This land was originally purchased in 1849 at the first land sale in the area which was held during a quiet period in the colony’s economy. Former Collins Street Estate Agent and Mayor of Melbourne Peter Davis was the purchaser and he proceeded to subdivide the fifty-three acres he had purchased for twelve pounds fifteen…
Category: South Yarra History
The land that is now Phoenix Street was originally sold to Peter Davis in 1849 for seven pounds ten shillings per acre for 52 acres. He divided up the land and resold it between 1850 and 1852 and it first appears on an 1856 map which also shows the local hotel the Prince of Wales…
Around 1850 James Chambers purchased 6 1/2 acres and formed and named Chambers Street. James Chambers ran the Ayres Arms Hotel which was on the south west corner of Chapel Street and Toorak Road where Country Road now stands. The family ran a large market garden and auction rooms selling cattle, horses and carriages. In…
Argo Street was named after “The Argo”, owned by the General Screw Steam Company. This boat only took 60 days to set from England to Australia and many early passengers came to Melbourne on this boat. The Street was name Argo Street in 1855. The area around Argo Street was purchased as Lot 378 in…
Prior to European settlement the immediate area of what is now Cunningham Street South Yarra was a beautiful stretch of timbered country with lots of game and bird life and the area around where the Imperial Hotel now stands on Chapel Street was a very popular place for Corroboree’s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corroboree In 1849, successful businessman George…
The area where Norman Avenue now lays was originally part of an Estate named “Bonnington” which had 198 foot frontage to Toorak Road and a depth of 534 feet to the south. “Bonnington” was sold in the 1850’s from the original Crown allotment by the Hobson family and the house was built by John Moore, a…