Flinders Street, Melbourne

Flinders Street

Victoria
Flinders Street; Victoria
	Flinders Street, facing east from the intersection of Elizabeth Street
General information
Type	Street
Length	2 km (1.2 mi)
Route number(s)	Metro Route 30 (1965–present)
Tourist routes	Tourist Route 2 (1989–present); (through Docklands)
Major junctions
West end	Wurundjeri Way; Docklands, Melbourne
	Spencer Street; King Street; Kings Way; William Street; Queen Street; Elizabeth Street; Swanston Street; Russell Street; Exhibition Street; Batman Avenue (toll road); Spring Street;
East end	Wellington Parade; East Melbourne
Location(s)
LGA(s)	City of Melbourne
Suburb(s)	Melbourne
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Flinders Street is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Running roughly parallel to the Yarra River, Flinders Street forms the southern edge of the Hoddle Grid. It is exactly 1 mi (1.6 km) in length and one and a half chains (99 ft; 30 m) in width.

The street is named after the English explorer, Matthew Flinders, who was erroneously credited with discovering Port Phillip at the time of its naming. It extends eastwards as far as Spring Street and the Treasury Gardens and, originally, terminated at Spencer Street. A continuation westward from Spencer Street called Flinders Street Extension, cut through Batman's Hill to the Melbourne Docklands, was opened in 1890. This short length is now also known as Flinders Street, with continuous numbering.

As the closest street to the river, Flinders Street served Melbourne's original river port near Market Street. The Customs House, now the site of Victoria's Immigration Museum, is on Flinders Street.

The street is home to Flinders Street station, the central station in Melbourne's suburban rail network. Tram routes 70 and 75, as well as the City Circle route, run along Flinders Street, and the Flinders Street Viaduct runs roughly parallel to the street, linking the city's two major railway stations.

Other landmarks along Flinders Street include Federation Square, St Paul's Cathedral, Young and Jackson Hotel, the Banana Alley Vaults, the old Herald & Weekly Times building, Melbourne Aquarium and Batman Park, which adjoins the Yarra River.

The land between the south side of Flinders Street and the railway viaduct between Spencer and King Streets was once home to the Melbourne City Markets (generally known as the Fish Market, which was actually located in a separate section on the riverbank), a huge ornate building constructed in 1890. The market buildings were demolished between 1958 and 1960, after which the pa on Flinders Street became a carpark, now the Northbank Place offices, apartments and shops built in 2009. The first Fish Market was also on Flinders Street, built on the site of the corner entrance to Flinders Street Station in 1865.