Port Melbourne History – Page 6 – Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society

Dogs in Port

Collection, Port Melbourne HistoryAugust 17, 2023

A Random post about dogs from 2013 mentions that the Society holds a Register of Dogs in Port Melbourne from 1892 (Cat No 1730). In fact PMHPS holds six items relating to the registration of dogs covering the period 1882 to 1915 so let's take a closer look at the book that covers the years 1892 to 1901. Dog Register…

Cyril Letts Reserve

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryAugust 4, 2023

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…

William and Christiana Barlow

People, Port Melbourne HistoryJuly 20, 2023

by David F Radcliffe In November 1862, William James Barlow, aged 29, married Christiana Caroline Stivey, aged 18, at Holy Trinity Church in Bay Street. They started married life in a rented four-room wooden house at the very southern end of Station Place. Christiana gave birth to their first child, James, in early 1863. Later that year, the young family…

The Curious Case of King and Stone Streets with Bartlett Street Thrown in for Good Measure

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryJuly 7, 2023

by David Thompson Melbourne Harbor Trust General Plan, 1893 (detail). State Library of Victoria A General Plan prepared by the Melbourne Harbor Trust dated 1893[1] shows a regular grid of six streets to the west of Williamstown Road. Tarver Street, Plummer Street and a third unnamed street running parallel to Williamstown Road with King Street, Stone Street and another unnamed street running directly off Williamstown…

Kitchen’s vs Swallow’s King’s Birthday Football Match

Port Melbourne HistoryJune 12, 2023

by David Thompson After so many years having a public holiday for the Queen’s Birthday, it felt a bit strange to have one for the King's Birthday in 2023. The public holiday honouring the monarch's official birthday, at least for football followers, means a blockbuster match between Melbourne and Collingwood at the MCG and the Neale Daniher-led Big Freeze event…

Guardian Family Health Soap

Collection, Port Melbourne HistoryJune 9, 2023

Guardian Family Health Soap. PMHPS Collection Cat No 3423.03. Among the PMHPS collection is an aged, chipped bar of unused Guardian Family Health Soap. And what's more, the Society also has the original box. Box, Guardian Family Health Soap (front). PMHPS Collection 3423.02. Guardian Family Health Soap was produced by J Kitchen & Sons Pty Ltd and the description on the rear…

Turville Place

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryJune 2, 2023

by David F Radcliffe Because Princes Street, originally called Railway Place, runs parallel to the Melbourne to Hobson’s Bay Railway, the block bounded by Graham, Stokes, Liardet and Princes Streets (Crown Block 10) is trapezoidal rather than rectangular in shape. Turville Place was created to provide access to the interior parts of the southern portion of this block. Unlike “interior”…

The Chapman Memorial Hall

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryMay 19, 2023

by David Thompson The red-brick Chapman Memorial Hall has stood in Ross Street for over one hundred and twenty years. When the foundation stone was laid on the afternoon of Saturday 24 January 1903 The Standard reported that many who had attended ‘were surprised to find that the new building was at an advanced stage of construction’.[1] It was already identified as the…

Back-to-Port Melbourne Celebrations 1932

Port Melbourne HistoryMay 5, 2023

by David Thompson After months of meetings, planning and a rearrangement of dates and events, April 30, 1932 marked the first day of the Back-to-Port Melbourne festivities. The Age that morning promoted the event with the inclusion of an illustration of the tent used by the Holy Trinity church in 1853 under the heading Glimpses of Old Melbourne.[1] Glimpses of Old Melbourne,…

Anzac Day in Port Melbourne 2023

Port Melbourne HistoryApril 28, 2023

It was warm, almost too warm for the time of year, as crowds gathered for the annual Anzac commemoration service. Beach St was closed to traffic. The crowd stretched from Nott St to Bay St and from the Beach St footpath to the blue stone wall. The crowd at the Anzac Commemoration Service photo Roger Tall The scene was…

Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians