In 1837 Robert Hoddle, the colony’s Surveyor General, divided undeveloped paddocks north of the boundary of the Melbourne area into square mile allotments. The government reserved some of the land for the main boundary streets, including Smith Street, which was originally called Eastern Road, before becoming Smith Street (Gertrude Street, Jill Robertson, Fitzroy History Society, p.2)
The Gasometer Hotel is on the south east corner of the Smith Street – Alexandra Parade intersection, so it is on the wrong side of Smith Street to be part of Fitzroy. However, it currently displays a sign of historical interest. Recently the building to the south of the hotel was demolished, revealing an old sign for the hotel and for Carlton Bitter… The hotel name is a reminder that in the past there were two gasometers diagonally opposite the site on the north west corner of Alexandra Parade. (Fitzroy History Society Newsletter, March 2017).
