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Produced and published by the School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne
Published July 2008
Published July 2008
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Located on the present site of the City Square, this arcade once extended east from Swanston Street and turned north to open onto Collins Street. Queens Walk, constructed in 1889, featured glass cupolas over the entrances and was home to stores such as menswear specialist Henry Buck in the 1950s. Until 1925, the Melbourne Savage Club, whose members included businessmen, lawyers, politicians, artists and bohemians, also resided in this arcade. Queens Walk was purchased by the City of Melbourne in the late 1960s and demolished in the early 1970s for the construction of the City Square.
A lavish arcade, Queens Walk nevertheless faced problems of sanitation, poor sewage and foul smells that became a feature across Melbourne in the late nineteenth century. Numerous reports were received by the City of Melbourne's Inspector of Nuisances, including a minor flood at the rear of the Hopetoun Registry Office in 1891 caused by the ladies closets, a leaking pipe at the back of Miss Butler's Appartment [sic] Agency in 1892, and decaying fish left in the walk in 1894. Miss Butler wrote to the Council in July 1892 that the smell arising from the leakage was 'unbearable and consequently most injurious to the health'. This sentiment was shared by most occupants of Queens Walk during this era.