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

A Plan for a Fence

by David Thompson The PMHPS Collection includes a number of plans and some of the older ones - the ones from the Sandridge days - are works of art. Take, for example, Cat No. 88 - Elevation of Proposed Fence to Station Place Reserve. Elevation of Proposed Fence to Station Place Reserve. PMHPS Collection, Cat No. 88. The first thing you…

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Swallow & Ariell Matchbox

One of the loveliest items in the PMHPS Collection is Cat No 581, a small metal matchbox promoting Swallow and Ariell Ltd. Swallow & Ariell Ltd promotional matchbox. PMHPS Collection (Cat No 581). It is only 6cm by 4.3cm with a full coloured paper insert fitted into the lid with a swallow swooping over the words With Compliments From Swallow &…

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Christmas Cards

As the ubiquitous adoption of electronic mail and text messages on smart devices has become the norm for our daily communications the practice of exchanging Christmas cards has declined enormously. It doesn't seem that long ago that mantlepieces, sideboards, desks and even office windows were crowded with festive cards. People sent cards to their friends and family, businesses to their important…

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Mount Mulligan Appeal

The Cairns Post newspaper of Tuesday 20 September 1921 carried the first reports of a terrible disaster in the remote mining township of Mount Mulligan, 1,797 km north west of Brisbane. Reports at that early stage were vague and at times contradictory but it was clear that around 9am the previous day an explosion had occurred at the Mount Mulligan…

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WWII Hospital Ship – MS Oranje

Hospital ship, MS Oranje, at Port Melbourne, 1940s. Photograph by Roy Liebig. PMHPS Collection. This story was sparked by a couple of images in the PMHPS Collection taken by Roy Liebig in the 1940s. Both images appear later in this story so more on those later. MS Oranje, 1940s. Photo by Roy Liebig. PMHPS Collection. The MS Oranje started life in the…

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A Young Girl’s Interests

In 1927 the Duke and Duchess of York (future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother) visited Australia for the official opening of Parliament House in Canberra. After the ceremonies, the royal couple returned to Victoria by train alighting at Montague so they could say goodbye from an open car at brief civic receptions outside South…

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Gems from the Collection

PMHPS Monthly Meeting, 23 February 2021 at the auditorium, Port Melbourne Town Hall featuring members' presentations of Gems from the Collection. Suzy Milburn - Tennis and School Visits David Radcliffe - Port Melbourne Free Library John May and Janet Bolitho - Jim Sinclair and a Japanese map of wartime Port Melbourne The presentation starts approximately 12 minutes into the meeting.

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