David F Radcliffe – Page 2 – Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society

Picturing Bessie Ross

People, Port Melbourne HistoryDecember 9, 2022

by David F Radcliffe After we bought our Victorian era place on Esplanade East in 2017, I wondered when it was built and who had lived here previously. This led to the discovery that the allotment on which our house now stands was purchased by Elizabeth Ross and Simon Patience at a Crown Land auction in December 1883. Who were they…

Steel Castings Pty Ltd of Derham and Bertie Streets

Featured, People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryMarch 4, 2022

by Jim West and David Radcliffe The premises of the Port Melbourne Engineering Works, built by Albert T Harman in Derham Street, Port Melbourne in 1902, included a foundry for casting components out of iron and brass.[1] In November 1934, this foundry was purchased by his son, Alfred Henry Harman, and James Robertson and registered as JV Robertson Pty Ltd.…

Bismarck Street

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryFebruary 4, 2022

by David Radcliffe Around Port Melbourne there are streets, like Bain Street, that once existed but have since disappeared. There are many more streets whose name has been changed. In April 1878, a cluster of intersecting streets in the south-western corner of the rapidly expanding Sandridge were gazetted as shown below.1 One of these was Bismarck Street. Note the self-referential nature of…

‘Lagoon Reserve’: Residential or Recreational?

Port Melbourne HistorySeptember 30, 2021

by David Radcliffe In the 1890s, the name ‘lagoon reserve’ applied to any part of the strip of reclaimed land, bounded by Esplanade East and Esplanade West, extending from Bridge St to Rouse St. Formed by filling in the Sandridge Lagoon, it was also known as the ‘lagoon lands’. The recreational park we know today as Lagoon Reserve, between Liardet…

Alfred Harman & Sons: Engineers of Derham Street

People, Port Melbourne HistorySeptember 30, 2021

by David Radcliffe Twenty-one year old Alfred Harman is reported to have started his engineering business in 1885.1 He proudly advertised his services as an “engineer, blacksmith and brass-founder” offering “engines and machinery of every description made to order and repaired at lowest possible rates”.2 His firm, the Port Melbourne Engineering Works, which later became Alfred T Harman & Sons…

Meeting – 26 October 2021 @ 7.30 PM

MeetingsSeptember 29, 2021

David Radcliffe and Janet Bolitho will take us on a virtual walk around the area covered in David's book Changing Fortunes: Ebb and Flow of People and Place in a Pocket in Port Melbourne. Changing Fortunes was recently shortlisted for the 2021 Victorian Community History Awards. Details for the meeting will be distributed closer to the date.

Mrs Jane Adam: A Difficult Life

People, Port Melbourne HistoryAugust 20, 2021

by David Radcliffe In the late 19th century, life for many in “Marvellous Melbourne” was often tenuous. Living conditions were fairly basic and the economic depression that lingered from the 1890s until the First World War meant there was no guarantee of having a roof over your head or food on the table. It was not uncommon for children to die prematurely,…

Ingles Street

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryJune 4, 2021

by David Radcliffe Ingles Street is parallel to, and a block south of, the northern boundary between Port Melbourne and South Melbourne. When gazetted in 1860, it only ran from the eastern boundary with Emerald Hill (South Melbourne), past the upper arm of the Sandridge Lagoon to Evans Street, just over the Melbourne and Hobson’s Bay Railway. Pickles and Boundary…

Bridge Street

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryMay 7, 2021

by David Radcliffe Bridge Street is one of three streets that both traverse Port Melbourne from east to west, cross the light rail tracks and extend into Fishermans Bend, the others being Ingles Street and Graham Street. Originally it only ran from the western edge of Sandridge Lagoon to the Melbourne to Hobsons Bay Railway track. As there was no…

Gems from the Collection

Collection, Port Melbourne History, PresentationsFebruary 23, 2021

PMHPS Monthly Meeting, 23 February 2021 at the auditorium, Port Melbourne Town Hall featuring members' presentations of Gems from the Collection. Suzy Milburn - Tennis and School Visits David Radcliffe - Port Melbourne Free Library John May and Janet Bolitho - Jim Sinclair and a Japanese map of wartime Port Melbourne The presentation starts approximately 12 minutes into the meeting.

Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians