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                    Road names and street numbers

                    Close up of building facade, labelled 250 Collins Street
                    City of Melbourne is responsible for creating or changing the names of roads and streets, and for allocating numbers to properties within the municipality.

                    ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Council has drafted a Place and Road Naming Policy and Guidelines for community feedback. Visit Participate Melbourne​​ to have your say before 20 December 2023. ​

                    New road names

                    New road names should relate to the historical and cultural connections of the locality and comply with the state's current Guidelines for Geographic Names that are established under the Geographic Place Names Act 1998. Copies of the guidelines are available from VicNames.

                    The guidelines state that any proposed name shouldn’t cause confusion or errors, and be easy to pronounce. Road names must not be duplicated or similar-sounding within a close proximity, or named after a business or living person.

                    The process involves advertising to the abutting owners, occupiers and in the local paper. The name is referred to VicNames, Emergency Services Telecommu​nications Authority (ESTA), Australia Post and other relevant authorities. This process can take three or more months and any objections can delay the process while these are resolved.

                    City of Melbourne encourages and supports names that act as a reminder of local history, culture and citizens with an emphasis on the following themes:

                    • Aboriginal Naming: City of Melbourne encourages opportunities to recognise and preserve the valuable contribution made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the use of Aboriginal languages for names in accordance with the Naming Rules. Should you wish to consider the use of the Aboriginal language for naming, it is highly recommended that a Cultural Heritage Management Plan be undertaken for the relevant locality. For further information, please contact our Aboriginal Melbourne Team on 9658 9658.
                    • Women in history: City of Melbourne teamed up with the Victorian Women’s Trust to feature more Victorian women when naming places and lanes, providing an opportunity to celebrate women who have influenced and inspired our community. The result of this research was a short booklet ‘Women in the Life of the City’ with a curated list of women, each deserving of wider recognition. It is by no means exhaustive but it goes some way to highlight the influence women have had throughout the decades.

                    ​Learn more about Council’s current naming process and provide feedback on proposed place and road names via Participate Melbourne​.​​

                    ​Changes to road names

                    Changing road names is very difficult and is not preferred because each road name comes with its own history, and a change of name can have significant effects on property owners, occupiers and businesses.

                    A proposal will only be considered when the long-term benefits to the community can be shown to outweigh any short-term effects. Therefore this will only be done in extraordinary circumstances.

                    Recently proposed road name changes

                    ​Lane ​Locality ​Proposal summary
                    ​Supporting information
                    Status
                    ​New pedestrian only roads, Melbourne Quarter 
                    ​Docklands
                    ​The proposed name TiTree Walk reflects strong links to the local area's cultural heritage and the road's purpose as a connecting thoroughfare for pedestrians.

                    TiTree refers to the stump and bails made from locally grown TiTree for the first ever Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) cricket match in November 1838 at the foot of Batman's Hill, the former hill where Melbourne Quarter is situated. The local area also continued to host MCC's early cricket matches until the mid-1840s.

                    TiTree's reference to MCC's early cricket matches, which brought the local community together to enjoy the sport, also reflects the road's important role as a connector. The road is intended to connect pedestrians between Collins Street and Flinders Street and provide a public space where residents and workers can forge social connections. 

                    The proposed name Yam Daisy Walk reflects Indigenous culture, which offers an ideal opportunity to educate the broader community about Traditional Owner history and culture connected with the locality.

                    Yam Daisy refers to an edible crop that was a key food plant cultivated in the area by the Aboriginal peoples. It therefore reflects the important role of cultivation in Indigenous culture. Cultivation was a feature of Aboriginal land use, with Aboriginal peoples engaging in working the land, managing soil, and clearing vegetation to encourage the growth of edible crops, such as Yam Daisy.

                    TiTree Walk naming proposal (PDF 408 KB)

                    Yam Daisy Walk naming proposal (PDF 376 KB) 

                    Melbourne Quarter Walkway Location Plan (PDF 194 KB)​



                    ​​On advertising until 
                    16 December 2023​


                    Proposed Naming Of Corporation Lane CL520




                    Carlton

                    ​The proposal is Cowan Lane honouring Dr Ethel ​Mary Vaughan Cowan (1868 -1943), who was the first female doctor at the Melbourne Free Hospital for Sick Children.

                    After undertaking nursing studies at Ballarat Hospital, Cowan graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1897 with a Bachelor of Medicine, only six years after the first female medical graduate. She was one of only two women in her graduating class, and subsequently also graduated with a Bachelor of Surgery in 1898.

                    The "Melbourne Free Hospital for Sick Children", moved to the former home of Melbourne judge Redmond Barry on the corner of Pelham and Rathdowne Sts, Carlton in 1876.  In 1898 the hospital accepted its first female doctor, Mary Cowan. 

                    Dr Ethel Mary Vaughan Cowan after a one-month trial, without pay became the first woman to be made resident doctor.  She was offered a landmark appointment: an 18-month residency. This opportunity cemented Mary Cowan as the first female resident doctor at the Children's Hospital, and one of the first in Victoria. 

                    Dr Cowan resigned the following year, and sailed to London on the steamer Yarrawonga as the ship's registered doctor.  On returning to Melbourne in 1902, Dr Cowan was appointed honorary physician to the outpatients at the Queen Victoria Hospital (which had nine other female honorary medical staff), but resigned later that year. In 1904 she married William Stanley John Eaves and had two children. Almost certainly signalling the end of her career, but leaving an undeniable legacy.

                    From the Royal Children's Hospital website:

                    Dr Mary Cowan achieved clinical excellence as the first female doctor at The Children's Hospital. In 1898 Dr Cowan impressed the committee at a trial, enough to appoint her the clinical residency in outpatients for one month without salary. Dr Cowan continued to impress the committee, successfully obtaining an 18 month residency with the hospital ahead of four competing male doctors.

                    She was the first woman ever to do so, paving the way for her female successors such as Dr Constance Ellis. Dr Cowan was a clinical hero that set a precedent for women doctors and their importance in the medical workforce.

                    Hospital Heroes Gallery: Clinical Excellence 

                    Warrant for the summoning of Dr E.M.V. Cowan(1868–1943) as Medical Witness in a death trial.

                    Proposed naming plan/map of CL250, Carlton (PDF 227 KB) ​

                    ​On adverti​​sing until 15 December 2023​


                    If you wish to make a specific submission on above proposals within their advertising period, please email survey@melbourne.vic.gov.au. Alternately, it can be mailed to Land Survey Team of the City of Melbourne, GPO Box 1603, Melbourne 3001.

                    Addresses and premise numbering

                    Most property numbers are allocated as part of the subdivision process, but these can be updated due to building occupancy changes.

                    A primary consideration for creating or changing an address is that the premise number and the road name reflect the point of access to the property. All addresses must be created to reflect the dwelling or retail premises’ primary point of entry. This must be in accordance with the Australian Standard AS/NZS 4819:2011.

                    Numbering will not be allocated or modified to match business branding or for similar reasons.

                    All properties in the municipality shall be allocated a unique street address. City of Melbourne will not approve requests for street number changes that conflict with the Australian Standards or:

                    • when a number is considered unlucky or lucky
                    • for cultural or religious reasons
                    • for personal preference
                    • when you have been incorrectly advised the property was a different number.

                    City of Melbourne verifies the location of the door openings and issues numbers proportionally along the street relating to those openings, along the length of the boundary, relative to the access point from which the dwelling, shop, office or feature is accessed. This is done in a systematic and logical sequence within the street range from the lowest to the highest; even on one side of the street and odd on the other.

                    Displaying street numbers – your obligations

                    While the allocation of street numbers is done by City of Melbourne, the correct display of street numbers is up to you.

                    By law, street numbers must be clearly displayed in a prominent position to allow your property to be quickly and easily identified and located. This is most important in an emergency situation, but also for deliveries, service authorities, customers and visitors to the property or business.

                    Your number display must:

                    • be placed at the front of the property, where it can be easily seen by passing foot and road traffic
                    • be at least 10 centimetres high
                    • use a colour which stands out clearly from the background (for example, black numbers on a white background provide the best contrast).

                    If your house is on a corner or has two street frontages, the number must only be displayed on the street that the address refers to. For example, if your house is on the corner of Queensberry and Swanston streets but is classified as being on Queensberry Street, the number must be displayed on the Queensberry Street side of the house, not on the Swanston Street side or both.

                    The street numbers displayed on your property must be renewed as often as necessary to maintain effectiveness. Penalties apply for premises not clearly identified or displaying incorrect numbers (see Activities Local Law 2019, Part 11).

                    If for any reason you wish to change your street number, you will need to contact us first.

                    Did you know?

                    You can find out about the history of each road name in the municipality using City of Melbourne maps.

                    More information

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