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The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848-1954) (about)
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Cite: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4587373
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EAST END.
EARLY MELBOURNE MEMORIES.
By EDWARD C. O. HOWARD.
Having mentioned a few of the old resi- dents, buildings, and incidents connected with the west-end, perhaps some jottings on the east-end of Melbourne may prove interesting. I will therefore commence my narrative with the waterworks at the corner of Flinders and Elizabeth streets, the spot being now occupied by Fink's Buildings. On the north bank of the river from the "Falls," where the Queen's Bridge now is, ran at intervals a line of
roughly constructed pumps, from which the water was discharged into barrels mounted on carts for distribution to the public, at so much per barrel, and such was the water supply in 1841. In 1849 Mr. James Blackburn, a ? and hydraulic en- gineer, arrived from Van Diemen's Land, and associated himself with Mr. Frederick Cooper, a well-known chemist.
These gentlemen formed themselves into a partnership and having secured premises at the corner already named, and obtained the sanction of the Town Council to bring the water from the Yarra through piping to the locality alluded to, they sank a well there, and from this water was pumped by a two-horse power engine into reservoirs overhead for supplying the carts with water for the people.
In Flinders-street, between Elizabeth and Stephen streets, there are but few of the original buildings now in existence. The well-known Port Phillip Club Hotel was erected in 1854. The buildings close by were occupied in 1856 by Thos. and Wm. White, merchants, and Marshall and Snel-
grove, warehousemen, and, at a later period, the same structures were used by T. Whitelaw and Co., oil and colour mer- chants, and Ferguson and Mitchell, en- gravers, &c. In 1854 the north-west corner of Flinders street and Swanston street was occupied by Mr. Thomas Little, merchant, and in 1859 Mr. James Graham conducted a butchering business there. On this site now stands the Prince's Bridge Hotel. In 1838 that portion of this corner block, facing Flinders street, had four dwellings on it, occupied respectively by Mrs. Cook, who kept a ladies' school; Mr. Hudson, whose house had a small dome; Captain Brown, and Mr. Balbirnie Vans. It may be interesting to recall to mind the names of a few of the business people in this sec- tion of Flinders street from 1854 to 1859,
viz., Caldwell, Train, and Co., W. Degraves
and Co., merchants, Sargood, King and Co., merchants, Mason and Smith, mer-
chants; Edwards, Crooks, and Co., mer-
chants; Mallach, Clark, and Meikle, ware- housemen; and T. and W. White, wine- and spirit merchants. On the north-east corner of Swanston and Flinders streets stood St. Pauls Church, parsonage, and school buildings.
In 1854 Dr. Richard Youl resided in Flin- ders street, near St. Paul's Church. He succeeded Dr. Wilmot, who had filled the position of city coroner for a number of years. Dr. Youl had previously acted as district coroner and also as acting city coroner during Dr. Wilmot's absence in England. The Duke of Wellington Hotel, at the corner of Flinders street and Russell street, has retained its name since the early fifties.
At the corner of Flinders street and Ste- phen street (now Exhibition street) still stands a substantially built two-storied house enclosed on three sides with a high brick wall on a bluestone base. Built into
the wall, facing Flinders lane, is a stone with the following inscription on it: - "No portion of this wall is built on any part of allotment No. 2. January 1857." This dwelling was erected and occupied by Mr. Duerdin, of Duerdin and Bronkhurst, soli-
citors, in the early days, and at a later period Mr. A. R. Cruikshank, of Messrs. Dalgety, Cruikshank, and Company, also resided there. Of late years this building has been used as a boarding establishment. In 1854 there were only three dwellings in Flinders Street between Stephen and Spring streets.
Returning to Flinders lane; not far from Swanston street stood the Prince of Wales' Hotel, so well known in the early days. The Murrays, formerly of this hotel, com- prising Mr. and Mrs. James Murray, Miss Murray, and Master Murray, were all lost in the steamer Royal Charter, which left Melbourne on August 26, 1859. A brick cottage not far from the hotel, on the north side of the lane, was occupied in the early 'fifties by Mr. George Cavenagh. He was the founder of the "Port Phillip Herald"
in January 1840. It was published every
Tuesday and Friday, but when its name was changed in 1849 to that of the "Melbourne Morning Herald" it became a daily. I remember Mr. Cavenagh very well. Two of his sons were brother officers of mine, holding responsible positions in the Bank of Australasia, one of them being secretary
to the Associated Banks for a number of
years.
On the south side of the lane, not far from Russell street, stood a cottage occu- pied by Mr. Frank Grey Smith in 1854. He was then assistant manager of the Bank of Australasia, and I served under him for many years.
Other residents in Flinders lane in the early days were: - The Rev. I. L. Milton; F. Daniel, surgeon; F. Wilkinson, barris- ter; R. A. Creelman, surgeon; Major Charles Dukes, surgeon; and William Bayles, merchant; and, turning to Russell street, between Flinders street and Col-
lins street, we find that, at the same period, the following people lived there, viz., I.
Black, physcian; L. L. Martin, surgeon; T. Berigny, physician; Marcus Sievewright, solicitor; J. Thomson, M.D.; Mr. Justice Barry, Miss Eccles (who kept a ladies' school), and the officers' mess of the 12th Regiment. Some of the original buildings in this street, mostly on the east side, are still standing. Lot No. 9, at the corner of Flinders lane, where the Apollo Inn stands, was purchased, at the second land sale in 1837, by Mr. Henry Smyth for £121/12/. In Stephen street, between Flinders street and Bourke street, we find that the Rev. George Pollard, the Rev. S. L. Chase, H. C.
Curtis, surgeon, S. Iffla, surgeon; and Alex- ander Fisher, surgeon, resided there in the
early 'fifties.
Mr. E. Butterfield kept a school in a two-story brick house on the west side of
Stephen street, between Flinders street and Collins street and at the end of 1849 I was placed under his tuition. I remained
at the school until the end of 1850, when my father moved to Jeffcott street, West Melboume. The school building and some other old structures in that street are still in existence. Mr. Butterfield was a brother of the well-known English archi- tect. Mr. Isaac Hart resided in Spring street, near Collins street, in 1854, and in
1856 Mr. J. J. Blundell, the well-known stationer and bookseller of Collins street west, lived close by. The half-acre lot at
the corner of Spring and Collins streets originally belonged to my father. About 1841 the land, with an imported cottage
on it, fronting Spring street, was sold, during the land boom collapse at that time,
for £180. The cottage was afterwards re- moved to the rear, in Flinders lane, where it stands at the present time. At an early period Dr. Godfrey Howitt, M.D., resided
in a two-story house on this corner, and he remained there for many years. At a later period Dr. James T. Rudall, surgeon and oculist, occupied this building for
some time. The Home and Territories department is there now. About 1847 Dr. Howitt was on the first honorary medical staff of the Melbourne Hospital, which was then nearing its completion on the Lonsdale
street site.
Turning to Spring street, we find that in 1956 Misss Burney, who kept a ladies' school; Mr. John Gill, architect; and Mr. Thomas Testar, accountant to the Board of Educa- tion, resided next door to each other, quite close to Collins street. Mrs. Testar was distinguished as a concert and oratorio singer. In Spring street a little farther on the Rev. W. B. Miller kept a school in 1854, and at the same period Mr. Edwin Finn ("Garryowen") occupied a dwelling not far
from Latrobe street.
I remember when it was open country be- tween Spring street and Richmond, the only buildings on the Eastern Hill being S. Peter's Church and the beginning of St.
Patrick's Church. the foundation-stone of the latter being laid on April 9, 1850. The site now occupied by the Fitzroy gardens was in a much neglected condition in the early fifties, not being easy to cross in the daylight and anything but safe at night, for through it ran a gully of considerable width and depth, which became a running torrent at times after heavy rain. There were only a few rough planks thrown across it here and there, without a handrail of any kind. This part, and especially in the
direction of Richmond, had a bad name at that time for footpads. It was really not safe to travel after dark unless armed or with some companions.
The ceremony of laying the foundation- stone of St. Peter's-the second Church of England erected in Melbourne-was per- formed by his Honour C. J. Latrobe, Supe- rintendent of Port Phillip, on June 18, 1846, and it was formally opened on Sun- day, August 6, 1848. In that year the erec- tion of a Grammar School on the Eastern Hill was commenced, and it was afterwards designated the Melbourne Diocesan School. It was opened on Apnl 11, 1849, Mr. R. Hale Budd, M.A., of St. John's College, Cambridge, being the ?