21 Facts About Fitzroy Victoria

1.

Fitzroy Victoria is known as a cultural hub, particularly for its live music scene and street art, and is the main home of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,368
2.

Long associated with the working class, Fitzroy Victoria has undergone waves of urban renewal and gentrification since the 1980s and today is home to a wide variety of socio-economic groups, featuring both some of the most expensive rents in Melbourne and one of its largest public housing complexes, Atherton Gardens.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,369
3.

The most recent changes to Fitzroy Victoria are mandated by the Melbourne 2030 Metropolitan Strategy, in which both Brunswick Street and nearby Smith Street are designated for redevelopment as Activity centres.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,370
4.

The Kulin name recorded for the Fitzroy Victoria area is Ngar-go, meaning "high ground", which was recorded by anthropologist Alfred William Howitt in the 19th century.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,371
5.

Fitzroy Victoria was Melbourne's first suburb, created in 1839 when the area between Melbourne and Alexandra Parade was subdivided into vacant lots and offered for sale.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,372
6.

On 9 September 1858, Fitzroy Victoria became a municipality in its own right, separate from the City of Melbourne.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,373
7.

Fitzroy Victoria Gasworks was erected on Reilly Street in 1861, dominating the suburb, with the Gasometer Hotel located opposite.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,374
8.

Archie Roach tells of his time in Fitzroy Victoria hanging out and getting drunk, and of reconnecting with his siblings there, in his autobiography, Tell Me Why: The Story of My Life and My Music.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,375
9.

The area's manufacturing and warehouse sites were converted into apartments, and the corresponding rising rents in Fitzroy Victoria saw many of the area's residents move to Northcote and Brunswick.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,376
10.

Recent residential projects in Fitzroy Victoria have sought to express a sense of Fitzroy Victoria's urban character in various ways and have been hotly contested in some cases.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,377
11.

At a local level, Fitzroy Victoria is part of the City of Yarra Local Government Area.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,378
12.

The Fitzroy Victoria area falls within the wards of Langridge and Nicholls, both of these wards are currently represented by the Australian Greens.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,379
13.

At a state level, Fitzroy Victoria is within the Electoral district of Richmond, traditionally a safe Australian Labor Party seat.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,380
14.

Fitzroy Victoria has a thriving street art community and is the home of Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces and the Centre for Contemporary Photography.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,381
15.

Fitzroy Victoria was the primary home of the little band scene, an experimental post-punk scene which thrived from 1978 to 1981.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,382
16.

Today Fitzroy Victoria is a hub for live music in Melbourne, and plays host to several prominent venues; The Old Bar, Bar Open, the Evelyn Hotel, Gertrudes Brown Couch, and Cape Live.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,383
17.

Fitzroy Victoria has a large number of pubs for such a small suburb.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,384
18.

Club keeps strong ties within the Fitzroy community, keeping a social club at the Royal Derby Hotel for Victorian Lions fans, and maintaining links with the Fitzroy VAFA team by sponsoring a men's and women's player each season.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,385
19.

Since that time, Fitzroy Victoria have doubled their membership and achieved promotion twice within the VAFA.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,386
20.

Fitzroy Victoria United Alexander Football Club, now Heidelberg United, was Fitzroy Victoria's first ever sporting club to play at a national level.

FactSnippet No. 1,225,387
21.

Fitzroy Victoria has featured in episodes of a number of Australian TV shows, including City Homicide and Rush .

FactSnippet No. 1,225,388