A colourful past - A Bright Future

In the stampede for gold, the area that had been called Sandridge changed dramatically. Eventually the trees, the lagoon, the pristine beach and the dunes for which the settlement was named all disappeared. In their place were the workers’ cottages and great manufacturers like the world renowned Swallow & Ariell Steam Biscuit Co.

In the streets the Rechabites marched for Temperance, rotesting the presence of pubs in their dozens, boisterous with ships’ crews from around the world. Renamed Port Melbourne in 1874, the Borough became a hub for transport and manufacturing.

Although Melbournians thronged to its piers to meet the great liners or to cruise the bay on picturesque paddle-wheel steamers, this urban port town with its country-town character and closely knit community of factory, wharf and railway workers went along its way unnoticed until the 1980s.

As the railway and many industries closed or moved elsewhere, Port Melbourne’s enviable position brought the wave of urban development that, once again, has resulted in thousands of new arrivals at‘The Borough’.

For more information on this colourful period of our local history, visit the Immigration Museum and the Port Melbourne Preservation and Historical Society.