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It's a suburb known for its clout in Melbourne's cultural landscape, but Fitzroy's Aboriginal heritage is rarely mentioned.
But a group of street artists are hoping to get the conversation started with a new Indigenous mural just off the famous Gertrude Street.
The work was done over four days by Gunnai Waradjeurie man Robert Young, with the help of street artists Heesco and Makatron.
He said it paid tribute to Fitzroy's enduring Aboriginal identity.
"It's just a great way to acknowledge our history that's been here," Young said.
"My great grandparents lived on this street and I think not many people know the history and not many people have the opportunity to hear the stories.
"To be able to do a mural like this, it's just a great opportunity for people to initiate the questions or initiate the thought behind, 'Oh why is there an Aboriginal mural here?'"
The mural references the cultural connections Fitzroy has to Australia's first peoples.
Intertwined with images of urban life are depictions of Aboriginal stories like Bunjil the eagle, the creator to the Kulin nation.
The waterfall symbolises the well of knowledge and acknowledges the past, while the two-storey tree represents the future and interconnectedness.
But one of the most eye-catching features of the mural are the portraits of Aboriginal people, left deliberately indistinct so young Aboriginal people could imagine their own family members in them.
"Our culture's never been lost, but it's being revived through its young people," Young said.
The mural is painted on the outside of the Charcoal Lane restaurant, which is run by Mission Australia. It was originally a bank before becoming an Aboriginal community health centre.
It was immortalised by Indigenous singer Archie Roach, who named his 1990 debut solo album after the laneway.
Inside, visitors dine on Aboriginal-inspired cuisine made by Indigenous students who are learning hospitality - most will go on to mainstream jobs.
"A lot of people have walked past this building not even knowing what we are before," program manager Troy Crellin said.
"With this mural on the side of the building, I think it talks a lot about the history of the area, the connection to Aboriginal community, but also just blows people away in terms of 'wow, what is this?'
"It's really that starting statement as they start to walk into the restaurant and connect to culture through food."
The artists had help from some of Charcoal Lane's students, who said the mural had become an important cultural anchor.
Daniel Hume-Guinane, 21, from Dandenong, has been a hospitality trainee here for the past six months.
"It's really important because it's the grassroots of Melbourne, like you don't start off at the bottom, or you won't make it to the top," he said.
"It's the roots of the city, before it was a massive place full of opportunities, there was a culture and an art and a story behind what we're seeing today."
Topics: indigenous-culture, community-and-society, arts-and-entertainment, fitzroy-3065, melbourne-3000, vic