Skip to main content
animated flashing siren light

"LAW AND ORDER"

Arrives at the Old Post Office Museum Mornington.

Mornington and District Historical Society have great pleasure in announcing the opening of the Museum on Sunday 5th October at 12.30 pm after its long awaited roof renovations.

It has been chaos and hard work during the week getting ready for our opening exhibition "LAW AND ORDER".
Features early police artifacts. Early memories of Mornington Police Station.
All being overlooked by the judges of the Supreme Court judiciary.
And so much more!

Only $5, see you on Sunday - Sunday 5th October at 12:30 pm until 3:00PM

555840589 1259106629348781 7346203486799840804 n 556006842 1259106649348779 3166241665646256408 n

#10 Bradford Dairy Audio Script

Audio Script  Back to Audio Tour Index

DW The Sherlock brothers built a dairy on this site in the early 1900s. Barney Bradford took it over after he returned from the First World War and it became known Bradford’s Pines Dairy.
Barney put a public notice in The Peninsula Post:

KW Having purchased the milk round lately conducted by J. Sherlock, I respectfully solicit a continuance of the patronage accorded him and will as usual supply only the best of milk and cream. E.G. Bradford.
Local historian Val Wilson takes up the story . .

VW Barney kept his cows behind the dairy in the paddock which stretched up along Empire Street, which was only a dirt track in the early days. This was the location of the town’s first football field and the travelling circus would set up here in summer.
Barney renovated the building in the 1930s and ran the business until the 1950s. It’s one of a number of art deco buildings in Mornington. You can see the art deco tiles and ceiling decorations and if you view the building from across the street, you can still see the art deco parapet details The original brickwork can be seen from inside the building and at the rear. There is the hallmark red clay of Mornington in evidence again which you may have seen in The Grand Hotel.
Barney followed in his father’s footsteps as a councillor and even found time from milking his cows to serve as Shire President!

DW If you continue down the street towards the Bay, you will see an ornate fountain in Empire Mall. This was moved here from outside the entrance to Mornington Park but may soon be returning to the park. The fountain was presented to the township of Mornington in 1924 by Jane Balcombe-Murphy in memory of her father, Alexander Balcombe of The Briars. Balcombe was a strong advocate for Mornington when he represented the area in the Victorian Parliament. He made sure land was set aside for public use, and Mornington Park is perhaps the most visible legacy of his foresight.

Continue to 65 Main Street.

#11 Livery And Coaching Stables Audio Script

Audio Script  Back to Audio Tour Index

DW This coach and stables business was built in 1906. Being so near to the railway station the loca- tion was ideal for picking up passengers and goods from the train to be transported further down the Peninsula. There were holding yards at the rear for the horses and this was where the Fire Brigade pump was kept.
Local historian Michael Collins continues . .

MC As with many Mornington enterprises, ownership changed regularly. This business was various- ly run in the early years by Probert, Ead, Doherty, Daw, Dorling and Swift, most of whom played a role in the development of the township.
In 1924 an advert in The Peninsula Post refers to the business as Hallums Peninsula Motor Garage. By the 1920s the motor car was growing in popularity and subsequently there were many flourishing new garage businesses. Livery stables often became hire car services. Blacksmiths turned their hand to coach building and produced rudimentary motorised lorries.
A produce and grain store was built by Mr. Grover next door to the stables for Mr. Alex McLellan in 1908. This was subsequently purchased by Mr. Blacker of Royal Commission notoriety whom you heard about back at the courthouse.
At No. 65 Bill Pratt opened his first self-service grocery store In Mornington in the early 1950s, fol- lowing the success of his Frankston store. The shop was the forerunner to the Safeway (now Wool- worths) supermarket chain. In his book, Bill Pratt wrote:

KW I found an old unlined dirt floor plumber’s store room, almost in the middle of town….I was concerned whether self service would work in Mornington given the firm opinions of most local people….Nevertheless (having transformed the store) we opened (in 1951) with our cut prices…and within three months we had proved that we were part of the main street trading and here to stay.

MC And so began the journey that led to Pratts establishing the Safeway chain of supermarkets including the Mornington supermarket in the 1960s on the other side of the street.

DW As you travel further down Main Street you will notice some little shops built during the 1920s and 30s. Many still have the brass surrounding the windows and set back doorways, typical of the era. Some still have decorative ceilings. The shop with the gateway beside was MacDonald’s the chemist. The family lived at the rear and above and this gate was their front entrance. Young Fergus MacDonald has written about the great view of the arrival of the trains he had from his bedroom window. Next stop is at the corner.

#12 Oriental Bank And Allchin’s Store Audio Script

Audio Script  Back to Audio Tour Index

DW The Oriental Bank Corporation was established in London in 1851. It was a large organisation with branches in Australia, New Zealand, Africa, India, Ceylon, Hong Kong, Mauritius and Malaya.The first Australian branches opened in Melbourne and Sydney in 1852. Poor management and a deterioration in economic conditions eventually forced the bank to close in 1892.
We asked Janet Groves about her grandfather’s important contribution to the early development of Mornington

JG My grandfather Thomas Cogger Allchin finished the construction of this bank in 1875 and leased it to the Oriental Bank until it wound up. He then leased it to the Colonial Bank of Australasia, who subsequently moved diagonally across the road when they purchased the larger Commercial Bank building. In the 1920s, it became Point Furnishing Store, which later became Point Hardware.
Thomas Allchin was one of Mornington’s most prominent and successful pioneers and he built many of the earliest commercial buildings, including the Tanti Hotel and the schoolhouse. He was a carpen- ter by trade and had his own clay pit and brick works on his Sutton Grange estate.

DW and what about his own home?

JG Thomas built his first house for his new wife Sarah, which was really only a shack with no doors or windows. Sarah arrived in Mornington by bullock wagon and had to sleep on the floor as there was hardly any furniture. He then built a more substantial cottage before he finally built the mansion Sutton Grange on Tanti Avenue about twenty years later. The Allchins had two sailing vessels the Gov- ernor La Trobe and Maggie for taking and bringing goods for sale. He built the tower at Sutton Grange so he could watch for the arrival of his boats with their cargo. They supplied wooden piers for the Geelong jetty and transported wood to Melbourne, returning with goods for the store.
He started on his store in 1860. This was originally just two rooms, but it was extended over time to become this rather elegant two storey building.

DW Sarah Allchin seems to have had a pretty good head for business?

JG Indeed. She ran the store and added to the stock by purchasing fabrics and sewing some fine clothing. She did however a lucky break in the early days. A friendly miller advised her to buy a ton of flour instead of the 3 bags that she had money for. He told her there was going to be what he mys- teriously referred to as a ‘combination in the trade’ and that she could pay him later. The next day flour doubled in price – a good start for the store!
Sarah was a very religious woman and founded a temperance organisation The Band of Hope, for Mornington boys and girls at Sutton Grange.
The youngest son of Thomas and Sarah, Charles Allchin, was one of the 15 drowned in the Morning- ton Football Disaster in 1892.

DW The store was one of a number of large general stores in Mornington in the early days. It was run over the ensuing years by a variety of Mornington families, the Nunns, Higgs and the Croaghs famous delicatessen among them. Mrs. Croagh relates that there was no running water until the 1930s and many stores relied on well water. In the hot weather the Croaghs used to keep their deli- catessen products cool down in the well.
The building was demolished in the 1960s to make way for a new Commonwealth Bank building which in turn was replaced by the current businesses.
Our commentary continues at number 39.

#13 Males Butchery And The Hairdressers Audio Script

Audio Script  Back to Audio Tour Index

DW The butchers shop with an upstairs residence was built about 1882 for James Smith Adams who, like many others, had his own slaughteryard outside the township. He was also a councillor on the Mornington Shire Council.
We spoke to local historian Val Wilson about the building’s interesting history.

VW The Mornington Band played to entertain the townsfolk from the vantage point of the verandah. That would have been particularly spectacular!
Anyhow, there were a number of butchers in Mornington as people ate meat for breakfast, lunch and dinner in those times. In the First World War, many of those who joined up gave their occupation as butcher.
In 1908 newspaper reports tell us that on the same day that Mr. F.C. Doherty took over the Livery Stable business further up the street, a Mr. J.W. Doherty took over this butchers which his family held until about 1920 when the Male family took over.
An article in The Mornington Standard reported: 

KW A sensational bolt occurred on Monday last. Mr. Doherty a local butcher left his horse and cart standing outside Fosters store on Main Street. The horse was startled by something and it gaily careered down the road getting on the footpath near the baths. The horse then swerved into the ti tree finally coming to grief near the barometer on the jetty road. Fortunately no damage was done to the horse or turnout.

VW The Males family ran the business for nearly 50 years. They carted their stock in by road and later by rail to their paddocks and slaughter yard in Moorooduc. There were stables at the rear of the shop used for their delivery horses pulling decorated butchers carts and then later, for their red Dodge utility.
If you walked through the flywire doors, you would have seen a typical butchers of the time. Carcasses of beef, pig and sheep hung from rails along the walls. A large wooden chopping block stood in the centre of the shop. The floor was covered in sawdust to make cleaning easier. The large cash register stood on the wooden counter together with weighing scales and piles of wrapping paper. The shop had a plate glass window surrounded by tiles on which the name ‘Male’ was moulded.

DW and what were the stables used for after the Dodge arrived?

VW The stables at the rear were used by the scouts before the building was pulled down. Tom Male built the two shops next door, on the left, Number 41 and Number 43 in 1934. One was for his friend Alf Sexton who set up his barbers shop after moving up from a couple of doors down. The story is that Alf Sexton used to return to England every six months, so to persuade him to stay permanently, Mr. Male built him the shop! This hairdressers is still the longest-running continuous retail business in Mornington.
If you poke your head into the shop Number 41 on the other side of the brick wall of the butchers, you can still see the sign ‘butcher’ on the bricks.

DW When the current pizza business started, a major refit and refurbishment was done. The owner was able to expose some of the original brick work. Once again, you can see the red colour of the bricks with which most of the buildings in Main Street were built. The next plaque is just along, near the street light.

#14 Cottage, Billiard Room And Shops Audio Script

Audio Script  Back to Audio Tour Index

VW The remains of the little cottage at number 37, you can see is the last example of what would have been typical of many along Main Street. This cottage was home to long-time Mornington resi- dents, the Young family. This is where Alf Sexton started his barber’s business before Tom Male built the new shops next to his butchers.
The little laneway led down to a popular billiard room. You might say that this was the mens section of town. The billiard room later became an auction room where two of the long-established Morning- ton businesses, estate agents Jacobs and Lowe and as an auctioneer, Bob Smith Carpets started out.
As you continue down Main Street, you will see six shop fronts, numbers 27 – 35, which were built in the 1930s, like those you saw further up the street. They still have their set back entrances, some with ornate ceilings and brass window surrounds. On the first shop front you can still see a beautiful stained glass feature.
A variety of businesses moved in and out of this block of shops over time. Sanders the chemist, who operated from the shop on the corner of Queen Street, also sold ice creams in the summer time. The low window sills were at a convenient sitting height. An invitation which many people, coming up from the beach on a hot day, probably accepted. He eventually put iron spikes on the sills, presum- ably to discourage this practice!
Many of Mornington’s older citizens recall that one shop in particular was of interest to many. As Mr. J. Male is said to have recalled:

KW Wanda the fortune-teller lady took over Akers shop. She was a lady of doubtful reputation, who always wore black with nothing much underneath. She liked to stand in the doorway to show off her silhouette. Her shop window was always covered over by black curtains.
As you come to Queen Street, you may like to make a short detour to the left to see St. Peter’s Church which was built in 1861. The beautiful stained glass windows are well worth a look.
The next stop on Main Street is the Mechanics Institute building. There is a huge bollard outside. When the City of Westminster was refurbishing the banks of the Thames, some of these bollards were sent out to Australia. This one found its way to Mornington.

More Articles …