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Town Hall, 333 Bay Street, Port Melbourne
Town Hall, 333 Bay Street, Port Melbourne

Cyril Letts Reserve

People, Places, Port Melbourne History0Comments
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by David Thompson

Cyril Letts Reserve, 2023. Photograph by David Thompson.

The triangle-shaped open space between Edwards Avenue and Howe Parade remained an unidentified reserve until the early 1980s when it was named in honour of former Port Melbourne Councillor and Mayor, Cyril Letts.

Record, 28 Sep 1968

Cyril was born in Wedderburn in October 1908 and came to Port Melbourne in 1927 marrying local girl, Ruby Buckley on 10 August 1929. The family were active members of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church with their only son Kenneth becoming an Anglican priest before eventually serving as an Archdeacon in France from 2007 to 2012.

Cyril worked for the Dunlop Rubber Company and then established his own taxi company in 1930. He served with the RAAF during the Second World War and resumed his taxi business when he returned to Australia.

In 1946 he joined Port Melbourne Football Club (PMFC) serving in a number of positions before becoming club President in 1951 holding the position until the end of the 1966 season. The Borough won three premierships during his presidency (1953, 1964 and 1966) but it was a case of what could have been with the club finishing runners-up on seven occasions (1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1965).

Ruby Letts worked on the PMFC Ladies Committee to support the club in many ways including making an annual donation of funds to help the club’s bottom line. Here she is (second from right) in the photograph of the Ladies Committee in the 1960s.

PMFC Ladies Committee, 1960s. L-R: Lisa McFarlane; Nell Murphy; Gladys Colin; Lil Goss; Dorrie Baker; Lil Julier; Ruby Letts; Margaret Addicoat. PMHPS Collection Cat No 2310.

Cyril was elected to Port Melbourne Council on 15 May 1954 serving the city until he resigned on 24 September 1968. He was Mayor on three occasions – 1955-56, 1960-61 and 1966-67. He can be seen, second from right in the photograph below, watching Cr Ray Julier testing Subscriber Trunk Dialling during a demonstration at the PMG.

Port Melbourne contingent at a PMG demonstration of Subscriber Trunk Dialling, 1960s. L-R Cr Les Turner, Cr Ray Julier, Jack Anderson (Electrical Engineer), Cr Cyril Letts, Andy Aanensen (Town Clerk). PMHPS Collection, Cat No 3473

He was an active member of the Port Melbourne Bowling Club and won the club championship in 1967-68.

Cyril and Ruby Letts moved to Surfers Paradise on the 20 January 1970. Cyril died on 24 April 1973, aged 65.

Sources

U’Ren, N. and Turnbull, N. (1983) A history of Port Melbourne. Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press. 

Keenan, T. (2011) In Safe Hands. Albert Park, Vic: Eucalyptus Press. 

Keenan, T. (2008) A different breed: A history of the Port Melbourne Football Club, 1945-1995. Albert Park, Vic: Eucalyptus Press. 

(1968) “Cr. Cyril Letts resigns from Port Melbourne Council”, Record, 28 Sep.

(1970) “Au Revoir; Not Goodbye! The Letts Leave Port”, Record, 24 Jan.

Wikipedia contributors, “Ken Letts,”  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ken_Letts&oldid=1128402637 (accessed June 9, 2023).

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Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet and work, the Bunurong Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation and pay respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.