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Town Hall, 333 Bay Street, Port Melbourne

Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society

Town Hall, 333 Bay Street, Port Melbourne

Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation SocietyPort Melbourne history

Soldier Send-Offs

Home Front Stories, WWI CentenaryFebruary 5, 2016

During the war years it was common for organisations and even groups of friends to organise send-offs for the mates and members who had enlisted for active service. Usually the soldier or soldiers were entertained with songs and recitations and were given a useful gift to take with to the front. Saturday 5 February 1916 saw one such send-off at the…

Bridge Street Presbyterian Church Honour Boards

Home Front Stories, WWI CentenaryDecember 19, 2015

An honour board listing 38 names of members of the Bridge Street Presbyterian Church was unveiled at the church by Rev W Borland, acting Chaplain-General on Sunday 19 December 1915. Rev Borland was assisted by Rev J Dunlop Landels, minister of the Bridge Street church and a Chaplain-General of the Presbyterian Church. The special service was attended by members of…

Answering the Call

Home Front Stories, WWI CentenaryNovember 27, 2015

For many years Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie Gregory RAN (RTD) had a vision of a statue on the Port Melbourne foreshore to honour the service of all Naval men and women. On 27 November 2015 that vision came to fruition in the form of a sculpture called Answering the Call by Louis Laumen. Unveiled by Vice Admiral Tim Barrett AO CSC…

Graham Street School Honour Board

Home Front Stories, WWI CentenaryNovember 6, 2015

An article in the Standard under the headline "Answered Country's Call - Roll of Honor - Graham Street State School Old Boys" published on 6 November 1915 lists 61 names, Graham Street pupils who had enlisted for the Great War. The piece concludes by asking parents or friends of other "old boys" who have enlisted to send the soldiers' names, rank, dates of…

Women’s Welcome Committee

Home Front Stories, WWI CentenaryAugust 6, 2015

When Great Britain declared war on Germany in 1914 Australia also found itself at war. No doubt many communities throughout the land began to make plans about how best they could support the war effort. For its part the Port Melbourne council quickly realised that the municipality, by virtue of its role as Melbourne’s port, was uniquely placed to play…

Nott Street School “Old Boys”

Home Front Stories, WWI CentenaryJuly 31, 2015

The Port Melbourne Standard newspaper of 31 July 1915 carried a story that the State Minister for Education had requested schools compile and display a Roll of Honour of all “old boys” who had enlisted.1 The article continues with a request for parents or other relatives to provide the headmasters of Port Melbourne schools with the details of soldiers who had…

The Norman Family of Sandridge

Home Front Stories, WWI CentenaryJuly 24, 2015

The Norman family of Sandridge resulted from the Norwegian and Scottish union of Andrew Norman and Isabella McKenzie. Isabella McKenzie Isabella’s parents were Alexander McKenzie and Elizabeth Strahan (Stratton?). Having embarked from Greenock, Scotland on 4 June 1841, their ship, India, was attacked by pirates and rescued by HMS Acorn only to suffer a huge explosion of spirits below deck 14 days…

Anzac Centenary Heath Street Walk

Home Front Stories, WWI CentenaryApril 20, 2015

Barb Mullen (left) and Christine Griffiths during the Heath Street Anzac Walk, April 2015 To mark the centenary of the First World War landings at Gallipoli, Barb Mullen and Christine Griffiths, residents of Heath Street, Port Melbourne, researched and organised a walk to remember the men who had enlisted for WWI from their street. The project started with a shortlist of nine…

The Dalgarno Family

Home Front Stories, WWI CentenaryOctober 10, 2014

Clare Castle Hotel Advertisement, The Standard, 8 August 1914 Frederick Joseph Dalgarno, aged 37, enlisted just over a month after the above advertisement for the Clare Castle appears in the Standard. His twin brother John Stockton Dalgarno also known as Jack enlisted in the first days of the war, just 10 days after this advertisement was printed. He gave the Clare Castle Hotel…

Sir George Cuscaden

Home Front Stories, WWI CentenaryAugust 26, 2014

Sir George Cuscaden by Walter Stoneman, bromide print, 1923. Used with permission from National Portrait Gallery, London under the Creative Commons Licence. George Cuscaden was born in Wexford, Ireland, the third son of William H Cuscaden, on 31 December 1857. He studied at Dublin University, Edinburgh University and in London attaining medical qualifications which led him to a position as ship's surgeon with…

Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians