Moonee Ponds Creek, second last pond and Alfred St

On Sunday December 7, we had a history walk titled "A Moonee Ponds Creek Meander: Some Then, Now and Next”.

Starting at Alfred St, going up to Flemington Rd then downstream along the shared path finishing at Arden St. Around 20 points of interest, including the three bridges crossing the Moonee Ponds Creek designed and built by Sir John Monash’s company Reinforced Concrete and Monier Pipe. I was the tour guide.

Why start at Alfred St? It isn’t part of the Moonee Ponds Creek, at least not now. Well, as old maps show, as is well known and is in the very name, the Moonee Ponds Creek was a series of ponds. Particularly so in the North Melbourne and Kensington section, from Racecourse Rd to Arden St.

On the 1855 Kearney Map, a well-known old map, there are three ponds between Flemington Rd and Arden St. The rectangular gridded area lies inside Boundary Rd, Racecourse Rd, Rankins Rd and Macaulay Rd. Stubbs St runs vertically down the middle.

Numbering the ponds from the south / bottom, the last pond straddles Macaulay Rd, the second last pond runs across Alfred St, and the third last pond is where Debney’s Park now is. Note that there is no creek shown joining the ponds. Also note that the roads went right through the ponds, and the swampy marsh between them.

The small rectangles are two-acre lots from the 1849 “Flemington” subdivision, as the area was when subdivided, not North Melbourne, not Kensington but Flemington. The year 1849 is prior to the Coburg railway of 1884, and to the major associated channelling, and forming, of the Moonee Ponds Creek. It is also prior to most of the subdivision of North Melbourne.

So, this is a “then”, 1855, according to the Kearney map (there are others).

And this is a “now”, after rain at least, currently a stalled development site. A reborn seasonal pond!

Another interesting historical feature of this Alfred St location is what is possibly the last V-gutter in Melbourne. This style of gutter was used in Melbourne’s early days, but replaced by the current design which takes much less space, and allows parking right to the kerb.

Alfred St has at least another two interesting bits of history in Farrell’s stables, which was the site of Henderson’s Federal Spring Works from 1911, an important industrial manufacturer. Topics for another article.

The second last pond in Alfred St is on Google Maps. Click here for location. •