West Melbourne: A Sense of Place

This is the title of the forthcoming publication of the Hotham History Project – an anthology providing glimpses of the evolving history of West Melbourne from pre-colonial times.  

It tells the story of the area and many of its diverse residents, their homes and lifestyles, and traces how the area has changed over many years.

It is written in three parts:  Prehistory and Early Development; People and Houses of Nineteenth Century West Melbourne; and Twentieth Century Voices. 

The first chapters of the book describe the area as it was before European settlement: its geology, flora and fauna, and its people. 

A chapter by Dr Gary Presland, Pre-European West Melbourne: People, gives a brief but excellent description of the Indigenous residents of the area and their culture. These were the Wurundjeri clan of the Woiwurrung language group as well as other members of the Kulin nation.  

The part of West Melbourne now covered by the Docklands, Coode Island, and the ever-spreading industrial development, was first described in February 1803 by Charles Grimes: “the lagoon … is in a large swamp between two rivers; fine grass, fit to mow; not a bush in it”. It was home to many Indigenous people.

The Indigenous clan groups who populated this part of Victoria used the lagoon as a huge gathering place for many ceremonial occasions as well as for arranging practicalities such as marriages and the management of disputes, with a particular emphasis on trade, conducted through rigidly observed protocols and procedures. 

The later chapters trace West Melbourne’s early years of development as a settlement that soon became a part of a great city. Angela Williams, a local artist, has donated several beautiful watercolours of the houses that have been written about including the one on the front cover.

West Melbourne: A Sense of Place comprises 26 chapters written by 23 contributors. The authors include several academics, people with close connections to the area through their families or other interests, and people who have lived here for varying amounts of time, but who share reminiscences of living in the area as young children.

Books can be purchased through the Hotham History Project website for $39.95. hothamhistory.org.au •