Prelude to Eureka

As we approach the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Eureka Stockade much is being done to remind us of the events of 3 December 1854. Unfortunately a lot of what is said and done will be at the expense of the settlers of the Port Phillip District era. Dr....

Batman Treaty – 175th Anniversary

On Sunday afternoon, 6 June 2010, a small group of interested persons visited the place where John Batman is assumed to have met with native chiefs at the Merri Creek, Northcote in 1835. 175th Anniversary Meeting at Merri Creek, 6 June 2010 The Port Phillip Pioneers...

Melbourne Place Names

BRIGHTON ( named after the popular Sussex watering town ) was originally a private holding, chosen in England by Henry Dendy, farmer, of Sussex, measuring 5,120 acres for a cost of 5,120 pounds. It was described as densely timbered waste lands when Dendy entered...

The Taking of the 1841 Census

On 2 March 1841 a census of all of New South Wales was held. For collection and statistical purposes the Port Phillip District was divided into the counties of Bourke, Grant and Normanby and the Police Commissioner’s Districts of Western Port and Portland Bay....

Batman Treaty Memorial Location Located

Treaty Memorial Site, Merri Creek, Northcote An interesting find was made by workers clearing undergrowth and willow trees from the banks of the Merri Creek in mid-July. A 45 square centimetre concrete block was found during works by the City of Darebin which now...

Unearthing the Secrets of Little Lon

From the early days of Melbourne until around 1900, the area known recently as the Casselden Place Archaeology Project was a residential area albeit an impoverished one and commonly referred to as the Red Light District of Melbourne. The cottages found in the area...