Port Melbourne History – Page 8 – Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society

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…

Anzac Day in Port Melbourne 2022

Port Melbourne HistoryApril 29, 2022

On a mild, still morning, crowds gathered in Beach Street to find the scene set - the white crosses neatly laid row upon row and Beach Street closed to traffic. MC Dale Allchin acknowledged the passing of Bunna Walsh in March and the role that he and fellow citizens, including Perce White, had played in keeping the Anzac commemoration…

The Dillon Family

Port Melbourne HistoryApril 22, 2022

by Ray Jelley The man directly responsible for the existence of the Excelsior Hall was Charles Dillon (at times known as Chas. Dillon Jnr.), the son of Charles Middlemiss Dillon and Catherine née Wallace.[1] The history of the building and the family’s history were inextricably linked. Excelsior Hall, Bridge Street PMHPS collection The place to start this journey…

Swallow & Ariell Matchbox

Collection, Port Melbourne HistoryApril 8, 2022

One of the loveliest items in the PMHPS Collection is Cat No 581, a small metal matchbox promoting Swallow and Ariell Ltd. Swallow & Ariell Ltd promotional matchbox. PMHPS Collection (Cat No 581). It is only 6cm by 4.3cm with a full coloured paper insert fitted into the lid with a swallow swooping over the words With Compliments From Swallow &…

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…

Town Pier

Places, Port Melbourne HistoryMarch 18, 2022

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…

Acknowledgement of Traditional Custodians