Esplanade East – 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…

Piecing Together the Past

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryNovember 18, 2022

by David F Radcliffe When researching the story of the entrepreneurial Otto Schumacher, one question proved very difficult to answer. When did the small factory he built on Esplanade East in 1890 turn into the impressive building that defined the corner of Graham Street and Esplanade East from the 1920s? With its distinctive red brick and white stucco façades and flanked…

Otto Schumacher: Entrepreneurial Engineer

People, Port Melbourne HistoryOctober 21, 2022

by David F Radcliffe What many remember as the Knox-Schlapp factory on the corner of Graham Street and Esplanade East in the shadow of the former gasometer was originally the Schumacher Mill Furnishing Works. The entrepreneurial Otto Schumacher erected this facility in stages over three decades. Its facades provided a billboard proudly promoting the many products made there and engineering…

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,…

A Corner Shop

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryApril 23, 2021

In the days before supermarkets and large shopping centres the people of Port Melbourne and other inner suburbs shopped every day at small local shops located cheek by jowl amongst their own houses. One such shop was located on the corner of Esplanade East and Spring Street East. PMHPS has a digital copy of a photograph album compiled…

An Exciting Incident

Port Melbourne HistoryApril 3, 2020

by David Radcliffe On Saturday evening, 7th February 1903 a series of robberies took place in Esplanade East followed by a high speed chase down Spring Street East culminating in a dangerous collision with a cable drawn tram in Bay Street opposite the Town Hall. The unfolding drama was captured by an unnamed staff reporter at the Argus under the headline An Exciting…

A Builder’s Signature?

Port Melbourne HistoryAugust 22, 2019

Decorative Eaves on Workers’ Cottages A constant delight of Port Melbourne is the avenues of workers cottages built during the real estate boom of the late Victorian era. Yet there is much more to these small wooden homes with their pretty iron lacework than first meets the eye. If you look up at the eaves between the main roof structure…

What’s in a name? Quinn St, Quinn Ave, or Quinn Rd?

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryApril 4, 2019

As was the custom of the time, many streets in Port Melbourne were named after prominent citizens, including mayors and councillors. In this tradition you will discover a small roadway, Quinn Road, tucked away in a new housing development, 164 Ingles Street, at the northern boundary of the borough. Other names of roadways amongst this cluster of townhouses include; Velvet,…

Andrews, George Henry (7436)

Enlistments, WWI Centenary, ~AAugust 30, 2014

Place of Birth: Port Melbourne, VIC Age: 19 years 1 month Enlistment Details: Friday, 22 June 1917 - Port Melbourne, VIC Service Number: 7436 view online service record Address: 243 Esplanade East Port Melbourne, VIC Next of Kin: John Andrews (father) 243 Esplanade East Port Melbourne, VIC Embarkation Details: Date: Wednesday, 21 November 1917 Ship: HMAT Nestor A71 Port: Melbourne, VIC Unit: 8th Infantry Battalion - 25th Reinforcements Fate: RTA: Tuesday, 14 January…

Donnelly, William (2134/2538)

Enlistments, ~DAugust 27, 2014

Place of Birth: Port Melbourne, VIC Age: 22 years 5 months Enlistment Details: Wednesday, 27 January 1915 - Melbourne, VIC Service Number: 2134/2538 view online service record Address: 148 Esplanade East Port Melbourne, VIC Next of Kin: Kate Donnelly (mother) 148 Esplanade East Port Melbourne, VIC Embarkation Details: Date: Thursday, 17 June 1915 Ship: HMAT Wandilla A62 Port: Melbourne, VIC Unit: 14th Infantry Battalion - 6th Reinforcements Fate: RTA: Tuesday, 1 April 1919 Discharged:…

Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians