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 news
President's Christmas Letter & Membership Renewal
Dear Members,
It has been a topsy turvy year for us all but thankfully we seem to be headed in the right direction in managing the spread of the COVID virus.
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- 518 reads
Streets of fear in city's wealthy enclave
Article in the Australian 24 August 202 midst covid-19
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- 786 reads
Reopening of St Peter's Plaza Eastern Hill, 10 November 2019
On 10 November, St Peter’s Plaza and the restored ‘Cross of Sacrifice’ were re-opened to the public. Dating from 1924, the cross is a memorial to the fallen soldiers of World War 1, modelled on wayside crosses in France and is the only one of its kind in Australia.
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Jolimont Station: submission
The East Melbourne Historical Society has recently nominated Jolimont Station for inclusion on the Heritage Victoria register. The station has been a long overlooked part of our history. It does not appear even on the City of Melbourne's Inventory of Heritage Places.
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Phil Ruthven Slides Available
There was an excellent attendance at our event on Wednesday 21 June 2017 when Phil Ruthven took us on a trip down Memory Lane looking back to Australia, Melbourne and East Melbourne in 1853 and 1953 to the present day. He also had the courage, audacity some might say, to predict what the circumstances might be in 2053.
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Forthcoming activities
Berry Street
Historian, Alicia Cerreto, will take us on a journey through the history of Berry Street. Initially known as the Victorian Infant Asylum and Foundling Hospital it has had many name changes since.
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Recent acquisitions
East Melbourne, 97 Albert Street - Tunbridge Manor
Colour photo shows a three storey block of interwar flats. The facade is symmetrical. The two top, outer windows are of unusual shape, the sides being angled inwards from about half way up. The central entry with window above leads the eye upward to a stepped parapet, giving a sense of verticality to an otherwise horizontal scheme.
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1852 Map of the City of Melbourne and its Extension - William Green
A map issued by O'Connor & Co., Land Agents. It is a copy of the original map drawn by William Green, surveyor, architect and land agent, in 1852 and released in December that year. The map covers the City of Melbourne and inner suburbs. It probably dates from the 1920s as by the 1930s PJ O'Connor had begun practising as an architect.
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ABC-TV at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Colour photo shows three blue and white transport vehicles clearly labelled as belonging to ABC Channel 2. They are parked outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
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St Patrick's College - verandah
Black and white photo shows verandah at the rear of St Patrick's College. The college was situated on the corner of Lansdowne Street and Cathedral Place, East Melbourne. It was demolished in 1971 to make way for the Catholic Diocesan Centre. One bluestone tower remains as a relic.
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Victoria Parade in the 1950s
Colour photo shows W class tram travelling west towards the city along Victoria Parade. The tram is a No 42 to Mont Albert. This route merged with route 111 in 1993 to become route 109. The tram is crossing an intersection which is probably Powlett Street. The tramline is bordered by neatly clipped privet hedges.
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