David F Radcliffe – Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society

The Whitaker Family: Montague to Port

People, Port Melbourne History3 days ago

by David F Radcliffe The Whitaker Family: Braidwood to Montague introduces Joseph Whitaker and Alice McFarlane who married in rural NSW in 1892. It tells the story of Alice being widowed aged 27 with four young children to support, the family’s move to Montague, an industrial area in South Melbourne, her second husband Ormas Towers deserting them and the impact on…

The Whitaker Family: Braidwood to Montague

People, Port Melbourne HistoryMarch 21, 2025

by David F Radcliffe Allan Whittaker, a stevedore, was shot by police at Hogans Flat, near Princes Pier, on 2 November 1928. The injuries he sustained resulted in his untimely death on 26 January 1929. He was 38. These events have been commemorated annually since 2013. A short film, An Ordinary Life: The Story of Allan Whittaker, released in…

Meet the Borowski Family

People, Port Melbourne HistoryFebruary 21, 2025

by David F Radcliffe When writing Changing Fortunes in 2020, I could not find any photographs of the many people and families featured in the book. Through writing their stories, I came to know them, even though I had never ‘seen’ them. Just before Christmas 2024, Rudolph and Mary Borowski, who lived at 47 Spring Street East for nearly fifty years, suddenly…

Johnston Street

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryDecember 6, 2024

by David F. Radcliffe Johnston Street runs from Graham Street to Beaconsfield Parade, one block back from Pickles Street. It was gazetted in 1865 along with many other streets on the eastern side of Sandridge Lagoon: Rouse Street East, Graham Street East, Liardet Street East, Esplanade East and Pickles Street. This was before any bridges crossed this dominant water feature.…

McCormack: A Slender Street in Two Parts

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryNovember 1, 2024

by David F Radcliffe In her 2014 article on McCormack St, Robyn Clinch sketched the life of publican Thomas McCormack, after whom the street was named. The McCormack family lived on the southern part of this slender street between Bridge Street and Esplanade East. McCormack Street also extends northward from Bridge Street to Spring Street East. Each part has a distinct…

Little Cruikshank (aka Little Pickles) Street

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryOctober 4, 2024

by David F Radcliffe Little Cruickshank Street runs between Liardet and Bridge Streets, providing access to the rear of properties on Cruickshank and Pickles Streets, Port Melbourne. This right-of-way was formed when the Crown Land on the eastern shore of the Sandridge Lagoon was surveyed and sold in the 1870s. Entrance to Little Cruickshank Street from Liardet Street It was never…

Melville (aka Malvery) Street

Places, Port Melbourne HistorySeptember 6, 2024

by David F Radcliffe Melville is a difficult-to-find street near the Port Melbourne Tennis Club; blink and you miss it. When the Crown Land south of Graham Street between Ross and Clark was surveyed and sold between 1868 and 1869, Albert Street was the only internal access road.[i] Melville was created as a private right-of-way in the late 1870s when…

Drysdale Street

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryAugust 2, 2024

by David F Radcliffe Drysdale Street runs between Graham and Seisman Streets near Lagoon Reserve. It is named for the Drysdale family who resided in this narrow right-of-way from the 1860s to the 1930s. The name came into common usage in the late 1880s.[1] Drysdale Street off Graham Street There are many parallels between Drysdale Street and Brewster’s Lane. Both were created…

Heath Street

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryJuly 5, 2024

by David F Radcliffe The eclectic range of architectural styles and the pleasant canopy of trees along Heath Street conceal its part in the shaping of Sandridge in the gold fever fuelled 1850s. Apart from its residents, few traverse this quiet street except if they are going to or from the Port Melbourne Town Hall and Library via Spring Street, North…

Meeting Tuesday, 26 March @ 7.30pm

MeetingsFebruary 28, 2024

David F Radcliffe will launch his latest book, Making it Here at our March meeting. Making It Here is about the lives of four immigrant engineers, Otto Schumacher, Alfred Harman, Albert Longoni and Fred David, who played major roles in the development of manufacturing in Port Melbourne, including Fishermans Bend, during the first half of the 20th century. Two founded…

Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians