Latest articles by Jeff Atkinson
The old Carlton and United Brewery
Just north of the CBD, the block surrounded by Swanston, Victoria, Bouverie and Queensberry streets in south Carlton was the site of one of Melbourne’s earliest breweries. Remnants of it can still be seen there today.
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The Grattan Street Drill Hall
In 1860, a large wooden building was constructed in Grattan St between Lygon and Drummond streets for use as a drill hall by a local troop of part-time soldiers known as the Carlton Volunteer Rifles.
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Wilson Hall: a lost treasure
Over the years, Carlton has seen many fine buildings lost – to demolition, neglect, fire and developers. One of the finest was the original Wilson Hall in Melbourne University.
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Chinese Church in Carlton
On Queensberry St, Carlton, there is a historic building that is a reminder of the Chinese community that has been part of Melbourne since the days of the gold rush in the 1850s.
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Carlton Conversations features a look back to World War Two
The Carlton Community History Group’s president and historian Jeff Atkinson will speak about Carlton during the Second World War on May 26 from 6pm to 8pm.
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Memorial drinking fountains
In earlier times, it was possible for a Melbourne City councillor to erect monuments to himself and members of his family in public places.
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Double-decker buses in Melbourne
For 14 years, from 1940 to 1954, the streets of Melbourne and its inner northern suburbs had double-decker buses operating along them.
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Gas streetlights in Melbourne
In the early days of Melbourne, streets were dark and dangerous. The only lights that enabled you to see your way along the street were the oil lights that publicans were obliged to have outside their hotels.
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The historical treasures of Drummond St
The southern end of Drummond St in Carlton contains some of the earliest extant buildings in Melbourne and many that are of historic or architectural importance. But they may be under threat from developers.
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The Olympic Games in Princes Park?
In the 1950s, as Melbourne was preparing to host the 1956 Olympic Games there were discussions and negotiations over where the main stadium for the Games would be.
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The anti-conscription campaign during WWI
Conscription, the compulsory enlistment of men for military service overseas, was a contentious issue in Australia during the First World War, and Carlton was at the centre of the controversy in Melbourne.
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When police cars first got radios
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, a policeman patrolling the inner suburbs of Melbourne could only call for assistance or report a crime if he could reach a telephone or call-box.
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Victorian Police Strike of 1923
In 1923 constables in the Victorian Police force went on strike, and for several days the streets of Melbourne and nearby suburbs descended into lawlessness and looting.
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The “brown-out” murders
On the morning of May 18, 1942, the body of a woman was found in a muddy air-raid trench on the edge of Royal Park at Gatehouse St, Parkville.
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Larrikin gangs in Carlton
From the 1860s through to the early decades of the 20th century, the streets of Melbourne and its inner suburbs were plagued by gangs of young men known as “larrikins”.
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An art school in Trades Hall
When it was first established in the 1850s, the Trades Hall in Lygon St, Carlton, was regarded as an institution that would not only help advance the material conditions of the working class, but also its educational and artistic needs
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Policeman shot in Trades Hall
In the early hours of the morning of October 1, 1915, a dramatic event occurred in Trades Hall in Lygon St, Carlton, that resulted in a policeman being shot dead and two burglars seriously wounded.
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Equal-pay campaigner honoured
On the grass outside Trades Hall in Lygon St, Carlton, a bronze statue is about to be installed honouring the Carlton-born equal-pay campaigner Zelda D’Aprano.
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Cycling track at Exhibition Building
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, cycle racing was one of the most popular sports in Melbourne.
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Carlton’s Olympic cyclist
On the corner of Lygon and Grattan streets in Carlton is a building with a distinctive neon sign featuring a man on a racing cycle.
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