Columns » History

A haven for wandering souls

A haven for wandering souls

September 28th, 2022 - Docklands News

Sailors are the life blood of any port colony.

Latest

Berthing at Little Dock … maybe for some tea

August 31st, 2022 - Ashley Smith

Before there was a bridge, this scene is what met vehicles at the corner of Spencer and Flinders streets.

Read More

Big dreams, even bigger nightmares

August 3rd, 2022 - Docklands News

Established in 1877, the Melbourne Harbour Trust was the first organisation of its kind in Victoria.

Read More

A Clapp of approval

June 29th, 2022 - Ashley Smith

It is November 17, 1937. Australia is climbing out of the Depression as Melburnians gather at Spencer Street Station to celebrate the launch of a new train that would become a feature of the railways for the next half-century, the Spirit Of Progress.

Read More

The House of Stoush

June 1st, 2022 - Ashley Smith

This map shows an empty lot of land near the current railway bridge at Dudley St, West Melbourne. While empty at the time, in the century to follow, generations of dock and railway workers and other Melburnians would flock to the site for an evening’s entertainment.

Read More

The duels of Batman’s Hill

May 4th, 2022 - Ashley Smith

This sketch, drawn sometime after 1863 (according to the annotation), displays the western boundary of Melbourne during the 1830s. Perched on the hill, is a house that once was the home of John Batman, the city’s founder.

Read More

Victoria Dock

March 2nd, 2022 - Ashley Smith

In the early 1930s Victoria Dock was one of the biggest sites for trade and export in Melbourne. A constant queue of ships sailed in, unloaded their cargo, recharged and reloaded, then left for the next port.

Read More

All aboard for Spencer Street

February 3rd, 2022 - Docklands News

While hauling goods and passengers to and from the nearby wharves and the city, a single steam engine stops at Spencer Street Station (now Southern Cross Station) to smile for the camera.

Read More

The city’s light source

December 1st, 2021 - Docklands News

As William St lies eerily quiet, a lone chimney stands far away from the throng of houses and Spencer Street Station.

Read More

A Grand office

November 3rd, 2021 - Docklands News

Now known as the Grand Hotel, more than a century ago the building at 67 Spencer St was not only shorter and considerably less grand, but also went under a different name and served a different purpose.

Read More
Plenty of fun at Girls’ Night In

Plenty of fun at Girls’ Night In

October 28th, 2012 - Docklands News
Join Our Facebook Group
ad