No. 2 Goods Shed is a large railway freight shed in the former Spencer Street rail yards off Flinders Street Extension, Melbourne, Australia. It was constructed in 1889, originally called 'A Goods Shed', and at the time was the longest single building in Australia. Its address is at 733 Bourke Street, Docklands.
The polychromatic face brick structure with outside walls solid brick, bluestone sills, slate tiled gable roof, three gabled roofs with clerestories or lanterns is supported on cast iron columns at nine metre intervals with angle iron truss-framed roofs, central trusses span 15 metres side spans 9 metres. Terracotta lumber is used in the upper floor for fire prevention. Twenty six arched doors are on the east side and twenty eight on the west side with loading platforms for horse-drawn vehicles on the outside, and rail platforms to three tracks internally. the building has an overall length of 370m.
The two-storey office block at south-east corner has a central tower with stucco decoration to the main door surround and the VR insignia with a crown above the east facade and a pediment with the construction date '1889'. The clock face was not in original contract but was installed latter as at Ballarat. [1]
The No 2 Goods Shed was built in 1889–90 to replace previous timber and corrugated iron structures which had proved inadequate for the increased freight experienced in Melbourne during the boom years of the 1880s. The contract was awarded to builders A.P. Tozer and Company on 19 August 1889 for £72,943 17s 5 1/2d. The office section was extended to the north in 1907. No 2 Goods Shed was one of several construction projects at the time, which reflected the expansion of the Victorian Railways system. The Railways Headquarters Building in Spencer Street was constructed between 1888 and 1893, while the Flinders Street Viaduct, Flinders Street Extension and the retaining wall just south of the goods yards were also constructed around this time. [2]
As part of the redevelopment of Melbourne Docklands, the shed was cut in half with the construction of the Collins Street extension. The northern part of the shed was redeveloped by Places Victoria, [3] with the construction of a tall black glass 'Lantern' building and refurbishment of the interior, designed by Elenberg Fraser. [4] The southern half (known as The Goods Shed, 707 Collins Street) was developed by the Walker Corporation, [5] and has been restored and converted to offices for Pearson Australia, and Penguin Random House.
It is classified by the National Trust (B6435) and included on the Victorian Heritage Register (H0933) [6]
Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Opened in 1854, the historic station serves the entire electrified metropolitan rail network, as well as some country services to eastern Victoria. Backing onto the Yarra River in the central business district, the complex includes platforms and structures that stretch over more than two city blocks, from east of Swanston Street nearly to Market Street.
Southern Cross railway station is a major railway station in Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, between Collins and La Trobe Streets, at the western edge of the Melbourne Central Business District. The Docklands Stadium sports arena is 500 metres north-west of the station.
Docklands, also known as Melbourne Docklands, is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km (1.2 mi) west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. Docklands recorded a population of 15,495 at the 2021 census.
Parliament railway station is an underground railway station in Melbourne, Australia. It is one of three underground stations on the City Loop, which serves the Melbourne CBD. In 2017/2018 it was the fourth-busiest station on Melbourne's metropolitan network, with 10.19 million passenger movements.
St Kilda station is a current tram stop and former railway station, located in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda, Australia, and was the terminus of the St Kilda railway line in the Melbourne suburban rail system. It is one of the oldest surviving railway station buildings in Victoria. The building is currently used as retail premises, while the platform serves as stop 132 on tram route 96.
Station Pier is a historic Australian pier on Port Phillip, in Port Melbourne, Victoria. Opened in 1854, the pier is Melbourne's primary passenger terminal, servicing interstate ferries and cruise ships, and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
William Pitt was an Australian architect and politician. Pitt is best known as one of the outstanding architects of the "boom" era of the 1880s in Melbourne, designing some of the city's most elaborate High Victorian commercial buildings. He worked in a range of styles including Gothic Revival, Italianate, French Second Empire, and his own inventive eclectic compositions. He had a notable second career after the crash of the 1890s, becoming a specialist in theatres and industrial buildings.
Batman's Hill in Melbourne, Australia was named for the Vandemonian adventurer and grazier John Batman. Now removed, the 18-metre-high hill was located to the south of today's Collins Street and Southern Cross railway station, and is the site of a steel marker the same height as the original hill.
Montague Street is a light rail station and former railway station, on the former Port Melbourne railway line in the inner Melbourne suburb of South Melbourne, Australia. The station was located to the south of the Montague Street road underpass, between Woodgate Street and Gladstone Lane, with a large goods shed located on the Melbourne side of the station. The station buildings and platforms have been demolished, and there are now a pair of low-level platforms forming a tram stop on route 109.
Seymour railway station is located on the North East line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the town of Seymour, and opened on 20 November 1872. The station is the terminus for V/Line's Seymour line services.
Albury railway station is a heritage-listed railway station at Railway Place, Albury, New South Wales, Australia, adjacent to the border with Victoria, in Australia. It was designed under the direction of John Whitton and built from 1880 to 1881. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 1999.
The Royal Arcade is a historic shopping arcade in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Opened in 1870, it connects Bourke Street Mall to Little Collins Street, with a side offshoot to Elizabeth Street. It is the oldest surviving arcade in Australia, known for its elegant light-filled interior, and the large carved mythic figures of Gog and Magog flanking the southern entry.
The rail network of Melbourne, Australia, has a significant number of railway lines and yards serving freight traffic. Rail transport in Victoria is heavily focused on Melbourne, and, as a consequence, much of the state's rail freight passes through the metropolitan network.
Jolimont Yard was an array of railway lines and carriage sidings on the edge of the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. Located between Flinders Street station, Richmond Junction, the Yarra River and Flinders Street they were often criticised for cutting off the city from the river, being the site of many redevelopment proposals. The Princes Gate Towers were built over part of the yard in the 1960s, which themselves were replaced by Federation Square in the 2000s. The rail sidings themselves were progressively removed from the 1980s to the 1990s with only running lines today, but the area continues to be referred to as the 'Jolimont railyards' by Melburnians.
Orange railway station is a heritage-listed former railway bridge and now railway station located on the Main Western line on Peisley Street, Orange in the City of Orange local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1877 to 1950. It is also known as Orange Railway Station and yard group. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
The Wailing Wall is a section of brick retaining wall on the Flinders Street Extension, Melbourne, which is famous as the place where Wharf labourers who missed out on the daily work call would congregate.
Warwick railway station is a heritage-listed railway station on the Southern railway line in Warwick, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from c. 1881 to 1910s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 24 September 1999.
The Cooma railway station is a heritage-listed former railway station on the Bombala railway line at Bradley Street, Cooma, Snowy Monaro Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. The original design of the station was attributed to John Whitton. The station complex was built from 1889 to 1950. The Cooma Monaro Railway is based at the station and is opening a heritage railway museum in the restored station building in December 2022. The station was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
The Melbourne tram network began in 1884 with the construction of the Fairfield Horse Tramway. However, the purpose of the line was to increase land prices in the area, and it soon closed during the depression in 1890. The first genuine attempt to construct a tramway network was the construction of the Richmond cable tram line by the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company in 1885. Over the next few years, 16 more cable tram lines were constructed, as well as numerous other horse tramways. The depression of the early 1890s slowed further expansion of the cable network. The first electric tram line was the Box Hill and Doncaster tramway which opened in 1889. This was a pioneering line in what was then the countryside and thus didn't receive much patronage. It closed in 1896. The next attempt at an electric tramway was Victorian Railways' St Kilda to Brighton line, which opened in 1906. Later that year, the North Melbourne Electric Tramway & Lighting Company opened lines to Essendon and Maribyrnong. Many local councils formed their own tramway trusts and built tramways within their own constituency. The most successful of these was the Prahran & Malvern Tramways Trust.
Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, Australia, was an important Victorian-era city and erected "some of the world's most majestic buildings" of the era. Several buildings survive from the period, including the State Library of Victoria (1856), Parliament House (1856), the General Post Office, the Royal Exhibition Building (1880), the Windsor Hotel (1884), the Block Arcade (1893), and the Rialto Building Group (1888–1891). However, many of the well-known architectural gems of Melbourne's Victorian central city were demolished in the 20th century. Most were lost in the 1950s-70s when Melbourne, like many other cities, sought to reinvent itself as a modern metropolis. Whelan the Wrecker was by far the most success demolition company in the period, and was responsible for almost all of these losses, but often saved items such as statuary for resale.
Coordinates: 37°49′17″S144°57′06″E / 37.821374°S 144.951564°E