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Archaeological investigations

Three people in high-vis and hard hats dig in the ground.
Through the Queen Victoria Market Precinct Renewal program we have an opportunity to uncover and share the forgotten stories of early Melbourne.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Munro site 

​Detailed archaeological investigations at the Munro site​, opposite Queen Victoria Market, have unearthed some remarkable evidence of Melbourne’s early landscape and environmental history. 

Under the remains of the 1913 Therry Str​​eet shops, excavations revealed evidence of a creek (water line) beneath substantial layers of introduced fill. The fill was likely used to cover the creek bed, shoring up the soft ground and creating a level site so that the shops could be constructed in 1913. 

The creek is believed to be an upper branch of the historic ‘Williams Creek’, a natural water course that ran under the current Elizabeth Street, through the central city and emptied into the Yarra River. This upper branch of the creek would have likely carried water draining from the north west of the Munro site, unde​​​​​r Queen Victoria Market.  

Soil samples have been taken and wil be further analysed to establish the age of the creek bed, the historic rate of water flow, and identify any pollens and flora.​

Excavated site of Therry Street showing evidence of the water line. The image is overlaid to indicate the fills (in purple) and the stream/sediments (in teal).
Evidence of a creek line beneath the 1913 Therry Street shopfronts


As well as the creek line, archaeologists also discovered a number of interesting items linked to previous uses on the site including:

  • J McEwan and Co Ironmonger (c 1860s): A clear line of timber stumps, most likely associated with a shed from the ironmonger and later hardware chain, were located in the area behind the current Jasper Hotel. Trading from retail buildings on the corner of Elizabeth and Queen streets in 1869 (currently McDonalds), McEwan and Co sold iron goods to both miners and the rapidly growing Melbourne population.
  • Jas A Munro & Co Sawmill (around 1913): Fragments of large round stone grinding wheels used to sharpen the sawmill blades.
  • Queen Street residence (dating fro​m 1860s): Rough cut bluestone foundations and verandah post holes were located on the Queen Street frontage, suggesting an early residence.
  • Bottle dump: Thousands of bottles in all shapes and types were discovered underneath the Mercat Cross Hotel, suggesting the area may have been a commercial bottle dump.
  • Artefacts (c1850s): A range of artefacts dating from around the 1850s were found including an intact ‘torpedo’ bottle, ceramic tobacco pipes and pieces of porcelain plates.

While on-site archaeological investigations are now complete, further information on the findings will be progressively received as the results from the further analysis of drawings, cataloguing of artefacts and samples taken at the site are completed over the coming months. Some of these items will be returned for public display in the future.

About Munro

A key project in the Queen Victoria Market Precinct Renewal Program, the Munro development site will deliver substantial public benefit to the growing city north with new community facilities, childcare, affordable housing and event spaces as well as car parking for market customers. Together with complementary retail, residential apartments and a boutique hotel, this mixed-use project will be a major drawcard for visitors to the market precinct.​​​​

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Some remarkable evidence of Melbourne’s early landscape and environmental history has been uncovered as part of the archaeological investigations at the Munro site.

Queen Victoria Market site

The Queen Victoria Market site is of historical, archaeological, social, architectural and aesthetic significance to the State of Victoria and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register as well as the National Heritage List. 

In 2017, a team of qualified archaeologists conducted archaeological investigations across a number of identified sites outside the Old Melbourne Cemetery boundary. Preliminary investigations under Shed A uncovered artefacts from the late 1800s.

The pre-market artefacts include the likely foundations of the Volunteer Rifle Corps’ Orderly Room, the bluestone column of a veranda post and remains of a garden. In accordance with Heritage Victoria permit requirements, the findings were documented and then the test sites carefully resealed. ​

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