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

Captain James Renton Watters – The Truth

People, Port Melbourne HistoryJune 21, 2024
by Robyn Watters Captain James Renton Watters Born: 14 October 1838, Longhope, Orkney, Scotland [1] Died: 4 February 1919, Prahran, Melbourne [2] Captain James Renton Watters, master mariner, settled in Port Melbourne and surrounds in 1875, bringing his Cockney bride with him.  Ancestral pride swelled his reputation as a capable and adventurous seafarer but The Truth newspaper filled me in on…

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Brewster’s Lane

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryJune 7, 2024
by David F Radcliffe Brewster’s Lane disappeared from Port Melbourne twice. First, it was erased from local memory after the name of this small roadway changed in 1889. A century later, all traces of the laneway were lost when the area was redeveloped. The aerial photograph below shows the location of the former Brewster’s Lane. Former Brewster's Lane (1946), State…

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Chainmaking – A Woman’s Occupation

People, Port Melbourne HistoryMay 10, 2024
by Robyn Watters Gertrude Brown (nee Duncan), Moorabbin, Victoria, c. 1964-68. As a child I had a horrified fascination of a piece of metal lodged under one of my grandmother’s fingernails.  I was told it was from an industrial accident when she was a jeweller’s assistant. Years later when I investigated this claim, the electoral rolls for my grandmother Gertrude Duncan in…

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The Petersons of Ross Street: A Nautical Family

Collection, People, Port Melbourne HistoryFebruary 8, 2024
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

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryFebruary 2, 2024
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

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryNovember 3, 2023
by David Thompson Thomas Griffin's grave at Lancefield Cemetery, 2024. Photograph by Daniel Brueckner. 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…

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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.