The Outer Circle Railway

Arthur Tonkin Illustrates the Route of the Outer Circle Railway Arthur Tonkin told us the interesting story of Melbourne’s Outer Circle Railway and the reasons why it was redundant before it was even constructed. We were able to follow his story with the help of...

Beargrass – Imagining Early Melbourne

At our last meeting Allan Willingham described architecture in the Port Phillip District. He suggested that the people whose lives were intertwined with the early buildings made the history of the architecture much more interesting. Robyn Annear uses her knowledge of...

Female Migration to Australia 1833-1837

For the first 40 years of its history, Australia was considered purely a convict settlement. By 1820 however the Colony was seen as a country with potential. As early immigrants were mostly single men, males soon made up 73 % of the population. The British Government...

Baby Farming and the Infant Life Protection Act

Although this address by Helen Doxford Harris concerns events during 1890-1900, the issues raised are equally relevant to Port Phillip Pioneers – How did working class women cope if they were sole parents? Most working class women could not afford to go to a...

Records of Early Policing in Victoria

Police Historian Gary Presland described early policing in the Port Phillip District and provided sources of information for reasearch. In May 1836, Police Magistrate George Stewart arrived in the Port Phillip District with Sergeant John Shields and Constable Timothy...