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

A bit early?

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryOctober 30, 2013
Robert Gooding at Olive's corner in Port Melbourne Walking through Olive's Corner earlier this week, saw a person reading the PMH&PS book 'Chartered Scoundrels: A Brief History of Port Melbourne Hotels'. Couldn't let this go unremarked and stopped for a chat. Robert Gooding enjoys visiting Port. By 9 am he had already taken two buses and a train to get here. With…

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Gateway to Melbourne

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryOctober 23, 2013
The Town Planning Commission report of 1929 was very critical of the entrance to Melbourne from Port Melbourne. It reported that 'this approach to Melbourne is a drab and shabby one'. The honorary secretary of the Commission, Frank Heath, said hopefully 'What a difference a tree lined boulevard, extending for several miles around the esplanade would make to the Port Melbourne…

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Metropolitan Planning 1929

Port Melbourne HistoryOctober 16, 2013
Last week, Premier Napthine and Planning Minister Guy released Plan Melbourne which sets out the government's vision for Melbourne to 2050. In the Society's collection is a copy of the first plan for Melbourne prepared by the newly formed Metropolitan Town Planning Commission in 1929. While the whole report is full of interest, unsurprisingly PMHPS headed straight for the Port Melbourne references.…

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Foundation stories

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryOctober 10, 2013
PMHPS finds it endlessly fascinating that it is still possible to 'read' the shaping stories of Port Melbourne in its street layout - the influence of the Lagoon and the Railway in particular. Township of Sandridge 1860, State Library of Victoria This is well explained in this report: "Perhaps the most significant element of Port Melbourne's infrastructure in terms of its ability to…

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Ghost signs

Port Melbourne HistoryOctober 3, 2013
Dr Stefan Schutt is documenting 'ghost signs' around Melbourne. That led to thinking about signs in Port Melbourne. Port Melbourne's most splendid signs would have to be those that adorned the UDL building (now the id apartments) on Pickles St. They were painted by sign writer Keith Martin. UDL was a successor company to Joshua Bros Distillery which made brandy, whisky…

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Remembering Letty Bellion

People, Port Melbourne HistorySeptember 26, 2013
Letty Bellion Margaret Bride tells the story of her grandmother Letty Bellion. Her story is a window into Port life through the 1890s depression, the First World War and the difficult post war years that followed. The story tells of a disappeared cluster of shops in Graham St, and the shadow cast on this family and community by the First World War.…

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The first Australian railway

Places, Port Melbourne HistorySeptember 12, 2013
Flinders Street Station c1854. Australia's first railway. Sketch by S.T. Gill showing the first station buildings and the single line from Sandridge.: Culture Victoria 'Yesterday was memorable in the annals of Victoria and of Australia, for the opening of the first Australian railway' (The Argus 13 September 1854) On 12th September 1854, the first journey on the first steam railway in…

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The electorate of Melbourne Ports

People, Port Melbourne HistorySeptember 5, 2013
Existing since Federation, Melbourne Ports has been held by the Labor Party since 1906 and has had only five members in 107 years since. Former members of the seat were Jim Matthews 1906 - 1931 E J Holloway 1931 - 1951 Frank Crean 1951 - 1977 Clyde Holding 1977 - 1998 Michael Danby since 1998   Postscript: On 5 July 2018, Michael Danby announced he would not contest…

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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.