Lurking in Lanes

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A Back Fence History of the Lanes and Litte Streets of Port Philip

Exhibition Catalogue 1998

Proudly presented by Port Phillp City Art and Heritage Unit

-l1"P 1-\ ,,"

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79th June to 16th September, Sf. Kilda Town Hall 22nd September to 4th November; Port Melbourne Town Hall

(Ç City of Port Phillip

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Foreword

networks of existing laneways in Melbourne. The lurking in

The City of Port Phillp has one of the most extensive

Lanes Exhibition is the culmination of almost a year's

It presents a picture of the role laneways have

research by Port Phillp's Heritage Unit, and members of the

played in the life of the City from the i8005 to today.

community.

You could say that lanes were the sewerage system of the

past. Nightsoil men would trundle down them collecting human waste. The technological advent of the flush toilet and underground sewerage systems may have made this use redundant, but by now lanes are probably more important to us than ever before, albeit for diffrent reasons.

lanes are important. You can still get a sense of the City's

As aspects of our urban heritage, there is no question that

past in laneways, away from the hustle and bustle of street traffc, often still with their original cobble stone surfaces.

peifect for a quiet stroll or for taking a shortcut to where we

They have become places to leisurely experience and enjoy,

are headed.

With ever increasing demands for residential development,

lanes are also becoming home addresses, and is one of the reasons we have been naming lanes which to date have

been nameless.

i strongly recommend that you experience this

Documenting and exhibiting our cultural and artistic heritage is a key objective in Council's program of community

development.

lane lurking yourself!

exhibition, and then head for the real world and do some

~~~

Cr. Dick Gross, Mayor


Introduction

Contents'

2

Foreword

Acknowledgments

2

The Lurking in Lanes Project is the second major heritage

Introduction

4

contributions made by members of the Port Melbourne

Early Development

First R,O,W.s and Homes

':. Particular Strip of Land"

Lane Making

Squalor and Nuisance

Sewerage, Sanitation and Disease

Front Door or Back Gate

9

17

12

Lanes Now

'9

Living, Working and Other 'Goings-on' in Lanes

6

4

This exhibition has been produced with generous

The first part of the exhibition consists of work by Rebecca Eames and local school children who participated in an lanes, which evolved into two creative exploration of local

installations that interpret the result of their discoveries.

Elsewhere, stories from the community trace the history, purpose and making of laneways, and the lives of people living, working or passing through them. One could never hope to survey all the lanes and little streets in the City of

Port Philip, therefore a selection of lanes is used to represent themes and issues. The exhibition focuses on examples of particular lanes or networks of lanes that, despite surrounding gentrification, remain historically intact. There are also examples of recent architecture in lanes which create layers of change in the lanescape.

The City archives contain overwhelming factual information about life in lanes. The written complaints about nightsoil collection and the statistics on disease alone, highlight health issues of the past and bring a new appreciation for

References

20

our current standards of sanitation and health.

am sure there are many more lane stories lurking about.

Catalogue Listing Port Phillip City

Melissa Hayes Acting Curator Art and Heritage Collection

~

VICTORIA

museui Scanning of photographs

Photographic prints

(J~'

CPL:

In researching this exhibition and compiling this catalogue, I have met many people who have a lane story totell- and I

Subdivision

exhibition presented by the City of Port Philip with assistance and contributions from members of the community.

Historical and Preservation Society, St. Kilda Historical

Society, researcher Adair Bunnett and Kay Rowan of the Port Phillip Library Service. City of Port Phillp staff also provided

the Lurking in lanes Project,

lane naming and strategic planning information.Joan Winter is particularly acknowledged for her contribution to the planning and development of and as Curator of the first stage ofthis exhibition. We would like to thank Imelda Dover for her contribution as

Assistant Curator.

Our thanks also go to the winning applicants ofthe Lane Naming Competition and their friends, who made a lane generous contribution to hosting their offcial

unveilngs and parties. We would like to acknowledge the creative contribution made by members of the Graham Street Primary School, Port

Melbourne and Galilee Primary School, South Melbourne

installations, as well as Kerry MargaJit and students of

who worked with Rebecca Eames to create their art

Sponsors:

lOCAlVI$ION

11'

Elwood College for their documentary photographs of lanes.

Major Sponsor:

-~

ACTIVE FOR LIFE

e'cHealth

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Early Development To picture the landscape of Port Philip before it developed

into the network of streets and lanes oftoday, it is necessary to go back at least 160 years, to the time when Europeans first settled in the area. Aboriginals from the Yakulit-willani.c1an were the original

inhabitants ofthe Port Philip region. They belonged to one of the six clans of the coastal tribe known as the Bunurong, who are part of the Kulin nation. They lived in a landscape of

undulating plains, lagoons and patches of clustered ti-tree where an abundance of game animals and marine life

provided a plentiful food source year round. In 1835, John Batman sailed up the Yarra river and landed at a

place that became Melbourne. On the way to his destination he passed a shoreline which he later named the 'Beach'. Four

ridge', after

years later Goyernment Surveyor Wiliam Wedge Darke took a detailed survey ofthe Beach and named it 'Sand

ridge where they settled and built the first jetty

the ridge of sand dunes along the beach. In that same year, Wilbraham Frederick Evelyn Uardet and his family arrived at Sand

on the foreshore. This settement was later to become

Port Melbourne. In the same year as Uardets arrival, Captain Benjamin Baxter

took up a Government lease permitting him to pasture his cattle from the south bank of the Yarra. through Sandridge to an area southwest of Red Bluff, now known as Point Ormond.

The exact location of'Baxter's Stockyard' was somewhere near the corner of what became Robe and Acland Streets, St. Kilda. This same area is said to be the site for one of the first buildings in St. Kilda, referred to as 'Thomas's Hut', built some time before 1842. 1

At this time people living in these settlements travelled to

the centre of Melbourne along unsealed Government roads. ~ne such bumpy track became St. Kilda Road, which at the

time weaved around watery bogs and tree roots. The first land sale at Emerald Hill occurred in 1852, and it was

around this time a tent city sprang up between Emerald Hil and St. Kilda Road. Canvas Town, as it was known, was home

to a great number of gold-rush immigrants. This large In 1854, by government order, Canvas Town

community grew and spread along the Yarra river and down St. Kilda Road.

Emerald Hil. To cater for this influx, houses were quickly

was disbanded and many of its inhabitants gravitated to erected, mostly made of wood with a slate or shingle roof,

consisting of two or three rooms.

I Cooper P22,23

¡~~~

Covent Place South Melbourne

boards...thejloors, whether intentionally or not i can't say.

and a stream of light, and walls of simple overlapping

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Detail 0 Auction Notice J ckson Street st. Kilda

Elwood began to develop more rapidly in the early twentieth

in the first settlements of St. Kilda Hill, Port and South

for larger house allotments and adequate sized lanes compared to the close networks of streets and lanes forming

Melbourne. This is evident in the aerial view ofthe Thalassa

Estate auction notice. May 13, 1922, showing spacious

early days of settlement. When Ù1e first rate book for the

Coventry Place, Emerald Hil Many of the houses in this tiny street today, date from the

Coventr Street'.

was not named and the address was described as 'off

new suburb of Emerald Hil was drawn up in 1855, Coventry Place had seventeen residences. The street

Port Melbourne

On i 8 October 1856, William Degraves (who originally

purchased the parcel of land from what is now Coventr Place to Ferrars Street) agreed to put aside part of his land for the formation of Coventry Place. Stephen Dorman did the same for what is now Morris Street.

Apart from some of the remaining cottages, further evidence indicating the early subdivision of this land is the lack of rear laneways between Morris Street and Coventr Place. In those early days, running water had not arrived

and would not do so unti 1860. In 1855, householders

were stil relying on cesspits for the disposal of sewage, so

lanes were not a pait of this early subdivision. However,

all properties had a degree of side access.

There is a lane running behind Coventry Place on the east side, and there is even a house at tle end of it, further

confirming the piecemeal subdivision of the ara.

rated as a resident there until 1889. By 1900 the owner

In 1855, at the property to be Numbered 8, Wiliam Kendrick is recorded as occupying a wood building and a stable. By 1859 it is recorded as a t\o roomed weatherboard, with a shingle roof and stable. His occupation in 1864, is recorded as nightman and he is

is Mrs. Wiliam Kendrick, presumably then his widow;

ridge. Between September and December 1852, 619 vessels

arrived in Hobson's Bay, carrying between them 55,057

population had doubled. 5

Emerald Hil

sold were in the area bounded by Grant, Clarendon, Coventry

At Crown land sales in Emerald Hil held in 18S2, allotments

and Cecil Streets and a small group of allotments adjacent in York Street opposite to the Market Reserve.

Some ofthe first houses built in this area were rented to former tent dwellers from Canvas Town, who gave up their temporary accommodation for more substantial homes. One

such resident, William Kelly, describes his tiny weatherboard

home as a wretched hovel, roofed with shingles that let in rain

ADAIR BUNNElT

In 1877, the residents of Coventr Place wrte to council seeking to change the name of their street to Wellngton Street. However shortly thereafter this petition was withdrawn and the name remained Coventry Place.

In a Lead newspaper report of 1886, a Mr. Kendrick is noted as witness to a tragedy at Number 6, owned by a Mr. Dempster (whose occupation is also given as nightman). The report detais a distressing story about Mr. Dempster's lodgers, the hardship of this couple and the suicide of the wife afer first taking the life of her child, whilst the husband was at work.

passengers. Within three months the Port Phiflp District

Sand

lingham had built the Marine HoteL. After the 1850 land sale and construction of a new government pier to replace liardets small jetty, trade increased and a year later the gold rush brought hordes of prospectors and goods through

landing place. In 1840 liardet had built the 'Pier' and Alfred

Before this sale, the settlement had long been operating as a

were sold.4

Sandridge occurred in September 1850, when nine acres

being suitable for docks and canals and that it be given over to major port development. After pressure from Wilbraham liardet, the earliest settler, the first sale of Crown land in

as Governor La Trobe was considering the idea ofthe land

along the edge of the Lagoon. This proposal was withdrawn,

and between Stokes Street and Wickam Street which ran

plans for this first subdivision show the block bounded by Rouse and Graham Streets, running northwest to southeast;

The first Crown land sale was proposed in 1842. The initial

squatting or leasing segments of land.

for stockyards. Nearby a handful of residents were either

Port Melbourne) was unsuitable for grazing, so it was used

area from the Yarra river to St. Kilda, land near the bend (later

Although Benjamin Baxter had grazing rights over the whole

allotments in Elwood.

were laid somewhat on the hencoop principle, so that all garbage and offal mightfall through, 6

century, when swamps were reclaimed and new land opened

this land

up for sale. Subdivision at this later stage made allowances

Subdivision - First ft.O. Ws and Homes

The first settled areas of Port Phillip were a warren of houses and access lanes, created by land being heavily subdivided into smaller allotments. On early subdivisional plans, lanes appear as a narrow piece of land set along boundaries and are often labelled 'R.O.Wo' or'right-of-way'.

St. Kilda Hil First Crown land Sales were advertised in the Port Phillp Gazette, November 18, 1842. At the sale of Crown lands in st. Kilda, twenty-two sections were submitted. They were situated on the high land, close to the sea, abutting the Esplanade and Fitzroy Street. This land formed the Vilage of St. Kilda. 1

This same land changed hands at a second sale in 1847. Ten

years later, on allotments sold to Captain Lawrence, there were three houses grouped at a corner of the Esplanade and Fitzroy Street. At the same time, allotments bought by

merchants and wealthy cattlemen created Grey Street and the Esplanade. 2

Elwood Further toward Elwood, a small area of land was opened up to Crown land sales in 1851, when six blocks were sold near

represents the making of streets named South Elwood

the beach front, running toward Ormond Esplanade. This sale (Vautier Street) and North Elwood (Docker Street). Land was plentiful in Elwood and allowances were made for wide lanes spaced evenly between these streets. Among those who purchased land in 1851 were lG. Vautier, S.

St. Kilda, much of

Griffiths, a James Murphy, and a lR. Murphy. According to J.B. Cooper, author of The History of

was purchased for speculative purposes. and on May 29, 1853

Vautier offered his two sections, 12 and 13 for sale. Land was purchased by Joseph Docker who built two houses on it. The first house was built in the early 1850S and was intended to become a row of terraces. The second house was built in the

Docker and joined them together. Dougharty's wife was said

1880s. Eventually lG. Dougharty bought both houses from to have named it 'Elwood House'. The original terrace is

stands in Vautier Street with the coach house backing onto

thought to be the first house built in Elwood and stil the lane. 3

However, a subdivisional plan in the Port Phillip City Collection, relating to th~ same portions 12 and 13 ,'Sold by

Auction on the ground May 30th 1853'. one day later - fails these portions.

to show either Vautier or Docker as the owner of land in


I " , ;1 ,"ii,',' !

lanes as Drains

The natural flow of water in Melbourne was down through the soil to the water table, and then to strams

and the sea. Alternatively, it ran directly off the surface into the watercourses. In any case the low-lying areas of Port Melbourne, South Melbourne and St. Kida, had a

water table very close to the sunace.

As the years of settlement increased, so did the built up area. There were more roofs and less open ground. The

result was that water had to be collected and directed into channels which then flowed into natural watercourses such as the Yarra river, the Sandridge lagoon, Albert Park lagoon, and tle Elwood creek, and so to ile bay. However in low-lying areas of South and Port Melbourne and St.

Kida, it often ended up in swampy marshes. The uncertain elevation of streets often interrupted the flow

of water too. To this burden of surface run-off, caused by the spread of settlement, was added the disposed waste water. Melbourne had a water supply from 1857, and this had extended south of the Yarra. by 1860. This meant ilat people 'dirtied water' which then had to be disposed of leading out through the backyard to the lane, into which used water

Lane su aces and con i urations

Lane Making. "A Particular Strip of Land" Defining Streets and Lanes rn the boom years ofthe 1880s, there was rapid turnover of ridge,

land as developers erected rows of terraces and streets of cottages. As a result, the vilage settlements of Sand

St. Kilda and Emerald Hill became densely populated and

concern arose regarding who was responsible for making and maintaining small streets and lanes.

There was considerable legal debate about the definition of a lane, and respective obligations of local councils and owners of land abutting a right-of-way. Most dialogue was

aimed at determining who was to pay for surfacing and

maintaining a lane. The division of responsibilty for the costs of forming larger streets of a borough were met by the Council out of general

rates revenue, but ratepayers personally bore the cost of work on right-of-ways, lanes and other narrow streets.

A lane was originally distinguished from a road or street by

being less than 20 feet wide, and later a street was defined In legal

as being greater than 33 feet. However, some streets of less

the

public to pass over a piece of ground' and a 'right-of-way' is

than 33 feet, and indeed less than 20 feet, still exist.

was thrown. So the dirtied water eventually flowed into

'a track of land over which there is a right'.

terms the meaning of a 'right of way' is 'the right of

the lane, then to the street and natural watercourses.

The exchange of correspondence between solicitors Gillot.

The only method of disposal was a channel

In the first years of settlement, no thought was given to planning for the disposal of waste water because there

on 17th August 1895 "Re: Right.of-Way" explains the

density increased, and speculative development saw the

more revealingly it demonstrates how complicated the issue

difference between a public or private laneway or perhaps

Bates and Moir to EG. Miles Town Clerk of South Melbourne

was plenty of land around each house. As settlement

construction of terraces of dwellngs, lanes were built into

the plans of subdivision to carry away tlie excess water. Lanes were in fact open drains ways, and major drains for storm water) so material deposited in them could be

was ... when referring to streets, set out on private property the words used are Street, Lane, Yard or Passage or other premises whilst when referring to Crown lands the only words are Lane or passage formed or set out on such lands in such a manner as to afford means or back access to or drainage from property. In 1880, local councils became legally responsible for making

and maintaining right-of-ways. That is, those right-of-ways,

created as part of a subdivision of land which had not been sold with the land. Councils could also choose to surface private roads like Cromwell Place or Hill Street, South

Melbourne, in the interests of public health if used as public right-of-ways. In 1902, laneways in South Melbourne were transfered from private to municipal control under Council engineer A.E.

Aughtie's direction. He also began upgrading the roadways,

carried into the gutters ending up in the bay.

ADAIR BUNNETI

1 Cooperp27

3/bid.p 184

2 ibid. pp 24,27,28 4 U'Ren and Turn8ull P 16,17

public control. 1

and fully pitching the laneways transferred from private to 5/bid.p 19

6 Keffyp 56

lane making could not always go ahead in areas where homes lacked proper drainage and were built in a floodprone area. Records show that between the years of 1888

to 1890 residents of a lane named Church Street in Port

Melbourne were given thirty days notice from Council to lift

cottages and fill in as much as four feet of soil before work

could be done to pave the lane.

By 1887, twenty-four chains of private right-of-ways were

metalled and channelled in Port Melbourne. St. Kilda Council

lanes for drainage

reports that in 1859 metallng was carried out on a section of Neptune Street. This narrow street off Grey Street was covered with red gravel taken from the formation of Blessington Street next to the Botanical Gardens. Bluestone blocks were used to channel

flow. They were grouted in cement, sand and tar or sand and

York Street, South Melbourne. Bricks were also used

lime. There stil exists evidence of many configurations of bluestone drainage such as three pitcher lanes, or the narrow in smaller access ways beside homes.

drains off

Peckvile Street and the Case of Port Melbourne Borough Council v, Palrck McCarthy Some twenty years after streets were first formed on the western edge of Sandridge, the Board of Health gave notice that a lane between Albert and Clark Streets required sudacing and drainage channels.

This particular lane, stil known today as Peckvie Street,

Next door to McCarthy's property and at the corner of

Clark Street, lived Matilda Maskell. She was the widow of train driver William Maskell, who with his mate George McNab had died heroicaly in the Windsor train disaster of 1877. Matilda also owned several properties in Clark Street.

Other neighbours initially includedJane Slavi and

John Behne on the Albert Street corners, each of whom owned property here as well as elsewhere in the town.

Jane in fact owned thirty-five cottages in Clark, Farrell and Albert Strets, and soon moved to a thirty-sixth but grander house listed as belonging to Thomas Slavin.

Across the lane from Matilda lived Mr Feldtman, who also owned Clark and Albert Street properties, but was living in a house owned by his neighbour, a Dutchman, Antonio Dubbledan. Antonio, whose father lived beside him in Peckvile Street, also speculated in propert and was later chastised by the Town Surveyor for attempting to shift two condemned cottages to a nearby lane, Nelson Place. Not only had the two cottages been deemed 'unfit for human habitation', but he was reconstructing them onto a site of the same description, where there was no hope

of drainage.

As a group, these Peckvie Street owners seem to tyify the entrepreneurial spirit endemic in the town durig the 1880s building boom, In 1888 the local Board of Health issued a notice to owners in the little Peckvie Street rightof-way, informing them of the need to form their street.

Work on right-of-ways and lanes would proceed in one

How

'3 right-of-way was formed in 1888

centre to form almost a little squar. Secondly, the houses

is unusual for two reasons. Firstly, it opens out in the

on its nortern side make up a tye of weatherboard

frontage of each. Then:

properties along the lane to determine the relative

of two ways. Council might issue a notice to ratepayers ('owners, occupiers and agents') giving them 30 days to level, pave and drain the said street themselves. Or, as in Peckvle Street, a survey might be made of the

Sandridge/Port Melbourne was exempted from this law;

signed, and the contractor started work.

3. Council selected the winning tender. 4. Depending upon the width of each property, each ratepayer was then sent an account for his or her share of the total cost of the project. 5. Not until al costs had been received from owners whose properties adjoin the project, were contracts

costing and proposal based on these specifications and submitted these with a smal deposit (e.g. ÂŁ8).

1. The Council caled for tenders after preparing detailed specifcations regarding drainage channels and how the street is to be formed and metaled. 2. Contractors tendered for the job by submitting a

terrace which is rare in Melbourne. With the exception of one later brick addition, its party wals have no parapets (i.e. do not extend beyond the front walls of the houses). To build a terrace in Melbourne without a fire walls between each house was at the time ilegal. Oddly,

Only three such terraces remain in this area today, and the other two are made of brick.

The Peckvile terrace was owned by Patrick McCarty, a former corn dealer who must have acquired wealth in his caling as he was at the time described in the records as a 'Gentleman'. McCarthy owned quite a bit of propert in Port Melbourne in the 1880s, mostly around Ingles and Garton Streets. Around 1885-6 he bought the land across

the line in Peckvie Street and built the terrace of five

houses suitable for workers. These were indeed tenanted

by a succession of workers - a traveller, a fireman, a brass founder, a lumper and several labourers amongst them.


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John Bendick

In the case of Peckvile Street costs equa1ed 8/6 (eight shilings six pence) per foot. Patrick McCarthy's share was £42/10/- for his 100 ft frontage, whereas

and Antonio Dubbledan had to pay only £8/10/-, In this instance the Town Council chipped in £4/10/0 itself because a bit of the work reached out into Clark Street. McCarhy had requested that while the work was being done the Council might also provide a private bluestone drainage channel around the backs of his terraces. So while the share of costs at Number 15 was only £17, McCarthy's came to a hefty £53/2/6 including

£10/12/6 extra for the private work. (The Surveyor did however acknowledge later that he'd made the mistake of including some of the Widow Maskell's property in McCarthy's levy, and credited his account with £8/10/.)

Sometimes it was diffcult to extract the funds from property owners. Some ratepayers shared the skeptical attitude taken by Antonio Dubbledan in his letter to the Council, which states that as the is UStly a ve long time

bifre th work is started, he would make his payment only after acceptance of the tend,er.

Unfortunately, Patrick McCarthy didn't get round to paying his shar, and the Council, havig gone ahead with the work, was caused a considerable amount of aggravation and legal correspondence. Finaly in 1891, Patrick was taken to court and persuaded to pay up the debt and court costs as well. This occurrence was hardly

an unusual case as Council devoted quite a bit of time to chasing up ratepayers who didn't contribute their share. PAT GRANGER

Lanes that Have Disappeared Some lanes that were once accessible have since been

It

absorbed into further development of an area. In Emerald Hill, Cromwell Place was reserved out of private property and included four houses with Cromwell Place as an address.

the Local Board of Health, but never really

was made into a cobbled lane and maintained by Council on the instruction of had the status of a public highway. It now seems to have reverted to being private property without even a signpost. In Port Melbourne, Uttle Evans Street near Graham Street

lane was later absorbed into railway land, now

was formed around 1R93 near the Railway Station. This tiny

overshadowed by the Graham Street overpass.

Reily's Lane Reily's Lane was situated across the raiway in the part of Sandridge that wasn't built up until the 1870s. Its common name came about through the Rass Street grocery that it

ran alongside. The grocery was run by Joseph Reily for nearly thirty years from 1881. For some tIme Mr. Reilly lit this narrow passage - at his own expense but possibly also

to his benefit - by kerosene lamp. This proved somewhat impractical, so in July 1905, Council considered either closing 'Reily's Lane' or properly lighting it themselves.

Town Suiveyor Heath warned Councilors that the lane had been open t/ th publu so long tJ I doubt if it could ever be closed now againt the wi/i of th public. So the Council

added street lighting which was strategically positioned in Alfred Street, and this smalest right-of-way continued to

be used by pedestrians and cyclists at least into the 1950s. At scarcely five feet wide, Reily's Lane was hardly a lane

at al. If you were skiful you could ride your bike along this bumpy narrow passage all the way from Rass Street, across Alfred Street and through to Albert Street, without grazing an elbow on adjacent houses. (Boys on bicycles

delighted in annoying householders by banging on the houses as they pedalled past). It's gone now, having been absorbed into neighbouring properties. PAT GRANGER

1 Pr;estley P250

Ni ht hatch in brick wall rear 0 Little Finla Street Afbert Park.

Squalor and Nuisance - Sewerage, Sanitation and Disease

Most people associate lanes with the purpose of nightsoil collection, which occurred in the days before sewerage.

Over the years. six methods have been used to dispose of nightsoil.

Cesspits In the earliest days when houses were freestanding and there was a lighter density of housing, the method for disposing of nightsoil was the cesspit. A kind of prImitive septic tank, this was a hole in the ground lined with bricks. In early days, little attention was paid to the way the bricks were laid, and inevitably sewage seeped out into the surrounding soil. This was soon recognised as a health

the low-lying areas of South and Port Melbourne and St.

This had the same disadvantages as the cruder cesspit. In

Kida this method was not adequate as the hole did not

have to be very deep before it reached the water table. The result was that the subsoil became impregnated with the sewage, which inevitably flowed to low-lying areas. So those aras of South Melbourne, Port Melbourne and St.

Kilda had a dual problem. Overflow from their own earth-closets accumulated and they were also the recipients of overflow from higher ground.

Nightmen were employed to empty the cesspits when they riled. However, by the late 1870s it was recognised that this was an unsatisfactory and unhygienic way of dealing with the matter. 2 Indeed, Port Melbourne Council outlawed such pits in 1876 followed by South Melbourne

in 1880,3

The Single Pan System

Januar 1863 the Central Board of Health

wrte to the local councils in their capacity as the Local Boards of Health about the situation. They instructed the

The single pan system began to operate from about 1866. The night-soil was accumulated in a pan which the

hazard and in

councils as to the expected sanitar standards of cesspit construction, and warned of fines to anyone alowing the

nightman then collected usually once a week. He tipped

Barkly Street.

Port Melbourne established and maintained a manure depot at Fisherman's Bend and in St. Kida there were complaints about the manure depot next to the slaughter yard at the end of the Government road, later to become

a statelY hotel, polluti the air with an abominable stech cannot well be imagied. s

Apart from the problems caused by the dumping of nightsoil outside of designated areas there was the foul smell. Arrthin more degradin to afie city thn soil carts parad th str~ts at night or nightm bei met on tlie staircase af

Melbourne grew, so did the distance that the nightman and his horse had to travel. About 150 loads were collected nightly, each load averaging 2.5 tons. Often ile horse was tired or ile nightman was tired, or it was getting too late or..., and so he deposited the contents of his cart in the nearest hole, piece of vacant land, river or even along the roadside. 4

i 1 pm and 3am because of the stench. The waste was supposed to be deposited on the fringes of the city, but as

place. The nightman had to work between the hours of

its contents into his wagon and returned the pan to its

contents of water closets or privy cesspools to overfow or soak from them.

cesspool we have of a mere Iwk dug in the soil, or at best a ver

The Chief Medical Offcer of the Colony, Wiliam McCrea describes the drainage situation in the city and suburbs in the 1860s. Insted af a substatil and wate liht

ineffcitly constructed cesspool,from which contets arefiee to

worst descrption of filth. The difcts of conrtrtin permit suifce

percolate and saturate IJ soil under and around dwellins with the

drainage to run in, so that ever showe af rain ad to the afenve

contets af these plaes, which graduallY become jüll, and drain out

into the open channels af the streets and lanes, or on to (uljacent

premises. Cleansing is th exception not the rule, and is more

frequentlY the result of percolation and drainage from receptacle as

thy becom suffcitlY ftllfor thr contets to oVerW. 1

Several years later) the problem sti existed and in 1889, a

Port Melbourne Health Offcer eloquently report on the offensive sight of one lagoon when he states putrescent slime flts finge that pool.

Earth Closet

The earth closet was a refinement of the cesspit. A hole layer of earth.

was dug and as waste was deposited, it was covered with a

the possibilties for mistake, spilage and so on were great,

The lanes were ideal for the nightman's purpose. However

and there was also the manure of the nightman's horse.

Al this contributed to the foulig of the lane. By 1891, an estimated 2900 night pans were emptied in Port Melbourne.


1111' '11 i,l! '."1

Detail 0 letter advertisin n; ht ans

In September 1888 Mr William Burch, living in

Rubbish however was often strewn in lanes or on vacant land.

Khartoum Terrace, wrote to the Port Melbourne Council, describing the filth that had accumulated behind the Terrace

Two Pan System In the two pan system, the used pan was collected and

as pools of slimy. poisonous matter with dead dogs, cats and

replaced with a clean disinfected pan. In South

Melbourne, the rate books show that from 1892-3

totally enclosed steel pneumatic tyred

The Milk Trade and Health Cattle from local dairies grazed on low-lying land at the

the century.

the Victoria Barracks and the Homoeopathic Hospital,

A Central Board of Health was set up in 1857 to oversee Local Boards of Health, a role which was taken on by each local council. In this role, councils were charged with

known then as Melbourne's premier typhoid hospitaL. The

11 ibid P.90

10 Temp/eton p87,8B

9 opcit p82

7 Ding/e AE.and Rasmussen C. p 79 B Laughton A.M P 256

6 Priestley P 148

5 Davison p 233

3 Priestfey p 148 4 Dingle AE.and Rasmussen C. P38

2 V'Ren and Turnbufl p 134

1 quoted in Dunstan P 235

typhoid in South Melbourne.

low-lying area

consumption of contaminated milk, and prevalence of

The dumping of waste in the area where cows grazed had a detrimental effect on the milk produced by the cows. This resulted in the spread of disease through human

cows wallowing up to their udders in the liquid filth. 11

and nightsoil were also dumped into this swamp for some time. The intention ofthe Council was to use waste to gradually raise the level ofthe ground, and fill in the swamp. One contemporary report said it was a common sight to see

to create a foul swamp. Not only foul drainage but rubbish.

hospital combined with water in the natural

Before this time, drainage from these barracks and the

hospital was not sewered until after the turn of

rear of

the responsibility for attending to the redw;:tion of health

area in the 1870s.

hazards. The relationship between fith and disease became evident afer severe outbreak of measles, scarlet fever and diphtheria gripped the Melbourne metropolitan

The filing in of leaking cesspits, and the introduction of the pan system was one of the first steps to improving the situation, In 1875, the Borough of Sandridge introduced By Law Number 36 for Suppressing the Nuisance of Cesspits and Cesspools attached to privies in the Borough. As the correlation between good sanitation and the prevention of disease became understood, cottages were

ever-present in Melbourne. The worst

lifted and lanes were progrssively fully paved. Typhoid fever was

year of al was 1889 when the Board of Health recorded

tyhoid as accounting for five percent of the total deaths

of persons between ten and twenty-five years of age.

Although the Homoeopathic Hospital (later Prince Henry's Hospital) seived South Melbourne in particular, it was renowned for its success in nursing tyhoid, so patients came from most inner city suburbs. 10

A Port Melbourne Health Report submitted to the Public Health Department in 1894. indicates disease statistics and action being taken to improve hygiene, in order to combat disease.

TyphoU ever month butJuly; scarletfev" allyear, diphthe February to May, also December.

Sewers conrtrcied in Spring, lidet and FaTTell to replae

open drain.

Noties serd were: Prvie with difctive conrtrtin 47, Prvis

trenclid by a council employee.

Rubbish tip an nights soil depotJenced this.year; nightsoil is

economically. With some sorrow therefore, Council

ADAIR BUNNETl

washing) was much easier, and this was a major factor in controllng these diseases, as was vaccination in the post World War 11 period.

Victory over disease was by social as well as medical means. The advent of sewerage, and later of running hot water meant that personal hygiene (such as regular hand

people living in sub-standard living conditions.

Government bodies, medical and engineering experts focused resources on finding solutions to preventig the spread of these infectious diseases. Philanthropic and religious groups waged campaigns to provide relief for

badlY conrtrted cow yards: 2

oveiwi 61, Neglect to clean premises or yards: 14, Dirty or

Disease There are several factors that contributed to the high incidence of disease in Melbourne in the nineteenth century. The high density of housing, compounded by shabby construction of cottages in low-lying areas and a general lack of understanding about hygiene, human and other waste disposal, were all part of the problem.

GLENCOSHAM

Street (Sullivan's).

prior to their discontinuance, the horses were kept in brick stables (stil in existence) at the rear of 34 Cruikshank

resolved to cease the hire of these horses. For several years

but by May 1975, increases in the price of feed, veterinarian servces, etc. and the need to carry out expensive repairs to his stables had forced the contractor to more than double his charges to the Council. Despite a petition caling for the horses' retention, the Council was faced with the realisation that mechanical means of street cleaning could do the same work more effciently and

For many years, the cost of horse hire was insignificant,

Port Melbourne was the last council in the metrpolitan area to use draught horses as part of its street cleaning program. They worked as part of a team of three: one man to sweep rubbish in gutters into a heap, one man to shovel the rubbish into a cart pulled by one draught horse at walng pace, directed solely by the men's voices.

Horses and Stret Cleaning

service. The change from open wooden type drays was completed in 1947.

vehicles maintain an effcient and hygienic refuse collection

and services. Afleet of

by vehicles. A leaflet produced by the St. Kilda Council in 1949 promotes a new policy for fully mechanising its public works

and rubbish collection when horses and carts were replaced

Dramatic changes occurred in the method of street cleaning

drainage, unti this be done the nuisance wil exist.

there that requires to be made in order to take away the

the Inspector of Nuisances reports There ;s a right-afway

fowls. The Health Inspector replies with the suggestion that he spread sand on it as a temporary measure. A week later

onwards the council collected an annual fee for this

seivice. However, only 120 out of 8469 properties took advantage of the seivice. 6

This system continued after sewerage for a number of properties unti the fees were steeply increased in 1908-9.

It was also necessary to continue to collect nightsoil in this way from formerly low-lying areas which had not originally been connected, and which were now being used by industr This was a major problem in the 1920s

when the City of South Melbourne found it necessary to make frequent representations to the Melbourne Metropolitan Boar of Works about the matter. Pans were stil being collected as late as 1941 from unsewered areas north of the municipality

Sewerage System

The Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works main sewers and pumping stations commenced operation in 1897 and, in the same year, the Al England Eleven Hotel on the corner of Rouse and Princes Streets in Port Melbourne was the first building in Melbourne to be connected to sewerage. 7 By December 1908, the sewerage system had been laid in Port and South Melbourne and nearly the whole of St. Kida. Gradually the sewerage pipes were extended, as settlement extended into formerly unused land. Albert Park, in particular, was not par of the

sewei-d system for many years. 8 It usually took two to three weeks to connect an ordinary house. Then of course people had to be taught that things like sardine cans were

not to be thrown down the sewer. 9 Septic Tank

Versions of the septic tank were gradually instaled in Albert Park to replace the pans. ADAIRBUNNET

Sanitation While nightmen removed human waste from homes, contractors were also employed to remove all manner of rubbish from streets and lanes to municipal rubbish tips.

streets and channels. By 1887.

IiI ,

Esplanade in St. Kilda toward the sea, was used as the

In 1857 in St. Kilda, three men and a dray constantly cleaned

I

refuse from St. Kilda houses were buried each day, to a level of four feet six inches. This refuse was later used to fill swampy areas where roads were to be made.

municipal tip. Eleven cartloads of rubbish and household

land from the south end ofthe

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Front Door or Back Gate - Living. Working and Other 'Goings-on':ln Lanes The character of a lane may evolve over time with the changes of homes, businesses, and industries that exist in them, and the people that move through them. A lane may be a neglected pocket, a busy thoroughfare, or place for a

communal garden.

McArthur Place, South Melbourne

Mc Arthur Place South Melbourne

Gladstone, Buckurst, Thistlethwaite and Montae

Montague The Montague district of South Melbourne extended from Ferrars Street to Boundar Road, and from City Road to the raiway line. The main cross streets were

A report in The Record newspaper 13th of December 19'3,

While from the HISAB's own figures, the number of houses

In Patterson Place, otherwise known

demonstrates that these homes became more than temporary housing.

these homes were owned by

an attic.

In 1936, the Housing Investigation and Slum Abolition.Board

constructed. During the 1970s, slum clearance would also be phased out.

to announce that no further high rise buildings would be

house years previously. By 1971, the government was forced

reimbursing them less than they had originally paid for their

compensation paid to householders, in many cases,

Commissions activities also rested on the system of

methods used by the Housing Commission to assess a site for redevelopment. Hostilty toward the Housing

During the 1960s, there was growing resistance to the

when the tower flats were opened, they housed a population of1028.

While 178 people were displaced by the 'clearance', in 1969,

development, only twenty-nine needed to be demolished.

to the Commission, of

...having eliminated wasteful roads and lanes.... According the eighty homes cleared for the

Towers, was promoted by the Housing Commission, as

site opposite in Dorcas Street. The project, including Park

Luke, Coventry and Moray Streets, with a smaller half acre

Court Estate in 1960, on 2.5 hectares bounded by Dorcas, St.

Victoria's first high~rise flats were built on the Emerald Hil

by the Commission were twelve storeys or more.

flats of less than four storeys. By 1968, all flats constructed

the newly constructed public housing were concrete walk up

There was a change in attitude in the early 1960s as most of

regions, including Port Melbourne and Fishermen's Bend. While there was recognition that most people were generally not willing to move from places of residence for social and economic reasons, it was also considered at that time, that high rise development was not desirable.

of semi-detached stock, were established in rural and city

Housing Act was passed. By 1942, housing estates, mostly

was to be achieved. In 1938, the Slum Reclamation and

Housing Commission to investigate how slum reclamation

Housing Act and made provision for the constitution of a

In October 1937, the Victorian Government passed the

requiring demolition was relatively small and scattered throughout the inner suburbs, thirty per cent of houses investigated were without bathrooms, while the bathing and laundry facilities in the remaining houses were primitive.

as Tin Pot Alley, there were several iron houses which were

imported in sections. They have iron roofs and iron walls. There are about fourteen houses, each with three or four rooms...They are generally all around the metropolitan area, rate records show fourteen of

but there are more there than any other place. The 1885~1886

AnotherTin Pot Alley existed in St. Kilda. Mr. Pommeroy was

Streets. It covered nearly forty acres, and took its name from the Montague Railway Station which was established in 1883. By 1900, there were twenty~two small streets and lanes within the district. Development of the area occurred from the late i 860s. The area was intended for 'persons of the artisan class'

Robert Patterson and were listed as having two rooms and

houses in a small cul-de-sac, named McArthur Place. These

and this was reflected in the tye of housing advertised for

At a very early date, before 1857. there were seven tiny

houses typified buildings placed on land before council

the hill off High Street

one of St. Kilda's first settlers, a plasterer who came from London to live on land at the crest of

sale in the area: Neat tw-roomed cottae and land, Plasteed 110

(now St. Kilda Road). He imported iron houses from England and assembled one upon his land. From this position he

created a lane that ran from his home to High Street and

lined it with other iron houses. He named the lane St. Mary

Axe after his place of birth in London, although there it was

Alma Road and Inkerman Street. although the name was

pronounced 'Simmery Axe'. This tiny lane stil exists between

shipwrights. Suprisingly, nearly a third of the inhabitants

changed to Pommeroy Lane. Pommeroy's house and garden

was stil extant in 1930. Nearby, there was another enclave of these tiny homes in Alma Place.

In Victoria

By the mid 1930S, conditions during the Great Depression

Slum Clearance and Park Towers had led to a severe depletion of housing stock.

there existed a coalition of social reformers, committed to

a new government role in the provision of housing.

The Victorian campaign for housing reform was dominated

(HISAB) commissioned an external survey of 85,779 dwellngs

by The Barnett Study Group, which favoured housing reforms controlled by a central, state wide authority. Formed by F. Oswald Barnett, the group argued that if providing better housing became a local council responsibilty the burden would fall on the poorer municipalities, with less open space for development. Sections of Barnetts thesis for a Master of Commerce at the University of Melbourne were published by the Herald as a booklet, The Unsuspected Slum. At the same time Barnett and his colleagues gave presentations using slides taken from his excursions into slum areas.

in these often rusty homes felt like an oven in hot weather.

re-erected there, and the third house has been on this site since the early 185°5. These homes, built from iron, were imported to Australia from England in kits. They were erected as a means of supplying housing during a shortage of building materials and labour due to the gold rush of ,881. The houses were never mean.t to be permanent and living

were on lanes, right~of~ways, or in 'slum pockets'.

internal survey and social census. Most of

in a five mile radius of the GPO, and 7330 houses were identified as being in a condition warranting a special these houses and crowded. 1.

Such accommodation would have been uncomfortable and basic, at best rustic but more likely smelly damp

stand. Two have come from other suburbs and have been

of portable iron houses. At 339 Coventry Street in South Melbourne, three of the last remaining portable houses

'Tin Pot Alleys' was a name often used to refer to lanes

Tin Pot Alleys

KAYROWAN

by industrial development.

fourteen lanes still extant, the others were swallowed up

storehouses and factories. In 1988 there were only

'rookeries' had been demolished to make way for large

feet and 26 feet in the lanes. By 1967, al of these

four. Allotment frontages were usualy between is

Most of the houses in the little streets and lanes were made of wood, and had two or three rooms, occasionaly

of Montagu.e's lanes were owner occupiers.

Many of the workers attracted to the low cost housing were la~ourers. firemen, boilermakers, mariners and

By 1875, there were about 560 households in Montague, 220 of these were found to be in the lanes. In 1900 there were over two thousand households in the district.

pound, Stoke Street af Glatone Place,

planning existed.

It remained like this until the slum

McArthur Place was not even a right-af-way or a proper lane, it was a small dirt laneway with a pitched bluestone gutter running down the middle.

reclamation of the Moray Street area in the 1960s.ln

testimony given at an early Slum Housing inquiry in 1913, McArthur Place was stated to have a lot of rotten hovels.

In 1992 Susan Priestley,

The house at Number 4 McArthur Place was occupied from 1918 to 1934 by the Rowan family.

Rowan, one of

author of South Melbourne, a History, interviewed Arthur the four children of Patrick and Martha

11'

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wash

the yard.

nightman was able to remove the pans without entering

McArthur Place, so that in the days before sewerage, the

space was at the front, with a separate lavatory backing onto

attached to the fence ofthe church next door. The only yard

at the side with a skil

house as it was then called, was a later addition built ion roofthat sloped down and was

it covered with a skylight. The bathroom/laundry, or

An open light well between the two houses would trap water in winter and flood the houses until the landlord had

and he climbed onto the rootto pour a bucket of water down onto it thereby spoiling the neighbour's dinner completely.

Arthur remembered that the chimney once caught on fire

and a slate roof over the two main rooms with another two skillon rooms at the rear, which backed onto Number 2. A shared chimney serviced the kitchen fires of both houses.

Rowan, about life in this house.The house had wooden walls

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When horses were the common form of

Stables and Garages

Gladysdale Dairy delivery horse and cart

Note s ike, 0 a stable door

Gladysdale Dairy, Port Melbourne

were built at the back of properties and had entrances on

stable at th rear of th house.

I used to sell em~ beer bottle to the Rowe. (Our father's job was

disguised by renovation.

to emp~ the bottLes!) Wé used to load up an old pram of a Saturday

Twe~ years late they no longer had horses) but th stables always seemed to be dark and mysteus) and jûll of bottLes. My broth and

Bottle Collectin!!

in Port Melhourne which he operatedJrm about 1920.

My fath William Raeburn Sturt) ha a milk round

100.fet.fm Rala Street, At no 312, the Rowe family had

In the late 1930s my mother Mary LoWlie lived at 320 Ross St:eet) Port Melbourne tw doors south of Ragla Street on the east sie of Ross Street. A lae used to run at the rear of the propertis about

This stable was a doubLe story galvanised strcture whù;h stood acrss th b""k 'I the block, the UPPIJ leuel being th laft with a door

Melbourne lanes, such as the garage in Ashworth Street which has a Scout hall above it on the first floor.

Natural Logic at Melbourne University came to live at the

(George) Hotel with his bride of Q few weeks. He had hired a horse from the George stable to ride to ¡presumably Albert) Park, but the horse bolted for home,fell and rolled on Perani, killng him. 1

These stables at the rear ofthe George Hotel, on Fitzroy

Street can be seen on lE.5.Vardy's 1873 map ofSt. Kilda HilL.

Further down the street at the corner of Princess Street, the Victoria Hotel (now known as the Ritz) also has a stable dearly shown at the rear of the HoteL.

picked up)you would give thm a fttitious name; th would book

The gamin squad of arved in an old Ford Murer lf you got

Everyone coverd up for the bookies.

hooked riht next to the loo - th didn't even Look insde for him.

own of the house came out to see what the noise was, and he was

hid in someone's loo (the back gates were always unlocked)) and the

One day th gaming squa maTly caught up with an SP booki, who

decent lae if it didn)t have a bookie.

(who weren)t gentlen) chased them up th lanes. Ther was)t a

af broken boards at th back 'I the loos, whe th gaming squ

by the booki; they stahed thei bett paper in the hole in th

pictures on Saturday qfoons, as their loos were ver of needed

shelling peas as they talkd. Children wee advied to go to the

1/- each wa on th Melbourne Cup) with their hair in CUleS and

wa)t used by ilLegal SP booki. The wome would come and put

There was)t one lane between Albert Park and POTt Melbourne that

SP Bookies, Port and South Melbourne

GLENCOSHAM

Mr. Rowe onlY gave us Bd. (Or wa it vie versa?)

Mrs. Rowe would be home) because she gave us 9d a dozen) whiLe

lae at the back of the Ross St:eet house. Wé always used to hope

qfnoon and take themfrom our place aTound to th stabLes in th

backs onto Canterbury Place, was once a livery stable with a nine room house at the front, built some time between 1900

proprietor' and the premises is stil a motor workshop. Only

and 1910.

In ~918, the occupier was rated as a 'garage

The motor workshop on Canterbury Road, Middle Park which

transport, stables

that they were home to a number of local dairies. A report

Dairies An important aspect of many lanes and small streets was

to laneways (like car garages of yesteryear). N'any of these

~

I

I undertad that he orallY started out wokifor Mick

Wiliamtown Road, Norm Barr of Ingles Street near Crockfrd Street, and beses these three, there was Woodruff)s of Brie St:eet) which wa the bigest in th area) even in those days!

Grahm Street, Cl.y Butcher of Grahm Street near

house at 273 Bridge Street undlJ the name 'I Gladysdale Dairy, At this time) as in oth suburbs, severaL smalL familY dairi covered Port. Oths from memor wee Spaines of Stoke Street just below

Street. Dad opened his own busnes at tM back of his mother's

Wood1'if (Senior) at thr busness in Brie Street) near Derham

sturdy brick buildings can still be spotted in laneways, most

of this industry in South Melbourne prepared in 1902 distinguished between smal shops and retailers, producers and vendors. Reports were written on thirt-six premises where milk was produced. Of these some 14 were located in streets less than thirty-three feet wide. Many of the proprietors listed in the report were women. In MO instances, the property where cows were kept is described

as a wood yard. Many were located near the southeast part of the suburbs, close to grazing at Albert Park, and behind the Homoeopathic HospitaL.

Stables in St. Kilda

minimal changes have been made to the interior walls which stil indicate the position ofthe original loft and horse feeding troughs. It would stil be possible to drive from the entrance, past the original ticketing booth, and out onto Canterbury Place.

way at th lae siefor th unloading of straw andfeedfor the

Dad had a Iwrse nained Goali and a two wheelflatfrom which he did his dairy house delivees. The horse was stabLed in the baik of the proPlJty 'I 205 AlblJt Street, thftrst house on the left 'I the lane whid, ran (and still does) thughftom AlblJt Street ÚJ Clek

horses. There were enough stalls on tlie Lowe level for around five February 18th 195 J, Melbourne was hit by a wild storm) whuh

reduced the stabLe where Dad)s horse wa)from a doubLe storn to a sile one! S(Jebody came to our door in Ross Street) and wld Dad

that he)d bette go and look at the horse, so checki it out hefound the horse standin bolt upriht, badly frhted but othe all riht. The lower structure had stood soundl) agait the crash.

in Bay Street (Stewie Craila just acrss ftm th Port Piture

There are other examples of stable conversions in South

One producer was Mrs Ada Gay of 3 Raglan Place. In 1888, she had a herd of fif-five, producing 500 quarts a day. The MO largest vendors obtained mil from suppliers on the outskits of Melbourne, supplementig it in the case of Morgans dai, with localy produced mil. Morgans came from a dairng family, the second generation set up their 'Heidelburg Dair' in Thisdethwaite Street. They were the second largest vendor in Melbourne, delivering

In i887 Fredric Joy Perani, Professor Elect to the Chair of

Street and serves the row of houses tJ face Farrell StTeet West.

al'und 1400 quarts daiy.

horses although at th time Dads horse wa th onlY one there On

Morris Brothers commenced operations in 1893 out of Montague Street and Bay Street depots. Morris Brothers

were not mentioned at al in the he~lth inspectors report, presumably because of their clean slate, though other leading businesses - Morgans, Grierson Brothers and Farnsworths - scored a mention. Morris' claimed to be leaders in the matter of sanitar standards.

Dad)s dairy was onlY a one horse and cart busness consting of a

Taggart and Sons

Theatre), the POTt Melbourne Fire Station in Lidet St:eet) and

ADAlR BUNNETI

'Taggart and Sons, Point Ormond Dairy' operated from a brick

'I 183 houses (in Januar 1942), a Mill Bar shop

structure at 10 Wilton Grove, Elwood. The dairy was built on

deliuer round

i

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come to colLect fies and th coppers would say to the booki) "whee

Landsdown Terrace at 33-37 Dalgety Street. There are stables

AS REPORTED TO JAN MACDONAL

you". They knwjùll well who 'Joe Blow) was.

is Joe Blow) and he would say ((He's not here, but Left th mont for

you) and let you go again w earn som monn. Next week thry would to stable horses for the occupants of

large stables in the St. Kilda Hill area, built

off Dalgety Lane serviced the needs of residents of

in this lane now converted for other uses.

There were several

seven factori on Williamstown Road) thse bei Daniel ScoU's Malcobn Moore's) Kelvinat's) Dico) PMG wokshops) and 1Tomaxls. The dai1y wa openfrom around lam w 6pm dairy In

the 1950s, advertising on Taggart and Sons order slips and

busess) would close up at around noon and head of to th nearby

except for Saturdays whe grandmoth who lookt af tlie passi

a small lane that was part of the original Wilton Estate.

bottle tops stated "pasteurised milk from tuberculin

borough supporte!

Port Football Ground OT be tak to the (away' match) being a great

terrace houses. A stable

tested cows." ,i

GLEN STUART

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Pawnbrokers The Glee Club story began shortly rg Wórld War I in one

The Glee Club

spurious florins' began turning up. Although they

appreciated for the pedestrian access they provide. In Port

..~.-.-

Now

Notice on gate in lane, st. Kilda

Lanes

tn 1991, the Strategic Planning Branch of the City of

Pedestrian Access

Melbourne commissioned a study of laneways. An objective

Robe Street has long been well known for prostitution.

By 1977 traffc counts in Robe 5treet were as high as 590

vehicles in an hour, with 6,940 vehicles passing through in a

prosecuted at that time.

twenty four hour period. However, few 'gutter crawlers' were

The Prostitutes Collective of

Victoria (PCV) was established in

were preserved, developed and beautifed for pedestrian access

from this study was to ensure that the character of lanes

the 1980s, and advocates that while street workers are given

Melbourne the 'ut shaped 'walk through' lane from Princes

was held under the auspices of the City of Port Philip Police

Kilda Town Hall for the Street Sex Work Forum. The meeting

members, community representatives and PCV met at St.

On the 26th August 1997, St. Kilda residents, police, Council

not access legal agencies if they are abused. While working in a legitimate brothel is legal, it is currently illegal to solicit or accost any person in a public place or loiter in a public place for the purposes of prostitution.

criminal status, they are unable to operate safely, and may

and other street level activities.

úite th moved their mus to th All Englad Eleve Hot£l at

In the City of Port Phillip there are certain lanes which are

Rouse an Prces Streets. Jut back of the pub wa the lane known

between Garden City through to Bay Street.

and liardet Streets to Station Street is a well used path

When Marie and Marcus Davidson of Station Street married

in 1989, their wedding procession assembled in parkland

Melbourne Yacht Club where the wedding and reception

along the Railway Reserve and advanced to the Port

All th Amy family wee much involved in th Glee Club. lOung

in Beach Street by way of the lane now known as Donaldson

took place. Accompanied by musicians, the procession arrived

on both street workers and residents, and agreement was reached on some strategies for improving the situation.

Community Consultative Committee for the purpose of finding solutions to the impact that street work is having on local residents. At this forum, chaired by former Mayor of St. Kilda, Tim Costello, issues were identified which impact

in the Yacht Club, which burned the following year.

In 1909. the Port

liberal State MP,

'gutter crawling'. The area in and around

containers supplied.

Disposal of used needles is an issue for council.

transported to beaches this way.

produced by Melbourne Water, Melbourne Parks and Waterways emphasised the role of drains in transporting street litter into waterways, and therefore onto beaches. It was then realised that needles and syringes used in streets and lanes, and left in gutters, were being

concentrated in these areas. However in 1993, a report

As needles and syringes were often found on beaches, installation of Sharp Safe containers was at first

laneways, parks, public buildings and near toilets.

and installed stainless steel needle deposit containers in

the 5t. Kilda Council commenced the Sharp Safe program

In 1990

and Hepatitis C, and to return used needles in sharps

and syringes to prevent the transfer of diseases such as HIV

needle exchange and educates people to use clean needles

Centre, Grey Street, St. Kilda. This organisation operates a

Information Exchange at the Salvation Army Crossroads

drug use is undertaken by such organisations as The Health

Responsibility for some health issues relating to injecting

of used needles and syringes. and health issues for the users.

problems associated with street use, including safe disposal

As the use of heroin is ilegal,

lanes can offer a discreet location for injecting drug use and drug trading. There are

Injecting Drug Use in Lanes

several narrow dirt pathways which connect between small streets lined with interesting houses and flats.

of Carlisle Street and Barkly 5treet. This walk weaves along

In St. Kilda, a pathway goes from Fitzroy Street right through to the park at the rear of the National Theatre at the corner

Street. The celebration was dancing and a wedding feast of champagne, fish and chips and was one ofthe last to be held

George's house in Rouse Street hacked onto th lae, an GeoTge

unlicened Glee Club. Port Melbourne police were good mates of the

Pop Amy could watch flT atr imint legal inteerene with the

properl¡ whuh was in Prnces Street. From this convenient positin,

('PoP) Amy kept th keys to the cmbhouse, It was at th back af his

along the lane, it came to be knwn as the (Glee Club'.

clubhouse wi a bar an dance flor. Secludd behind a high fence

Chinese landry which Ann subsequetly bought and tuned into a

th turn f4 to ru north bes th Prry, In this lae wa a

as Prnces Place, which runs af Prnces Street to StJoseph's Hall

th ftuad" af the group,

equipped with an upriht pian that wa played !? George Amy,

Derham). Here a muscal group called th 'GO) Boys' got togeth Thy travelled around Port Melbourne with a fwse and cart

Street had been th Muse first af Thomas Arill th af Fredek

first af Thor Arill then af Rouse Street (th one cwsest to Stoke

of th thee Iwuses owned by Swllow & Arill on the north sie

There is a photograph of a row of terraces in Bay Street taken in 1875 that shows a pawn shop, 'Johnny Allsorts', then owned

by H. Davenport. This shop had a walkway running beside it connected to a lane at the rear. Pawn shops were often

positioned next to a lane, to prevent the opportunity for a pe,rson being seen making an entry and exit from the shop, particularly if that was frequently. A register of items left at this shop in 1892 lists people pawning jewellery, household

items and clothing. One family in a desperate situation deposits their tea pot several times in one year.

Counterfeit Coining in a Port Melbourne Lane '

At Melbourne racetracks and pubs toward the end of 1928, a number of

were pretty good copies they were easily spotted by bank

staff as being a bit light on in weight. The police worked for some time to trace the coins, and finally tracked down a Russian sculptor living in Port Melbourne's Alien Place. Raiding at midnight, they found

the occupier in bed and a gas ring burning in the kitchen, in a colonial oven, in which a number of plaster moulds

Sometimes, members met on Sunday cinoons. Sometimes t/iei

mebers, however and pretty much turned a blind eye to its activities.

confiscated a quantity of raw material while the artist complained that they should have waited until daylight

dancing, drink and sing-a-longs took place on Saturdqy nights or

were cooking. Detectives destroyed the moulds and

to call. 2

the sound of musc and singng C()in frm the hall on SaturdO)

for special occasm lik birthdays. A neihbour remember as a child

nights. This was durng the Depression years, he ad, and not many

Prostitution in Lanes

Thieving from Lanes

people ha a joh, but thry seemed to be able to meet and enjoy

At Port Melbourne in 1858, there was mention of controllng

district since the 18005.

have worked in brothels and on the streets in the Port Phil1p

There are accounts which indicate that women and men

PAT GRAGER

dubs located in varWus streets and lane during this era.

The Glee Club was representative of th many SundO) dri

thelve anyway.

An article that appeared in the Age 21 August 1997, described

how a young man made a living thieving from homes on lanes. He used to lie in bed, shut his eyes and he could picture the place perfctly: seeing the way in through the alley, the fence high enough for cover but not too high to climb, the very window he was going to pop. Imagining all the good gear

inside. He'd lie there for half an hour or so, thinking about it

the 'exploitation of sailors' in brothels.

In a police report on

...Then he'd get dressed - gloves in one pocket, screwdriver in

against a man for

congratulated the St. Kilda police for obtaining a conviction

of prostitutes. In 1965, Brian Dixon,

because of the harassment of women by men in search

affect of street prostitution on real estate values, not least

During the 19605, there was increasing concern about the

right-ofway is at present made use offor immoral purposes. Reference is made in South Melbourne in 1880, to a den of infamy in a right-of-way off Coventry Street. 1

Melbourne Town Surveyor states i am informed that this dark

were not allowed to reside in st. Kilda.

ordered to leave Acland Street because such characters

prostitutes in St. Kilda, 7 October 1886, prostitutes were

1 The Age, 20 April, 1982

3 The Age. 21 August 1997

2 The Record, 12 Jon 1929

the other - and walk straight out and do it.

hundred in cash from the bedroom. Another nice 'earner~ In

stereo, mobile phone, a bit of

He and a mate would be in and out in five minutes. Got a T\ jewellery and a couple of

1'1 ,

I' a bad joke. 3

houses in Port and South Melbourne. Since he got pinched and sent to Pentridge he decided to give the whole game away as

three of four years he probably robbed a couple of hundred

";:

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References

,,-"'

Recentl named Ma Place Port Melbourne

Barnett F.O., Burt W.O. Housing the Australian Nation,

J

Research Group ofthe left Book Club, Vic, 1942

1931

Dunstan, D. Governing the Metropolis - Melbourne 1850-1891,

Melbourne, Alien and Unwin, Sydney, 1985

Davison, G., Dunstan, D., McConvile, C. The Outcasts of

Melbourne University Press, Vic 1978

Davison,~. The Rise And Fall Of Marvellous Melbourne,

Robertson and Mullens, Melbourne, 1940

Foundation of Settlement at Port Phillp to the Year 1938,

Daley, C. The History of South Melbourne, From The

Melbourne,

to a City 1840 to 1930, Vols 1,2 St. Kilda City Còuncil,

Cooper, J.B. The History of st. Kilda, - From its First Settlement

In 1997, a town house development at No 1-4 Bessiere Place, St. Kilda, won 'Best New Residential Development: 4-10 Units'

Athol Lodge, St. Kilda,

in the City of Port Phillp Design and Development Awards.

users in the community about the ramifications of disposal methods of needles and syringes. At times, members of the

Other strategies employed by the Council, include educating

community post notices in lanes, such as the one fixed to a The Award Citation states 1-4 Bessiere Place is an urbane townhouse development of four, three storey units in a

metal grill in a lane at the rear of the George Hotel in St. Kilda which reads, "Please do not use drugs here, as there are

ehiJdren in the area."

mews-type environment where the streetscape encouraged pedestrian priority. This development responds to the urban character of the area by merging the meeting points of the

houses are built in the lane at the rear of Athol

Dingle, T. and Rasmussen C. Vital Connections, Melbourne

Melbourne University Press, ViC,lg84

and its Board of Works 1891 - 1991, McPhee Gribble, 1991

landscaping

was also reinstated at the front of the house. In association

adjacent to 41 Acland St, Bessiere Place.

Lane Naming Competition It is one of the functions of Council to offcially name lanes -

may apply in writing to council to have their lane named.

and there are many that are unnamed. Residents of a lane

The Port Philip City Council policy for the naming of roads

(and lanes) states that Roods wil be named with names appropriate to the historical and cultural connections of the local area.

In 1997, as part of the lurking in lanes Project, The City of

the Competition was to name

Port Phillp, Art and Heritage Unit conducted a lane Naming Competition. The purpose of

Goes On - The History ofSt Kilda 1989

Upton, G. The George Hotel, St Kilda - A Narrative History Thesis Melbourne, 1998

Phillip, '995

the City of Port PhilJp, Exhibition Catalogue, City of Port

Art and Heritage Unit, Dredging Draining Dipping and Shipping - A History of the Foreshore and Low-lying Areas of

Study, City of Melbourne 1991

Strategic Planning Branch, Central Activities District, Laneway

U'Ren, N., Turnbull, N. A History of Port Melbourne, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1983

Hospital 1869-1969, Robertson and Mullens, Melbourne, 1969

Templeton, J. Prince Henry's - The Evolution of a Melbourne

Press, Vie, 1995

Priestly, S. South Melbourne - A History Melbourne University

Volume fi, '930- 1983, Hudson,

longmire, A. The Show

Laughton, A.M. (Government Statist), Victorian Year Book, 1908-09

'997

Kelly, W. Lif in Victoria 1853-1858, lowden Publishing Co., Vie,

Howe, R. (ed.) Fify Years of Public Housing in Victoria 19381988, Ministry of Housing and Construction, 1988

with these changes, Council resolved to name the Jane

built around 1884, and was recently restored.

lodge, at Number 41 Acland St, St. Kilda. Athollodge was

The town

builder was Hickory Developments.

of the predominant Art Deco and Edwardian styled, does sit comfortably with older buildings nearby. The architect for the development was Allom lovel! and Associates and the

public and private domains. The architecture, while not typical

Our Changing Lanes

Many lanescapes in Port Phillip have changed quite

lanes often provide a rear entrance to larger

considerably over the years. With recent government policies promoting urban density, and the attraction of living close to Melbourne, our lanes are seeing change as never before.

properties. These days, this land may be subdivided for dual occupancy, creating a new building with a front entrance

lanes, plots of land are generally narrower

facing the laneway.

In residential

and not as deep as those on wider streets. To achieve the requirements of 20th century living, alterations to a small

these alterations, such changes may compromise an

house may involve a second story, such as a first floor rumpus room or studio. Depending on the scale and style of

existing single story lanescape.

-Reserve Place In August i 997, in the lane off Stokes Street caled Reserve Place, a very old house, most recently used as a potting studio, sold for $280,000. The new owner intends to restore the property and replace the Hawthorne bricks,

that sometime in the past had been removed to alter a front window;

On the day of the auction, the auctioneer said that not long ago you just couldn't sell a house in a lane, but today

some ofthe unnamed lanes in Port Philip, and to encourage community members to investigate the historical and

the

cultural significance of an unnamed lane. The nine winners of the Competition had their proposed lanes offcially unveiled by a Councillor, at a lane Naming Party. Many of

applications received were founded on stories about

everybody's interested in "having a private street to themselves". He explained later that regulations had now changed regarding narrow streets: at one tie you couldn't get a mortgage for a lane house because if it were to burn down, you would be unable under building

respected neighbours or unique individuals connected in

strip of land.

together and celebrate their connections with a unique

some way with the lane. other applicants recognised the former landscape of a lane. The Competition and the parties were a special opportunity fo:r a community to come

regulations to put another in its place.

This would account for the fact that the many lanes originally faced with houses are now lined only with garages and back fences of adjoining properties. Toward

lane. One hundred

the end of the 19th century there were two brick houses and four timber ones in this small

years later there is just the one (although a second house is now being constructed). PAT GRANGER

1 Upton pm

I


i

Installations Subdivision - First R.O.W.s amd Homes

of Port Philip

Surveyor Commander Henry L. Cox R.N.

9 Survey

A Laneway Experience '998 Rebecca Eames with Grades 5 and 6 students of Galiee

the Parish at Prahran

Port Phillp City Collection

sepia photograph

Fitzroy Street

'864

12 Melbourne Terrace

Latrobe Collection. State library of

Victoria

Wilbraham F. E.liardet 1799 -1879 photographic reproduction from the original watercolour

1862

11 A Blrds Eye View of St. Kilda Beach

Port PhiJlp City Collection

lithograph

'857

W. Colbs, lithographer

Crown lands Offce, Melbourne Victoria

10 Part of

St. Kilda Hil

La Trobe Collection, State Library ofVlctoria

'864

Primary School, South Melbourne

copy of original map

shoe boxes and mixed media 2 View from a Back Fence

'998 Rebecca Eames with students from Graham Street

Primary School. Port Melbourne cardboard and mixed media

1998

3 Maps Overlay Installation Examining changes in the lanescape from 1842 to the current day ink on acetate

1998

4 Photographic Installation

Imelda Dover and Melissa Hayes c%ur laser copies on street signs

Early Development

5 Geological Survey of Victoria

c 1872

13 View at St. Kilda

engraving

Department of Public Lands

'864 reproduction

St. Kilda Historical Soclety Collection

Port Philip City Collection

15 Plan No. 84, St. Kilda and Brighton Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works 1904 reproduction

Port Philip City Collection

Wrn H. Cropper Auctioneer

30 May,8S3

the Parish of Prahran

14 Plan at Allotments No.s 12 and 13. County of Bourke, in

Elwood

Port Philip City Collection

6 Plan of twenty two urban allotments in the Parish of

South Melbourne County of Bourke. for a vilage to be called 5t, Kilda

'842 reproduction Port Phllip City Collection

'855

7 Plan of Sandridge Township

reproduction Port Phllllp City Collection

1888 by Sutherland

Published in 'Victoria and its Metropolis: Past and

8 Canvas Town, South Melbourne Present'

Depicts the Canvas Town ofthe early

1850'S

hand coloured engraving Port Phlllp City Collection

16 Receipt for the making of the lane between Beach Avenue and Vautier Street Elwood 30 September 1927

laser copy from the original Courtesy Fred and Val Walsh

between Beach Avenue and Vautier Street, Elwood

17 Account for the construction of a right-at-way 5 September 1927

laser copy from the original Courtesy Fred and Val Walsh

18 Elwood House, Elwood

after 1880

photographic reproduction of watercolour and photograph insert. Port Philip City Collection

19 Thalassa Estate, Elwood

13 May 1922 notice of subdivisional auction sale Courtesy Don Taggart

13 May 1922

20 Thalassa Estate, Elwood

Courtesy Don Taggart

sale notice

ridge

looking west from the Balaclava bridge

Courtesy of Elwood College

21 Coach house at rear of Elwood House '997 photograph

Balaclava 22 Carlisle Street,

1862 Sydney W, Smith

photograph Port Philip City Collection

Port Melbourne 23 The Township of Sand

'859 Port Philllp CIty Collection

lihographic map

Emerald Hil

24 Petition addressed to the Mayor and Councillors of

Emerald Hil from residents of Coventry Place 28 April18n Re: changing the name of Coventry Place

Port Phllllp City Collecion

25 Letter to the Chairman and Councilors of the Municipal District of Emerald Hil

Victoria

of Allotment 12 for the making of Coventry Place

18 October 1856 Agreement to alienate 16' x 165' ofthe Western portion

Port Philip City Collection

1998

ridge

26 Streetscape - existing cottages

ph.t.graph

27 Emerald Hil and Sand

c.187째 Charles Nettleton

La Trobe Picture Collecion. Stae Library of

reproduction photograph

Lanes as Drains

28

ridge, Victoria Sand '874 After Nicholas Chevalier by Godfrey Published in Australia Ilustrated 1874, representing

Port Phlillp City Collection

Melbourne in the 1850'S steel engraving (hand coloured c. J990)

29 Plan of rlght-of-way of Farrell and Nott Streets,

Port Melbourne 9 August '884 Now Rowans lane, named in the lurking in lanes Lane Naming Competition in 1998

ink and watercolour on paper

Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society Collection

drainage or sewerage

30 Team of men in Princes Street Port Melbourne. repaIring

1933

Courtesy of Berryl (nee) Brown

photograph

r


31 Installation of stormwater pipes and replacement of 41 Plan of rlght-of-way, Peckvile Street between Albert and Clark Streets, Port Melbourne

16 October 1888 ink and watercolour on paper

bluestone surface channel. C.1990

photograph Port Phillip City Collection

1887

1887

Squalor and Nuisance - Sewerage, Sanitation and Disease

Sewerage

S1 Letter from the Titan Manufacturing Company to the Town Clerk of South Melbourne 15 August 1901 Re: the pรงior standard of pan replacement Port Phitlp City Collection

52 letter from Mayne's Sanitary Appliances Co. to South

Melbourne Town Clerk

20 March 1902 Port Philip City Collecion

53 Night Hatches

Street, Port Melbourne

1998 1. Nfght hatch formerly at rear of house in Stokes

2. Rear of Little Finlay Street, Albert Park

two photographs S4 All England Eleven Hotel

Image date unknown The first building connected to sewerage in Melbourne, on 17 August 1897 Port Phillp City Collection

photograph

ss Cesspit excavation

6 November 1997

286 Rouse Street Port Melbourne three photographs Courtesy Peter Llbbis

Nott and lalor Streets, Port Melbourne

Port Philllp City Collection

,897

City of St. Kilda, Detail Plan No.

1366

56 Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works ink and watercolour on paper

50 Plan of little Evans Street 14 March 1893 ink and watercolour on paper Port Phllip City CollectIon

Sanitation

Port PhllJlp City Collection

49 Plan showing alterations to the right-of-way off

Port Phillp City Collection

20 April

of Dow Street

48 Specifications for the making of rlght-of-way

Port Phllip City Collection

20 April

47 Plan of right-of-way off Dow Street on Section 5

'998 photograph

46 Peckvile Street

Port Phllllp City Collection

1889

of Peckvlle Street, Port Melbourne

45 Document Indicating shares of payment for the making

Port Philip City Collection

of Port Melbourne 22 February 1889 Re: payment for the making of Peckville Street

44 letter from A. Dubbledan to the Mayor and Councilors

Port Phlllp City Collection

43 Letter to the Mayor and Councillors of Port Melbourne , July 188g Re: the level of channels being laid in Peckville Street

Port Philllp City CollectIon

For the formation of Peckvile Street Port Melbourne

4 June 1889

42 Tender Contract No. 523

Port Philllp City Collection

3:Z lanes as drains igg8 . three photographs

33 Drains and drain grils

,gg8 three photographs 34 Pipes running into lanes 1998

three photographs

Lane Making - "A Particular Strip of Land"

3S Report from Gilot and Bates for the City of South Melbourne May 141895 Re: liability of Council for damages arising from

injuries sustained in Cromwell Place Port PhiUip City Collection

36 letter from Gilot, Craker, Snowden and Co to F. G. Miles,

Town Clerk South Melbourne, 11 October 1887 Re: the ability of Council to take over lanes or R.O.Ws

reserved out of private property, and have them made public highways Port Phillp City Collection

37 Church Street, Port Melbourne C.1935

photograph Facing a wall of the Methodist Church Port Phlllp City Collection

38 letter to Surveyors Offce

13 November 1888

Re: Church Street off Nott Street, Port Melbourne Port Phtlip City Collecion

S9 Rubbish bins

'998 three photographs

January 1949

60 Facts About St. Kilda City

Port Philip City Collection

pamphlet

61 Garbage truck and 'wheelie' bins 1989

Port PhlUlp Cly Collection

four photographs

6:z Inkerman Street Depot c.1930

PortPhillip City Collection

ph.tograph

pr" '947

63 Street cleaners, St. Kilda

Port Phillp City Collection

photograph

Disease

The University of Melbourne Medical HIstory Museum

64 Monaural Stethoscope

The University of Melbourne Medical History Museum

65 Llebreich's Ophthalmoscope set

66 Durhams Tracheotomy set

The University of Melbourne Medical History Museum

Surgical instrumentation used in the treatment of diptheria

1900 ~ 1950'S

67 Brunton's Auriscope

The University of Melbourne Medical History Museum

68 Certificate from the Queen's Memorial Trust to the Council of the City of St. Kilda

colour print, ink on paper

,897

Port Philip City Collection

1 February 1886

69 Memo for the Inspector of Nuisances from the Port Melbourne Oficer of Health 1888

Port Philip City Collecion

57 letter from Wiliam Birch

Re: the deplorable state behind Khartoum Terrace

39 letter to the Mayor and Sanitary Committee '891

Port Phillp City Collection

Port Phillp City Collection

70 Letter from J. C. Knight to the Sanitary Inspector, South Melbourne '9 January 1902

Re: Church Street off Nott Street, Port Melbourne

Port Phlllp City Collecion

8 August 1907 Offering his services to collect waste

58 Letter from John J. Turner to Mr Miler, South Melbourne City Destructor

Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society Collection

40 Plan of Church Street, Port Melbourne 13 November 1888 ink and watercolour on paper Port Phillip City Collection

~


1921

71 Regulations relating to the Destruction of Rats Department of Public Health, Victoria Health Act 1919 Port PhllUp City Collection

72 Leter from Felton Cirimwade to the Town Clerk,

South Melbourne 30 March 1900 quote for prices

- Offering a sample of Phosphorous Rat Paste and Port Phillp City Collection

the consumption of tuberculosis-infected

The Milk Trade and Health 73 Dangers of

milk

78 Blueprint map of Montague copy

C.1960 laser

Port Phllllp City Collection

79 Children In Ferrars Street 1946/47

photograph Courtesy K. Rowan

80 Letter from residents of Gladstone Street to the Mayor and Councilors of the City of South Melbourne Re: nuisance due to blocked drain in Doran Street

28 August 1901 Port Philip City Collection

81 City Surveyor's Report 17 November 1937

Housing and Reclamation Scheme report re: Gladstone Street and Montague Street

cow's

Mid 1920'S

Port Philip Cit COllection

Tin Pot Alleys 82 House in Tin pot Alley, South Melbourne C.1935

phot.graph the Department of Human Services, Information

Resource Centre

Wil Dyson

pen and Ink drawing Courtesy Prahran Archives, City of Stonnington

Front Door or Back ,Gate - living, Working and other 'Goings-on' In Lanes

McArthur Place, South Melbourne Courtesy

83 Prefabricated iron house erected in Patterson Place, South Melbourne

C.1933

87 Washing Day, tub used as copper

F. Oswald Barnett photograph and slide collection South Melbourne phatograph

Courtesy the Department of Human Services, Information Resource Centre

88 Port Melbourne house at rear 15/~p/w C.1935

photograph

Courtesy the Department of Human Services, Information Resource Centre

(,'935

8g Montague Place, off Dorcas Street, South Melbourne

photograph

Resource Centre

Courtesy the Department of Human Services, Information Resource Centre

go View from Convery Square to the rear of houses facing York Street C.1935

Information Courtesy the Department of Human Services.

ph.t.graph

Towers

Courtesy the Department of Human Services, Information Resource Centre

photograph

C,1935

gl Three children with dolls

Park

92 Park Towers

c.1880

Produced by the Housing Commission, Victoria

'969

74 Congested housing off Dorcas Street showing the yard of 4 McArthur Place. 1936

Port PhiUip City Collection

photograph

Summer

the Housing Commission of

1959

93 Home Truth

Port Philip City Collection

information pamphlet

From Housing Investigation Board

1998

84 Dwellng in Patterson Place, possibly a clad tin house

ph.tograph

Published by

pamphlet Port Phillip City Collection

94 View over South Melbourne,

from Park Towers c.1970 Port Phillp City Collection

photograph

Port Philip City Collection

laser

Showing the site of Park Towers, before redevelopment copy

c.1960

96 Blueprint map NO.16 of South Melbourne

Port Phllllp City Collection

photograph

C.197째

from Park Towers

95 View over South Melbourne to Melbourne,

Victoria

phot.graph Stae Library ofVlctorla COllection

75 Patrick Rowan and his four sons C.1923

photograph Courtesy K. Rowan

Slum Clearance Date unknown

85 Report

T.J.W. Kenny Health Officer, Public Vaccinator, Examiner

Mantague 76 Streetscape

South Melbourne

C.1930

Port Phillip City Collection

under the Factories Act Re: overcrowded house premises at 33 Little Park Street,

Buckhurst Street, Montague, between Montague Street and Kerr Street

Courtesy the Department of Human Services, Information Resource Centre

photograph

(,'933

86 South Melbourne, Convery Square

series of three photographs cape

Port Phillip City Collection

1998

77 Streets

Buckhurst Street between Montague Street and Kerr Street

four photographs

DairIes

Port Phllllp City Collection

97 Map of South Melbourne indicating the location of dairies In the district in 1902

the Inspector of Dairies by the Health

Offcer Or Norrls

98 Report of

19째2 Dairies in South Melbourne

Compiled by Adalr 8unnett

Indicating the location of some dairies in the early 1900'S

99 Map of Port Melbourne

Port Phlllp City Collecion

c.191o

100 Morris Bros Dairy

Port Philip City Collection

photograph

101 Stuart Dairy Delivery Cart

C.194째 W R Stuart with 'Goatie' the horse

Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society COllection

ph.tograph

102 Stuart Dairy Delivery Cart

W R Stuart with second horse after 'Goatie' (no name)

C.1950

Courtesy Glen Stuart

photograph

103 Milk bottle, one Imperial Pint with cardboard top Woodruff Dairy

Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation SocIety Collection

glass and cardboard

104 Milk bottle, half pint with cardboard top Woodruff Dairy

Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Societ Collection

glass and cardboard

105 Milk bottle opener

Used to remove the cardboard tops from milk bottles metal

Courtesy Fre and Val Walsh

106 Five accounts from Rosebank Dairy 1929 & 1930 Dairy formerly located in Moray Street, South Melbourne

Port Phillip City Colledion

107 Ledger June 1941 - March 1947

Gladysdale Dairy records

Courtesy Glen Stuart


Early - mid 1900'S

108 Note spike

For messages to be left for dairy drivers, on the stable door

metal Donated by Mr Barry to the Port Philip City Collection

109.01d Dairy

Stables and Garages

"9

Pawnbrokers

Kay Rowan

1998 Montague Street, near City Road

127 Pawnbroker's sign

1873

photograph

22 North Elwood Street and South Elwood Plan No. Street from the Plan of the Borough of St. Kilda

Showing the George Hotel stables

J.E.S. Vardy, Surveyor

120 Stable buildIngs

Port Phllip City Collection

Rear 380 Montague Street, South Melbourne; Coventry

1998

Charles Nettleton Bay Street shops showing lane next to the pawnbroker

1969

Fiona Maclaine As seen from the laneway off Clarendon Street, parallel to Bridport Street photograph

reproduction photograph

The Glee Club

Port Phillip City Collection

newspaper report

Jane Kenrick, Emerald Hill, Sand

129 Bluestone lane stolen June 181992

Thieving from Lanes

Port Phlllip City Collection

128 Bay Street Port Melbourne 1876

Courtesy Flona Maclaine

Moubray Lane, South Melbourne; Nixon Place, South Melbourne, in the yard ofthe former Caledonian Hotel five photographs 1998

iz1 Former stables now used as motor repair workshops Phil Wailer Motors, Middle Park Michael Motors, Ashworth Street (Scout hall above)

five photographs

Businesses and Shops on Lanes 122 Grocer shop on the corner of a lane

130 The Glee Club 1930'S

Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society

metal and enamel

Inscription on reverse: Presented to G Amy Esq. by the members

C.1930'S

131 Glee Club medallon

Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society

The All England Eleven Photograph taken at the back of Hotel, Princes Place, Port Melbourne. Jaser copy of photograph

ridge & St Kilda Times

Place, South Melbourne; Dalgetty Lane, St. Kilda;

110 Mr F. J. E. Morgan, Thistlewaite Street dairy

carts ready for the rounds c.1905

ph.tograph Port Phillip City Collection

Crescent, South Melbourne

111 Mr H. Morgan's Dairy premises at 36 Palmerston C.1905

photograph Port Philip City CollectIon

"2 Milk bottle, 600 ml Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society Collection

glass

"3 Milk Bottle, half imperial pint From the Amalgamated Dairies in Nth Melbourne glass

Port PhUlip City Collection

Date unknown photograph

two photographs

126 A business by a lane off Ormond Road, Elwood 1998

Courtesy lan MacOonald

125 Edwards Bras Shoeing Forge 1910 laser copy of photograph

Port Philip City Collection

phot.graph

c.1880 Emerald Hil

124 Mrs Adams outside her grocery shop

Port Phlllp City Collection

photograph

c.1880's

123 James Fraser, wheelwright, at John Parry's

Courte5Y Fred and Val Walsh

"4 Milk Bottle, half Imperial pint glass

1 Imperial pint

Courtesy Fred and Val Walsh

glass

115 Milk Bottle,

Courtesy Fred and vai Walsh

,,6 Page of memorabila from the Point Ormond Dairy: three cardboard bottle tops; order forms; Images of

copy

business card; photograph laser

Courtesy Don Taggart

"7 The former Woodruff Dairy site Corner of Bridge and Derham Streets, Port Melbourne.

1985 -1988

Port PhilJip City Collection

three photographs 118 Advertisement for the Ideal Dairy, High Street, St. Kilda 1954 In the Ruskin All-about Sf. Kilda, St. Kilda edition Port PhilUp City Collection

Lanes

Now

Pedestrian Access

132 Plan of right-of-way between Railway and Station Place, Port Melbourne

Port Melbourne Historical and Pre5ervation Society Collection

5 November 1879 ink and watercolour on poper

133 The right~of-way between Princes Street and Station Street, Port Melbourne

1989 -1998 The lane between Princes Street and Station Street, Port Melbourne

Courtesy Pat Grainger

selection of photographs

134 rlght-of-way between Railway and Station Place, Port Melbourne

two photographs

1998

Nameplate

135 Victa

Courtesy Pat Grainger

Rear gate of 231 Princes Street, Port Melbourne

136 Victa nameplate and the cat's lane entrance

Courtesy Pat Grainger

photograph

137 Wedding Procession in a Lane, Port Melbourne The wedding party of Maree and Marcus Davidson

three photographs

1989

Courtesy of Pat Grainger

National Theatre, cm Barkly and Carlisle Streets

138 Walk between Fitzroy Street and the rear of the

1998 six photographs

Prostitution in Lanes

139 Fitzroy Street at Night 1986

The Age

Port Phillp City Collection

photograph


(.1986

'40 Corner of Acland Street and Eildon Road The Age

phot.groph Port Phllip Ciy Collection

'4' WorkIng Girl/Working Boy #24

Victoria

Published by the Prostitutes Collective of

,Autumn '997

magazine Courtesy the Prostitute Collective of

Injecting drug use in Lanes

Courtesy The Health Information Exchange st. Kilda

Victoria

'42 Equipment supplied to injecting drug users 143 Sharps container

At the Children's Adventure Playground between Eildon Court and Neptune Street, St Kilda Sign at the rear of the George Hotel, St Kilda

two photographs

'998

Our Changing Lanes '44 344-346 Dorc3s Street 1998 Retirement Vilage, 18 units. Developed by the

Ministry of Housing and Construction in 1993 ph.t.gmphs (1998) and plans (1993) City of Port Philllp

'997

'45 Bessiere Place

award citation, lane naming documents (1996) ond photographs (1998) City of Port Phillp

'46 Recent residential developments in lanes and small streets 1998

laser copies of photographs CIty of Port Philip

Lane Naming Competition

'47 Panels as displayed at the lane naming parties

Rossetti Lane, Felix Lane, Bell's Lane, Florence Lane,

1998

media

Rowan's Lane, Farrier Edwards Lane, May Place, Lagoon Lane, McLarty Lane mixed

Tribe Street, South Melbourne

City of Port Phillip

,886

148 Lane off

Named McLarty Lane in the Lurking in Lanes lane naming competition, 1998 Map Port Phillp City Collection

Unless other wise stated, contemporOlY photographs dated

7998, are by Melissa Hayes and Imelda Dover

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