The hill, on the traditional country of the Wurundjeri, was first claimed for John Fawkner by his representative Captain John Lancey of the Enterprize, who named it 'Pleasant Hill', and wrote to Fawkner in 1835,
Your lordship has been fortunate in the lot I chose for you. A more delightful spot, I think, cannot be. Beautiful grass, a pleasant prospect, a fine fresh-water river, and the vessel alongside the bank discharging at musket-shot distance from a pleasant hill where I intend to put your house. The garden will trend to the south by the east side of the hill ... The west side of the hill is a beautiful prospect. A salt lagoon and piece of marsh will make a beautiful meadow and bounded on the south by the river. The hill is composed of rich, black soil, thinly wooded with honeysuckle and she-oak. Good grass, a quantity of herbage that I cannot name more than three, viz., parsley of good flavour, peppermint, as good as any I ever tasted, and geraniums in abundance.[3]
In April 1836, the hill was settled by Batman and his family, who built a house at the base where Batman lived until his death in 1839.[4] His widow and family then moved from the house and the government requisitioned the house for government offices.[5]
In 1837, the Hoddle Grid, the first town plan was designed with Batman's Hill as its western boundary.
The hill had many other uses. In February 1839, it acted as a grandstand for Melbourne's first horse race, with the site later the site of navigation beacons, and a hospital.[5] At around the same time, Batman's Hill was also the site of the first cricket match played in Victoria by the founders of the Melbourne Cricket Club.[6] The western slope of Batman's Hill was sold to the government in 1847 and a powder magazine was built. At the foot of the slopes were tanning pits and melting works.
The site now forms the eastern border of the Docklands (a precinct of the Docklands development is also named Batman's Hill) and is dominated by Southern Cross station and the Collins Street bridge built in 2002 to replicate the original curve and shape of the hill.[9]
A significant portion of Batman's Hill is now being developed by the Walker Group as a commercial office precinct called Collins Square.
A 1920s hotel, the Batman's Hill Hotel was named after Batman's Hill.
Survey datum
Robert Hoddle used Batman's Hill as the datum for the cadastral survey of the land around Melbourne from 1837.
[10]
A grid of orthogonal Section lines at one mile spacing, aligned with magnetic north, divided the land into one square mile (640 acre) sections for subdivision and land sales. The section boundaries were adjusted for watercourses. The linear property boundaries, in the absence of pre-existing tracks, were natural locations for major roads. For example:
Swan Street, Riversdale Road and Somerville Road are on the east–west section line that passes through the datum.
Victoria Street and Barkers Road run east–west one mile to the north
Alexandra Parade and Racecourse Road run east–west two miles to the north
Royal Parade and Sydney Road run north–south along the section line passing through the datum.
Hoddle Street runs north–south two miles to the east