The following is a description of Fitzroy North from 1896:
“North Fitzroy may be described as the suburb of Fitzroy city. It embraces about one half the territorial area claimed by the local council, and had been a portion of Smith ward attached to the City of Melbourne. It was formerly little more than a waste, with patches of native grass, scrub and underwood, seamed with gullies and rendered unsafe by the presence of huge water holes and stone quarries. But all that has been transformed. After running about a mile by tram down Brunswick-street, the aspect of things becomes altered. The buildings are erected with more regard to regularity, taste and ornamentation. Public houses are conspicuous by their absence an the stores at the corners supply the local inhabitants with their more immediate wants. Rows of pretty cottages with handsome gardens, and magnificent terraces of two-storied houses with sumptuous surroundings may be seen in every direction. Here the poor have no abiding place – they at least are not discernible. Owing probably to the sandy nature of the soil flowers grow here with the utmost luxuriance, and variegated shrubs and climbing plants are seen embellishing the humblest inhabitation. The streets instead of being severely straight are in places formed in crescents and the buildings, mostly two-storied and semi-detached are of a style that indicates the residents are well-to-do” (The Leader, 8 Feb 1896)