by Ray Jelley
As we have seen from previous articles about the history of Port Melbourne the many wooden cottages and their closeness to each other made them susceptible to fire spreading from one building to those adjoining it, should a fire break out in one. The lack of a reliable high-pressure water supply and the relative crudeness of firefighting…
by Ray Jelley
‘there was a sheep dressed up to represent Carbine II with his jockey; Bunny Hare all ready to run for the Port Melbourne Cup; saddles of mutton in fanciful designs; poultry and geese formed from the shoulders of mutton; pigeons, made of suet, flying about the windows …’
proclaimed the Standard on 18 May 1895 when describing the display in…
23 January 2020
Ray Jelley writes
In somewhat of a coincidence I began this article on 20 December 2019 – a day that almost broke the record for the hottest Melbourne day in December for 143 years – the temperature reached 43.2 degrees Celsius at 6:00 pm. On 20 December 1946, the temperature rose to 104 degrees Fahrenheit or 40…
Ray Jelley writes
An enquiry from Julie Peck of Drouin about her grandparents, Herbert and Emma McConnell, was the spark that ignited a warming fire of historical research on a cool autumn night into the cottages at 53 – 63 Bridge Street, currently nearing the completion of an extensive renovation.
Julie’s great grandparents William and Winifred Bolitho lived in 57…