The Landscape of 19th Century Melbourne

Dr Gary Presland Describes Melbourne Prior to European Settlement. Dr. Gary Presland, archaeologist and historian, found researching this topic particularly arduous because of the scarcity of information available, but as he was awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy...

Prophecies of Mother Shipton

( As written by my father James Henry Thompson in the 1950s. Source unknown. ) While the Elizabethan age produced many great names in history, it produced a remarkable woman who was regarded as a witch. She was Mother Shifton who was born in the reign of Henry VIII...

PPPG 40th Birthday Celebration

The 40th Birthday of the Port Phillip Pioneers Group was an event enjoyed by all who attended. Everyone received on arrival, a present of a calico bag with the Group logo printed on it and a recipe book. Michael Grogan explained the recipes were from his...

Pioneer Arrivals: A Poem

Island Australia’s vast southern coastUltimately reveals her bay’s entry portalSailing through its rip, tis every man’s boastTwill be lethal for ships and mere mortals Heading into calmer waters, northwardsOur ship traverses a vast bay to...

Early Melbourne Architecture

Architectural Historian, Allan Willingham, brought the early Port Phillip District alive with his talk on the early buildings of the Port Phillip District. The first buildings were very primitive and not meant to be permanent. They were mostly made of local bush...

Sorrento Commemoration Report

The last time Robert Barnes addressed our meeting he described the preparations for the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Collins settlement at Sorrento. Today he did an appraisal of the events which occurred in October 2003. Overall Robert feels that the...