by David F Radcliffe
When the first allotments of Crown Land in Sandridge (now Port Melbourne) were sold in 1850, the settlement comprised just six streets – Graham, Rouse, Stokes, Nott, Bay and Dow. While Bay Street is obvious, the origins of the names for the other five streets remains something of a mystery. Margaret Bride has written about the…
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…
by Margaret Bride
170 Farrell Street, 2022. Photograph by David Thompson.
On the west side of Farrell Street is a wooden building with a sign Full Gospel Assembly, although by its neat garden and fence it is clear that it is a private house. What is its story?
In 1885 West Sandridge was well developed, the blocks of land had been subdivided…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
by Margaret Bride
Jetty at Sandridge, State Library of Victoria
For over 100 years Town Pier jutted out to sea from the end of Bay Street an extension of the route from the city of Melbourne to the ships in Port Phillip Bay. This was the site of the first small jetty built by the Liardet family soon after they built…
by Jim West and David Radcliffe
The premises of the Port Melbourne Engineering Works, built by Albert T Harman in Derham Street, Port Melbourne in 1902, included a foundry for casting components out of iron and brass.[1] In November 1934, this foundry was purchased by his son, Alfred Henry Harman, and James Robertson and registered as JV Robertson Pty Ltd.…