The Benevolent Asylum, North Melbourne, circa 1875.
It sometimes housed up to 890 homeless and destitute men and women. Courtesy of Royal Historical Society of Victoria.

2. Asylum, Town Hall and Shops

This area, bordered by Victoria, Errol, Curzon, Abbotsford and Queensberry streets, is the centre of North Melbourne's identity. The busy shopping strip precinct featured two of North Melbourne's most imposing landmarks: the 1851 Benevolent Asylum and the North Melbourne Town Hall.

The huge asylum for the homeless and destitute dominated the area but was demolished in 1911.

The 1876 North Melbourne Town Hall was designed by architect George Johnson. The design became a model for many other town halls. (eg Fitzroy and Northcote)

* Is there a town hall near by? Find the foundation stone and discuss the information written on it.

The Errol Street shopping strip, which was the town’s social and commercial hub, offered unique goods and services from colourful local retailers. Among them was Brettena Smyth, who had a health shop in Errol Street where she sold a wide range of birth control devices as well as more orthodox medicines. She was a tireless campaigner for equality of the sexes and a friend of Dr William Maloney. The pair often addressed large gatherings on the topics of women's rights and the need for better working conditions.

Dr Maloney opened a general practice in Melbourne in 1887 and a year later was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly. Dr Maloney was instrumental in introducing one of the first Bills in the English Empire for women’s suffrage in 1889. The ‘Little Doctor ’as he became known, established the Medical Institute which provided treatment and counseling to the poor and needy. Dr Maloney was elected to the federal seat of Melbourne in 1904, which he held until 1940.

Next: Hotham Hill

Summary | Markets and Metal | Asylum, Town Hall and Shops | Hotham Hill | The Railway | Football and Gas

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