18 Simpson Street was built in 1874 by C C Fewster for Peter White, plumber. Peter White was born in Edinburgh and arrived in Melbourne in 1858 along with his wife, Alison, and their four eldest children.  The couple went on to have another eight children.  

In spite of still having at least three of their children living with them the couple advertised in 1877 for two business ladies to share a furnished room, board optional.  It seems to have been a common practice to rent out a spare room especially, perhaps, when the main breadwinner had retired. 

In 1886 Peter White died.  Alison continued to live there until shortly before her own death in 1903. The house remained with the family until about 1912.  During this time it was rented to a number of different tenants.  

From 1912 on it had several different owners and tenants but by 1930 was owned by John James Liston, more commonly known as JJ Liston.  He was a Williamstown identity. Starting out as a hairdresser he became very involved in municipal affairs and was several times mayor of Williamstown.  He was probably best known as a racing identity and the JJ Liston Stakes is still held in his memory. He spent the last two years of his life living at Cliveden Mansions in East Melbourne where he died in 1944.

A photo of the house appeared in The Australian Women's Weekly in 1956 with the caption, 'Black, white and scarlet paint was used to decorate this old terrace house in East Melbourne. The city's residents are making their town gay and colourful for the [Olympic] Games.' The photo shows the house without a balcony or verandah.

The owner and occupier of the house at this time was Marjorie Lorraine Breheny, known as Peggy.  She was married to Brian Joseph Breheny, a brewer with Carlton and United Breweries. 

Two civil engineers owned the house by 1960. Their names were Charles Arthur Stewart and Thomas Robert Golden.  They did not live in the house and possibly used it as an office, at least for a few years.  A report in The Age of 3 May 1988 quotes the new owner as saying that the house had been used as a document storehouse up until the time she bought it.  

The same article claimed that the house had been a ‘bordello’ but did not elaborate, so no further details could be discovered.  This would certainly not be an unusual story.  There are many houses in East Melbourne that have similar tales told about them.  One person described Victoria Parade in the 1950s and 60s as the great divide, with drunks to the north and prostitutes to the south.