FITZROY RONE MURAL

Fitzroy is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, 2 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District in the local government area of the City of Yarra. At the 2011 Census, Fitzroy had a population of 9,430. Planned as Melbourne's first suburb, it was later also one of the city's first areas to gain municipal status. It occupies Melbourne's smallest and most densely populated suburban area, just 100 ha, bordered by Alexandra Parade (north), Victoria Parade (south), Smith Street (east) and Nicholson Street.

It has a long associations with the working class and is currently inhabited by a wide variety of ethnicities and socio-economic groups and is known for a culture of bohemianism, being the main home of Melbourne's Fringe Festival. Its commercial heart is Brunswick Street, which is one of Melbourne's major retail, eating, and entertainment strips. It has undergone waves of both urban renewal and gentrification since the 1950s.

In response to past planning practices, much of the suburb is now a historic preservation precinct, with many individual buildings and streetscapes covered by Heritage Overlays. Its built environment is diverse and features some of the finest examples of Victorian era architecture in Melbourne. The most recent changes to Fitzroy are mandated by the Melbourne 2030 Metropolitan Strategy, in which both Brunswick Street and nearby Smith Street are designated for redevelopment as Activity centres. It was named after Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, the Governor of New South Wales from 1846 to 1855.

Melbourne born street art extraordinaire ‘Rone’ has become famous for his meticulous mural paintings of beautiful women. According to Rone, his work attempts to ‘locate the friction point between beauty and decay, the lavish and despoiled, creating an iconic form of urban art with a strongly emotional bent.’ You can find this particular masterpiece off Gertrude St. in Fitzroy.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Monday Murals meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.