

Other Names Northern Market Wall ,  Northern Cattle Market Wall ,  University of Melbourne Veterinary Research Institute Location 99 - 133 Storey Street & Park Drive & Flemington Road,, PARKVILLE VIC 3010 - Property No B4441 File Number B4441 Level State

[1/1] B4441 Former Northern Market

Statement of Significance

The former Northern Market Wall is historically and architecturally significant at a state level.
The former Northern Market Wall is historically significant for its strong visual and physical association with the extensive livestock and hay markets, which for decades dominated this near approach to the central city of Melbourne. The wall, although not constructed until 1888, nevertheless indicates the history of the site since 1856 when it was set aside as a livestock market and its active use from 1868 to the late 1930s. It is a unique remnant of the livestock markets that once occupied the site and is strongly associated with the history of Melbourne's markets in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The wall was built as an expensive civic work to define and separate the market reserve, confining a potential public nuisance and reducing dangers inherent with livestock in urban areas. The construction of the Park Drive and Story Street section demonstrated the tension between the commercial and residential interests of the city of Melbourne, since it was designed partly to protect local residents from the sights and smells of the livestock held at the market. It is significant that the wall continued along the prominent Flemington Road frontage and that it echoed the very substantial brick walls and constructions of the whole site (save part of Grattan Street) and the Hay Market. The Flemington Road section of the wall is particularly important as a landmark which recalls the position of the livestock market and Haymarket, located at the junction of two of the major routes into the city, at the comer of Flemington Road (Mount Alexander Road) and Royal Parade (the Sydney Road). The wall constitutes the only substantial remaining evidence of the historic use of this precinct and is a link with a vital aspect of Melbourne's agricultural and pastoral past.
Classified: 08/03/1979
Revised: 06/08/2001