Welcome
Welcome to the East Melbourne Historical Society.
East Melbourne is a tiny suburb adjoining the city of Melbourne bounded by Treasury and Fitzroy Gardens to the west, Victoria Parade to the north, Hoddle Street to the east and Yarra Park to the south, home of the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground. East Melbourne was included in Robert Hoddle's original 1837 plan for the city but the first private house was not built until 1853. The suburb today reflects a history of Victoria with its beautiful gardens, grand houses of the gold rush era and workmen's cottages. Cast iron lacework adorns the houses, bluestone cobbled lanes lead to old coach houses and brick dunnies. Artists, scientists, politicians, judges, educators, priests, explorers, entrepreneurs, courtesans, philanthropists and social activists lived here and many a tale is told of characters wild and exotic.
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Recent articles
Smelling History
Smells trigger memory just as effectively as old photos or objects. Think of some of Melbourne’s more famous smells such as tomato sauce from the old Rosella factory in Richmond, or baking bread from the Capitol Bakery in South Yarra, or even roasting coffee from Quists in Little Collins Street. East Melbourne had its own famous smell emanating from the Victoria Brewery in Victoria
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Mary Gilbert: Melbourne's First Mother
There has been much publicity lately about the large imbalance in the numbers of statues of men as opposed to women in Melbourne. A google search puts it at 580 to 10! One of these ten statues is in the Conservatory in the Fitzroy Gardens, hidden away amongst the foliage.
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Dr Julian Smith: surgeon and photographer
One of East Melbourne’s more notable residents was Dr Julian Smith: a remarkable man, famous in two very different fields, surgery and photography. Born in England in 1873, he arrived in South Australia with his family three years later. He studied medicine at Adelaide University but had to transfer to Melbourne when all the instructing medical professionals resigned.
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‘Better to have a loaf on the table than a loaf in the Pub’
The Band of Hope was formed in England in 1847, with a more formal organisation set up in 1855. It was seen by many as a way to develop self-reliance in working men who could use temperance as a means to self-improvement by renouncing alcohol. It was a non-denominational movement, with branches set up by both Protestant and Catholic communities.
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Grand Rank Cabman's Shelter
Cabmen’s shelters had been a feature of London streets since 1875. These little buildings provided much needed shelter for cabmen while they waited for customers. But it was not until 1898 that an anonymous benefactor put up the money to erect the first of Melbourne’s shelters. Architect Nahum Barnet supplied drawings without charge, which were based on one of the London shelt
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Recent acquisitions
East Melbourne, Powlett Street 82. 2014
Brochure advertising 82 Powlett Street, East Melbourne, for auction scheduled for 25 October 2014
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East Melbourne, Hotham Street 164, Cypress Terrace, 2007
Brochure advertising the auction of 164 Hotham Street, East Melbourne, scheduled for 6 October 2007.
Hand written note provides the information that the property was passed in on the day for 1.5m. Later sold to Tom Warwick for 1.6m.
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Fight to save the Ola Cohn Centre
Two items pertaining to the planned sale of the Ola Cohn Centre which would have meant the loss of the building to its occupiers, The Melbourne Society of Women Sculptors and Painters.
1. A letter to members of the East Melbourne Group seeking support in fighting the sale.
2. A newspaper clipping from similar date outlining the issue.
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An Invitation - East Melbourne Group
A flyer inviting members of the East Melbourne Group to a get together. The East Melbourne Group, as well as fighting inappropriate development, acts as a focal point for community interaction.
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East Melbourne Group Membership 1996
List of members of the East Melbourne Group in 1996. There are approximately 200 names, given with their addresses.
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Forthcoming activities
Christmas Drinks
Archbishop Philip Freier and Mrs Freier have once again very kindly lent us Bishopscourt, home of the Anglican Bishop, later Archbishop of Melbourne since 1853.
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