Swanston Street from the Bridge
1861
- Artist/s name
- Henry BURN
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Measurements
- 71.8 x 92.2 cm
- Place/s of Execution
- Melbourne, Victoria
- Accession Number
- 754-2
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of John H. Connell, 1914
- Gallery Location
- Gallery 5
Level 2, NGV Australia
The intersection of Swanston and Flinders Streets is, in effect, the gateway to the city of Melbourne and has always been a hub of civic life. Burn shows the south-east corner, the present-day Federation Square site, occupied by the Coroner's and Registration Office for Births, Deaths and Marriages.
Well-dressed people promenade along the street and a bullock team can be seen in the distance. Burn shows Melbourne's impressive buildings, St Paul's Church (which was removed in 1885 to make way for St Paul’s Cathederal) and the spire of Scots Church on the right. The Johnston Bridge Hotel, on the left, is now Young and Jacksons Hotel. The stock grazing on the banks of the Yarra contrast with the steam engine just visible on the right (and the Jolimont rail line), illustrating the growth of this rapidly developing city.
