Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr

Did you know that Collingwood Historical Society has been posting photos on the Flickr photo-sharing site in the cloud for over a year?   Members Pat Miller and Anne Holmes have been managing this. The Society has over 280 photographs on the site. Flickr is an image and video hosting website and online community that was created in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo in 2005. It hosts billions of photos. Anyone can freely go to the site to view the photos but you need to set up a free (or paid Pro) account if you wish to post comments or images. You can read more about Flickr in this Wikipedia article.

The majority of the Collingwood Historical photos relate to the Flickr Friday Photos challenge which we participated in for 2012 and are doing again for 2013.  In this group, we are challenged to take three photos each week on a theme that is released on Saturday and then to post them on Flickr each Friday. The themes so far for 2013 have been Socks, News, Water, Faces and Buttons.   So you can well imagine that we have to think out of left field a bit.

But we have also documented events, such as the 2012 Annual History Walk, and all the photos are available to be viewed in sets, such as Streets, Events, Transport, Commercial buildings, Domestic Buildings, Church Buildings.

The other great thing about Flickr is that it provides a very easy facility for loading our photos onto Trove, the National Library of Australia portal which took over from PictureAustralia.  All we need to do is add our photos to the Trove group on Flickr and they are automatically harvested to Trove!  How easy is that!

So how do you get to see our photos on Flickr?  Well, the easiest way is just to go to the link on the top of this blog where our most recent photos on Flickr are displayed. If you are not a member of Flickr, you can view the photos but you can't comment on them.  However, it is very easy to set up a free account that allows you to comment.  Please note that you need to have a Yahoo id and email address to do this.

 If you are a member of Flickr, please use this link and add Collingwood Historical Society as one of your contacts.  Then our new images will come up in your Recent from Contacts folder. And you will be able to comment on our photos and participate in discussions.  An example of this was a recent discussion we had about the history of Clifton Hill railway station. If you already use Flickr and make Collingwood Historical Society a contact, you can also look at the photos on the Flickr iphone app or some of the other third party Flickr apps.  I particularly like the Flickstackr one as it lets me upload photos from my ipad on holidays!

#blog12daysxmas Day 9 School bell 52/53/2

School bell 52/53/2, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

 Are school bells like this still used?  Maybe the nearby residents of Gold Street Primary in Clifton Hill can tell us. Gold Street Primary, properly known as Clifton Hill Primary No. 1360, was opened in 1874. Heritage Victoria has registered Primary School No.1360 as of architectural and historical significance to the State of Victoria and placed an historical plaque on it in 2006. 

You can read more about the school on the website here.

#blog12daysxmas Day 8 Former Village Belle Hotel 53/52/1

Former Village Belle Hotel 53/52/1, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

The former Village Belle hotel in in Abbotsford Street Abbotsford on the south west corner of Hunter Street operated from 1868 to 1918. It is now a private residence.  You can read more about it in the Hotels section of the website.

This photograph was submitted by the Collingwood Historical Society for the Flickr Friday Photos 2012 challenge under the theme of "Bells".

#blog12daysxmas Day 7 End of life 52/52/2

End of life 52/52/2, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

The residents of this part of Gold Street are taking the holiday break as an opportunity to prepare for a hard rubbish collection with these items which have reached the end of their life.

This photo was submitted by the Collingwood Historical Society for the Flickr Friday Photo 2012 Challenge under the theme of "Endings".

#blog12daysxmas Day 6 Dead end 52/52/1

Dead end 52/52/1, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

Page Street used to run between Gold Street and Wellington Street in Clifton Hill. But traffic management in recent decades has meant that both parts of the street are now dead ends.  This shot was taken looking west from Gold Street.

This photo is part of the Collingwood Historical Society's contribution to the Flickr Friday Photo 2012 Challenge.

#blog12daysxmas Day 5 Terminus Hotel 52/52/3

Terminus Hotel, Abbotsford 52/52/3, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

The Terminus Hotel in Victoria Street Abbotsford (corner of Flockhart Street) has now terminated its services and so is about endings in more way than one. The hotel's name was changed to the Terminus in 1923 to reflect its location near the terminus of the Victoria Street cable-tram at the river, and is on the same site as the previous Brickmakers' Arms Hotel which had been established by 1867. Read about the hotel here.

This photo is part of the Collingwood Historical Society's contribution to the Flickr Friday Photo 2012 Challenge. 

#blog12daysxmas Day 4 Friendly Societies Hotel 52/50/3

Friendly Societies Hotel 52/50/3, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

As can be seen from the photograph above, the Friendly Societies Hotel in Langridge Street was built in 1889. This building replaced the earlier Langridge Family Hotel which was on the same site from 1870 to 1889. The owner and publican of the new building, William Nicholls, was a member of six friendly societies as well as being a Freemason and the hotel had a large room for lodge meetings. The hotel changed its name to the Carringbush Hotel in 1984, a reference to Frank Hardy's Power without glory where Carringbush is used as a pseudonym for Collingwood, and maybe also a reference to the Carringbush Regional Library which had been established in 1976. There is more information in the Hotels section of this website. 

This photo is part of the Collingwood Historical Society's contribution to the Flickr Friday Photo 2012 Challenge. 

#blog12daysxmas Day 3 Foresters Hall 1868: Friendly Societies 52/50/2

Foresters Hall 1868: Friendly Societies 52/50/2, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

The former Forester's Hall in Smith Street Collingwood on the northern corner of Langridge was opened in 1868, as the home of the first Victorian branch of the Ancient Order of Foresters.  The building with its large space was used for all sorts of local events including court sessions, bazaars and public meetings. The laying of the memorial stone was recorded in the Argus on Wednesday 25 March 1868.  You can read the account here. 

This photo is part of the Collingwood Historical Society's contribution to the Flickr Friday Photo 2012 Challenge.

#blog12daysxmas Day 2 Friends of the Earth 52/50/1

Friends of the Earth 52/50/1, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

The Friends of the Earth in Smith Street on the southern corner of Perry Street is quite a Collingwood institution.  Friends of the Earth (FoE) Australia is a federation of independent local groups working for a socially equitable and environmentally sustainable future.You can find out more about their activities on their website.Their headquarters are on this site in Collingwood where they also operate a cafe and the Collingwood Food Co-Op which first started operation in 1975. Alas, the bookshop that they once operated is no longer here. If you are interested in the history of Friends of the Earth check out the history section of the website.

This photo is part of the Collingwood Historical Society's contribution to the Flickr Friday Photo 2012 Challenge.

Reaching to the clouds 52/18/3

Reaching to the clouds 52/18/3, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

I had forgotten how monumental the Clifton Hill Shot Tower is. And I really should have remembered as it dominates the skyline in Clifton Hill and Collingwood.

This 160 metre shot tower in Reilly Street (now called Alexandra Parade) and its associated factory was built for Richard Hodgson in 1882 to manufacture lead shot. The tower is all that remains today and is probably the tallest shot tower in Australia. It is circular in plan, looking like a tall chimney, and is a masterpiece of brick construction with finely decorated polychrome patterned brick bands at regular intervals. The semi-circular arched windows are also decorated with polychrome bricks. It is a fine example of a rare and distinctive building type - the only other remaining shot tower is to be found in the Melbourne Central shopping complex. The Alexandra Parade Shot Tower is of State significance and represents an era of industrial growth in the 19th century in Collingwood and the inner suburbs.

Richard Hodgson owned and operated the Lead Shot Works until 1887 after which it was owned by Alfred Harber and Simon Hughes. In 1896 it was purchased by Walter Coop, who also operated the Melbourne Central shot tower. It belonged to the Coop family for 90 years and remained in use until 1947.

Lead shot was made by melting the lead at the top of the tower and then pouring it through a perforated sheet which separated the flow of molten lead into streams. It was then broken up to form droplets. The droplets were shaped and solidified as they fell from the top of the tower, and were cooled by dropping into a trough of water at the bottom of the tower. The shot was then shovelled out of the water trough, dried and rolled down a stepped, inclined table. Undamaged shot cleared the step while damaged shot dropped through a gap at the bottom of the step and was remelted. The round shot was sieved to size and then polished in a rotating barrel for one and a half hours before being sewn into 13 kilogram hessian bags and taken to the munitions factory at Deer Park, in the west of Melbourne.

The Shot Tower is a landmark of Clifton Hill and was used by pilots flying into Essendon Airport as a visual marker to their location.

The Shot Tower is on the Victorian Heritage Register (H0709) and is classified by the National Trust (B3798)

Samian Social Club 52/18/2

Samian Social Club 52/18/2, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

Clouds frame the Samian Social Club in Queens Parade Clifton Hill. The Samian Social Club/Clifton Hill Yoga Studio commenced life with a building called the Albert Hall. The Albert Hall then with its entrance between two shops was built in 1886 for the Albert Victor Masonic Lodge No. 117.

In July 1890 the Clifton Hill Baptist Church commenced services here and operated from the Albert Hall until its church was opened around the corner in Hodgkinson Street in 1895. The hall was rebuilt in 1927 when a stone was laid in January commemorating 40 years of the lodge.

In the 19th and early 20th century while it was the Albert Hall, the facility was regularly used for community meetings and for prize nights for local schools such as the Misses Westgarth's Westleigh school.

Clouds, cottages, Collingwood 52/18/1

Clouds, cottages, Collingwood 52/18/1, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

This photograph is a contribution by the Collingwood Historical Society to the Flickr Friday Photos 2012 challenge under the theme of Clouds.

These cottages, named Dalkeith, Esk and Kinross, are on the east side of Wellington Street just north of Keele Street and their local drinking hole would have been the Phoenix Hotel on the corner of Keele Street though the residents would not have had to walk far for another hotel if they wanted a change. The cottages are outlined below on the 1900 Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works map where you can see that Esk and Kinross have baths and troughs. The cottages appear to have been built about 1883 from Sands and McDougall records. 

St John's on Holy Saturday 52/15/2

St John's on Holy Saturday 52/15/2, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

This photo is part of the Collingwood Historical Society contribution to the Flickr Friday Photo 2012 challenge under the theme of Easter.

You would have been hard pressed to discover the time of Easter services at the church of St John the Baptist in Clifton Hill - or any sign of Easter really. Presumably they would have been the same at the normal 6pm Saturday Vigil mass as a later dialogue on Twitter indicated.

Chocolate Paradise Pty Ltd 52/15/1

Chocolate Paradise Pty Ltd 52/15/1, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

This photo is part of the Collingwood Historical Society's contribution to the Flickr Friday Photo 2012 challenge under the theme of Ester.

This shop at 312-314 Johnston Street, Abbotsford, has long been a tempting destination for those with a sweet tooth. Easter is one of its busiest times.
Photo by Pat Miller

Multi-Game 52/14/2

Multi-Game 52/14/2, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

At the Park Hotel in Nicholson St., Abbotsford, the dart board of old has given way to more modern forms of entertainment.
Photo by Pat Miller

Transformers Pinball 52/14/3

Transformers Pinball 52/14/3, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

This photo is part of the Collingwood Historical Society's contribution to the Flickr Friday Photo 2012 challenge under the theme of Games.

The many hotels in the Collingwood area have long been the focus for local games. Traditional games, such as darts, have now given way to games such as this electronic pinball machine In the red games room at the Park Hotel, Nicholson St., Abbotsford.

Photo by Pat Miller

Former Whybrows Boot Factory 52/13/3

Former Whybrows Boot Factory 52/13/3, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

This photograph is one of Collingwood Historical Society's contributions to the Friday Photo 2012 challenge under the theme Shoes.

Whybrows whose boot factory still stands in Hoddle Street Abbotsford was a big employer in Collingwood. Born of illiterate Irish immigrants in Ballarat St, Collingwood in 1871, John Wren like many Collingwood boys commenced his working life in the boot trade, working at Whybrows boot factory. Some stories say that while there he added to his income by a small scale bookmaking operation; others suggest that he worked for a bookie after his retrenchment from Whybrows in the 1891/1892 economic slump; another story is that it was a win on the Melbourne Cup that allowed him to set up business in Johnston Street. Whatever the truth of all of this John Wren was typical of many a Collingwood youth that he started his working life at Whybrows.





This photo dated to about 1920 is from the Museum of Victoria and shows the clipping room at Whybrows where the tops of shoes were cut out. John Wren would have been unlikely to have worked in this room as a skilled clipper.

Former Moderne style shoe factory 52/13/2

Former Moderne style shoe factory 52/13/2, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

This photograph is one of the Collingwood Historical Society's contributions to the Flickr Friday Photos 2012 under the theme of Shoes.

92-94 Easey Street Collingwood provides this well-preserved brick and render factory in Moderne style, with distinctive details such as the sunburst keystone, doorway, stepped parapet and string mould.

Built 1933 for Norman Trescowthick, a well-known name in Collingwood boot industry, it was let it to Aristocrat Shoes Pty Ltd and later housed C J Braun and Co shoe manufacturers.

Former Trueform Boot Factory 52/13/1

Former Trueform Boot Factory 52/13/1, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

The former Trueform Boot factory, situated on the south east corner of Groom and Roseneath Streets Clifton Hill, was one of many boot factories in the area. It is of particular interest as it was here that the well-known Australian writer Alan Marshall worked.

In the 19th century Collingwood became known as the capital of Australia's boot and shoe manufacturing industry. At the start of the 1900s south-east Clifton Hill was a mix of houses, factories and paddocks. Boot and shoe factories developed in east Clifton Hill from the 1900s and there were a large number operating in the 1920s and 1930s. The last closed down in the 1970s.

The Sands and McDougall Directories list businesses in the area over the years. The first listing on the Groom Street frontage was the Pitman Shoe Company in 1917 (37-41 Groom St). In 1923 Halsey and Son, boot manufacturers, had arrived, to be replaced in 1924 by Trueform Boot and Shoe Co Pty Ltd. The Trueform Boot and Shoe Company were listed at 43 Groom Street until 1936, but by 1938 had gone into liquidation and had been replaced by A Pattison and Co., furniture manufacturers.
This photo is one of the Collingwood Historical Society's contributions to the Flickr Friday Photos 2012 challenge under the theme of Shoes.

Alan Marshall worked as an accountant at the factory during the early 1930s Depression and vividly recorded life in the factory in his autobiographical novel How beautiful are thy feet. The book was first published in 1949 and refers to the factory as the 'Modern Shoe Company'.

Pioneer Abbotsford nuns 52/12/3

Pioneer Abbotsford nuns 52/12/3, a photo by Collingwood Historical Society on Flickr.

 This photo is part of the Collingwood Historical Society contribution to the Flickr Friday Photos 2012 challenge under the theme Cemeteries.

The gravestone photographed here is not in Collingwood but honours the ten Good Shepherd nuns who established the order in Australia in 1863 at Abbotsford. The nuns were originally buried at the Abbotsford Convent but in 1975 were reburied here in the order's burial ground in the Boroondara Cemetery at Kew.