📑 Melbourne and Suburbs Isometrical Plan – 1866
A very detailed coloured lithograph by De Gruchy and Leigh of an aerial view of Melbourne in 1866 looking south from a point approximately above the corner of Victoria and Spring Streets. The picture extends from Yarra Park in the east to Batman’s Hill in the west and from Albert and Lonsdale Streets in the north to Port Philip Bay in the south.
This aerial view of Melbourne in 1866 is fascinating, not only for what it shows, but also to consider how it was actually constructed. Was it using a hot air balloon or was it simply based on De Gruchy and Leigh’s appreciation of the land?