| Roma Street | |
| Location: | Brisbane central business district |
| Direction A: | North West |
| Terminus A: | Upper Roma Street (W), Countess Street (N), Saul Street (S) |
| Direction B: | South East |
| Terminus B: | Ann Street |
| Junction: | George Street, Turbot Street |
Roma Street is a major street in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. It is named after Diamantina Bowen (née di Roma), the wife of the first Governor of Queensland, George Bowen.[1]
Roma Street is the main north-west road connecting the Brisbane central business district to the inner north-western suburbs of Milton, Petrie Terrace and beyond. It is approximately 700m (2,300feet) in length from its junction with Ann Street to its junction with Countess and Saul Streets.
Roma Street does not terminate as such at Countess and Saul Streets, but extends further towards the inner north-western suburbs, but becomes named as Upper Roma Street (presumably reflecting the rising terrain), although the street numbering is contiguous with Roma Street, supporting that it is viewed as part of the same street. Upper Roma Street continues for a further 600m (2,000feet).
In the 1840s the Roma Street area was used for a major gathering of Aboriginal groups from south-east Queensland, consisting of several hundred people at which the Ipswich group performed a new corrobboree. It is thought to be the last time Aboriginal groups used the area for major gatherings due to the urban growth of Brisbane.[2]
On 12 November 1915 the Queensland Government opened Queensland's first State butcher's shop in Roma Street. In the 1915 Queensland state election, T. J. Ryan's Labor government won office in wartime Queensland on the strength of promises to improve living standards, principally by addressing the problems of high commodity prices, price-fixing and the emergence of monopolies. They believed in public ownership of key economic activities, in competition with private enterprise, but at fair prices. From 1915 to 1929, 90 State butcher's shops operated in Queensland for various periods, but all were eventually closed as being uneconomic to operate.[3]
Many Brisbane landmarks are located on Roma Street (as numbered, starting from the intersection at Ann Street):
Notable landmarks on Upper Roma Street include: