Bourke Street Victoria |
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Bourke Street Mall, between Swanston Street and Elizabeth Street looking west | |
Coordinates | 37°48′50″S 144°57′52″E / 37.8139°S 144.96452°ECoordinates: 37°48′50″S 144°57′52″E / 37.8139°S 144.96452°E |
Type | Street |
Length | 2 km (1.2 mi) |
West end | Collins Street, Docklands |
Harbour Esplanade Southern Cross railway station Spencer Street King Street William Street Queen Street Elizabeth Street Swanston Street Russell Street Exhibition Street |
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East end | Spring Street, East Melbourne |
Suburb(s) | Melbourne CBD |
Bourke Street is one of the main streets of Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD) and a core feature of the Hoddle Grid. It was traditionally the entertainment hub of inner-city Melbourne, and is now also a popular tourist destination and tram thoroughfare.
During the Marvellous Melbourne era, Bourke Street was the location of many of the city's theatres and cinemas. Today it continues as a major retail shopping precinct with the Bourke Street Mall running between Elizabeth and Swanston Streets, numerous offices to the west end and restaurants to the east. Bourke Street's liveliness and activity has often been contrasted with the sobering formality of nearby Collins Street. For this reason, "Busier than Bourke Street" is a popular colloquialism denoting a crowded or busy environment.
Bourke Street is named for Sir Richard Bourke, the Governor of New South Wales in 1837 during the drafting of the Hoddle Grid.
Bourke Street runs roughly from east to west and bisects the city centre along its long axis. Bourke Street runs parallel between Little Collins street to the south and Little Bourke street to the north.
There are two primary stretches of Bourke Street, split by Southern Cross railway station: the historic city centre and the modern Docklands precinct. The city centre portion runs from Spring Street in the east (overlooked by Parliament House) to Spencer Street and Southern Cross Station. The newer Docklands end continues on the other side of the station (which is only accessible to pedestrians) and finishes at its intersection with Collins Street further west.