Central Business District in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia — Oceania
Victoria Street Shops
⎯⎯⎯
Instant and Delicious
| — | Queen Victoria Market | — |
Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, July 16, 2026
1. Victoria Street Shops Marker
The Melbourne General Market Site Act in 1877 enabled the Melbourne City Council to take over land to the north of the original Market. This included most of the land along Victoria Street that would be developed as a retail-shopping strip to complement the market produce sheds. Nine two-storey shops, 65-81 Victoria Street, fronting the Lower Market, were designed in the City Surveyor's Department and constructed in 1887. They are traditional Victorian buildings with the ground floors being leased for retail and the upper floors used for residences.
By 1888 building had begun on the 12 single storey shops on the Victoria Street frontage of the Upper Market and nine more followed in 1890. By 1923, the building of all the Victoria Street shops was complete.
In the 196os and again in 1986, both the Elizabeth and Victoria Street shops were externally refurbished. The Queen Victoria Market Visitor Centre opened in 1996, in one of these buildings and the Cooking School begun there in 1998. The Victoria Street shops are on the Victorian Heritage Register and have been classified by the National Trust.
Instant and Delicious
The
this page online
Erected by Queen Victoria Market.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1877.
Location. 37° 48.363′ S, 144° 57.406′ E. Marker is in Melbourne, Victoria. It is in the Central Business District. It is on Victoria Street west of Cobden Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 145 Victoria Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia. Touch for directions.
Regionally, it is in Oceania, in Australasia, in the Pacific Ocean, in South Pacific, on the Pacific Rim, in the Western
Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, July 16, 2026
2. Victoria Street Shops Marker along Victoria Street
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Tombstone Territory / The People Prevail (here, next to this marker); Queen Victoria Market Timeline (here, next to this marker); Bringing home the Shopping (within shouting distance of this marker); Market Football (within shouting distance of this marker); Wholesale to Retail (within shouting distance of this marker); Saving the Market (within shouting distance of this marker); Market Opening - Floor Plaque (within shouting distance of this marker); The Market Gates (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Melbourne.
Also see . . . Numerical Index to Exhumations Reinterred at Fawkner Cemetery - Old Melbourne Cemetery. Public Record Office Victoria
he first burial at the Old Melbourne Cemetery occurred in 1837. The cemetery was divided into sections for each religious denomination. In 1851, due to lack of available space, the cemetery was closed to burials apart from people who already had claims on plots. The last burial at the cemetery took place in 1917. The cemetery closed in 1922.(Submitted on September 1, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria.)
The gradual encroachment of what is now known as the Queen Victoria Market saw cemetery land being taken over by the market. In 1877 the sections allocated to Aboriginals and Quakers and the unused part of the Jewish section were taken over by the market.
In 1917 the Melbourne General Markets Land Act (No:2913) was passed by parliament allowing the Melbourne City Council to reclaim cemetery land for the use of the market. The council had the responsibility of overseeing the operations of the cemetery through the appointing of trustees. The Melbourne City Council were co trustees of the cemetery with the Board of Land and Works (VA 669).
Exhumation of bodies began in 1920. Only marked graves were exhumed. George Simms of the Melbourne City Council had the responsibility for the exhumations and he identified 525 marked graves. Human remains were found in the early 1990s during excavation work for the market car park, the site of the major part of the Old Cemetery grounds. As part of the exhumation process 70 significant memorials were identified and relocated to the Fawkner Park Old Pioneers Section. Other bodies were reinterred at cemeteries around Melbourne.
No records exist prior to 1866. A letter from the then Secretary of the Trustees of the Old Melbourne Cemetery in 1895 (Outward Letterbook p 180) apologises for records not being available due to them having been destroyed in a fire at the gatekeepers lodge in 1865.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 1, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 1, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. This page has been viewed 18 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 1, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
