28 Simpson Street, for a period known as Hobartville, was built in 1854 by Charles James Hardy for himself.  Hardy and his wife, Mercy, and baby son, arrived in Port Phillip on 15 Jan 1849 aboard the Duchess of Northumberland as assisted immigrants. At the time Hardy described himself as a bricklayer. 

When he notified the Council of his intention to build Hardy described his land as being near George Street and opposite a large wooden house.  Land marks were scarce in those days. When he advertised the house for sale in December 1855 he described it as “A SUPERIOR Brick Cottage and detached Kitchen for Sale. Inquire on the premises, opposite Mr. Smyth's, Simpson-street, East Melbourne, near the Troopers' Barracks.” Mr Smyth was the owner of the large wooden house, and the Troopers’ Barracks were, until 1881, on the north-east corner of Yarra Park, now houses. After selling the house Hardy and his wife moved to Chewton where he became a teacher – an unusual career shift. He died in 1895.

The next owner was Thomas Colliver, a draper.  He and his family were there for about ten years before selling to Robert Ramsay who did not live in the house but leased it to tenants. During the early 1870s the tenant was Edmund Metzger, teacher of gymnastics. He had arrived from Germany in the 1850s and was a successful and popular teacher at many of Melbourne’s private boys’ schools.  For the twenty years before his death in 1904 he had been teacher at Geelong College. He was also a prize-winning breeder of canaries.

In the late 1880s Maurice Krone moved in with his wife, Susie.  From 1882 Krone had advertised remarkable cures by magnetism. He then progressed to medical rubbing, and by the time he was living in East Melbourne he was a masseur.  He was regarded as the best in the field, and had apparently cured a child with a club foot, as well as many patients suffering paralysis.  The Earl of Hopetoun was among his patients, as well as many doctors. He died in 1906.

In 1891 the house was briefly occupied by Leonce Desire Brouard. His life appeared to start well.  He was a highly respected teacher of French in various schools in country NSW before arriving in Melbourne. His arrival in Simpson Street, however, seems to have been the first of many low points in his career. He became insolvent due to the ‘illness of wife and two children and friend residing with him from typhoid fever, insufficiency of receipts to meet current expenses and pressure of creditors.’ The following year the police were pursuing him for the desertion of his wife. Prior to this he was having a relationship with another woman by whom he had two children. He was described as a ‘… Frenchman, born in Mauritius, a teacher of French, about 34 years of age, 5 feet 3 inches high, medium build, fair complexion, may have a slight moustache…‘  

In 1897 he attempted suicide by throwing himself off the St Kilda pier but was rescued. It was found that he had recently been an inmate of the Kew Mental Asylum but was out on probation.  He repeated his attempt at Brighton the following year.  After spending time in gaol he was readmitted to Kew.  Eventually, he moved to Sydney where he died in 1928. 

Another interesting occupant of the house c.1943 was Ernest Delavale, better known as Ern Delavale, Ike Delavale or Ern Vockler. He was a vaudeville actor and vocalist who found initial fame as Australia's first professional Charlie Chaplin impersonator.

From about 1953 to 1956 Rev Moses Sher and his wife, Golda leased the house. The couple had arrived from Glasgow with their three children in 1949.  He became minister to the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation. It was reported that he ‘has a fine tenor voice and has the highest musical qualifications from Trinity College, London.’

The diversity of owners and occupiers who have lived at 28 Simpson Street can be viewed as a microcosm of the wider East Melbourne population over the years.