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

The Petersons of Ross Street: A Nautical Family

by David F Radcliffe Frederick Peterson and Priscilla Hume were married at St James Cathedral in Melbourne in June 1869.[1] For 53 years, the couple were active members of the Port Melbourne community raising eight children here, five girls and three boys. Both Frederick and Priscilla came from families with strong connections to ships and the sea and this nautical tradition…

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Leith Crescent

by David Thompson Leith Crescent looking towards Howe Parade (2024). Photograph by David Thompson Leith Crescent is a short curving street running between Howe Parade and Williamstown Road. It is closed at Williamstown Road creating a cul-de-sac for the small number of ‘bank houses’ that face onto the street. And ‘bank houses’ are the key behind the naming of Leith Crescent.…

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Tom Griffin

by David Thompson On Sunday, 8 Nov 1953 Port Melbourne Mayor, Cr E J Purchase with Crs J P Crichton and T G Douglas accompanied by the Port Melbourne Municipal Band attended the grave of the late Cr Tom Griffin at Lancefield. [1] This had become an annual pilgrimage since Griffin's death three years earlier. Advertisement, The Record, 15 August…

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‘Roar Like a Bull!’

Growing up in Port Melbourne in the middle of the 20th Century by Albert Caton I was born in 1942 in the maternity ward of the Women’s Hospital in North Melbourne, the son of Edward Harold (‘Ted’) Caton and Muriel Lily (Reed) Caton. Soon afterwards, my mum and I moved to Sydney where my father was stationed in the Navy…

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Kyme Place

by David F Radcliffe Kyme Place runs off Liardet Street behind the burnt-out old Port Melbourne Theatre. It provides access to the rear of commercial premises on Bay Street and a public parking garage. A distinctive building, also called Kyme Place, utilises the airspace above the car park. Constructed in 2012, it was designed by MGS Architects to provide self-contained apartments as well…

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Garton Street

by David F Radcliffe Garton Street is a quiet cul-de-sac at the northern boundary of Port Melbourne. Gazetted in March 1860, this short street was settled soon after, as Sandridge expanded rapidly under the population pressures of the gold rush. Today it has an eclectic range of dwellings from different eras. There is also a disused factory. The street was…

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Cyril Letts Reserve

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…

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PMHPS acknowledges the generous support of the City of Port Phillip.

 

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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.