Back in 1920, this location had not yet been taken over by St Vincent’s Hospital and was owned by S T Goon a Chinese Herbalist.
In 1924, excitement struck, and the article alongside ran over the 10th and 11th November 1924. It was a flurry of “gold excitement as a claim for a mining lease was lodged on 14 November 1924 covering 20 acres around Mr Goon’s Nicholson Street property. Notices were delivered advising residents that the underground property rights of their homes was to be sold in order to establish the ‘Batman’s Hill Gold Mine (100ft square) and the ‘Eastern Hill Gold Mine’ (31x110ft). It was believed by some that a gold reef runs along Nicholson Street from Princes Street). (Fitzroy History Society Newsletter – Nov 2021 – Rachel Axton).