Genealogy Australia

In the 18th century King's Cross was called Battle Bridge-a neighbourhood of fields and pleasure gardens occasionally flooded by the river Fleet. Then came its heyday as it was built up around canal and railways. Its goods yard supplied a voracious London with food, beer and coal.

But after the last war, as goods were increasingly transported by road, the yard became derelict and, inevitably, ripe for redevelopment. What is left includes two of the finest stations in the world and their splendid hotels, together with a comprehensive array of buildings.