Arts & Culture » History

Mrs Purnell’s Hotel – a small feminist statement of the 1860s

September 21st, 2022 - Dr Cheryl Griffin

It may not seem it, but the modest façade of Mrs Purnell’s Hotel at 12 Bourke St is a symbol of one man’s failure and his wife’s strength in providing financial security for herself and her family.

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Once an ancient waterfall, now a busy port

August 24th, 2022 - Dr Cheryl Griffin

This photograph was taken in 1906 from one of the tallest buildings in Melbourne at the time – the nine-storey Commercial Travellers Club. The photographer is facing west, towards the area we know today as Docklands.

A remnant of the past tucked away in Franklin St

July 27th, 2022 - Dr Cheryl Griffin

In 1937 this old two-storeyed house that had seen better days was put up for auction. It was on a site alongside a terrace of six other old two-storeyed houses, tucked up against a right of way and not far from Elizabeth St.

Archaeologists uncover remnants of historic homes at construction site

July 27th, 2022 - Brendan Rees

A remarkable slice of historic Melbourne is being unearthed at a construction site in the heart of the CBD – with the remains of homes from the 1800s believed to have been discovered.

Old Melbourne Law Court

June 22nd, 2022 - Dr Cheryl Griffin

This unpretentious wooden building with veranda nestled in among much taller, more impressive edifices was one of the earliest public buildings in Melbourne. Located on the north-west corner of Russell and La Trobe streets, its foundation stone was laid in 1842 and the building was completed in 1843. Its style speaks to its age.

The three “Rs”: school’s in at the Old Model School, Spring St

May 25th, 2022 - Dr Cheryl Griffin

In September 1854, Patrick Davitt and his wife Ellen began their work of instilling the fundamentals of every basic education – the three “Rs” (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic) – on the children who attended the newly-built Model School in Spring St.

The Howitt family’s life in the inner city in pre-goldrush times

April 27th, 2022 - Dr Cheryl Griffin

When Godfrey Howitt, his brother Richard and other members of their family decided to settle in Port Phillip in April 1840, Godfrey brought a home with him and that is what you see here.

The grandeur of Spring St, early autumn 1899

March 23rd, 2022 - Dr Cheryl Griffin

The wealth and extravagance of the 1880s, the era of Marvellous Melbourne, was long gone when this photograph was taken, but it is still evident in the two main buildings you see here – the Grand Hotel on the left and the Princess Theatre on the right.

A stroll along Collins St, 1900

February 24th, 2022 - Dr Cheryl Griffin

Collins St has long been considered Melbourne’s most fashionable street and these smartly dressed pedestrians reflect the street’s status as a popular place to shop at higher end stores like George’s Emporium, the city’s most elegant store, and at the many milliners, costumiers and glove-makers that lined the street. Collins St was the place to be seen.