Welcome, this is the Osca Monthly Where in Melbourne Puzzle page.
HAS BEEN REVEALED
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY
Clue 1
Clue 1 - This location used to be a cemetery.
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Clue 2
I went to some lengths to clean this image up by cloning out the unsightly tram lines and posts and rather than smudge out the faces (for privacy) I cloned the people out as well so we have an uninterrupted view.
So here is your second clue: This place is on a tram line and there are always a lot of people around.
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Clue 3
Clue 3 - This location has a colourful (and criminal) history,
from mafia killings and extortion rackets to piracy crackdowns.
one more clue to come
Clue 4
Clue 4
This location is a famous Melbourne Market.
REVEAL
This is a picture of the front entrance to Queen Victoria Market
on the corner of Elizabeth & Victoria Streets, Melbourne
Also known affectionately as ‘Vic Market’ or ‘Queen Vic’,
the Queen Victoria Market has been the heart and soul of Melbourne for more than a century.
A historic landmark spread over two city blocks, it’s a vibrant and bustling inner-city Market
where you can shop for everything from Australian fruit and vegetables
and local and imported gourmet foods, to cosmetics, clothing and souvenirs.
has been modified for the purpose of the WIM Puzzle
. . .
QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET
HAS A FASCINATING HISTORY
The Queen Victoria Market, named after Queen Victoria who ruled the British Empire from 1837 to 1901 is a major Melbourne landmark, At around seven hectares, it is is considered to be the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere and it is the only surviving 19th century market in the Melbourne central business district.
Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne.
The site, established in 1837 and bounded by Queen Street to the east, Peel Street to the west, Franklin Street to the south, and Fulton Street (which no longer exists) to the north, was originally the location of the first Melbourne cemetery, now referred to as the Old Melbourne cemetery.
The new settlement of Melbourne needed a cemetery. At the time, Robert Hoddle, who was the surveyor of Port Phillip District (Victoria) and incidentally, also the creator of the Hoddle Grid (the street grid system on which inner city Melbourne is based) made provision for the cemetery just north of the city, on a government reserve that was essentially bush.
The Hoddle Grid and location of today's Queen Victoria Market.
Map of Old Melbourne cemetery.
Hoddle was progressive for his time, dividing the cemetery into different denominations. Church of England (Anglican) 2 acres, Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) 2 acres, Roman Catholic 2 acres, Independent (Congregational) 1 acre, Jews 1 acre, Society of Friends (Quakers) 1 acre and Wesleyan (Methodist) 1 acre.
Half of the Society of Friends' section was later set aside for Aboriginal people.
In 1837, John Smith, a shepherd, was the first buried in the cemetery, and it would be the resting place for the men, women and children who were the first white settlers. Among them was John Batman, the founder of Victoria.
It is said that Batman haunted the cemetery, making appearances before his rival and enemy John Pascoe Fawkner. Fawkner laughed it off, saying that Batman would ''not be such a fool to play me such a trick''.
Although Batman declared 'this would be a good place for a village', it was Fawkner who established the first settlement on the Yarra while Batman was absent, negotiating a treaty in Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania). John Batman's remains were re-interred in 1922 to the Fawkner Cemetery, Fawkner.
As the colony expanded, it soon became clear that the cemetery was not big enough, and was too close to the city. In 1854, it was decided there should be a new cemetery at Carlton.
There is no complete record of who was buried in the cemetery, with records destroyed in a fire at the cemetery lodge in 1864. Estimates put the number at 10,000, although there were probably illicit burials and possibly mass graves from migrant ships on which people had died of disease.
The Old Melbourne Cemetery was closed in 1854. Briefly re-opened in 1864 for the sale of new plots, re-closed in 1867, with the final burial taking place in 1917.
Old Melbourne cemetery.
A Crown grant had been passed providing land for a nearby general market on 4th March 1867.
When the QV Market first expanded into the cemetery in 1878, it was the northern part, the Quaker/Aborigine area near Fulton Street which it acquired first.
Two grants that provided more land for the market, were dated 1878 and 1880 (Queen Victoria Market Lands Act 1996 – Act No. 78/1996)
In the 1880's legislation was passed requiring all bodies in the Old Cemetery to be exhumed. However, the cemetery was in a terrible state of neglect, with very long grass and large trees with many headstones crumbling and others made of red gum wheathered away or taken to be used as firewood.
From 1920 to 1922, 914 graves with identifying monuments were re-interred at Fawkner, Kew, St.Kilda, Cheltenham and the Melbourne General Cemetery.
As there were about 10,000 burials on the site, there still remain approximately 9,000 people buried under the sheds and car park of the Queen Victoria Market. When any work is carried out at the market, bones are often disturbed. In 1922 a Market Bill was rushed though parliament to overcome protests by groups formed to protect the heritage of the site.
Today the old cemetery wall remains as part of 'F' shed.
In 1996, the previous Crown grants were revoked and the Queen Victoria Market Lands Act 1996 came into being allowing for future development for the site.
The human remains of an estimated 9000 people still lie as little as 1.5 meters below the Queen Victoria Market car park and adjacent market stalls. Hundreds of vehicles park on top of their bodies every day. How this happened is just extraordinary and a sad lesson in how human greed triumphs over decency.
In January 2010, the Herald Sun reported that city planners wanted to transform the market into a "gourmet hub" by introducing upmarket food stalls.Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said he brought up the idea after visiting London's Borough Market, which has a "boutique" feel that could work in Melbourne.
In 2011, the Melbourne City Council announces it is considering a proposal to convert the site into a supermarket with a huge underground car park. This would effectively destroy or remove any remains of the 9000 early settlers.
In May 2015 the City of Melbourne draft 2015-2016 budget allocated $80.64 million for investment in the Queen Victoria Market.
However, on June 12, 2015 Lord Mayor Robert Doyle and Environment Minister Greg Hunt announced the beginning of the process to place the Market on the UNESCO world heritage site.
It is unclear what the future holds for the Queen Victoria Market and the remains of thousands of early Melbourne settlers buried underneath, but next time you are looking for that irresistible bargain, give a thought to the price we pay for progress.
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RESEARCH LINKS:
WHERE IN MELBOURNE PUZZLE
OCTOBER 2015
1st clue to be posted on Thursday 1st of October.
OCTOBER 2015
1st clue to be posted on Thursday 1st of October.
