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
Thomas William Lloyd, carver
sketch portrait and obituary for Thomas William Lloyd who died in 1889. Lloyd was the first owner of 157 Wellington Parade South, built 1862.
Rod Lloyd, great, great grand son has further filled in the story:
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Howarth family in residence at Parliament House
A collection of photos and newspaper clippings recording the life of Howarth family when they lived at Parliament House.
Colin Howarth was the Housekeeper of the Legislative Assembly. He lived in an apartment at Parliament House with his wife, June and son, Darren.
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Richmond Barracks, plans 1860
Sketch plans of the Richmond Mounted Police Barracks made in preparation for the building of a new police hospital.
The Barracks were on the site of the residential area now bounded by Wellington Parade, Vale Street and Hoddle Street. The Barracks were decommissioned in 1881, when the site was subdivided and sold to private buyers.
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East Melbourne, Albert Street 083, Albert Heights
A series of photos showing the building at 83 Albert Street, East Melbourne from the internal courtyard. A screenshot from Google maps is also included to illustrate the unusual layout of the building.
- 60 reads
East Melbourne, Gipps Street 159, Little Parndon. 2013
A series of 16 photos taken at the time the house was open for inspection prior to sale. The house had been owned by Lord and Lady Casey. Lord Casey died in 1976 and Lady Casey in 1983. From that time until 2013 the house remained in the hands of the Trustees of Lady Casey's estate and operated as accomodation for visiting artists, musicians and actors.
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Forthcoming activities
Life So Full of Promise
Author, Ross McMullin will talk to us about his latest book,
Life So Full of Promise: Further Biographies of Australia’s Lost Generation,
which follows his earlier book, Farewell, Dear People.
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St Patrick's Cathedral: its history and architecture
Conservation architect, Arthur Andronas, has worked on the restoration and upgrading of St Patrick's Cathedral and has extensive knowledge of its history and architecture.
He will share with us some insights and little known facts about the cathdral which his work has revealed.
- 27 reads