Heritage honour for Queen Victoria Market
The Queen Victoria Market has been added to the National Heritage List, becoming the 114th place in Australia to receive the heritage honour.
On 22 July 2018, the Australian Government Environment Minister officially announced that the market would be added to the list based on two key heritage values:
- For the ability of the Queen Victoria Market to demonstrate the principal characteristics of a 19th century metropolitan produce market and the role of these markets in supporting the sustainability of cities and their populations in that era.
- The potential to provide information on the early population of Melbourne through the archaeological deposits of the Old Melbourne Cemetery, including the potential it offers for study into matters such as the diet, lifestyle, wealth, and burial customs of early Melbourne society.
Through renewal of the Queen Victoria Market, the City of Melbourne has committed to protecting the heritage of the market and the respectful acknowledgment of the former cemetery.
The City of Melbourne first nominated the Queen Victoria Market for inclusion on the National Heritage List in 2015. A public consultation process took place between April and July 2017 to inform the Australian Heritage Council’s assessment of the nomination.
The National Heritage List has been established to list places of outstanding heritage significance to Australia. It includes natural, historic and Indigenous places that are of outstanding national heritage value to the Australian nation.
To view the market’s National Heritage List inscription, please visit the National Heritage List.