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

Now and Then 2021 – Lagoon Reserve

Port Melbourne HistoryAugust 2, 2021
Lagoon Reserve is a popular place for dogs and their owners to meet up especially in the late afternoon. The reserve is lined on its eastern side by the Park Apartments and across Graham Street by the Portside Apartments. Both art deco inspired designs were developed by Becton Pty Ltd during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Lagoon Reserve (2021).…

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The Gasometer Explodes

Port Melbourne HistoryOctober 30, 2020
by Marlene Hegarty McPherson At 10.30 AM on Easter Sunday 4th April 1920 the gasometer on the corner of Pickles Street and Graham Street Port Melbourne burst into flames. The flames were estimated at 130 ft (40 meters) high and 130ft (40 meters) in diameter. The heat was so intense it scorched buildings and people in the area, as iron pellets…

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Beachside Stories

News and NoticesJune 2, 2019
A flamboyant mayor with a passion for lycra. A trail-blazing Uniting Church minister with a passion for justice. A South Melbourne Market vendor with a passion for singing. No doubt you are familiar with these celebrated locals whose energy, non-conformity and generosity have shaped the Port Phillip landscape – but do you really know them? Prepare to be surprised as MAYOR…

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The Year 1968

Port Melbourne HistoryDecember 15, 2016
George Tsingos with his father at Lagoon Pier, 1968. The Year 1968 Location "Hook Pier" This is a series of photos of me at the beach with my father. Innocent, quiet times in an unspoilt era. Clearly visible in the background are the chimney stacks of the Gasworks, the Life Saving Club building and the milk bar on the corner of Beach street and Pickles…

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Ghostly stories of Port

Port Melbourne HistoryNovember 13, 2014
A business near Holy Trinity church inquired whether there were ghosts in the area. The PMHPS has no records of paranormal activity in that vicinity, but there have been tales of ghosts in Port Melbourne. Take the curious case of the Graham Hotel. According to the owners, brothers Peter and Tony Giannakis, in 2001, a woman, dressed in white nightclothes and a…

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Keeping Warm in Port

Port Melbourne HistoryJuly 23, 2014
South Melbourne Gasworks It is one of Port’s often told stories - how people ‘knocked off’ coal from the trucks taking coal to the Gasworks from Town Pier at the end of Bay Street. Emily Lock remembered "The different cargoes were a source of wonder. Some of them brought coal for the Gasworks. It was a dirty job unloading the coal into small…

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Lagoon Tales

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryApril 4, 2013
There are endless stories to tell about the former Sandridge Lagoon and environs. But you've got to begin somewhere. This account by Josephine Liardet, daughter of Wilbraham Liardet, is especially evocative. She recalled that in the early days "The lagoon was covered with wild ducks and in the trees were cockatoos, plovers, pigeons. Hector and Jack used to get up between 3…

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