People – Page 4 – Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society

Frangipani Court

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistorySeptember 2, 2022

by David Thompson The origins of the picturesque name of this short right-of-way are not clear other than it appears to have been named at the whim of a private owner. We do know that the name first appeared in Melway Ed 14 in 1982 but prior to that the name of the street is even less clear. Corner of…

Byrne Street

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryAugust 5, 2022

by David Thompson Byrne Street sign, August 2022. Photograph by David Thompson. Byrne Street is that short street near the Port Melbourne Tennis Club that provides access to Garden City via Poolman Street. It is named for Robert Byrne - Councillor, Victorian Member of Parliament, auctioneer and landowner. Robert Byrne was born in Waterford, Ireland in 1821. He emigrated to the…

Rev Frederick Charles Platts

Collection, People, Port Melbourne HistoryJuly 22, 2022

by Lex Johnson Brass plaque for Rev F Platts on the pulpit from Holy Trinity Church, Port Melbourne (now located at Port Melbourne Town Hall). In 1861 the Reverend F C Platts was appointed to Holy Trinity Church in Sandridge. The congregation was to have some interesting years! Frederick Charles Platts was born in India in 1823 where his father was…

Tucker Avenue

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryJuly 8, 2022

Albert Tucker served two terms as Mayor of Port Melbourne - in 1916-17 and 1927-28. His time on council was not continuous. He stood for election on three separate occasions. Nevertheless it was said that "One can hardly conceive the Port Melbourne Council without Albert Tucker". Tucker was a stalwart Labour man. He was clearly well respected by his peers and…

Francis Thomas Warren: Port Melbourne Property Investor

People, Port Melbourne HistoryJune 24, 2022

by Ray Jelley Francis was the fifth of six children born to William Henry Warren and his wife Mary Bowden in Exeter, Devon. When Francis turned eighteen in 1859, he joined the Royal Marines (RM) in Plymouth and served for twenty-two years, completing his service in 1881. His death certificate indicated that he was a ‘Pensioner of the Royal Marines’.1…

Dulcie Smith – Queen of the Sunday School

Collection, People, Port Melbourne HistoryJune 10, 2022

by David Thompson Dulcie Smith, Queen of the Sunday School and her Court, Holy Trinity Carnival, November 1931. PMHPS Collection. For many years this photograph remained an uncatalogued item in the Society's archives but thanks to a plea for information on Facebook in May 2022 we now know that it is Dulcie Smith, Queen of the Sunday School and her court…

Pye Street

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryJune 3, 2022

Pye Street (highlighted). Robinson's Street Directory of Melbourne and Suburbs, Ed 3, c. 1950s. Pye Street is a short street running from Williamstown Road to Dunstan Parade in Garden City. It is named for former Victorian State politician, Henry Pye. Henry Pye was born on Christmas Day, 1873 to a farming family at Burnewang near Rochester, Victoria. At a young age…

Fred David: Designing Planes on the Bend

People, Port Melbourne HistoryMay 24, 2022

by David Radcliffe In early 1942, Australia urgently needed a fighter aircraft to defend against possible invasion. The result was the CA-12 Boomerang, designed by Fred David at the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Fishermans Bend. Before coming to Australia, Fred David had worked for aircraft makers in Germany and Japan. This included helping to design the Aichi dive bomber used…

Memorial to George Sangster

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryMay 6, 2022

by Margaret Bride Sangster Memorial. Photo: Janet Bolitho. Sangster Reserve occupies the small triangular piece of land behind the Port Melbourne Bowling Club between Princes and Nott Streets. The area includes a children's playground and nearby there is an art deco style electrical substation. Just inside the Nott Street entrance is this monument commemorating the life of George Sangster, once a…

Prohasky Street

People, Places, Port Melbourne HistoryMarch 31, 2022

William Henry Prohasky served on the Port Melbourne Council from August 1885 to September 1893. He was Mayor from 1888 to 1889. His fellow councillors include Frederick Poolman, James Ker Beck Plummer, Henry Norval Edwards, Philip Melville Salmon, John Turnbull, and William Richardson Tarver. He lived at that time at 73 Evans St on the corner of Farrell…

Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians