Street Names

Yes, how boring to name streets with numbers and avenues almost the same way! Yet, New York, especially Manhattan, has a mathematical beauty that makes it a logical place, easy to navigate East to West and South to North. You can use a ruler to trace your way from pretty much any residential address to a theatre or a restaurant. Call it a grid, if you want. Melbourne CBD is also a grid. Tight and royal. Names were given to these streets over one hundred years ago by Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales. Funny, since Melbourne is in Victoria. The Governor of Victoria got a street too, Collins. Parallel to these two streets are Lonsdale, La Trobe (named after the first Governor of Victoria, Joseph La Trobe), Franklin and Flinders. The famous explorer Matthew Flinders has had over 100 places named after him all over Australia, such as the Flinders Ranges, Flinders Island, and Flinders Bay. Crossing these streets are the more royal parallel ones, such as William (named after King William the 4th), Queen (named after King William the 4th's wife, Queen Adelaide), Elizabeth, Swanston and Exhibition. So, if you're good with names, you'll get around Melbourne without a problem. There is a little thing though. Between these main arteries are the little ones, such as Little Collins, Little Bourke and my most favorite, Flinders Lane. Cafes, boutiques and galleries line up the little streets, whereas high rises hosting banks, businesses and malls, naturally sit on the main streets. Here is today's picture with RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) on Swanston Street.