Understanding the MMBW Plans
What are the MMBW Melbourne sewerage plans?
The MMBW Melbourne sewerage plans were produced by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works from the 1890s to the 1950s to facilitate the design and development of Melbourne’s sewerage system. They provide a historical record of Melbourne streetscapes and environmental features.
These online, interactive plans are the result of a major digitising project to both preserve the original MMBW plans and provide a digital version with added functionality and convenience for users.
Read more information about the MMBW Digitising Project >
What information do the plans show?
The MMBW Melbourne sewerage plans comprise three levels of linked plans showing ever-increasing detail.
Level 1 consists of one Main grid system (master index) plan:
Each red-outlined grid on the Main grid system plan represents a Level 2 Index plan (except 8D, 8E and 7E, which comprise one plan because there is so little land to show). The numbers of these Level 2 plans are indicated in red. The plans are not directly related to municipality borders – they may cover part or all of a municipality or more than one municipality.
Only the most-used Level 2 plans within the series have been digitised and are available online. In Select mode these clickable plans are indicated on the Level 1 plan with grey shading.
Level 2 consists of 37 Index plans:
- Scale 1:19 200 (1600 feet to 1 inch)
- Cover sections of a single or, more usually, multiple municipalities
- Show street names, parks, railways lines, sports grounds, hospitals, municipality borders and other key environmental features as they existed at the time each plan was produced.
Unlike the Level 1 Main grid system plan, each red grid on the Level 2 plans is not equivalent to a lower-level plan. The red grids contain multiple plans. The borders of these Level 3 plans are dictated by the patterns of streets in each area, not by the grid. The borders are indicated by thin blue lines and the map numbers are blue.
Only the most-used Level 3 plans within the series have been digitised and are available online. In Select mode these clickable plans are indicated on the relevant Level 2 plans with grey shading.
Level 3 consists of over 600 Detail plans:
- Scale 1: 480 (40 feet to 1 inch)
- Cover one or two street blocks (roughly six streets)
- Show details of every building, including garden layouts and ownership boundaries; and environmental features such as fences, drainage, bridges, parks, municipal boundaries and other prominent landmarks as they existed at the time each plan was produced.
What areas do the plans cover?
The plans which have been digitised and are available online cover:
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Melbourne CBD
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Kensington
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Richmond
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Collingwood
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Fitzroy
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Port Melbourne
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South Melbourne
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St Kilda
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Williamstown
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Footscray.
Read more information about the MMBW Plans >
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