Welcome
Welcome to the East Melbourne Historical Society.
East Melbourne is a tiny suburb adjoining the city of Melbourne bounded by Treasury and Fitzroy Gardens to the west, Victoria Parade to the north, Hoddle Street to the east and Yarra Park to the south, home of the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground. East Melbourne was included in Robert Hoddle's original 1837 plan for the city but the first private house was not built until 1853. The suburb today reflects a history of Victoria with its beautiful gardens, grand houses of the gold rush era and workmen's cottages. Cast iron lacework adorns the houses, bluestone cobbled lanes lead to old coach houses and brick dunnies. Artists, scientists, politicians, judges, educators, priests, explorers, entrepreneurs, courtesans, philanthropists and social activists lived here and many a tale is told of characters wild and exotic.
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Recent articles
The Changing Face of Darling Square
In the time before white settlement the area around what we know as Darling Square in East Melbourne was swampland, and was a source of plentiful foodstuffs enjoyed by the local Wurundjeri people. However, it was not long before white people made ‘improvements’. Bit by bit the edges were drained and filled and divided into building allotments. The last four allotments sold wer
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The Fitzroy and East Melbourne Bowling Club
In Fitzroy in 1865 the idea of a local bowling club finally came to fruition. A committee was elected. The name was confirmed as the Fitzroy Bowling Club and rules were put in place. The next task was to find a green. Within a month the Fitzroy council had granted the club permissive use of the reserve in Victoria Parade.
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Policing East Melbourne
In 1883 the Police Department rented a house on a wide block of land in Darling Street, East Melbourne. This house would become the residence of the sergeant-in-charge of the new police station. Next door, on the undeveloped part of the land, a small two-roomed, wooden office was erected, and a separate lavatory.
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James Sinclair and his Cottage
In the centre of the Fitzroy Gardens is a cottage almost invisible behind its overgrown garden but it is an interesting little house and worth a more careful look. It was designed in 1866 by Francis Maloney White as the gardener’s cottage. Its first occupant was James Sinclair and hence it is now known as Sinclair’s Cottage.
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More than a Kindergarten
An interesting side-light on the changing demographic of Melbourne in the years after the second world war was the decision to relocate the existing City Free Kindergarten in Exhibition Street (on the corner of Little Lonsdale Street) to Powlett Reserve in East Melbourne.
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Forthcoming activities
Recent acquisitions
Fitzroy Gardens, Hotham Walk
This postcard shows the Hotham Walk in the Fitzroy Gardens circa 1908. It is a view entirely recognisable today but with interesting differences.
The first is the presence of gaslights. The first five were installed in the gardens in 1865 and were replaced by electricity around the turn of the 20th century. This image must show them in their last years.
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East Melbourne, Albert Street 83-91
Extract from Capital Gain column in The Age newspaper about the redevelopment of the Albert Heights site at 83-91 Albert Street. The site is for sale with a permit for a four storey building containing 14 apartments.
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East Melbourne, Clarendon Street 150
Real estate article describing apartment 1007/150 Clarendon Street in the lead up to its sale by expressions of interest closing 28 April 2022.
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East Melbourne, Powlett Street 129
Advertisement for sale of 129 Powlett Street. One photo shows the house from the rear, the other shows interiors.
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Jolimont, Jolimont Road 124, Dyason
Article advertising apartments for sale off the plan at 124-126 Jolimont Road. The new apartment block will be known as Dyason, after the existing house on the land. It has been designed by Pandolfini Architects with interiors by Lisa Buxton. Expected completion is early 2025.
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