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
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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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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‘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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The Early Days of Women's Cricket
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Ormiston Educational Establishment for Young Ladies
East Melbourne from its earliest days was full of schools. The larger, purpose-built church schools eventually grew too big for the small parcels of land available and moved to more spacious suburbs; and the smaller privately run schools generally died a natural death when their principals retired or failed to make a go of it.
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Recent acquisitions
Frances Burke: The Fabric of Modernism
An interview with Nanette Carter and Robyn Oswald-Jacobs about their new book Frances Burke, Designer of Modern Textiles. The article provides an extensive overview of Burke's work as a textile designer.
Frances Burke lived in East Melbourne for all of her adult life.
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"Painter": a Covid-19 lockdown story
A homeless woman who went by the name of Painter was amongst a number of homeless people accommodated at Birches Apartments in Simpson Street, East Melbourne, during the Covid lockdowns in 2020-21.
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Who needs a car?
Rebecca and her daughter and dog demonstrate a popular form of local transport used by parents to convey their small children between East Melbourne and Melbourne Girls Grammar School in Anderson Street, South Yarra.
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East Melbourne, Clarendon Street 200, Rosebank
Black and white photo of Rosebank, 200 Clarendon Street, East Melbourne. It shows a two-storey, double fronted house with cast iron verandah and balcony. Downstairs the front door is flanked by bay windows, while upstairs there are three tri-partite windows.
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Magnolia Court - brochure
Brochure advertising Magnolia Court as boutique hotel, c.2000. The property has a long history as a guesthouse/private hotel and is noted as a place where visiting stage performers would stay. Since then it has become run down. A planning permit for an upgrade has been granted, however work has not started and the property is on the market.
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Forthcoming activities
Our Yarra River – its past, its future?
Ian is a former senior executive in the coal mining and gas industries, but after 27 years he switched his focus to the natural environment.
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