People – Page 2 – Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society

Ellen Mary O’Collins of Swallow Street

People, Port Melbourne HistoryMarch 22, 2024

In 1887 a young seamstress in Limerick watched as other young people emigrated from Ireland. Ellen Mary Fitzgerald decided that she did not want to marry and have children in Ireland only to see them leave her for ever. Instead she decided to emigrate herself. Her first choice was North America but her mother refused to allow her to go.…

Mrs Grace Ada Gaylor JP – Everybody’s Friend

People, Port Melbourne HistoryMarch 8, 2024

The Record, 21 May 1932, p5 The title for this article comes from a report in The Record on 21 May 1932 marking Mrs Grace Ada Gaylor’s 65th birthday two days earlier. The story concludes by saying Mrs Grace Gaylor “is beloved by all, and is everybody’s friend irrespective of class or creed”.[1] We could just as easily used “a friend of the poor”…

The Petersons of Ross Street: A Nautical Family

Collection, People, Port Melbourne HistoryFebruary 8, 2024

by David F Radcliffe Frederick Peterson and Priscilla Hume were married at St James Cathedral in Melbourne in June 1869.[1] For 53 years, the couple were active members of the Port Melbourne community raising eight children here, five girls and three boys. Both Frederick and Priscilla came from families with strong connections to ships and the sea and this nautical tradition…

Leith Crescent

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryFebruary 2, 2024

by David Thompson Leith Crescent looking towards Howe Parade (2024). Photograph by David Thompson Leith Crescent is a short curving street running between Howe Parade and Williamstown Road. It is closed at Williamstown Road creating a cul-de-sac for the small number of ‘bank houses’ that face onto the street. And ‘bank houses’ are the key behind the naming of Leith Crescent.…

The “Worst Hovel in the Municipality”

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryDecember 8, 2023

by David Thompson At Port Melbourne Council on Tuesday, 13 Oct 1942, the Mayor, Cr Tom Griffin described the North Port Police Station as the “worst hovel in the municipality” adding “the building is a disgrace to Port Melbourne”.[1] There had been a North Port Police Station as an off-shoot of the main station in Bay Street since the early 1890s. Initially…

Tom Griffin

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryNovember 3, 2023

by David Thompson Thomas Griffin's grave at Lancefield Cemetery, 2024. Photograph by Daniel Brueckner. On Sunday, 8 Nov 1953 Port Melbourne Mayor, Cr E J Purchase with Crs J P Crichton and T G Douglas accompanied by the Port Melbourne Municipal Band attended the grave of the late Cr Tom Griffin at Lancefield. [1] This had become an annual pilgrimage since…

‘Roar Like a Bull!’

People, Port Melbourne HistoryOctober 20, 2023

Growing up in Port Melbourne in the middle of the 20th Century by Albert Caton I was born in 1942 in the maternity ward of the Women’s Hospital in North Melbourne, the son of Edward Harold (‘Ted’) Caton and Muriel Lily (Reed) Caton. Soon afterwards, my mum and I moved to Sydney where my father was stationed in the Navy…

Kyme Place

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryOctober 6, 2023

by David F Radcliffe Kyme Place runs off Liardet Street behind the burnt-out old Port Melbourne Theatre. It provides access to the rear of commercial premises on Bay Street and a public parking garage. A distinctive building, also called Kyme Place, utilises the airspace above the car park. Constructed in 2012, it was designed by MGS Architects to provide self-contained apartments as well…

James Garton: Hospitality and Horses

People, Port Melbourne HistorySeptember 8, 2023

by David F Radcliffe James Garton was granted the licence for the Pier Hotel in May 1853. Over the next decade or so, there wasn’t much that happened in Sandridge that did not involve him. Born in Bath, Somerset, he arrived in Melbourne aged 24 with his brother Richard in March 1850.[1] A brewer by trade, Garton is reported to have started out…

Garton Street

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistorySeptember 1, 2023

by David F Radcliffe Garton Street is a quiet cul-de-sac at the northern boundary of Port Melbourne. Gazetted in March 1860, this short street was settled soon after, as Sandridge expanded rapidly under the population pressures of the gold rush. Today it has an eclectic range of dwellings from different eras. There is also a disused factory. The street was…

Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians