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

I’m Glad I Was There

On Tuesday 28 July 2020, unable to meet in person due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place in Victoria at the time, the Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society held its first ever online meeting via Zoom. The topic, 'I Wish I Had Been There', was conceived by Margaret Bride and resulted in eight PMHPS members each describing an…

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I Wish I Had Been There …

The Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation made history on the 28 July 2020 when, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we hosted our first meeting via Zoom. Eight members spoke on the theme "I Wish I Had Been There ..." Margaret Bride wishes she had there when Wilbraham Liardet had ridden up and down Bay Street proclaiming the separation of Victoria…

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The Freame Families of Port Melbourne

by Ray Jelley ‘there was a sheep dressed up to represent Carbine II with his jockey; Bunny Hare all ready to run for the Port Melbourne Cup; saddles of mutton in fanciful designs; poultry and geese formed from the shoulders of mutton; pigeons, made of suet, flying about the windows …’ proclaimed the Standard on 18 May 1895 when describing the display in…

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Crichton (Jubilee) Reserve

by David Radcliffe Crichton Reserve, as it is now known, is named in honour of J P Crichton who served on Port Melbourne Council for 51 years from 1905 and was Mayor five times; in 1909, 1917, 1925, 1930 and 1939. This narrow, trapezoidal slice of land was formed by the convergence of Princes Street and Stokes Street, with Liardet Street creating its…

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A Garden City Life

Robyn Watters writes: My grandfather Bob Watters had a hard start in life. His mother Eliza was deserted by his father Captain James Renton Watters as soon as he was born in 1892. Single mother Eliza and her seven surviving children proceeded to move around rental properties in South Melbourne and Port Melbourne. Bob probably attended the Montague Primary School in…

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Sandridge Stars

Recently Mark Nettleton wrote to us about two football clubs from Garden City that played in the Melbourne Amateur Sunday Football Association during the 1950s. Garden City Football Club played their home matches at Garden City Oval No. 1 (now known as R F Julier Reserve) while the Sandridge Stars Football Club were based at Oval No. 2 (now known…

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WWII Air Raid Precautions

ARP Lapel Badge. PMHPS Collection. PMHPS has a small number ARP lapel badges in the collection (right).  They serve as a reminder that while WWI was mostly fought in far-off Europe, during WWII there was a very real danger that air raids could strike Australia and that the ARP played an important role in preparing the civilian population for such attacks. The…

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Todd Road

In 2016, Janet Bolitho wrote about Archibald Todd, State President and Federal Vice-President of the Timber Workers' Union, Port Melbourne Councillor and Mayor, and Member of the Victorian State Parliament so it's no secret that Todd Road is named in his honour. Todd Road does not appear on the Port Melbourne landscape until the 1970s but what was there before…

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The 1866 Fight on Sandridge Town Pier

by Ray Jelley, April 2020 While researching John August Daniels I noticed the name Stivey in the list of watermen who lived in Beach Street according to the 1870 edition of the Sands & McDougall directory. I guessed that the family might be one that could be easily researched with such a distinctive, and I assumed, rare surname. My research…

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Henry Whatty’s Port Melbourne

by David Radcliffe Henry Martin Whatty grew up in Port Melbourne during the 1870s and 1880s. He loved boats and boating and the photographs he took reflect his nautical interests.  Boat Harbour, Port Melbourne Lagoon Mouth. Photo: Henry Whatty HMS Mildura. Photo: Henry Whatty His father, Charles Whatty, was born in 1850 in Snettisham, Norfolk but his family moved to Mevagissey,…

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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.