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Ellis Lane

Ellis Lane was located between Exhibition and Spring streets, extending north from Flinders Lane to connect with Dikes Lane. It no longer exists today, having been taken over by the towers of Collins Place. The use of horses in Melbourne in the mid-nineteenth century underpinned city growth, being used for industry, agriculture, and transportation. Within the centre of the city were numerous stables, farriers, and horse saleyards, particularly in the Bourke Street west vicinity. By the early twentieth century, however, horses were being replaced first by bicycles and then automobiles. The number of stables began to diminish in the twentieth century, however the stables of James Enticott & Sons were still present on Ellis Lane in 1920.

Alexandra Gerner

References
Sands & McDougall’s commercial and general Melbourne directory, Sands & McDougall, Melbourne, 1892. Details
Sands & McDougall’s commercial and general Melbourne directory, Sands & McDougall, Melbourne, 1930. Details
Bate, Weston, Essential but unplanned: The story of Melbourne's lanes, State Library of Victoria and the City of Melbourne, Melbourne, 1994. Details