theblog-robin: The Changing Character of Brunswick.

I have wondered why there is such a difference in the street layout between Brunswick and the splendidly gracious street layout of Carlton, our southern neighbour.

Robert Hoddle, the government surveyor, had laid out Melbourne on the grid pattern that was distinctive of the Victorian city design. He delegated the task of dividing the marshy area to the north, known as Iramoo by the Wurundjeri people, to his assistant.

North and south boundaries were drawn up, running in an east-west direction between Moonee Ponds Creek and Merri Creek. These boundaries would become Moreland Road and Park Street, respectively. A narrow road was surveyed down the centre to service what were intended to be agricultural properties.

These parcels of land were auctioned in Sydney in 1839.

Most of these lots were bought by speculators who never saw the land that they had purchased. In 1841, Thomas Wilkinson bought land from one of the original buyers. He had been an active campaigner for the rights of Caroline of Brunswick, the estranged wife of King George the IV. He named his estate in her honour, and when the first post office opened in 1846, it took on the name of Wilkinson’s property. Development was steady until the gold rush of the 1850s, when, with a huge influx of people, building materials were in great demand.

Brunswick is a clay pan on a basalt plain. There were plentiful supplies of both excellent clay for brick-making and bluestone for building. Any aspirations of gentility the Brunswick residents had were soon dashed. Brunswick became an industrial area with brick-making and quarrying the major activities, supplemented with allied industries such as potteries which made roofing tiles and drainage pipes, and also nail and rope factories. Development quickened. The agricultural allotments were subdivided for housing and industry. The north-south access lane was named Sydney Road.

Brunswick’s layout reflects this history. There are a number of streets that run east-west, but only one that runs straight north-south. There are others, but they have deviations; a situation that reflects more expedience than planning, and one that has ensured that Brunswick has continuing problems with traffic flow. Because the price of land had escalated dramatically, the roads that were made tended to be as narrow as practicable, and housing allotments tended to be smaller than that originally envisioned.

The last twenty years has seen a gentrification of Brunswick.

Many workers cottages have either been lovingly restored or demolished and replaced by large modern homes. The suburb has become popular because of its close proximity to the city, its public transport system and its very diverse cultural mix.

Brunswick has been designated as one of the centres for intensive redevelopment in the 2030 plan for Melbourne, consequently there has been a number of multi-story developments. Currently the limit is twenty-five metres which seems to allow for seven storeys - the ground floor is given over to businesses, the others are apartments.