Fitzroy 1974

Revisiting photographer Robert Ashton's landmark 1974 black-and-white image series documenting life in Melbourne's bohemian Fitzroy fifty years on.

First published in 1974, Into the Hollow Mountains was a landmark book featuring black-and-white images taken by Robert Ashton around the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, alongside original writing from local creatives including author Helen Garner. Fitzroy 1974 presents an authentic record of what it was like to live and work in one of Australia's most bohemian enclaves during a time of unprecedented change.

In 1970s Fitzroy the colonial roots of urban Australia were still on show from bluestone lanes to hard-case pubs. The suburb began to teem with a new diversity, as the children of migrants set about finding their place among the high-rise commission flats. The streets were a sanctuary for First Nations People from all over the Kulin nation and beyond. Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Mercy sat beside the Divine Light Mission, the Greek Orthodox Church and the good Protestant nuns, around the corner from student flop houses and industrial sweat shops. Fitzroy become a haven for painters, musicians, writers and photographers chasing cheap rent, driving a creative legacy rivalling Greenwich Village in New York or Montmartre in Paris.

Now published with new writing edited by novelist Gregory Day, this compelling collection offers a rare glimpse into one of Australia's most influential suburbs at a pivotal moment in history.