Past 2 Present

PAST 2 PRESENT Recreating old photos from the past two centuries with current images of buildings, street views, aerial shots and places of interest in and around Melbourne and country Victoria. Also showing images and places long forgotten.......enjoy

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CORNWALL HOTEL - LAUNCESTON There is a hotel just across the Tasman in what was once Van Diemen's Land that has a strong connection to our wonderful city. The Cornwall Hotel in Launceston was built in 1824, one year prior to the island land being proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales. The hotel was built by one of our founding fathers, John Pascoe Fawkner. It was in the dining room back in early 1835 where Fawkner and his associates planned to establish the settlement from which Melbourne has risen. Also present but separately with his own associates was the other co-founder, John Batman. Both men and their confrères would later sail to the mainland that year to establish the settlement at Port Phillip on which our city now lies. The Cornwall Hotel is the city's oldest hotel still trading on its original site. The hotel hosted the formation meetings of the Anti-Transportation Society, a group which successfully agitated for the cessation of transportation of convicts from Britain to the colony. In 1905 due to the constant need for renovations and repairs, the difficult decision was made to pull down the original hotel to make way for a new building. It is this building that remains to this day. In 1981 the hotel was renamed the Batman Fawkner Inn in recognition of the two explorers. Celebrating its significant past history after a complete refurbishment last year, the hotel was restored to its original name The Cornwall Hotel.

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ST. KILDA CITY HALL c.1950 / 2017

St. Kilda's new City Hall building was built in 1890 with the first council meeting held on June 23 of that year. At the time it was still unfinished. It remained exposed as raw brick, undecorated and for a period of time was covered in creeper. It wasn't until 1925 when the portico was added, with the building fully rendered in 1957. A 54 metre high open tower was originally planned but never eventuated. The building today on the corner of Carlisle Street and Brighton Road is home to the City of Port Phillip. The City of Port Phillip was created in June 1994 with the merging of the St. Klida, South Melbourne and Port Phillip councils. This blended image uses two photos, one taken around 1950 and the other in 2017. 

Photos: SLV - Robert Smith (2017)

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St. Kilda City Hall pre 1925

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MELBOURNE - 1839

John Adamson's coloured lithlograph shows Melbourne  as it was in 1839. Drawn from the south side of the Yarra Yarra, John also drafted the detailed guide depicted below.

Source: State Library of Victoria - Foundation Series vol.3 The Early Development of Melbourne 1836-1839

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MELBOURNE c.1856 An easterly view of Melbourne from the newly constructed Gas Works. This image was captured by photographic printing pioneer Walter Bentley Woodbury who in 1852 at the age of 18 relocated to Melbourne from Manchester, England. Batman's Hill can be seen in the foreground along with a few other notable buildings from that period.

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THE UNION CLUB HOTEL Crn Collins & Market Streets - Melbourne

The allotment on which the Union Club Hotel stood was first purchased by one of Melbourne's founding fathers, John Pascoe Fawkner as part of the second land sales in November 1837. The price he paid was £10. At the time Fawkner's allotment neighboured that of the Western Market. It wasn't until August 1846, Market Street was proclaimed by the Governor-in-Council of New South Wales by excising the land required from the reserves granted to the Customs and Western Markets respectively. The Union Club Hotel building was built in the 1860s and lasted until it was demolished in 1927. Prior to the Union Club, Fawkner's Shakespeare Hotel occupied the site. It was this hotel the newly formed Melbourne Club had its first permanent club house before moving to their present location at the eastern end of Collins Street. This view of the Union Club Hotel was taken in the early 1870s. The 10 storey steel-frame heritage listed building on which now sits on the site was built in 1929-31 for the Australian Mutual Provident Society.

Photos: Henry Beaufoy Merlin (1870s) - Robert Smith (2014)

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WESLEYAN METHODIST / UNITING CHURCH 1901 - 2019

The Wesleyan Methodist Church on the corner of Scott and Robinson streets in Dandenong opened on the 1st August 1887 with the memorial stone laid earlier that year. The church started in a nearby blacksmiths shop before moving to the present site. This blended image uses two images, one taken by Charlie Hammond in 1901 and the other 120 years later. I would assume Charlie's photo was taken to celebrate the 14th anniversary of the church building as it is dated 1st August. With the growth of Dandenong from a sleepy market town to a bustling city with a multicultural population, a veritable United Nations of faiths worship at what is now the Trinity Uniting Church and use its various buildings for fellowship and special celebrations.

Photos: Charlie Hammond (1901) - Robert Smith (2019)

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GEMBROOK RAILWAY c.1899 On this date 120 years ago, fifty workers employed with the Railway Labour Bureau began constructing the narrow gauge line connecting Upper Ferntree Gully with Gembrook, Hopes were that up to 400 men would eventually be employed, and that the work would take about eight or nine months. In fact, only about 180 men were employed and the construction of the line took sixteen months. Clearing, fencing, earthworks and the building of the ten timber trestle bridges were all massive tasks. Also were the timber, brickwork and concrete culverts, stations and station buildings and 18¼ miles of telegraph line and the all important water tanks, coal stages and engine pits. Locomotive 3A began work as a construction train in April the following year, hauling sleepers, rails and ballast. The line officially opened on the 18th December 1900. It was an incredible achievement considering most of the work was done using hand tools, ploughs and horse drays with a fair number of workers being paid six shillings (60 cents) a day, five and a half days a week. July 31st 1899 was the official starting date and yesterday, exactly 120 years later, the railway has its first official female steam loco driver. She drove the 10.30am and 2.30pm train from Belgrave to Lakeside return and it was a pleasure to be given the opportunity to be a part this momentous occasion. Hopefully, she is the first of many to follow in the not-too-distant future. Photo:  PBPS Archives Source:  That Little Train - Peter Cuffley

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5NBB / 21NQR  BEECH FOREST  c.1905  -  5NBD / 21NQR  BELGRAVE  2017

It is a credit to the Puffing Billy Preservation Society that we are able to experience rail travel just like it was over 100 years ago. These two carriages, one a second class passenger carriage and the other a general purpose goods wagon are both pictured here at Beech Forest around 1905 and Belgrave in 2017.To get the current photo took a bit of planning but the good folk at Puffing Billy were all too willing to oblige. It was taken one early Sunday morning in October last year before any of the regular trains had departed for that day. A little bit of shunting was involved as 5NBD is always a part of Lunch and Night Train consists. Thanks go to Driver Graham, Head Shunter Ian and Guard Zac (all pictured in the current photo).5NBB was built in 1901 and entered service the following year. This second class passenger carriage was one of six that was built between the years 1898 and 1904. Four survive to this day with three in regular service and one awaiting restoration.After being withdrawn from service in 1950, the carriage was used as a lineside hut at Pakenham. In 1963 it was bought by the Puffing Billy Preservation Society and restored ten years later to operational standard. In 2006 it was modified to become Puffing Billy's food service car / van servicing their daily Steam & Cuisine and regular Night trains.21NQR was one of 218 wagons that were built between 1898 and 1915. Weighing four tonnes and with an initial loading capacity of ten tonnes, these wagons were the mainstay of the Victorian narrow gauge lines. It was initially converted to carry passengers in late 2004 before reverting back to its original condition the following year. Seats were again added later and have remained so to this day.

Photos:  Victorian Railways - Robert Smith 2017

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FLINDERS STREET - MELBOURNE 1882

A birds-eye view of Flinders Street Melbourne in 1882. This was done by Albert Charles Cooke and is part of a wider panoramic view of Melbourne. The detail is incredible considering each building depicted is how it looked at the time. A wider high resolution image can be downloaded at the following link: http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/41180

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MENZIES CREEK RAILWAY STATION

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UPPER MOONDARRA (ERICA) RAILWAY STATION.

A very early view of what would become the Erica railway station on the Moe - Walhalla railway. Originally named Upper Moondarra and later Harris, this Wilfred Henty photo shows the station during the railway's construction period at the turn of the last century. The station officially opened along with the railway on this date back in 1910. Sections on the line started closing from 1944 with the final section from Moe to Erica eventually closing in June 1954. By 1960 all the tracks and buildings were removed leaving only the roadbed and a number of bridges to the ravages of Mother Nature. Today, the former station site is occupied by the Erica Caravan Park along Station Street. Recognizing the potential of the railway, in 1991 the Walhalla Railway Taskforce was formed, later becoming the Walhalla Goldfields Railway Incorporated. Restoration of the Thomson to Walhalla section began. Firstly the railway commenced operations in April 1994, within the Thomson station yard. Gradually the line progressed, first over the nationally-heritage-classified Thomson River Bridge later that year and then pushing up the Stringers Creek Gorge to Happy Creek. This became the terminus until the six bridges in the last kilometre into the Walhalla Station yard were completed and opened in March 2002. The operating line is 4 km in length whereas the entire Moe to Walhalla line was just under 42 km. Plans are in place to extend the current line from Thomson back to Erica where the railway's permanent workshop complex will be built. Reconstruction of the line from Erica to Moe would likely be impractical and uneconomical, as the original right of way was sold in many places, and is partly covered by the waters of the Moondarra Reservoir.

Photo: Wilfed Henty

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BELFAST - MARCH 1912

Two near identical ships, one would go on and serve as a troop carrier during the first world war before having a distinguished commercial service enjoying great popularity on the transatlantic route between England and the USA. The other would sink on its maiden voyage just six weeks after this photo was taken. 1,517 of the 2,223 people on board died, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. Both RMS Olympic (left) and RMS Titanic were built side-by-side at Harland & Wolff's shipyard in Belfast, Ireland on two purposely built slips. On this date, 31st March, marked the start of construction of Titanic in 1909 and also the completion of the ship three years later. This photo was taken in early March 1912 by Robert Welch and shows both ships at the Belfast shipyard. The Olympic is seen being manoeuvred into dry dock for propeller repairs while Titanic is moored at the fitting-out wharf just prior to its delivery to the White Star Line company. The repairs on Olympic resulted in the slight delay on Titanic's completion and eventual departure from Southampton to New York. A must-see documentary 'Titanic - Birth of a Legend' can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc1FSbM6RKw&t=2462s. It follows the lives of the men who designed and built Titanic and her sister ship Olympic at the Harland & Wolff shipyard.

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Titanic at Harland & Wolff's slipway 3. The Arrol Gantry became a famous site towering over the Belfast skyline at 840 feet long, 270 feet wide and 228 feet high and weighing over 6000 tons. It remained in operation until the 1960s.

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A Google view of Harland & Wolff's former slipways 2 & 3. The slipways remained in operation until the 1960s. The site is now home to Titanic Belfast. Opened in 2012, it is the world’s largest Titanic visitor experience and education centre and a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage.

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On this date (1 February) in 1992, Australia began withdrawing the 1c and 2c coins from circulation. Some of the feather-tailed glider and frill-necked lizard backed coins were recycled to create Bronze medals for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. The end of the 1c & 2c coins came 26 years after Australia switched to decimal currency in 1966. 26 years on, could the  echidna backed 5c coin go the same way? It now costs more to produce one 5c coin than its face value. Source: https://www.facebook.com/AUConservatives/

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PRINCES PARK - 1946 Carlton Football Club

The Carlton Football Club was founded in the early 1860s but it wasn't until 1897 when they played their first home game at their newly constructed ground at Princes Park. It was the same year the football club was invited to join the Victorian Football League in its inaugural year that included the following clubs Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne and South Melbourne. St Kilda was the other club invited at the same time. Prior to 1897, Carlton had played their home matches at a number of ovals around Melbourne including the East Melbourne and South Melbourne cricket grounds, the MCG and even Victoria Park. It was at this ground back in Round 1 of 1892, Carlton played the newly formed Collingwood football club. This was actually a Carlton home game, and the Blues donated the gate takings to the new club. The Blues had supported the efforts of the former junior Britannia club to gain admission to the V.F.A. as Collingwood. This "hand of friendship" was not forgotten when a then struggling Carlton was asked to join the V.F.L. some years later.....and you wonder why the two clubs 'hate' each other today. Today Princes Park is officially known as Ikon Park and is still the home of the Carlton Football Club. It was the last suburban ground to be used in the AFL. This aerial photo was taken in 1946. The previous year the ground hosted the VFL Grand Final between Carlton and South Melbourne where Carlton won by 28 points. At the time the MCG was still being used for military purposes. A crowd of 62,986 attended that day and to this day is still a record for Princes Park.

Photo: Charles Daniel Pratt