The Beaumaris Aboriginal Well – a forgotten place of history

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SEE our Living Wild off the Land Tour

In 2006 a group of Beaumaris secondary students rediscovered the historic Beaumaris Aboriginal Well of Narm (Melbourne) during an excursion with Melbourne Walks,
This activity was a tribute to the Boonwurrung traditional owners and the memory of Beaumaris naturalist Wally Goodbody, who checked and protected the well for over half a century before he died in a boating accident.
For 150 years after settlement, this freshwater well was exposed and visible. Since 1997 however, this rare Indigenous place has largely disappeared under sand movements.
The well is about 50 metres north of the Beaumaris Yacht Club in a flat rock slab that projects from the edge of the dune hillside towards the sea.
The secondary school students dug for an hour to locate the well and then excavate the sand from the interior. It was a significant physical effort with groups of students taking turns to dig with their hands. There was a feeling of pride as the students brought into present view an ancient artefact famous in both settler and Indigenous history. This may have one of the wells described by Joseph Gellibrand, the architect of the Melbourne treaty, when he crossed overland in 1836 to join John Batman’s party at Melbourne.
The well was measured and is approximately 55cm wide at the top, 97cm deep and 25cm wide at the base. It is one of seven well sites on the foreshore between Rickets Point and Black Rock listed by Aldo Massola of Melbourne Museum in the 1950s.
A freshwater well site at Red Bluff, Black Rock beach is now the only one of these sites easily accessible. Wells on the foreshore were fed by freshwater springs running from the dunes into rock cavities which were deepened by hand chipping by the Boonwurrung first people. The collected water would be kept clean with a bark cover. They were possibly further hollowed by colonial visitors to increase the water supply.
We visit the site to check on the health of the Beaumaris well just like Wally used to. When visiting we sit quietly and reflect on the custodianship of this country for millennia. We think of the good people like Wally who continued this custodianship alone for decades. And remind ourselves that we still bear the duty and honour of custodianship of Narm.

Images below:
Beaumaris well image 1958 with Melbourne walks measurements from 2006.
Beaumaris well 1958 with Wally Goodbody
Beaumaris well 1997
Beaumaris well 1997

Beaumaris Well 1997

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All Our School Tours

MELBOURNE SCHOOL TOURS

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Melbourne Industrial Revolution School Tour

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (IR) was a period 1700s to 1800s when new-found energy uses of coal and revolutionary steam-powered machines reduced human labour and dramatically increased production and population. New technologies changed the nature of labour, society and farming.
This Industrial Revolution resulted in the British settlement of Melbourne in 1835 by accelerating exploration, worldwide commerce and emigration.
Our school tour explores these impacts on Melbourne of the Industrial Revolution including settlement, ports, technologies, transport, inventions, land use, shipping, geography, railways, buildings, mills, emigration and impact on Indigenous people. SEE: IMAGES
WHEN: Our school tour dates are by arrangement and are usually two hours in length normally starting and finishing at Federation Square Students explore the surrounding river, park and urban CBD.
APPROX ROUTE: From Federation Square we travel east down the Yarra River promenade via Federation Wharf, Princes Bridge and Flinders Street Station, then north to Flinders Lane and Lt Collins Street, returning via Howie Place, Presgrave Lane, Melbourne Town Hall and Swanston Street to St Pauls Cathedral to Federation Square.

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PLACES WE VISIT (depending on time available and events in the CBD):

FEDERATION SQUARE:
Federation, industrialisation, colonial borders and trade barriers

KULIN WORLD:
Impacts on Indigenous people by the IR. Firestick farming supplanted by wool, beef, gold and wheat industries using tools including weapons of iron and steel.

HODDLE GRID:
Horses, bullocks, railways, trams and towns

FEDERATION WHARF:
Ships and bluestone, From Dreamtime trail to the highway of British colonists and explorers, steam-powered ships, chronometers, cannons, ports, immigrants and quarries.

PRINCES BRIDGE 1886:
The New Iron Age with concrete and steel and the Watt steam engine. The Melbourne Crest 1842.

FLINDERS STATION:
Following the Iron Horse of the Industrial Revolution. Impacts of rail and suburbs. The first steam train in Australia. The Southbank Factory Hub, Industrial pollution.

FLINDERS LANE:
Gold Rush lanes and warehouses. The Degraves flour mill. Mass immigration.

BLOCK ARCADE:
Weights and measures. Wool Mills. Photos and promenades. Basements and refrigeration. 1881 World Fair.

GPO:
Mass communication, stamps, telegraphs and phones.

COLES BOOK ARCADE:
Printing presses, books and free education.

PRESGRAVE:
Warehouses, winches, horse-posts, bricks and sewage.

MANCHESTER UNITY:
Depressions and occupations. Telephones

MELBOURNE TOWN HALL:
Markets

ST PAULS:
Churches and social services. Eureka, gold and democracy..

NICHOLAS BUILDING:
Medicines.

IMPACTS OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ON MELBOURNE:
The IR era created great wealth for some, great hardships for others and increases and movements in population. It also created the British colony of Melbourne in 1835:

-Tasmanian wool farmers settled Melbourne to provide wool for the industrial mills of England to make textiles (clothes).

– Ships with new technologies such as compass, chronometers, maps, steam engines (1843) brought vast numbers of migrants seeking gold and land.

– New transport – railways, steamships, trams, horse coaches, bicycles – enabling mass movement of people and goods and the building of Melbourne’s suburbs.

– New inventions enabling mass communication including stamps, telegraphs, phones, vacuum tubes, printed newspapers.

– Factories and utilities (eg roads and bridges) using new technologies powered by coal and steam.

– Free education, books and newspapers enabling people to gain skills.

– Gold and currency enabling people to transact and exchange goods easily.

– New weapons, ships and machines enablng occupation of new colonies including the Kulin Nation clan estates.

– New pastoralism using fenced lands, vastly increasing food but shifting most people into cities.

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MELBOURNE ARTISTS SCHOOL TOUR

SCHOOLS AND ADULT GROUPS WELCOME
VISIT a wide variety of public artworks and art locations including painting, engraving, murals, mosaics, street art, sculpture and design. How do artists realise their ideas through different visual expressions, periods and cultures?
HOW have Melbourne arts movements e.g. Impressionism, Contemporary, Sculpture, Street Art, Visual Design, Mosaic and Architecture changed Melbourne’s public spaces? What role do artists play in shaping awareness about our culture and social issues?
LEARN about artists’ works such as those of Matt Adnate, John Brack, Mirka Mora, Frederick McCubbin, Clifton Pugh, Nonda Katsilides, Joan Sutherland, Simon Perry, Jules Lefebvre, Clarice Beckett, John Burtt, Daniel Jenkins, Pamela Irving, William Barak, Tom Roberts, Napier Waller, Vali Myers, Sydney Nolan, Susan Hewitt, Penelope Lee, Invader, Joan Sutherland, Pablo Picasso and others.
SCHOOL STUDENTS are each assigned the identity of a significant artist for the duration of the tour. See: Melbourne Artists Identities

TOURS are usually two hours for student groups, 2.5 hours for adult groups. Tours commence from Federation Square. Dates are by arrangement at a time of choice.

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MERRI CREEK & DIGHTS FALLS TOUR

This tour explores the extraordinary landscapes of Merri Creek, Dights Falls Park and the Birrarung or Yarra River. It explores important Indigenous, settler, natural and contemporary history including Dights Flour Mill, the Overlanders’ crossing, Yarra Bend parklands, recreation, waterways, Institutions and wildlife habitat.
The archaeology of the Dights Mill site indicates the different ways that settlers and Indigenous people used the landscape.
This area’s history also includes 1840s Indigenous, trading and camping, Yarra Aboriginal School, Native Police Corps and the Aboriginal Protectorate.
Students or adults can explore locations by foot (or bicycle) with a historian. The tour explores relationships with the environment by settlers, contemporary uses, use by Indigenous people before and after settlement, the impact of the settlement on the traditional owners, impacts on water, geology, fauna and flora.

Tours (2-2.4) hours usually start from Dights Falls Park. Alternative starting points include the Merri Creek in Collingwood, Fitzroy, Clifton Hill, or other locations.

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“For the past 3 years, Catholic College Bendigo Outdoor and Environmental Studies students have met at the Merri Creek Junction for a tour of Merri Creek and Yarra River on bikes. It’s the most informative tour they do throughout the year!! During the tour the students are glued to the guide’s stories as he discusses relationships … with the landscape. The knowledge that students get from this tour prepares them so well for SAC’s and the end of year exam.. (Outdoor and Environmental Studies). Catholic College Bendigo.

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Madame Brussells Tour

THE MADAM BRUSSELLS TOUR explores the nineteenth-century history of the famous ‘slum’ and ‘red-light’ districts of Little Lon and Little Bourke, today transformed into a stunning cafe and business precinct.
EXPLORE the lives, hopes and dreams of the people of the era, including the vilified Caroline Lohmar or ‘Madam Brussells’ who operated luxurious bordellos as well as other extraordinary women such as Mary McKillop, Esther Silcock, Vida Goldstein, Constance Stone, Lola Montez, Marie Hayes, Dolly Gray, Margaret Dougan and others.
LOCATIONS of the Melbourne underclass come to life, including opium dens, ragged schools, missions, gangsters, bilkers, fortune tellers, dance halls, markets, publicans, ‘Salvation Janes’, gamblers, suffragettes and burlesque theatres. Recent books and novels such as Women of Little Lon by Barbara Minchinton and The Butterfly Women by Madeleine Cleary have explored this fascinating social mix.
LEARN ABOUT the archaeological excavations of Little Lon and Wesley Centre, handle artefacts and discover insights that have transformed our understanding of poverty, crime and housing in Australia.
DISCOVER HOW many of the social welfare rights and privileges that Australians enjoy had their beginnings in Little Lon. Figures such as Mary McKillop, Esther Silcock and Vida Goldstein struggled to assist the poor and powerless through two depressions, two world wars and a deadly pandemic.

MEET: Lonsdale Street, cnr Spring Street.

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“(Little Lon is) a loathsome centre in which crime, gambling hells, opium dens and degraded Chinese abound, and where hundreds of licentious and horribly debased men and women are herded like swine…a disgrace to any civilised city on earth.” Evangelist Henry Varley 1891.
“I just wanted to say thank you for the great tour you gave last night, everyone had a wonderful time and for our line of work, all that history of welfare and everything else about this little corner of Melbourne was absolutely fascinating.‘Staff outing, Office of Hon. Daniel Andrews MP.
Thank you again for taking us on the tour of Madam Brussell’s Melbourne, we all found out some fascinating information about our own ‘home’ city, which we didn’t know. So much history!”
Staff outing, Royal Melbourne Hospital.
“I want to thank you for your time and insight today, giving us that fantastic historical walk. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and I certainly gained a richer understanding of Madame Brussels and who she might have been. I felt an incredible appreciation for people like you who are passionate and actively working to tell these stories that have shaped the deeply interesting character of our city.”
Emily and friends.
“A BIG thank you for today. it was a great success and I received excellent feedback from the team.”
Staff excursion, Department of Human Services.
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Risk Plan Melbourne Walks

Our SCHOOL TOURS PROGRAM has been inspiring students since 1991 with over forty imaginative excursions. We create, blend and design experiences that excite students to meet specific learning outcomes and curriculum guidelines. Our popular walks include Indigenous, City Discovery, Squizzy Taylor (Runner), Street Art, Early Melbourne, Liveability (Geography), Explorers, Colonial, Federation and 30 others! Or ask us to design a unique tour just for you! We often assign every student with the role of a Melbourne historic identity during our tours.
We maintain Working with Children Check, First Aid Certificate Two, Risk Plans, public liability insurance, accreditation by Professional Tour Guides Association of Australia and follow a Safety Code on the day. See BOOKINGS AND INQUIRIES.

Click on the link to download our Risk Plan:

Risk Plan Melbourne Walks 2019-2020

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Risk Plan 2024-2025 Melbourne Walks Excursions

Our SCHOOL TOURS PROGRAM has been inspiring students since 1991 with over fifty imaginative excursions. We create, blend and design experiences that excite students to meet specific learning outcomes and curriculum guidelines. Safety is our number one priority on excursions.

You can download here our publicly available
RISK PLAN 2024-2025

SAFETY is our priority on Melbourne Walks. To get the very best from our tours, we ask participating students and adults to follow our Excursion Safe Conduct Code below:

Please follow the instructions provided by the walk leaders who will ensure road safety and direction.
We stop at intervals at a safe location. We ask all students to come up close to the walk leader so they can hear. If hearing is difficult, always advise the walk leader promptly. When the walk leader is speaking we ask students not to converse with each other or use mobile phones. We ask all participating adults to do the same and encourage students around them to be respectful and attentive.
All teachers need to have a copy of the Melbourne Walks booking itinerary with them on the day. This contains essential details of walk leader contacts, meeting location, times and finishing places etc.
Participants should follow Melbourne Walks and teacher instructions regarding compliance with current COVID guidelines of the Victorian Government and the Victorian Education Department.
If participants are in wheelchairs or other mobility issues, Melbourne Walks should be informed in advance of the excursion so we can ensure appropriate routes.
Our walking tours travel moderate distances and proceed at a relaxed walking pace so participants do not need to run or hurry. Participants will benefit from walking together as a single group not trailing behind. We ask schools not to organise students in lines as long lines can disrupt other pedestrians and slow down street crossings.
Students should be alert to other pedestrians and courteously give way wherever practical.
Participants should always advise the walk leader if they are leaving the group.
Participants should note the weather report for the day and dress appropriately for the weather conditions. Students should carry with them as little as practical to avoid tiredness and heat stress.
Participants should carry water on hot days or walk leaders can advise of locations with water/taps.

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WHAT DOES MULTICULTURALISM MEAN?

SEE our Melbourne Walks Multicultural Tour

MULTICULTURALISM MEANS:

Wing Cheong grocery, Heffernan Lane

THAT we accept that we are all Australians regardless of our country or place of birth.
THAT we respect for cultural diversity is not simply an acceptance of diversity, but a recognition of the positive value of diversity in itself and how it enriches our community.
THAT by providing the opportunity for different cultures to flourish in Australia, we have created a society in which different points of view and behaviours can freely interact.
THAT we want all Australians to be able to participate fully and effectively in all aspects of
social, cultural, political and economic life and that there is equal access to appropriate services and resources, to career choices and life chances.
THAT we harness the skills, vigour and vitality of Australia’s richest resource, people, to build a better society.
THAT although some of us are born in other countries, our commitment to Australia is in no
way lessened.
THAT we understand that the cultural values we hold are important to us and to our children.
THAT we understand that people will want to preserve and express their cultural identity, and that there is nothing threatening in this concept.
THAT we should know more about the cultures of Australia and how those cultures can strengthen and add to an ever changing, ever developing whole.
THAT we help people take a more active role in the whole community.
THAT we work to create an environment within which everyone can participate and contribute equally and in productive ways both for the benefit of the Australian economy and their own economic well-being.

IN SUMMARY: Multiculturalism means that we all have needs and desires; we have likes and dislikes. We are different but there is nothing wrong or threatening in that difference. We are all seeking a better life for ourselves and future generations and there is no place for an ‘us and them’ mentality in our society, today or in the future.

Lonsdale Street

WHAT IS CULTURE? “A WAY OF LIFE OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE, THE BLUEPRINT FOR LIVING WHICH GUIDES THE ACTIONS, THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS OF THAT GROUP AND MAKES THEM IDENTIFY WITH OTHERS IN IT”.
OUR culture is our routine of sleeping, bathing, dressing, eating and getting to work. It is our household chores and the actions we perform on the job, the way we buy goods and services, write and mail a letter, take a taxi or board a bus, make a telephone call, go to a movie, or attend church. It is the way we greet friends or address a stranger; the admonitions and scoldings of our children and the way they regard what we consider good and bad manners, and even to a large extent what we consider right and wrong. All these and thousands of other ways of thinking, feeling and acting seem so natural and right that we may even wonder how else anyone could do it.
TO millions of other people in the world, every one of these acts would seem strange, awkward, incomprehensible, unnatural or wrong. The people would perform many, if not all of the same acts, but they would be done in different ways that to them would seem logical, natural and right.
CULTURE is not only the way we do things. It is also our attitudes, thoughts, expectations, goals and values. It is the rules of our society – the norms that tell us what is and what is not acceptable in that society.
We learn these through complex patterns of socialisation, first from our parents who introduce us to the world of ideas and values, then at school and then from a whole range
of people and institutions that affect our lives. Multiculturalism has contributed to a gradual change in lifestyle in Australia. The society is now exposed to a proliferation of restaurants, diverse forms of entertainment, greater recreational use of open spaces, radical and beneficial changes in food habits, less conformism in dress and behaviour, curiosity about other cultures and openness to new ideas and to changes. We should be prepared to learn from other cultures, and never to accept that our way of doing things is necessarily the best way, just because that is the way to which we are accustomed.

From Government of South Australia

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Landmarks, Shapes & Materials Tour

This two hour school walking tour travels between Federation Square and Eureka Tower via Melbourne’s Birrarung (Yarra River) and via bridges, roads, iconic buildings and public spaces. This excursion explores:
KEY LANDMARKS of Melbourne including architectural structures.
HOW the materials to build Melbourne have changed over time, why materials change and the suitability of materials chosen.
STRUCTURES AND SHAPES: how shapes make up a structure, the strength and use of different shapes e.g. triangle vs square, bridges, arches, towers and their materials.

LANDMARKS:
Federation Square: grids, squares and triangles.
Birrarung Marr: Crests, lamps and labyrinths
Federation Wharf: shop vaults and keystones
Princes Bridge: arches and steel
Art Centre spire
Evan Walker Bridge
Eureka Tower Southbank
Queens Bridge and Red Square
Sandridge/Multicultural Bridge. Gaia and the ‘the travellers’ sculpture
Signal box
Elizabeth Street rail underpass, william Creek and Yarra River
Flinders Street Station Dome
St Pauls gothic spires

Melbourne has changed over time since the first ship Enterprize landed in 1835 and Robert Hoddle laid out the grid in 1837. The vast changes in our landscape reflect the responses by communities as their needs continually changed over time. For example re transport: Indigenous people walked, settlers rode horses and carts and we ride cars and trains. Indigenous people used natural material such bone, bark, shell, fur and flint. The settlers built a city for a much larger population with materials such as canvas, bluestone, tin, steel and iron.

Today we have many materials, shapes and structures to choose from such as reinforced concrete, steel plastic, tiles, zinc, aluminium, optic fibres, polystyrene and aluminium. Our school excursions explores what are the landmarks of our city and what structures, materials and shapes have changed over time to create one of the most liveable cities in the world. Structures and shapes include spires, spirals, domes, triangles, tiles, squares, curves and arches. Materials include plaster, sandstone, gold, steel, concrete, iron, bluestone, aluminium, cable, zinc, brick, ceramic and glass.

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SEE: Our Other SCHOOL PROGRAMS

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Banksy stencils destroyed in ACDC Lane, July 2016

Former Banksy stencil destroyed ACDC Lane, July 2016 – The Guardian

Banksy street art stencils were recently destroyed. A new doorway in ACDC lane displaced iconic works even though their location was known to the Melbourne arts community. Banksy stencils two metres away were previously destroyed in 2014.

If you are going to destroy historic artworks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and chuck them in the skip, you might as well remove it for future generations to enjoy. The Council issues permits to punch construction holes in heritage walls without examining the walls while promoting these lanes as a street art mecca.

History is about the context of events. And some events form part of our collective heritage and national estate. Banksy is highly influential in the rise of the most radical art movement of the 21st century. In 2003 Banksy with other founding Melbourne street artists painted in ACDC Lane. That was a significant event in the evolution of Melbourne as a world street art capital.

These Australian and Banksy stencil images were history in the making – perhaps as seminal to the modern street art movement in Australia as the Aboriginal paintings destroyed on the Papunya school wall in 1973. The art establishment was slow to understand contemporary Indigenous art and now is failing to understand why we need to protect significant street artworks for future generations.

We fight to promote the city’s heritage but the people are losing control over their own city. The fabulous old city that tells the Melbourne story, the city that locals and visitors come here to see, is diminishing every year while towers and more towers compressing more people into an overcrowded city.

The iconic Cherry Bar in ACDC Lane was forced to raise $100,000 for soundproofing after the heritage lane wall was destroyed for new apartments whose new tenants complained about the noise. The bar has now left due to rent rises.

Writer and historian Meyer Eidelson is the owner of Melbournewalks.com which runs over 100 heritage walking tours in Melbourne including street art and graffiti tours.

Also You Tube video below:

MELBOURNE STREET ART AND GRAFFITI TOURS

EXPLORE Melbourne’s famous street art and graffiti in the city’s labyrinth of lanes. Don’t miss seeing one of the most exciting and radical art movements in the world. It is happening right NOW! As Banksy said: ‘Australia’s most significant contribution to the arts since they stole the Aborigine’s pencils’.
VIEW the stencils, paintings, paste-ups, structures, light boxes, installations and mosaics by some of the world’s best artists.
LEARN the difference between street artist, street writers, graffiti and how the ‘permit lanes’ system work.
IDENTIFY local, interstate and international artists (see photos of art from our walk);
DISCOVER the history and architecture of the painted industrial walls, buildings and lanes.
EXPERIENCE the maze of back lanes where Melbournians celebrate their artists, cafes, music, bars, rooftops and coffee culture in the Old City .
MAPS are provided to each participant of the street art locations so that you can return with friends and family.
STARTING POINT: We normally start from Federation Square www.fedsquare.com

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SEE – SCHOOL EXCURSIONS BOOKINGS

The City of Literature Tour

JOURNEY through our UNESCO City of Literature with its rich history of authors, publishers and books,
EXPLORE the creative ways that Melbourne’s literature has been expressed over time through the writers, festivals, shops, galleries, architecture, typography and art.
HEAR literature from stories, poems, books and places connected to the streets of Melbourne. Melbourne Walks ourselves are the authors of award-winning BOOKS.
OUR school tours allocate LITERARY IDENTITIES to participating students of people who helped create our literary city.

SEE: BOOKINGS AND PRICES – FOR INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS AND SCHOOLS
SEE: Our many SCHOOL PROGRAMS e.g Explorer, Federation, Aboriginal, Early Melbourne, Lanes, ‘Runner’, Street Art and more.

“Our book club had a fantastic walk around Melbourne. Our walk leader kept us entertained with interesting information and hidden gems. A must-do for anyone interested in Melbourne, history, or literature. We ended up feeling delighted and surprised.”
Dienne.

“Thanks for taking our students on this fascinating tour. Our visiting students were thrilled and loved the history and the literary identities you gave to each student.”
Tao Nan School (Singapore)

“The City of Literature Tour was terrific and I’ve highly recommended it to friends. I look forward to going back to some of the places we visited.”
Doug and Di McCarthy.

“We are part of a Young Authors Program and our students are made up from different schools across the Ballarat area. Our group participated in this walk last year and it was fabulous.”
Bunninyong Primary.

This tour is included in Lonely Planet's Best Tours 2015.

Our Literary Tour was included in Lonely Planet’s Best Tours.

Some of the books, authors, settings and literature connections that we may explore in our CBD tour:

Writers in Hand. Athenaeum Theatre.
The Enigmatic Mr Deakin by Judith Brett
Neramnew by Paul Carter
Our Ancestors Return Home by Jim Berg
You Daughters of Freedom by Claire Wright
The Monster Petition 1891
For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon
1835 by James Boyce
The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka by Claire Wright
Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood
The Passion and the people. Bringing our Ancestors Home by Jim Berg.
The Phryne Fisher Mysteries by Kerry Greenwood
MacRobertson Land by Jill Robertson
The Coles Funny Book by Edward Coles
The Grandest Shop in the World by Amelia Mellor
Runner by Robert Newton
A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare
The Melbourne Tram Book by Randall Wilson, Dale Budd
Poster Boy by Peter Drew
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights
Shakespeare & Newspaper House Mural by Napier Waller.
The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey.
Rare. A Life Among Antiquarian Books by Stuart Kell
The Hill of Content by A. H. Spencer.
The Mystery of the Hansom Cab. Fergus Hume
Blockbuster. Fergus Hume and The Mystery of the Hansom Cab. Lucy Sussex
A Scandal in Bohemia. Gideon Haig 2018.
The Portrait of Molly Dean. Katherine Kovacic 2018.
Monash. The Outsider Who Won a War. Roland Perry
My Brother Jack. George Johnston.
The Rabbits by John Marsden and Shaun Tan.
Ross and Dot Reading, Peter Reid and the Green bookstore.
Melbourne Dreaming by Meyer Eidelson
The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida.
Aspro. How a family business grew up by Alexander Barrie.
Vali Myers A Memoir by Gianni Menichetti.
The Max Factor & My stamp on life by Max Stern
Books Tanks and Radios by Meyer Eidelson
Zines by the Sticky Institute
The Golden Girl by Betty Cuthbert.
The Unforgiving Minute by Ron Clarke
Utopian Man. Lisa Lang.
Larrikin Crook. The Rise and Fall of Squizzy Taylor by Hugh Anderson
The Gun Alley Murder. Truth Lies and the Failure of Justice by Kevin Morgan 2005.
Dangerous Language: Sulari Gentil
Writers in Hand. Athenaeum Theatre.
Rare. A Life among Antiquarian Books by Stuart Kell
The Hill of Content by A. H. Spencer.
Monkey Grip by Helen Garner
Possum Magic by Mem Fox
The Toff series. John Creasey
The Mystery of the Hansom Cab. Fergus Hume

Great books to read about Melbourne:
Some well-known Melburnians were asked what books they thought most crystallized the essence of their city.

Melbourne Writers Festival director Steve Grimwade: Christos Tsiolkas’ Loaded and ‘The Slap’; Poets Alicia Sometimes’ St Kilda, Kieran Carroll’s ‘Talking to Richmond Station’ Shane Maloney’s trilogy featuring Murray Whelan.
Author Robert Newton: Stiff‘, the first of the Murray Whelan trilogy, ‘
Author Kate Holden: Helen Garner’s ‘Monkey Grip’
Media figure Libbi Gorr: Jeff Apter’s new book, ‘Shirl: The Life of Legendary Larrikin – Graeme ‘Shirley’ Strachan‘.
Novelist Honey Brown: Lily Bragge’s memoir, ‘My Dirty Shiny Life’
Author Toni Jordan: Michelle de Kretser’s third novel, ‘The Lost Dog’
The Big Issue books editor: Toni Jordan’s latest novel, ‘Nine Days’
Writer-performer Jane Clifton and ABC Books and Arts Daily presenter: Fergus Hume’s 1886 thriller ‘The Mystery of a Hansom Cab’
Michael Cathcart: Fergus Hume’s 1886 thriller ‘The Mystery of a Hansom Cab’
Author and birdwatcher Sean Dooley: H.W. Wheelwright’s 1861 ‘Bush Wanderings of a Naturalist’
Bookseller and writer Corrie Perkin: Kristin Otto’s ‘Yarra: A Diverting History of Melbourne’s Murky River’
Historian David Day: Tony Moore’s recent’ Dancing with Empty Pockets’
Poet and broadcaster Alicia Sometimes: Jeff and Jill Sparrow’s ‘Radical Melbourne: A Secret History’.
Writer and bookseller Josephine Rowe: Lisa Lang’s ‘Utopian Man’
John Bailey, The Age, August 12, 2012
Books set in the streets of Melbourne
Novels set in Melbourne

Read about the rich history of Melbourne’s books and writers from early Melbourne until today by Des Cowley and John Arnold (www.emelbourne.net.au).

In Flinders Lane, near Roach’s store,Were bogg’d a dozen, less or more;
Two dapper dames, return’d from shopping,
Were, much against their wishes, stopping:
A brace of New Chums, sprucely drest,
In long-tail blues, – their very best, –
Look’d rueful at their spatter’d breeches,
Vow’d Melbourne’s Streets were beastly ditches
George Wright’s poem ‘
Adventures on a winter’s night in Melbourne 1857

The creative imagining of Melbourne began when John Batman sailed up the Yarra River on 8 June 1835 and wrote in his journal ‘this will be the place for a village’. The figures of John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, generally cited as the founders of Melbourne, have been largely passed over by literary writers. Batman was the subject of the play Batmania (1997) and his courtship of his future wife Eliza features in Robert Close’s novel Eliza Callaghan (1957). Fawkner is a minor character in Eric Lambert’s The five bright stars (1954). However, the convict William Buckley (1780-1856) has provided writers with one of their most enduring characters. The title of James Bonwick’s biography, published in the year of its subject’s death, William Buckley, the life of the Wild White Man and his Port Phillip Black Friends (1856), was followed by Edward Williams’ De Buckley, or incidents of Australian life (1887), Marcus Clarke’s ‘William Buckley, the wild white man’ (1871) and John Bernard O’Hara’s Songs of the south: second series: The wild white man and other poems (1895), and in the 20th century Alan Garner’s Strandloper (1996), Barry Hill’s award-winning book of poetry Ghosting William Buckley (1993), and Craig Robertson’s Buckley’s hope (1980).

Richard Howitt, an early settler to the Port Phillip District, published Impressions of Australia Felix (1845). ‘The native woman’s lament’, narrated by a Kulin woman, is a sympathetic lyric about the loss of traditional hunting lands. A similar sentiment is to be found in Kinahan Cornwallis’ Yarra Yarra, or, the wandering aborigine: a poetical narrative (1857). ‘To the river Yarra’, on the other hand, celebrates the river and the new European settlement on its banks.

Thomas McCombie’s minor novel, The colonist in Australia, or, The adventures of Godfrey Arabin (1845), deals in part with his experiences in the Port Phillip District. Of greater significance is George Henry Haydon’s novel The Australian emigrant (1854), based on his Five years’ experience in Australia Felix (1846), a factual account of his time in the colony. Rolf Boldrewood’s Old Melbourne Memories (1884) includes memories of the Melbourne he came to in 1841. Georgiana McCrae arrived in the same year and provides in her journals, edited by her grandson Hugh McCrae and published as Georgiana’s journal in 1934, a detailed account of Melbourne in the 1840s. With her son George Gordon, she is also the subject of the title poem in Christina Mawdesley’s collection The Corroboree Tree (1944). More…

: Muriel Craddock on her 100th birthday

: This tour is included in Lonely Planet’s Best Tours 2015.

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MARVELLOUS MELBOURNE – THE GOLDEN MILE

Journey along the ‘The Golden Mile’ of Collins Street and experience almost 190 years of iconic Melbourne places. Explore the iconic architecture from the 1850s gold rush to the 1880s land boom until today. Starting from the Treasury at the eastern ‘Paris’ end, we explore downhill to the city’s spiritual, commercial and retail heart and continue on to the early village settlement at the western end.

When visiting writer George Sala coined the term ‘Marvellous Melbourne’ in 1885, the ’Queen of the South’ was the biggest and wealthiest city in the British Empire after London. Terms such as New Gold Mountain and the Land of the Golden Fleece described a city only 50 years old yet bustling with palaces of commence, theatres, hotels, cathedrals, galleries, banks, artists, and stock exchanges.

Starting Points: We usually start from the Old Treasury on Spring Street corner Collins Street. However we have run also these tours for conferences, staff events, tour groups and schools (two hours) from different starting points such as Melbourne Museum, The Immigration Museum, the Hyatt Hotel, Sofitel, City CYC and Flinders Street Station.

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‘A wonderful way to get an overview of the best of this beautiful city as well as its history and buildings. It was also great fun’.
Henry and Marcia, Philadelphia.

‘Our kids had a wonderful walk. For years its has been a highlight of our annual city camp.
Karoo Primary School.

Melbourne was established in 1835 at the height of a globalised wool industry. Only sixteen years later it became known as New Gold Mountain with a tremendous gold rush. Named for Lieutenant-Governor David Collins, the western end near the port developed quickly but the eastern end initially was bushland, and the centre section between Swanston and Elizabeth was a haberdashery district. The gold rush funded a boom of neo-Gothic and Italianate bank and insurance buildings, handsome stone churches, and the most fashionable shops in the country. Doctors built townhouses at the Spring Street end and grand hotels like the Federal went up. Artists lived in studios in the west end and businessmen hung their artworks in their private clubs.

The street’s fortunes plunged after the 1890s Depression, then boomed in the roaring 1920s and plunged again during the 1930s Depression. An extraordinary renaissance has come since the late 1990s with heritage restorations, new CBD residents, soaring modern architecture and an egalitarian mix of shops and street-level cafes.

SOME KEY HERITAGE AND CIVIC BUILDINGS ON COLLINS STREET

Cnr Spring Street, Old Treasury, 1862, JJ Clark
137 Spring Street, Windsor Hotel 1888, Charles Webb
1 Collins Street, 1983 Denton Corker Marshall Peck
5-7 Collins Street, merchant’s houses, 1888
61 Spring Street House of Hon William Campbell 1871, Leonard Terry
2 Collins Street, Alcaston House 1930, A and K Henderson 1930
9 Collins Street, Grosvenor Chambers (Heidelberg School and Angry Penguins) 1887
15 Collins Street, WCTU Rooms
35-55 Collins Street Towers, Sofitel 1975, I M Pei, Bates Smart McCutcheon (BSM)
36-50 Collins Street, Melbourne Club, 1858, Leonard Terry
81 Collins Street Alexandra Club (oldest women’s club).
Collins Place 1980 cnr Exhibition Street, Cobb, Bates Smart, McCutcheon
101 Collins Street 1986-90, Denton Corker Marshall
107 Collins Street, Francis House 1927, Blackett and Forster,
115-119 Collins Street, Austral Building 1890, Nahum Barnet
100-104 Collins Street, Gilbert Court 1955, John A La Gerche
110-14 Collins Street, Collins Professional Chambers 1908, Ussher and Kemp
120 Collins Street 1991, Daryl Jackson
122-6 Collins Street, St Michael’s Church (first polychromatic), 1866, Reed and Barnes
140-54 Collins Street, Scots Church, 1873 Reed and Barnes.
156-160 Collins Street, Scots Church Assembly Hall 1915, Henry Kemp.
162-168 Collins Street, Georges Store 1883, Grainger and Kemp.
140-174 Collins Street Baptist Church 1845, John Gill.
141 Collins Street, T & G Building 1938, Anketell And Kingsley.
167-73 Collins Street, Auditorium Building, 1913 Nahum Barnet.
191-7 Collins Street, Regent Theatre 1930, Cedric Ballantyne.
188 Collins Street, Athenaeum Theatre 1839.
90-130 Swanston Street, Melbourne Town Hall 1867, Reed and Barnes
109-117 Swanston Street, Capitol Theatre 1924, WB Griffin and M Mahoney
91 Swanston Street, Manchester Unity1933, Marcus Barlow
250 Collins Street, Lyric House 1930, A and K Henderson.
252 Collins Street Kodak House 1935, Oakley And Parkes.
247-49 Collins Street, Newspaper House 1933, Stephenson and Meldrum, Napier Waller.
259-63 Collins Street, Centreway Building 1912, H And F Tompkins, 1987 Cocks, Carmichael, Whitford.
287-301 Collins Street, Royal Banking Chambers 1941, Stephenson and Turner.
282-284 Collins Street, Block Arcade 1891, Twentyman And Askew, Buchan Group 1983.
115-117 Elizabeth Street, Paton Building 1905, Nahum Barnet.
333 Collins Street CBA Bank, 1891, Taylor And Dunn, Nelson Architects 1990.
376-380 Collins Street, Melbourne Stock Exchange 1891, William Pitt.
390 Collins Street, ES&A (ANZ Gothic) Bank Collins 1884, William Wardell.
389-399 Collins Street, AC Goode House, former Bank NZ 1891, Wright Reed and Beaver.
401 Collins Street, Trustees Building, HQ General Macarthur 1941-3.
Bank Place Mitre Tavern 1860s, Savage Club 1894,
419-429 Collins Street, Former AMP Building 1931, Bates Smart And McCutcheon
412 Collins Street, Collins Hill 1941, Percy Everett PWD.
422-448 Collins Street, Temple Court 1924, Grainger, Barlow and Hawkins.
430-44 Collins Street Royal Insurance Building 1965, Yuncken, Freeman
435-55 Collins Street, National Mutual Life 1965,
477 Collins Street, Olderfleet 1889, William Pitt, 1985 Von Hartel Denton Corker Marshall.
497-503 Collins Street Old Rialto 1889, William Pitt.
525 Collins Street, Rialto Towers 1986, De Preu And Mathieson
Cnr Collins and King Streets, Enterprize House, former Federal Coffee Palace.
546-566 Collins Street, McPhersons Co. 1937, Reid Pearson and Calder
Cnr Collins and Spencer Street, Southern Cross Station 2006, Nicholas Grimshaw.

FURTHER INFORMATION

A Melbourne Timeline
Marvellous Melbourne Information Resources
View an AMAZING film of Melbourne in 1910
Living Melbourne 1910
1920s Melbourne
Victoria Police 1920s
1930s Cable Trams
1940s Melbourne

BOOKS ABOUT MELBOURNE

Bearbrass, Imagining early Melbourne, Robyn Annear, Melbourne : Black Inc., 2005.
Liardet’s water-colours of early Melbourne, Introduction and captions by Susan Adams, edited by Weston Bate, Melbourne University Press 1972.
Old Melbourne Town, Before the Gold Rush, Thomas Nelson , Australia, Limited. Cannon, M., 1991,
Essential but Unplanned: the story of Melbourne’s Lanes, Bate, Weston, Main Ridge: Loch Haven Books 1994
The Land Boomers, Michael Cannon 1966: Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.
Chronicles of Early Melbourne 1835-51 E. Finn, 1888, 2007 (CD); www.gould.com.au/Chronicles-of-Early-Melbourne-1835-51-p/au7030.htm.
The Old Melbourne Cemetery 1837 – 1922, Marjorie Morgan, Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies in 1982.
Old Pioneers Memorial History of Melbourne, Isaac Selby, 1924.
A City Lost and Found. Whelan The Wrecker’s Melbourne, Robyn Annear, Black Inc. 2005.
Melbourne The Biography of a City, W.H. Newnham, F.W. Chesire, 1956.
The Birth of Melbourne, Tim Flannery, The Text Publishing Company, 2002.
A Walking Guide to Melbourne’s Monuments, Ronald T. Ridley, Melbourne University Press, 1996.
A New City: Photographs of Melbourne’s Land boom, Ian Morrison, The Megunyah Press, 2003.
Melbourne’s Yesterdays, 1851-1901, A Photographic Record, Don Bennetts, Souvenir Press (Australia) Pty Ltd 1976.
A Guide to Melbourne Architecture by Philip Goad Watermark Press.
A Pictorial Guide to Australian Architecture, Styles and terms from 1788 to the present by Richard Appleby, Robert Irving. Peter Reynolds, Angus and Robertson.
Walking Melbourne, A National Trust guide to the historic and architectural landmarks of central Melbourne by Rohan Storey.
Melbourne: The City’s History and Development Lewis, Miles, City of Melbourne, 1995
The Streets of Melbourne From Early Photographs, Peter McIntosh, published by H&WT c1988
The James Flood Book of Early Melbourne, H H Paynting (ed)
Photographs of Melbourne’s Land Boom, Ian Morrison (ed), A New City: Carlton (Victoria) 2003.
150 Years of Australian Architecture, Philip Goad, ‘Bates Smart: Fishermans Bend, 2004.
A Short History of Melbourne Architecture, Philip Goad, Pesaro Publishing, 2002.
Sun Pictures of Victoria Fauchery & Daintree, Reilly & Carew Currey O’Neil Ross, 1983.
1835: The Founding Of Melbourne And The Conquest Of Australia by James Boyce 2011.
Melbourne by Sophie Cunningham 2011.
Characters: Cultural Stories Revealed Through Typography by Stephen Banham 2011.
The Place for a Village. How Nature has shaped the city of Melbourne. Gary Presland.
Melbourne Remade. Seamus O’Hanlon. The Inner city Since the 1970s. Arcade Publications 2010.

INDIGENOUS HISTORY

Aboriginal Melbourne: the lost land of the Kulin people, McPhee Gribble, Ringwood, Vic. 1994.
The Melbourne Dreaming. A Guide to the Aboriginal Places of Melbourne, 1997, Aboriginal Studies Press.
Aboriginal Victorians. A history since 1800, Richard Broome, Allen and Unwin 2005.
I Succeeded Once. The Aboriginal Protectorate on the Mornington Peninsula, Marie Fels 2011.
Meerreeng-an. Here is my Country. The Story of Aboriginal Victoria told through art. Chris Keeler and Vicky Couzens 2010.
1835: The Founding Of Melbourne And The Conquest Of Australia by James Boyce 2011.
The Australian Aborigines, A. P. Elkin. Angus and Robertson, 1986.
Wild Medicine in Australia, A.B. and JW Cribb, Collins, 1988.
Wild Food in Australia, A.B. and JW Cribb, Collins, 1988.
Archaeology of the Dreamtime, J Flood, Angus and Robertson, 2001.
Remains to be Seen. Archaeological insights into Australian pre-history. David Frankel.

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Melbourne Tunnel Underground Mysteries

Melbourne Walks is one of Australia’s oldest walking tour companies operating since 1991. This is an information page only in response to frequent public requests about Melbourn’s underground infrastructure. We do not run underground tunnel tours as it is illegal and unsafe to enter many of these structures. However for those interested, our LOST CITY OF MELBOURNE TOUR explores Melbourne’s lost and vanished buildings, surviving infrastructure, archaeology and architecture.

100 MYSTERIES
As historians, we investigate and assemble evidence files on lost infrastructure stories obtained from our walkers’ memories and other records including the 100 mysteries listed below. We have investigated most of the infrastructure mysteries below and believe we have a good idea of what is true or not. Or do we? Truth is often stranger than fiction. Do you have a story to add? Or can you provide the answer to a mystery? Let us know at melbwalks@gmail.com

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1. Fact or Fantasy? The Degraves Lost Tunnel:
“A hidden passageway leading to a lost
bowling alley is under Degraves Street’ .
‘There is an ancient phone booth. You can walk though it into a huge basement normally unseen.’
“I can remember, not that long ago, when the basement was ‘The Paperback Bookshop of Charles Dickens’ of the CAE(!) You could go downstairs from Degraves St into the bookshop, and then into the subway.”
’‘The building on the eastern side of Degraves St at the Flinders St end was a post office, and could also be accessed from the subway.” ”
”There was once a large hardware store under Degraves Street., the area sealed off now.” 2016.
‘There was once a big tavern there run by a friendly Egyptian guy”. 2016.
There was a bowling alley under Degraves Street. In the 1960s. I was the highest scorer on that alley.’ 2016.
Fact or Fantasy? Lost mansion? ‘There was once a huge mansion part of which is still underground called Hodgsons Folly or Yarra House in Flinders Street. The mysterious Hodgson was a kind of early Donald Trump. 2016.

Fact or Fantasy? Lost Turkish baths? ‘There were Turkish baths for half a century under Royal Arcade. The space that held the apparatus is still there under the Arcade.” 2001.
Fact or Fantasy? Lost art deco rail station: ‘Long ago I worked at Mitchell store cnr Degraves St and Flinders St. My manager took me underground to show me an art deco rail station there with two narrow rail lines. It was extraordinary.’ Dominic 2014.
Fact or Fantasy? Armageddon: ‘If the egg-timer ever falls from Chronos the God of Time in Royal Arcade, Melbourne will be destroyed.’ MCC 2001
Fact or Fantasy? Lost flour mill: ‘The Degraves brother’s gold rush flour mill 1850s, after which Degraves Street is named, still exists with its gigantic underground bluestone cellar.’
Fact or Fantasy: Lost River. ‘There is an underground river under Elizabeth Street which is an Aboriginal sacred site.’
Fact or Fantasy: Lost waterfall ”The Yarra Yarra waterfall, after which the river was named, is still there under the water.’
Fact or Fantasy? The Great Shaft ‘Australia’s largest constructed 19th hole – a 120 year-old, twelve-story shaft – lies under the corner of Flinders Lane and Elizabeth Street.’
Fact or Fantasy? Lost Gold Cellar: ‘There are lost hidden spaces under Manchester House in Flinders Lane where huge amounts of gold were stored and may remain’
Fact or Fantasy? Lost Mace: The 1891 stolen parliamentary mace is buried under Madam Brussell’s brothel. Truth Newspaper 1891.
Fact or Fantasy? The Crown Casino Corpse Tunnel: ‘People say that the casino has its own morgue, down in the basement, to deal with the constant stream of corpses (from 3-40 suicides a year) – or at the very least a secret underground tunnel to the hospital’s morgue. What’s more, particular bathroom cubicles are said to have such a high suicide rate that they’re actually engineered to rotate for quick body disposal. Presumably, this is so the next visitor to the bathroom isn’t deterred from further gambling by discovering two Crown employees wheeling a corpse down the hallway. No word yet on the number of ghosts in these cubicles, but it’s safe to assume that it’s in the double digits. As you might expect, the aforementioned Crown Casino plays a role in these speculations. It’s said that, years ago, the casino dug into the riverbank outside so that there’s an underwater lip. The casino’s victims collect under this lip, rather than floating to the surface, and pollute the surrounding water. ‘By now there should be a cemetery’s worth of bones, just waiting to be pulled into view by freak tides or police divers’. Sean Goedecke , June 19, 2012.
Fact or Fantasy? The Collins Street Secret Tunnel: ‘There is a secret private underground tunnel running from Collins Street to Flinders Lane, west of Elizabeth Street’. . ‘Melbourne’s “Secret” Tunnels, 7 News, Sept 5th 2011. ‘
Fact or Fantasy? The Gold Transport Tunnel: ‘My Grandfather told me that there was a tunnel system running under Melbourne that ran from Spring Street to the banks. It was put in to enable the transport of gold to be taken in security off the streets. This information was provided to him back in the 1930’s from a bloke that did the wiring.’
Fact or Fantasy? The Underground Rat Kingdom: ‘Once Elizabeth Street was flooding and I was standing in Flinders Court. Suddenly hundreds even thousands of rats poured out of the drains, the lane was a moving carpet of rats. There is vast rat kingdom under Melbourne. I felt sorry for them actually, their homes suddenly invaded’. Peter 2016.
Fact or Fantasy? ANZ tunnels. ‘Old tellers of the ANZ Gothic bank say there are tunnels now sealed, under the bank used to transport valuables to other branches.‘ ANZ staff member 2014.
Fact or Fantasy? The Ancient Vault: ‘A huge old bank vault up to 150 years old, large enough to house an office, is under Emirates Arcade. It stored large amounts of gold bullion’. Claire 2015.
Fact or Fantasy? The Myers to Collins Street Tunnel: ‘My late father being a manager in the NAB H/O Collins St in the Sixties told me about a tunnel running between Myers and the bank, for depositing cash into the vault.’
Fact or Fantasy? The Myers Tunnels: ‘1st September 2012, workers were smuggled into the Grocon construction site through hidden Myers tunnels to evade a CFMEU picket line.’ The Age 2012.
Fact or Fantasy? The Myers Tube Network: ‘Myers is riddled with a network of hidden vacuum tubes’.
Fact or Fantasy? The Underground Water Canals: ‘Water canals run underground from Lonsdale Street to the Yarra River’.
Fact or Fantasy? The William Street Tunnel: “There is a 90 metre tunnel that runs from the former SECV building in William St to Swann House directly across the road. From there it runs across the road to what is now the Suncorp building.” Kevin Crook.
Fact or Fantasy? The Swanston Street Bunker: ‘During WW2 a boat was always moored near Swanston Street on the Yarra River, and in the event of an air raid, the occupants of the War Room at Victoria Barracks would be whisked away up the Yarra River to this bunker.’
Fact or Fantasy? The Young and Jackson Tunnel: ‘A tunnel runs from St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral under Swanston Street to the Young & Jackson’s Hotel (Princes Bridge Hotel).’There was a fire and the beer barrels were rolled to St Paul’s through the tunnel.
Fact or Fantasy? The Ghost Train: ‘A Ghost Train runs through a hidden tunnel under Swanston Street’.
Fact or Fantasy? The Spencer Street Bunker: ‘There was a military “bunker” under Spencer Street Railway Station as well as Swanston Street’.
Fact or Fantasy? The Spencer Street Mail Tunnel: ‘There was a special underground rail tunnel to transport mail from Spencer Street Station to the Mail exchange across the road in Bourke Street.’ ‘Melbourne’s “Secret” Tunnels, 7 News, 6pm. Mon Sept 5th 2011.
Fact or Fantasy? Tunnel from Spencer Street to the GPO, Elizabeth Street:
‘The subway (mail route) from Spencer St to the GPO certainly does exist; I saw it when I was in the basement of the GPO during its refurbishment in 2004. The entrance was bricked over. 21 July 2009. The GPO is on the corner of Elizabeth and Bourke St (or was, the building is now a shopping centre)…’
Fact or Fantasy? Tunnel from Spencer Street to the GPO, Elizabeth Street: Wrong! – There was never a subway from Spencer St station to the GPO! I worked there!’
Fact or Fantasy? There are former pedestrian tunnels under from the Southern Cross Station to the east side of Spencer Street both at Collins Street and Lt Collins Street.
Fact or Fantasy? The Underground Firing Range: ‘There was a pistol range under Spencer St Station.’ Melbourne’s “Secret” Tunnels, 7 News, 6pm. Mon Sept 5th 2011
Fact or Fantasy? The Spencer Street/Royal Melbourne Tunnel: ‘When I was an Orderly at RMH it was “common knowledge” that there was a tunnel running from Spencer Street to RMH. Apparently it comes out behind a lecture theatre at RMH’. James Doulis April 14, 2013
Fact or Fantasy? The Subterranean Bullock Team: ‘An entire bullock team lies buried under the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Collins Street.’ Garryowen 19thC
Fact or Fantasy? The Subterranean Pub. ‘An entire pub in Melbourne is two flights underground in Collins Street.’
Fact or Fantasy? The Subterranean Horse Train: ‘An underground railway pulled by horses connected government buildings on Spring Street and the Treasury Gold Vault’.
Fact or Fantasy? The Flinders Street Corpse Tunnel: ‘I have heard rumors of a tunnel running From Flinders Street Station to the Hospital (For transporting bodies during WW II), perhaps old or current station masters might have some information?’ 2013.
Fact or Fantasy? The Spring Street Gold Tunnel: ‘My Grandfather told me that there was a tunnel system running under Melbourne that ran from Spring Street to the banks. It was put in to enable the transport of gold to be taken in security off the streets. This information was provided to him back in the 1930’s from a bloke that did the wiring’.
Fact or Fantasy? The Parliament Tunnel Network: ‘A secret underground tunnel system crosses the entire city centre liking Parliament House and the Exhibition Building and with a number of exits under the CBD including Southern Cross Station’.
Fact or Fantasy? The Little Lon Military Tunnel : ‘In 2002 an archaeological dig on a Government block unearthed a steel and concrete tunnel that was part of a bomb-proof underground network built by US General “Dugout Doug” MacArthur.’
Fact or Fantasy? The Supreme Court/Titles Office Tunnel: ‘One of the many enduring stories at the Titles Office is that there was a tunnel between the Titles Office and the Supreme Court, cnr Lonsdale & William St. These mythical tunnels date from around 1890 when the Queen/Lonsdale section of the Titles Office was constructed. The story was that there were cells in the TO and that prisoners would be taken underground to the Supreme Court. Whilst there is at least one cell, the rest of it sounds like pure BS to me.’ 2007.
Fact or Fantasy? The Supreme Court, tunnels, bullets and bones: My name is Ian Hogan. I worked on the Supreme Court building for a company named Van Driel LTD. The Supreme Court was established in 1852 on the corner of Lonsdale and William Street on a foundation of bluestone and cast iron stumps. When we were constructing tunnels for the removal of the old communication wiring we came across old bones- these were said to be kangaroo bones! There was a bullet hole in a window in Lonsdale Street. Who put it there? Prisoners would be led down to the holding cells from a brick tunnel leading to number one court room. June 2016
Fact or Fantasy? The Subterranean Tree Car Park. ‘A surrealist Mad Max car park designed for trees is under Melbourne University’.
Fact or Fantasy? The Victoria Parade Tunnel: ‘There is a hospital tunnel under Victoria Parade from St Vincents to Eye and Ear.
Fact or Fantasy? The GPO Tunnels: ‘A network of tunnels fans out from the former Chief Telegraph Office on Little Bourke Street next door to the GPO.’
Fact or Fantasy? The Gondwanaland Cave: ‘There is a cave in the Silurian bedrock of the city, the home of the Yowie,Aboriginal supernatural being. ‘
Fact or Fantasy? The Shell Cavern: ‘The Shell building, 1 Spring Street is considered milestone architecture by Harry Seidler and praised for its setback but it had no choice as the Underground runs under the forecourt.
Fact or Fantasy? The Subterranean Toilets: ‘A famous toilet lies completely intact, sealed under tons of stone beneath Russell Street’ I once broke in to find the toilett rolls, mop and bucket are all there as they just walked out and left it all in place.’
Fact or Fantasy? The North Melbourne Cable Car Tunnel. ‘A cable car tunnel was found under Abbotsford Street in 2007’.
Fact or Fantasy? The Subterranean Headquarters: ‘The Cave Clan headquarters is in a huge cavern under Melbourne High School.
Fact or Fantasy? The Squizzy Taylor Strong Room: ‘Squizzy had a strong room with gold scales and safe under Presgrave Lane. There was also a tunnel leading to the Mint.’
Fact or Fantasy? Break-in: Thieves once broke into the vaults under Manchester Unity from adjacent passageways in the Capital building. It is a warren of tunnels in there.‘ 2014
Fact or Fantasy? The Squizzy Taylor Bourke Street Hideout. ‘Squizzy Taylor had a hideout for under a year under Bourke Street from which he wrote taunting letters to the police.’ Whelan the Wrecker.
Fact or Fantasy? The Squizzy Richmond Hideout: ‘A secret Richmond tunnel believed to be used by Squizzy Taylor to escape police raids on his gambling den opposite has been located under 11 Goodwood Street, Richmond.’ The Age 2015.
Fact or Fantasy? The Squizzy Taylor Elwood hideout: ‘Squizzy Taylor had his 1921 hideout and escape tunnel under 66 Glenhuntly Road, Elwood.’
Fact or Fantasy? John Wren Collingwood Tunnel. ‘John Wren had an escape tunnel from a Collingwood coffee shop to the nearby pub called The Bendigo.’
Fact or Fantasy? The Royal Parade Bunker: ‘My mother and her sister were both brought up in a boarding school in Parkville (the building is still there), and as older teenagers would often run errands for the soldiers,I returning polished boots and washed uniforms back to MacArthurs headquarters etc. From what I understand, there’s quite a network of bunkers and store-rooms, that were simply “filled over”, leaving the bunkers still in place or perhaps even still in use today???? I’m also told other bunkers of this nature STILL contain several vehicles, small artillery, weapons/ammunition, filing cabinets/paperwork etc etc, and were simply blocked in when the war finished…. There are groups attempting to dig back into the bunkers to confirm their contents, but that’s another story ( i haven’t heard of any success yet). From what I’m told so far, there was simply no money or time to bother emptying the bunkers of their contents, the easiest solution was to pour concrete into the entrance and it’s done! I can’t help feeling there’s an absolute goldmine of information & equipment left there, that should be in a museum.’
Fact or Fantasy? The Royal Melbourne Air Raid Tunnel: ‘There was a large public WW11 air raid shelter in a tunnel under the Royal Melbourne Hospital.’ In the seventies I had a student job where I drove the laundry underground from the RMH to the Childrens Hospital in a buggy’. 2015
Legends: The Army Hospital Tunnels
a. ‘An unseen network of underground tunnels links together four hospitals as well as Melbourne University.’
b. ‘The US Army occupied these tunnels under during World War Two.’
c. ‘A secret tunnel under Flemington Road linked the hospital to the US Camp Pell in Royal Park.
d. The tunnels extend secretly under the CBD south to Victoria Barracks and west to Mt Alexander Road.’
Fact or Fantasy? The Rialto Towers Cavern” A great subterranean space exists under the Rialto.
Fact or Fantasy? The Tunnel Big Cats: ‘Alien Phantom Big Cats’, Pumas and cougars, live in the Western suburbs, sleeping in hidden places like tunnels during the day and padding into backyards at night.’
Fact or Fantasy? The Lost Cafe: ‘In the 1960s an exotic South Seas Cafe with palm trees and a crocodile was in the basement of the Manchester Unity building’.
Fact or Fantasy? Secret vaults: ‘Under the Manchester unity buildings are secret vaults where the jewelers keep their valuables’.
Fact or Fantasy? Pistol range under Bourke street? The State Bank of Victoria had a training school at 186 Bourke Street, between Swanston and Russell. It had a pistol range in the basement which I used when I was training as a teller. Colin 2015.
Fact or Fantasy? Tunnel under Government House? ‘I have actually seen what I believe to be the western end of the tunnel under the St Kilda Road gardens which probably leads to Government House. These days it only goes a metre or two and is walled up.’ Colin 2015.
Fact or Fantasy? Access through the bookcase. ‘There is an underground cellar bar in Collins Street where you enter by pulling a book from a bookcase.’
Fact or Fantasy? Underground cheese cellar. ‘There is a specially cooled underground cellar with fabulous cheeses entered from above by a narrow spiral staircase….It was once a carpark that connected to the secret tunnel network to the parliament across the road... 2015.’
Fact or Fantasy? Underground Cinemas. My first employment experience, whilst still at school during school holidays, was to `switch’ the reels between the Century News Theatrette and the Tatler News Theatrette. They screened the same programs each week on the same 35mm prints. (as did the Albany and Times). As each reel came off the projector at the Century it was rewound and placed in a calico (I think) bag and I set off down Swanston Street, through an arcade and down Collins Street to the Tatler (basement Hotel Australia, 262 Collins).. I am not sure if I had to do the return `switch` or if there was a second kid on for that. This was during the Melbourne Olympic Games and we were switching the coverage that Pacific Films produced of the latest events and I remember well the line (from up in Swanston Street) going down the stairs into the Century Theatrette waiting to see this weekly production. As this was the year that television was introduced to Australia very few had the luxury of watching it at home. Brian J, Jan 6, 2011.
My mother would drop me off at the Century underground cinema in Swanston Street to see the cartoon reels for an hour while she went shopping. It always irritated me when she came back to early for me to finish seeing all the cartoons I wanted to see. August 2015.
Fact or Fantasy? Lost tea room: ‘There was a huge tea house under Manchester Unity , could hold 200 people in the 1930s called Tate’s. Many gay people had assignations there…;
Fact or Fantasy? Underground cinemas:‘ The oldest running cinema in the CBD showed Olympic Games newsreels and is still under Flinders Lane… ‘There was a newsreel theatre under Swanston Street for many years called Century, Capitol 2 or Swanston Theatre where they showed hourly newsreels in the war years and later.’
Fact or Fantasy? Underground dance hall:’ I used to go dancing in an underground space under the former Capitol Theatre called the Dugout or the Bowl in the 1960s.. it was very hip and cool.’ 2015
Fact or Fantasy? Underground palm trees and crocodiles: ‘There was a swish 60s style cafe underground cafe called South Seas or Tropicana. It exited to Collins Street near Swanston Street. It had underground palm trees and big fish tanks everywhere. They were also live crocodiles. Yes, seriously! Ron Houlder, 2015.
‘Did you by any chance read the Age Traveller today, Saturday, 30th January 2016 page 34? The Letter of the Week: Luxe Nomad (Traveller, January 16-17) refers to the Tiki bar in Melbourne in the 1960’s called the South Seas Restaurant or cafe in the basement. You went down the stairs from Collins Street into a tropical wonderland with big fish tanks and palm trees….People said there were three crocodiles (live ones)”. Dianne, 30 Jan 2016.
‘I remember the crocodile in the South Seas restaurant. It was 5 ft long and near the kitchen at the north end. The palms were fake.” 2016.
‘I went there as a kid. The crocs were big, at least a metre.’ Mary 2016.
‘My grandmother was a waitress in the Spot Cafe in Elizabeth Street. She had a crocodile handbag given to her by Squizzy Taylor. Perhaps that’s how the South Sea Cafe crocodiles ended up? 2016.
Fact or Fantasy? Underground tunnel network: ‘ In 1956 I was a 14-year-old Telegram Delivery Boy at the Post Office on the corner of Russell St and Little Collins St and in our lunchtime, we used to travel all over the CBD in the tunnels from the basement. We sometimes entered the old Bourke and Spencer Street’s Post Office through their basement. There are many off-chute tunnels and stairs to various other buildings from the main tunnels. All the tunnels ran like streets under the real streets up above. We were allowed to take these walks because in the Fifties, Australia was easy-going and innocent to the problems we have today and we were in uniform so it was no problem to do it then. It was exciting for a 14-year-old boy. Regards, John Williams’ 1 June 2015.
Fact or Fantasy? Princess and Regent Theatres tunnels
‘My husband is incredibly curious about the tunnels between the Princess and Regent theatres (he is a musician),’ June 2015.
Fact or Fantasy? tunnels under Smith Street.My mother worked in Smith Street shops for many years and said that there are many tunnels linking shops under Smith Street.
Fact or Fantasy? Dights Falls Bunker: ‘There used to be a large underground “bunker” near Dights Falls at Abbotsford. It is believed that this large underground “bunker” was an old WW2 air raid shelter and could hold a few thousand people.’
Legends: The Melbourne Boys High (MHS) School Tunnels:‘ I was there (MHS) in the late 70’s and we explored any off limit areas (another story) in the school’s vicinity, inside and out …
some tunnels originate from the old Q-store and armoury …. Many walls have been erected ..usually brick and concrete … these areas or vaulted rooms were used.’
‘Melbourne’ Boy’s High School was used by the US Army during WW2. A tunnel leads from the school to the Yarra River, to provide General Douglas Macarthur with a potential escape route because his Headquarters was at the school. It was later continued by the school cadets’
There is a large steel door in the army cadet room at the rear of the armory (MHS) which is welded shut, which is the entrance to this escape tunnel that was used during WW2.’
‘Any student found to have entered this tunnel will be automatically expelled.’
‘A trap door in the Principle’s office (MHS) leads to the tunnel’.
The Principal (MHS) Michael Bukraba found a tunnel under the School Library’.
Fact or Fantasy? The Subterranean Big Cats: The study of ‘phantom cats’, more amusingly called ‘Alien Big Cats’, Pumas and cougars, for instance, have been reported around the Western suburbs. It’s a scary thought – huge silent predators, subsisting on possums and the occasional hapless human. Or there could actually be a colony of big cats, sleeping in hidden places like tunnels during the day and padding into your backyard at night. Predators like that move very quietly, and very fast. Oct 2012.
Fact or Fantasy? The Merri Creek Tunnel: ‘A former military ammunition tunnel exists with an entrance near Merri Creek.’
Fact or Fantasy? A Missing Train Station Under Melbourne Airport: ‘In 1970 a train station was built under Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) – It’s sitting there waiting to be connected.’
Fact or Fantasy? US 1940s Army boat was found under a Ringwood house.
Fact or Fantasy? Tunnel under Northcote Town Hall: ‘There is a street in Northcote called Wardrop Grove. The history behind this is that secret tunnels were built on the Hill which is called Ruckers Hill near High Street where tunnels exist but hidden under the Northcote Town Hall and the current Santa Maria Private Girls College and surrounding Nun complex.’ 2015.
Fact or Fantasy? ‘There is a large underground crypt where bodies are still interred, entered by a trapdoor under the pews at the NW end Paul’s Cathedral. ‘ 2015.
Fact or Fantasy? Tunnel: ‘There is a tunnel from St Pauls to Parliament..’ 2015.
Fact or Fantasy? Underground cinema: ‘The Times Newsreel Theaterette in Bourke St. (from my research) was part of the Odeon & was located in the Odeon basement at 283 Bourke St. Both theatres closed in 1978 giving way to the Centrepoint Arcade., It seems that The Melba Theatre may have commenced there in 1911, The Liberty in 1939 & The Odeon around 1950 after a fire destroyed The Liberty.’ Peter 2015.
Fact or Fantasy? Drowned car parks. ‘The original two levels of the underground casino car park were flood-prone and so were abandoned and lie as ghostly watery spaces.” 2015.
Fact or Fantasy? Underground pistol range? In my younger days I was with the ANZ bank and we used to go to pistol practice in a building that I think was on the cnr. of Bourke and King street.’ Rob, 2016.
Fact or Fantasy? Lost squash court: ‘The old CAE building was in Flinders street and I think it had previously been a retail store in 1940/50’s. (it’s now apartments)….about 20 years ago when working at CAE Flinders Street, I recall finding a small flight of stairs that lead up to an intact but weather-damaged squash court that I understand was for the use of the executive staff at the store .it might have been Maples store pre CAE.‘ Rob, 2016.
Fact or Fantasy? Hideout under church: ‘About 20 years ago I was watching a news feature about a workman’s find of a dusty but well-equipped cubby house under St Therese’s Church, Essendon. In the 1960’s it was us 10 years olds who found our way into a very narrow opening in the church and constructed the cubby house. We went there during lunchtime in grade 6. Access was via a small door that looks as if it was locked but if you pushed the door the other way, it opened..we then crawled through even smaller openings in the foundations over dirt and rubble until we found a bigger opening…we dragged in chairs, books and God knows what else …of course we had candles. It was fortunate that we didn’t burn the church down. The things you do as kids’. Rob, 2016.
Fact or Fantasy? Under the park: As kids, we found an underground pipe in the local Woodlands Park in Essendon that allowed us access and we ended up quite some distance away in nearby Strathmore. Rob, 2016.
Fact or Fantasy? Espy Tunnel: ‘I worked at the Espy and there was a door in the basement. which apparently ran to a tunnel ran from the hotel basement under the St Kilda Esplanade to the foreshore which was used by smugglers. 2012.
Fact or Fantasy? Richmond Tunnels: ‘ I’ve heard there is a maze of tunnels under Richmond used by the American Army’. 2016.
Fact or Fantasy? Underground Cherry: ‘Just east of the Regent Theatre in Collins Street, I used to go with my mother to a below-ground teahouse called the Ripe or Wild Cherry. Anyone heard of It? ‘ 2016.
Fact or Fantasy? First coffee underground? As a teenager, I worked serving food and drink at The Bowl which was a musical theatre venue with meals under today’s Capital Arcade. It also did other events such as dances. During the war it was a popular venue for American soldiers. The soldiers brought the coffee habit to Melbourne. So The Bowl would have been a first to make and regularly serve coffee in Melbourne.’ 2016.
Fact or Fantasy? Evacuation tunnel: I was a staff at St Vincents and saw the entrance to the tunnel which ran to Flinders Street Station to evacuate soldiers if necessary.’ 2016.
Fact or Fantasy? Mauled electrician: When my aunt was 19 she worked in the underground South Seas restaurant. The crocodiles in the cafe’s pond escaped so the staff fled and locked up. An electrician came unknowingly at night and was bitten in the leg by an escaped crocodile. 2015.
Fact or Fantasy? Lost Chief: Underground near the junction of the Merri Creek and the Yarra is the body of the Chief of the Yarra Tribe. Its location was lost after the nearby freeway construction.
Fact or Fantasy? Magician’s Hidden Secrets: Only professional magicians can access the AWG Alma Conjuring Collection in the Sate Library. There is a hidden vault with the most secret magician tools.
www.theurbanlist.com 2016
Fact or Fantasy? Where ? ‘When I was a small child we used to go to a cafe underground. Through the windows you could see just the legs of people walking past . Does anyone know where this cafe may have been? ‘ 2016 .
Lost Turkish Baths Royal Arcade 1870-1929? Nellie Haig the granddaughter of the owners of the baths wrote a manuscript 1992 about its history which is in the State Library. The Baths closed in 1929 after the old boilers burst and flooded the Arcade and surrounding areas.
Louisa Ellum 2017
Fact or Fantasy: The Elizabeth Street diagonal crossing? I pioneered the diagonal crossing outside the Elizabeth Street / Flinders Street Station when, as a new 1962 Australian, I diagonally approached a policeman directing traffic by hand in the middle of the intersection. I misunderstood the hand signal and thought he was beckoning me. He grabbed me by the collar and said ‘Are you a comedian?’ Yes I was the first. Paul, 2017