Nicholson Street

Nicholson Street is a major inner-Melbourne thoroughfare with a rich civic, cultural and architectural legacy. It is named after William Nicholson, remembered as the “father of the ballot” for his role in introducing the secret ballot in Victoria.^[2] Nicholson was a member of the Legislative Council, and later served as Premier of Victoria from 1859 to 1860.^[3] The street not only carries his name but also reflects the city’s layered history – from Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country, through 19th-century expansion, to contemporary urban development and renewal.

Nicholson Street Victoria
Nicholson Street, looking towards the city
North end South end
Coordinates	37.762734°S 144.979214°E / -37.762734; 144.979214 (North end) 37.810819°S 144.972832°E / -37.810819; 144.972832 (South end)
General information
Type	Street
Length	5.4 km (3.4 mi)[1]
Major junctions
North end	Albion Street Brunswick East, Melbourne
	Blyth Street Brunswick Road Alexandra Parade Johnston Street Gertrude Street Victoria Parade
South end	Spring Street Fitzroy, Melbourne

Geography

The series of bends at the northern end of Nicholson Street in Brunswick East

Nicholson Street runs north–south through Melbourne’s inner north. At its southernmost end, it connects to Spring Street near Bourke Street in the CBD. Between Victoria Parade and Alexandra Parade, it forms the boundary between Carlton and Fitzroy; between Alexandra Parade and Brunswick Road, it separates Carlton North from Fitzroy North. North of Brunswick Road, its remaining length is entirely within Brunswick East, where it merges into Albion Street just north of Blyth Street. Nicholson Street, Brunswick East, is often confused with nearby Nicholson Street, Coburg, which also runs north to south. Nicholson Street, Coburg, is a continuation of Holmes Street, which is a continuation of Lygon Street.

Route

Nicholson Street runs from Spring Street in the city in a north-northeasterly direction for approximately 5 kilometres. North of the Fitzroy North village strip, it bends three times over about 500 m before merging into Albion Street in Brunswick East. Tram route 96 operates along virtually the entire length, entering from Spring Street at the city end and terminating at Blyth Street, just short of the road’s end. This high-frequency tram line is one of Melbourne’s busiest and has been progressively upgraded with accessible platform stops.

History

Before European settlement in Melbourne, the land along what is now Nicholson Street was part of Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country, with the nearby Merri Creek and open woodlands supporting camps, food gathering and travel routes for thousands of years. The arrival of settlers brought displacement and profound changes for the local Aboriginal people.

Nicholson Street itself was laid out in 1854 to link central Melbourne to the bluestone quarries in Brunswick East, a critical material source for the city’s booming building industry. Initially, it stopped at Brunswick Road, forcing residents further north to take long detours via Sydney Road. After a concerted public campaign and the purchase of key land parcels at inflated prices, the road was extended to the north in 1868. Its early names included West Government Road, and the southernmost section between Spring Street and Victoria Parade was once called Evelyn Street.^[3] The present name honours William Nicholson, whose advocacy for electoral reform left a lasting mark on Victoria’s (and Australia's) political and electoral history.

From the 1880s, Nicholson Street developed into a key civic and cultural axis. The opening of the Royal Exhibition Building in 1880, opposite Carlton Gardens, placed it at the centre of Melbourne’s international showcase. The Bourke–Nicholson cable tram line, with its engine house at Gertrude Street, opened in 1887, knitting together the corridor into the city’s transport network. The cable trams operated until 1940, when electric trams took over, setting the stage for today’s Route 96.

Social and political movements have also been deeply rooted in the street. From the 1950s onwards, the Gertrude/Nicholson intersection in Fitzroy was a focal point for Aboriginal activism. The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service was established nearby in 1973, and the surrounding blocks became home to organisations driving self-determination, health, housing and legal reform.

The street also became a flashpoint in Melbourne’s urban planning history. In the 1960s, large sections of Carlton and Fitzroy were cleared for high-rise public housing, including the two towers built at Nicholson and Elgin Streets in 1969. Community resistance to further “slum clearance” led to a shift in planning policy towards heritage conservation in the 1970s, protecting much of the surrounding Victorian-era architecture. Today, the Nicholson/Elgin estate is undergoing complete redevelopment as part of Victoria’s public-housing renewal program, with 248 modern, accessible social housing units planned for completion by 2028.^[4]

Landmarks

Nicholson Street at night

Nicholson Street’s southern gateway, where it meets Spring Street, is marked by some of Melbourne’s most recognisable civic buildings. Parliament House dominates the corner, while the Princess Theatre adds a Victorian flourish with its ornate façade and long theatrical history.^[5] Moving north into Carlton, the street passes St Vincent’s Hospital before opening onto the grand ensemble of Carlton Gardens. Here, the Royal Exhibition Building (completed in 1880) stands as a monumental reminder of “Marvellous Melbourne”. The building is recognised internationally as a UNESCO World Heritage site.^[6] Alongside it, the Melbourne Museum, opened in 2000, brings a contemporary counterpoint to the historic exhibition hall and continues the precinct’s cultural role.

On the Fitzroy side, Nicholson Street is home to Royal Terrace at numbers 50–68, Melbourne’s oldest complete row of terraced houses, built in the 1850s from bluestone and showcasing the prosperity of the gold rush era.^[7] On the corner of Gertrude Street (and Nicholson Street) stands the former cable-tram engine house, an industrial relic from the 1880s that once powered the cable line running up Nicholson street. A short distance further along is Academy of Mary Immaculate, which is Victoria’s oldest girls’ secondary school, established in 1857.^[8] Right next door is Cairo Flats, a modernist jewel designed by renowned modernist Architect Best Overend.^[9] Continuing north, Fitzroy North’s “Nicholson Village” features the Empress Hotel, a corner pub established in 1873 that has evolved from a traditional watering hole into a community meeting point and occasional live-music venue.^[10] The village strip offers small shops and cafes that retain the feel of a neighbourhood high street. At the very top of the street in Brunswick East, the large-scale East Brunswick Village development has transformed a former industrial site into a mixed-use precinct with housing, a supermarket, retail spaces and a new cinema. On the corner of Blyth Street, community radio station 3RRR broadcasts to Melbourne from its purpose-built studios, anchoring the area’s creative and cultural life.^[11]

See also

Australian Roads portal