MELBOURNE HERITAGE WALKING TOURS

Put your best foot forward and discover Melbourne’s hidden treasures with Traditional, Commercial, Mercantile, and Marvellous Melbourne City Heritage Walking Tours.

Advance bookings essential: (03) 8663 7228 or email: bookings@oldmelbournegaol.com.au

Cost: Adults $33 Concession $27.50. Duration: 2 hours and includes Morning or Afternoon Tea.

HISTORIC WALKS OF EMERALD HILL

The volunteers of the Portable Iron Houses conduct a series of walks around Emerald Hill - the original name for South Melbourne, which offer a glimpse into the way of life in the second half of the 19th Century.

The walks start at the Portable Iron Hosues and take approximately 1.5 hours and include light refreshments and a tour of the Houses.

Price: $22 for adults, $20 concession, $10 for children. National Trust Members Price: $19 for adults and $7 for children.

For further infomraiton, please visit National Trust Walking Tours.

WOMEN’S MELBOURNE TOUR

An iPod Walking Tour of Melbourne to celebrate the centenary of women’s suffrage in 2008

by Celestina Sagazio, Senior Historian, National Trust of Australia (Victoria).

Instructions:

This tour can be taken as a self-lead iPod tour. It starts at Parliament Place in Melbourne which is just near the corner of St. Andrews Place and MacArthur Street close to the southern end of State Parliament in Spring Street, about 100m from the MacArthur Street exit from Parliament Station. The full tour takes approximatley 90 minutes to complete and finsihes in Elizabeth Street.

You may choose to download the full set of 36 audio files to play back on your iPod as you walk around Melbourne.

Alternatively you can read and print the following notes and listen to each audio file below.

(Map)

Introduction

Audio Tour - Introduction:

This walking tour will encourage members of the community to visit and appreciate a range of sites where women played important or notable roles. The role of men in the history of the places in the walking tour is well-known, but in many cases the role of women in the history of these places is less-known or not known at all. This tour has been devised to celebrate the centenary of women’s suffrage in 2008 but interest in the role women have played in these places will endure for many years to come.

This tour consists of a variety of women’s places, including places or objects designed or commissioned by women; places where poor and marginalised women found themselves; and places from which women were able to reform or contribute to society in many ways, for example, as politicians, feminist lobbyists, doctors, artists, actresses and singers.

In this two-hour walk only some of the significant women’s sites can be taken in but they are among the most significant and interesting sites associated with women in Melbourne. The places you will see will deepen your appreciation of many aspects of the journey women have made from the late 19th century to achieve a more fulfilling role in their lives.

1. Tasma Terrace

Our tour starts at the wonderful historic building, Tasma Terrace, at 2-12 Parliament Place, East Melbourne, a few hundred metres south of St Patrick’s Cathedral. The terrace is the headquarters of the National Trust, and it comprised important boarding houses from the 1870s. Many of them were conducted and rented by women. Managing a boarding house was one of the few employment options available to early women. Women offered safe housing with meals, laundry and housekeeping services. For example, during the 1880s and 90s Miss Sarah Gould conducted the Belle Vista boarding house at nos. 8 to 12.

2. Across the road is the Great Petition sculpture in Burston Reserve.

The striking rolled steel artwork is a contemporary reading of the ‘Monster Petition’. This was a giant petition with 30,000 signatures offered to the Victorian Parliament in 1891 as evidence of widespread support for equal voting rights for women. The artwork commemorates 100 years of women being allowed to vote in Victoria and celebrates the achievements of all Victorian women and suffragists. Great Petition was designedby the artists Susan Hewitt and Penelope Lee, and commissioned by the State Government in collaboration with the City of Melbourne.

3. North of the sculpture is the Caroline Chisholm Cairn, also in Burston Reserve.

The 1977 plaque on the cairn commemorates the centenary of the death of philanthropist Caroline Chisholm. Chisholm served the community by welcoming immigrants and building shelters for travellers on the road to the goldfields at Castlemaine. The removal of Chisholm’s portrait from the five dollar note saddened many people.

4. Womens Underground Toilet

Walk to the tram shelter in Burston Reserve and cross the road at Macarthur Street. Go to Gordon Reserve, near Spring St, to look at the Women’s Underground Toilet. The toilet, which was built in about 1924, is one of a group of eleven such facilities erected by the City of Melbourne between 1902 and 1939. The group is now unique in Australia. The first women’s toilet is found in Russell St, which we will see later on the tour. Underground toilets were considered then to be more discreet than street level toilets because they were not in direct public view.

5. North of the toilet is the grandest public building in Melbourne, Parliament House, in Spring St.

The suffrage petition signed by 30,000 women was presented to parliament in 1891. But because of strong political interests Victoria was the last state in Australia to grant women’s suffrage, in 1908. In the parliamentary gardens at the back, there is a plaque honouring Vida Goldstein, pioneer suffragist who was the first woman in the British Empire to stand for election to a national parliament. Victoria’s first woman MP was Lady Millie Peacock in 1933. Joan Kirner was the first female Premier in Victoria. Judy Maddigan served as the first female Speaker in the state.

6. Green Latrine

Walk to the corner of Spring St and La Trobe St. This is the site of the former Commonwealth Building, known as the ‘Green Latrine’, which has been demolished.

On 21 October 1969 Zelda D’Aprano, a feminist crusader who was a major figure in the campaign for equal pay for women, chained herself to the Commonwealth Building until she was cut free by the Commonwealth police. The incident drew great attention to the campaign. D’Aprano and other women also took part in a campaign to refuse to pay full tram fares. Equal pay was granted in 1972.

7. Retrace your steps and stop at the Princess Theatre in Spring St.

Many famous actresses have performed at the theatre, including Nellie Stewart, Sibyl Thorndike, Marlene Dietrich and Marina Prior. Nellie Stewart, who starred in the first performance of ‘The Mikado’, was so good in the role that the audience believed the part of Yum Yum was being played by a real Japanese girl impersonating the local star. In 1954 Queen Elizabeth II attended a gala performance of “The Tales of Hoffman”.

8. Windsor Hotel

Cross Bourke St and go to the Windsor Hotel in Spring St.Famous women who have stayed at or visited the Windsor include Helen Keller, Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Lauren Bacall, Dame Joan Sutherland, Gina Lollobrigida, Margaret Thatcher and Kylie Minogue. The sculpture Peace and Plenty, which sits over the main entrance, features two classically inspired figures draped in robes. The female statue on the right represents Peace, while the male figure on the left represents Plenty.

9 . The Lyceum

Turn into Little Collins St and stop in Ridgway Place. Here is the famous professional women’s club, the Lyceum, housed in a 1950s building in the form of a rectangular box cantilevered over its base. This is a possibly unique example of a purpose-built place, created by and for women, in Victoria. Women architects involved in the design and alterations include Ellison Harvie, Hilary Lewis and Jessie Madsen. Members have included Pattie Deakin, the wife of the Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin, Constance Stone, Australia’s first registered female doctor, and Marion Mahony Griffin, prominent architect.

10. Grosvenor Chambers

Take the path to the right of the club that leads through to Collins Street. Turn left at Collins St. Look across the road to Grosvenor Chambers at 9 Collins St.

This three-storey boom style building, which was erected specifically as artists’ studios, attracted many leading artists, such as Tom Roberts. Less known is the fact that Jane Sutherland, Clara Southern and Jane Price were early female artists who had a studio there from 1888. Jane Sutherland was regarded as the leading woman artist of the Heidelberg School which broke with tradition by sketching and painting directly from nature.

11. WCTU Rooms

Nearby are the WCTU rooms, at 15 Collins St. You can spot the WCTU initials on the windows on the first floor.

The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, which was founded in Melbourne in 1887, has rooms in this office. The Union was the largest and most influential of the various women’s organisations in Victoria in the late 1890s. It is still concerned with social issues that particularly affect women, children and families and promotes a drug free lifestyle.

12. The Melbourne Club

Continue up Collins St to the Melbourne Club, a stately 1850s building, at 36 Collins St, opposite Collins Place.

Established in 1838, the Melbourne Club is Victoria’s oldest institution. Women are excluded from membership of this bastion of conservatism and one of the most exclusive organisations in Victoria. Women can only participate as guests or staff. Some women take comfort from the fact that they can look down on the Melbourne Club garden from the Lyceum Club!

13 Harley House

Remain on that side of Collins Street. At the south-west corner of Collins St and Exhibition St is Harley House, an attractive 1920s building.

The National Council of Women, formed in Victoria in 1902, was housed in this building from 1973/74 until the mid-1990s. It encouraged women’s organisations of all kinds, not just feminist ones, to affiliate. It was an effective lobbyist for legislation and representation on all boards and committees relating to the welfare and legal rights of women and children.

14 Alexandra Club

Cross Exhibition Street and look across at the Alexandra Club which is next door to Harley House.

Founded in 1903, the Alexandra Club is one of Australia’s longest established and exclusive clubs for women. Members have included philanthropist Dame Elisabeth Murdoch and community worker and women’s rights activist Beryl Beaurepaire. The club has occupied the building, which was a former house and surgery, since 1916.

15 Le Louvre

Look behind you at Le Louvre, 74 Collins St.

Since 1936, this building has been the high-class boutique Le Louvre, which was presided over by Lillian Wightman from the late 1940s to the 1970s. Lillian Wightman helped to promote high fashion European designers to a growing cosmopolitan and discerning clientele. Her boutique played a role in establishing Melbourne as the fashion capital of Australia that it has become today.

16 Nauru House, 80 Collins St, is visible through the open space next to Le Louvre.

Equal pay campaigns continued in the 1980s. The Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission was located at Nauru House between 1979 and 2006, and women campaigners for equal pay re-enacted the 1969 chain up demonstration at the site on 31 October 1985. The equal pay tram ride took part on 16 September 1985.

17. St Michael’s Uniting Church

Go to the north-east corner of Collins St and Russell St. Your next stop is St Michael’s Uniting Church. It is a particularly early example of the use of polychrome (or multi-coloured) brickwork in Victoria. Women have been part of the congregation since its opening in 1867. The Uniting Church has allowed female ministers who serve in parishes, and some females have been Moderators.

18 Scots Church

Look across the road where the Scots Church is located.

Dame Nellie Melba sang in the choir of the church as a child. When Melba died in 1931, the funeral service was held in the church, which was built by her father David Mitchell. The church was jammed to the doors and thousands of people waited in the streets to watch the long funeral procession set out to the Lilydale Cemetery. Women have been members of the congregation since 1874 but are not permitted to serve as ministers.

19 Flinders Lane

Cross Collins Street and go to the south-west corner of Collins St and Russell St. Look in the direction of Flinders Lane and Flinders Street.

Thousands of women worked in the rag trade in the eastern end of Flinders Lane and endured poor working conditions such as long hours and low wages. Few buildings of the textile and clothing industries remain. Rosati’s, a former clothing warehouse, is one of them.

20. WCTU

The city meeting places of many reformist groups, including the Young Women’s Christian Association and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, were located near Flinders St. The first headquarters of the WCTU was at 28 Russell Street where girls from nearby workrooms could get cheap good meals. The building was acquired in 1889; it is now demolished. In 1915 the Sisterhood of Peace (later the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom) was at 20 Russell Street, which is also demolished.

21. Assembly Hall

Walk down Collins St and look across at the Assembly Hall, which is next door to the Scots Church.

This hall, built in 1915, was used for the Women’s Parliament, early on and again in the 1940s. It was conducted on parliamentary lines with a ministry and political parties, and provided useful training in public speaking and parliamentary procedure. Early suffragists like Vida Goldstein and later the League of Women Voters were involved in the parliament. The hall was also used in the equal pay campaign.

22.Theosophical Society

Continue walking down Collins St and stop at the former Theosophical Society building at 181 Collins St (now the Ralph Lauren boutique).

This unusual 1930s Egyptian Revival style building once housed the Victorian headquarters of the Theosophical Society, an international Eastern mystical organisation. The Theosophical Society was co-founded by the Russian Helena Blavatsky in New York in the 1870s. The Egyptian architectural details reflect the origin of much esoteric thought: Ancient Egypt. Many women in Victoria have been members of the society, and have been elected president over the years. The current Theosophical Society building is at 126-28 Russell St.

23. The Atheneaum

Across the road from the former Theosophical Society building is the Athenaeum.

The talented artist Clarice Beckett had large yearly exhibitions at the Athenaeum from 1924 until 1932. There was a memorial exhibition in 1936, a year after Beckett’s untimely death. Beckett, who faced opposition to her painting and endured family problems, died after a chill became pneumonia and appeared to give up the will to live. The building’s facade contains a statue of Minerva, patron goddess of wisdom.

24. Former Underground Women’s Toilet

Retrace your steps up Collins Street and turn left into Russell St. In the middle of the road, near the intersection with Bourke St, is the Former Underground Women’s Toilet, which is under the sculpture at the site. Built in 1902, it was the first toilet for women in Melbourne’s streets. Many women, including members of the Women’s Political and Social Crusade, had lobbied to have the toilet built. It was perhaps no coincidence that 1902 was the year that women gained the right to vote and sit in Federal parliament and that women had state suffrage in NSW, South Australia and Western Australia.

25. Chinatown

Continue up Russell St and stop at Chinatown in Little Bourke St. This area was an early centre for prostitution and poverty. The Salvation Army established a hall in Little Bourke Street to do battle for the souls of prostitutes and larrikins in the 19th century. Young women were involved in opium dens. The YWCA provided tea and supper for them.

26. Queen Victoria Hospital

Walk to Lonsdale St and turn left. Stop at the remaining tower of the former Queen Victoria Hospital.

Established in 1896, the Queen Victoria Hospital became one of only three hospitals in the world founded, managed and staffed by women. It was Australia’s first female medical service and established by Australia’s first female doctor, Constance Stone. The hospital occupied the site from 1946 until 1987. The remaining former main entry is now occupied by the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre.

27. State Library

Walk through the shopping area at the back of the old hospital tower. The next stop is the State Library at 328 Swanston St. Many well-known female writers and intellectuals have studied at the State Library, including Germaine Greer and Helen Garner. Garner wrote her well-known novel “Monkey Grip” at the library. A beautiful Paris-designed bronze statue was installed in the library’s forecourt in 1906. The statue is of Joan of Arc, the national 15th century heroine of France and saint of the Roman Catholic Church. Artist Jennifer McCarthy executed the painted poles on cast iron bases on the footpath in front of the State Library.

28. Magistrates Court

Walk to the former Magistrates Court at the corner of Russell St and La Trobe St. This building, plus its neighbours, the City Watch House and the Old Melbourne Gaol, are managed by the National Trust which conducts an exciting Crime and Justice Experience program offering tours, dramas and other events. The crime and Justice Experience has won the 2008 Heritage and Cultural Tourism Award.

Many women have been sentenced and fined in the Magistrates Court over the years. For example, Jennie Baines, a leading member of the Women’s Socialist League, received a sentence of six months’ imprisonment for repeated violations of the War Precautions Act in 1919 for flying red flags. Once gaoled, she embarked on a hunger strike, reportedly one of the first ever to take place in Australia. She was released after four days.

29. City Watch House

Next door to the former Magistrates Court is the City Watch House.

The first prisoner of the City Watch House, which opened on 1 September 1909, was Beatrice Phillips. She was charged with indecent language. Representatives of the National Council of Women and Woman’s Christian Temperance Union successfully lobbied to

improve some conditions for female prisoners. One of the improvements was the hiring of female warders or matrons. Matrons and female police long battled for better wages over the years.

30. Old Melbourne Gaol

Next door is the Old Melbourne Gaol, Victoria’s oldest surviving penal establishment. The surviving sections were built in the 1850s and 60s. Ned Kelly’s mother, Ellen, was a prisoner in the women’s cell block when Ned was hanged in 1880. She was in trouble for aiding and abetting Ned and charged with attempted murder. Her two-day old baby, Alice, accompanied her to gaol and stayed there until she was weaned. Four women were hanged there from 1842 until closure of the prison in 1924.

31. Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy

Next door to the old gaol is the former Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy.

The college was established to improve the domestic skills of women with the help of a bequest from Sir William McPherson and named after his wife. Opened by the Duchess of York in 1927, it is a reminder of earlier educational philosophies, especially for girls and young women, when there was a push for ‘scientific’ mothering education. It was thought that mothering skills were not innate and needed to be taught, and the college was established when a young woman’s access to secondary education was limited.

32. Storey Hall

Return to La Trobe St and walk down to Swanston St. Turn right. The next stop is Storey Hall at 344-46 Swanston St.

Various women’s organisations have rented the premises, including the Women’s Political Organisation and Women’s Peace Army associated with Vida Goldstein from 1915. In the 1990s the historic 1887 building was transformed internally and with the addition of a striking modern section. The purple and green on the building are the colours of the Irish and early feminists who once occupied it.

33. Women’s Liberation Office

Walk across the road to the nearby street, Little La Trobe St, where the first Women’s Liberation Office used to be at no. 16. It is now a café.

Melbourne’s women’s liberation movement began in 1970 when activists created a network of autonomous groups which exchanged ideas and skills and planned campaigns. The first Women’s Liberation Movement Centre opened at 16 Little La Trobe Street in 1972. From 1974 monthly meetings were held in a larger building at 50 Little La Trobe Street, which is now demolished. These feminists produced a newspaper Vashti’s Voice, which promoted women’s rights such as equal pay and abortion.

34. Welsh Church

Walk to the end of Little La Trobe St. Turn left at Elizabeth St and right at La Trobe St. The next stop is the Welsh Church at 320 La Trobe St.

In the hall behind the church Dr Constance Stone and others set up the first free dispensary for women in 1896. In the first three months the clinic treated 2,000 women and children. This led to the establishment of the Queen Victoria Hospital. A shilling fund was established to attract support for the hospital.

35. YWCA’s Jasper Hotel

Walk to 489 Elizabeth Street, the location of the YWCA’s Jasper Hotel.

The YWCA was established in Victoria in 1882 by a group of 15 women. The organisation provides housing services, job placement and mentoring for many women. Over the years it has offered a broad range of social and physical facilities, such as childcare, arts, leadership and sports programs. In the building there is a plaque acknowledging the pioneer journalist and unionist Alice Henry.

36. WCTU Drinking Fountain

The final stop is the WCTU Drinking Fountain, Victoria Square, Elizabeth St.

The granite and marble fountain, which features a figure of a woman in classical robes pointing towards heaven, was erected in 1901 by the Melbourne branch of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. The Union had agitated for the provision of clean drinking water in public places as part of its temperance concerns. It donated the fountain to the City of Melbourne to commemorate federation and to coincide with the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York (later George V and Queen Mary).

This is the end of the tour. I hope that you have enjoyed it and that it made you more aware of a number of interesting and important places associated with women in Melbourne.