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Museum · Melbourne

Eastern Hill Fire Station

Fire Services Museum

Standing
High · Heritage site
Rank
Rank 84 of 12,435
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Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor

About Eastern Hill Fire Station

Eastern Hill Fire Station is Melbourne's central fire station, on the corner of Victoria Parade and Gisborne Street at one of the highest points in the city, and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. Construction began in 1891 and the station opened on 3 November 1893 as headquarters and city fire station of the newly formed Metropolitan Fire Brigade. Designed jointly by Lloyd Tayler & Fitts and Smith & Johnson, it is an Australian Queen Anne style building that held living quarters, stables, workshops and offices, with a watchtower staffed around the clock; firefighters lived on the premises until the 1970s. A new Brutalist station next door, by Bates Smart McCutcheon, opened in 1979.

Checked 2026-11-05 · Source

What's inside

The old building no longer operates as a fire station. Parts of it are still used as offices, while the Fire Services Museum of Victoria occupies most of the ground floor. The museum has exhibits on the old Metropolitan Fire Brigade Board and the Chief Fire Officer, a showcase of fully refurbished fire appliances, a display of firefighting garments from around the world and a section dedicated to the Country Fire Authority, the brigade's sister firefighting organisation. Inside the Metropolitan Fire Brigade the station is known as Fire Station 1, and fire trucks from the 1979 station now leave onto Gisborne Street rather than Victoria Parade.

Checked 2026-11-05 · Source

Season and crowds

Fire Rescue Victoria holds weekly fire station displays at Eastern Hill Fire Station, 456 Albert Street, East Melbourne, with entry via Gisborne Street, at 10:30am on Fridays. The displays are open to the general public with bookings required through TryBooking; firefighters cover basic fire safety and show their rescue equipment, and the sessions are free and take one hour. Numbers are limited and demonstrations may not take place on public holidays. At the time of checking, all sessions for 2026 were booked out and 2027 dates were to be released via TryBooking when available. Questions go to the Central District Office on (03) 9665 4501.

Checked 2026-11-05 · Source

Place details and sources

Address
Gisborne Street, 39 OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Wheelchair access
Available OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Admission fee
Payable OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Type of place
Museum OpenStreetMap · Checked 2026-09-09
Heritage designation
listed on the Victorian Heritage Register Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Architectural style
Federation architecture Wikidata · Checked 2026-09-09
Wikipedia article
Eastern Hill Fire Station Wikipedia · Checked 2026-09-09

Common questions

What is in the old fire station today?

The Fire Services Museum of Victoria, which occupies most of the ground floor; other parts are offices.

Can the public join a fire station display?

Yes, on Fridays at 10:30am with a TryBooking reservation; the free one-hour sessions for 2026 were booked out.

When did the station open?

On 3 November 1893, as headquarters of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.

Where it is

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Nearby

Within 7 min on foot
  • St Patrick's Cathedral 30 min
    3 min walk

    St Patrick's Cathedral

    • Must see · Heritage site
    • Place of worship
  • Princess Theatre 1 hour
    5 min walk

    Princess Theatre

    • Must see · Heritage site
    • Art and culture venue
  • Old Treasury Building 45 min
    7 min walk

    Old Treasury Building

    • Must see · Heritage site
    • Historic site

In Melbourne

Same category

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Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·