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Industry & Business

  • 113 High Street Northcote - Shops

    The parcel of land immediately to the north of Westgarth Street Northcote was solid in 1837 to George...
  • A study of businesses in High Street Preston 1892 -1975

    Drawing from a number of sources, including local newspapers and street directories, this history gives a...
  • A. H. and W. Richardson

    A. H. and W. Richardson were brothers who, in January 1888, founded the Northcote Leader and District Record....
  • Adamson's Wine Hall

    For over fifty years Arthur Adamson operated as a wine merchant in High Street Northcote. He started his...
  • Agnes Glew - Bootmaker and early settler (1819-1911)

    Agnes Glew and her husband George arrived in the colony of Victoria 1852. They immediately began a family....
  • Alberto Sanguinetti

    Alberto Sanguinetti arrived in Northcote in 1889 and established his paint and decorating store at 320 High...
  • Alexander Marshall

    Alexander Marshall arrived in Victoria in 1853, making his living both as a carpenter and on the diggings....
  • Alexander's slaughter house - 50 Oakover Road Preston

    William Alexander opened his slaughter yards in Oakover Road Preston in 1896. Like all businesses located...
  • Alfred Hurlston - Miller

    Alfred Hurlston came from a milling family. His father Peter had managed a mill in Janefield. In 1856...
  • Allchin's General store

    Born in South Australia on 12 June 1852, Edmund Allchin arrived in Preston in 1890 with his wife Amelia and...
  • Amcor - The Australian Paper Manufacturing Company

    Samuel Ramsden, a Yorkshire man, founded first paper mill in Victoria on the banks of the Yarra River. This...
  • American Carriage Company

    Under the management of William Cox the American Carriage Company made buggies, carriages and wagons for the...
  • Atyeo and Sons - Stonemasons

  • Bastings' General Store

    Horace and Edwin Bastings arrived in Victoria in 1849 and after a period on the goldfields, established...
  • Benjamin Easter Johnson

    Benjamin Johnson (1865-1939) was one of Northcote’s early pioneers. He was born in the town about 1865, to...
  • Braithwaite's tannery

  • Bubonic Plague

    In January 1900 Sydney was terrified by an outbreak of bubonic plague. In May a case was reported in...
  • Bullen's drain

    Bullen’s Drain was a watercourse which ran down from Preston, along Oakover Road and then down the...
  • Bundoora Park

    Initial white settlement of the area occurred around 1837. The land was used for dairy farming by various...
  • Butchers shops - 721 High Street Reservoir

    In 1879 Gottlieb Seeber set up a butcher's shop on the northwest corner of High Street and Regent Stree...
  • Carelli - the Vizzinese Tailors of Northcote

    Gioacchino and Domenico Carelli came out to Australia from Vizzini in Sicily in 1952. They were tailors and...
  • Carelli Tailors

  • Carl Oldenberg - Saddler, Northcote

    German born Carl Oldenberg started his saddlery in High Street, South Preston in the early 1890s. Around...
  • Catherine Oliver - Butcher

    Catherine Oliver arrived in Northcote about 1850, establishing the townships first butchers shop. By the...
  • Centenary Dairy

    The Centenary Dairy in Alphington, started in 1934 when George and Agnes Cutts built a dairy and milk bar on...
  • Chinese Market Gardens

    The first Chinese market gardens appeared in Northcote in 1887. The Chinese had arrived in Victoria in large...
  • Clifton Brickworks

    The discovery of high quality clay in Northcote and Preston in the 1860s led to a booming trade in clay pit...
  • Confectioners, Northcote

    No. 215 St. Georges Road, Northcote represents the typical shop found on this road during the 1920s and 30s....
  • Confectioners, Thornbury

    In 1915 a combined corner store and home was built on the corner of Wales Street and Speight Street...
  • Confectioners, West Preston

    No. 65 Jessie Street Preston began life as a normal double fronted Edwardian home but in 1921 a small shop...
  • Craigie Lea - Dairy

    Sands & McDougall Street Directory first lists a dairy being operated out of 16 Dundas Street Thornbury...
  • Dairies in Preston

    During the 1920s Preston had a strong dairy industry. The suburb was still largely undeveloped, especially...
  • Dairy farming in Fairfield

    This curious photograph features a humorous moment arising from dairy farm work in Fairfield. A farmer is...
  • Daley’s Dairy

    Daley’s Dairy was established in 1934, by Frank Daley, on the corner of Collins Street and James Street,...
  • Darebin Quarries

    Like neighbouring Brunswick, Darebin became a centre for quarrying. From small beginnings in the...
  • Doolan Brothers - Blacksmiths and Wheelwrights, Preston

    The Doolan brothers arrived in Preston in 1848 and soon established a blacksmiths on the west side of Plenty...
  • Dr. Joseph Brown AO, OBE

    In May 2004 Joseph Brown (1918 - 2009) donated the major part of his collection of Australian art to the...
  • Drive-in Service Station

    During the inter-war period, a rise of car ownership led to the need for service stations throughout the...
  • Edward Wood

    The Wood family arrived in Preston in 1850 well prepared for their new life. Equipped with household...
  • Fern Confectionary Palace

    Fern Confectionary Palace was opened in 1914 at 222 High Street Northcote. It was run by Mrs West and was...
  • Fitzroy Steam Brick Pipe Tile and Pottery Works

    The Fitzroy Steam Brick Pipe Tile and Pottery Works was on Collier Street in Preston. The company was...
  • Francis Watson - Blacksmith

    Francis Watson established his blacksmith’s business on the corner of High Street and Robbs Parade in...
  • Frank Arthur Harris

    Frank Arthur Harris was born in Melbourne in 1853 and died in 19??. Harris became prominent in Preston in...
  • Frank Lanteri

    Frank Lanteri was a wine merchant who ran a successfulbusiness on High Street, Thornbury from around 1914 to...
  • Fred Poole's Coffee Palace

    Fred Poole opened his coffee palace in 1891 only a block up from Mary Cunningham’s Coffee Haven at 77...
  • Frederick Walker

    In 1870 Frederick Walker (c.1820-1896) established the Preston Glue and Oil Manufacturing Works. Starting...
  • Frederick Yann - Blacksmith and Wheelwright, Preston

    Frederick Yann was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1840 before migrating to Australia. He first settled on the...
  • From Cornflakes to Beaufort gun turrets

    The Beaufort was a twin-engine aircraft designed for torpedo or bomb carrying and produced by the Bristol...
  • George Hatfield

    George Hatfield was a local businessman and strong promoter of youth movements in Preston. Born in Richmond...
  • Gibbs Brothers - 795-815 High Street Reservoir

    The first ironmonger/produce store at 795 High Street was established by A. Freeman in 1911. Four years...
  • Gibson's Paddock Land Sale

    Gibson’s Paddock was the name given to an area of real estate in Northcote which was advertised for sale...
  • Gill's Coffee Palace and Refreshment Rooms

    In 1881 Harry John Ramus Gill arrived in Northcote and set up refreshment rooms on the west side of High...
  • Glen Iris Brick Company

    The Glen Iris Brick Company’s quarry and brickworks were located on St Georges Rd in Thornbury,...
  • Grain Merchants, Preston

    Around 1885 Thomas Standen established a grain store on the east side of Plenty Road just below Gower Street....
  • H. R. Crapper

    H. R. Crapper was a local business man, active in Fairfield from the 1930s to the 1980s. As early as...
  • Hamilton's Soap Company

    The Hamilton Soap Company was established in Showers Street Preston around 1890 by Mr G. W. N. Hamilton. It...
  • Harvey's Grocery Store, Preston

    Joseph Harvey arrived in Preston around 1893/94 and established himself as a grocer on the west side of High...
  • Hat Mills on Heidelberg Road

    The McCrohan Hat Factory first opened in 1906 on the current site of 159-79 Heidelberg Rd Northcote. They...
  • Heinrich Lehrke

    German born Heinrich Lehrke (1841-1935) arrived in the colony of Victoria in 1858. He spent many years gold...
  • History of tanneries in Darebin

    The tanning of animal hides and skins into leather was a major industry in Preston which began in the 1860s,...
  • Horace Bastings

    Horace Bastings was born in Islington, London in 1831 and arrived in Northcote either in the late 1840s or...
  • Hubert Leslie Wood

    Hubert Leslie Wood (1874-1940) was the third generation owner-operator of the General Store on High Street,...
  • Hutton's Bacon Factory

    James Carruthers Hutton established a 3 storey bacon factory in Preston (off 59 High Street/Oakover Road) in...
  • J. M. Howard - Bootmaker

    J. M. Howard established his small boot making business on the west side of Plenty Road in 1912. Near the...
  • Jacob Borkheim - Murder - Part 1

    At 4 o’clock on the afternoon of 9 March 1921 Northcote’s High Street was shattered by the sound of three...
  • James Lambert

    James Lambert (1838-1914) was a Londoner who arrived in Victoria in 1852. Coming from a family of tanners,...
  • Johan Gottleib Arndt

    Johann Gottleib Arndt was a pioneer of the Preston brick industry. A German born immigrant, his brickworks...
  • John Howse - Butcher

    John Howse established his butchers shop at 181 Plenty Road in 1893. Within a couple of years he was trading...
  • John McNamara - Baker

    John McNamara was born in Collingwood in 1859. He started his career at a oilcloth factory in Northcote...
  • John P. Howe

    John P. Howe (1854 - 1917) established, in partnership with Sir Herbert Onley, the Howe & Co. Tannery in...
  • Joshua Pitt

    Joshua Pitt was born in 1857, the son of George and Anne Pitt (nee Flashington). In 1886 he married Louisa...
  • Kerryl Pottery

    Kerryl Pottery was established at 53 Banbury Road, Reservoir after Premier Pottery Presrton closed its doors...
  • Kinsella Farm Tobacco

    During the early 1880s Kinsella’s farm on St. Georges Road was the site of one of the first tobacco farms in...
  • Lanteri's Wine Hall

    Wine halls have a dubious history, often catering for the lost souls of the community, the alcoholics,...
  • Mark Sharp - Bootmaker

    Mark Sharp established a business as a bootmaker at 394 (later renumbered 422) High Street Northcote in 1896....
  • Mary Cunningham's Coffee Haven

    Mary Cunningham operated one of two coffee palaces which opened in Plenty Road Preston in 1891. Coffee...
  • Mastroianni Green Grocers, Northcote

    From the early 1900s the Italian Government had been keen to alleviate the suffering of its poorer citizens...
  • Melbourne Vinegar Company

    In 1922 S. K. Dixon established a flour manufacturing business in Eastman Street Northcote. By 1925 Dixon...
  • Mr. Turner - Chemist

    The first chemist in Northcote was established on the corner of High Street and Separation Street Northcote...
  • Munro and Gillies Timber Merchants

    The Munro Bros Timber Merchants Northcote was established in 1892 before quickly receiving its first of many...
  • Myrl Shoe Factory

    The Myrl shoe factory was established in 1919 by Harold Hayden in Pender Street Thornbury. In 1923 Hayden...
  • Neelands Timber Merchants

    William C. Neeland arrived in Northcote, aged only 18, from Euroa. He got a job working at Alfred Tharrat's...
  • Nelson's Cheap Ironmongery and Crockery

    The Nelsons were living in Madeline Street (now the Carlton end of Swanston Street) in 1877 when their tenth...
  • Northcote Biscuit Company

    The Northcote Biscuit Company opened at 1 Bent Street Northcote in 1936/7. A building had been there since at...
  • Northcote Brickworks

    The Northcote Brickworks had its origins in 1866 when publican John Roberts discovered quality clay soil at...
  • Northcote Felt Hat Manufacturing Company

    The Northcote Felt Hat Manufacturing Company started business on the south corner of Bridge Street and Merri...
  • Northcote Shoe Factory

    The Northcote Shoe factory began in a small building in Eastment Street. After expanding its business to...
  • Northcote Tile and Pottery Company

    Started in 1897 by George Westmoreland, the Northcote Tile and Pottery Company remains in business today at...
  • Northcote Tip

    All Nations Park in Separation Street, Northcote is situated on a 13 hectare site with grassy play and picnic...
  • Northland Shopping Centre

    Northland was originally built and owned by the Myer Emporium. When it opened for business on Tuesday 4th of...
  • Oakover Road from St. Georges Road to Gilbert Road

    Oakover Road's origins stretch back to the early days of Preston's settlement, leading as it did to Oakover...
  • Oliver Gilpin

    Oliver Gilpin was a well known chain store proprietor in the early 1900s. Experienced in the drapers...
  • Ongarello's Wine Hall

    Harry Gill had been operating a wine café in High Street for several years before S. Salinger opened his café...
  • Outram Hairdressers

    Norman Outram established his hairdressing business in High Street Thornbury in 1922. As was common in those...
  • Owen Burgess - Blacksmith and Wheelwright, Northcote

    Sands and McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1864- 1974. [Microfiche]. (1974). Melbourne,...
  • P. W. Tomkins - Dairy, Thornbury

    The Tomkins family were well known dairymen in the Thornbury area. S. G. Tomkins started his business at 40...
  • Parker Westmoreland Rosehill Dairy

  • Parkside Tannery

  • Percival Humphrey Brewster

    In late October 1912 Percival Brewster aged 7 years, drowned at the Northcote Brickworks. The water's...
  • Peters' Grocery Store, Thornbury

    The general store on the corner of Darebin Road and Salisbury Grove opened in 1890 with Mark Peters as the...
  • Philip Gough

    Philip Gough was born in Ireland and arrived in Victoria in 1854. He found work as a farm hand. He prospered...
  • Pile's Grocery Store, Preston

    The store at 625 High Street Regent was to see a relatively high turnover of owners during the first quarter...
  • Platypus Sporting Goods - 422A Plenty Road Preston

    The Platypus Sporting Goods factory opened at 442A Plenty Road in 1957. For the next twenty eight years they...
  • Plenty Motors

    Plenty Motors opened its doors in 1925 and continued operating from the same site on the corner of High...
  • Premier Pottery in Preston

    Premier Pottery in Preston commenced in 1929 by friends David Dee and Reg Hawkins. Both men had had much...
  • Preston Market

    Construction on the Preston Market began in October 1969 when Preston Mayor W. K. Larkins drove home the...
  • Preston Poultry Farm

    Arthur and his brother, Charles Sandland moved into Preston around 1911 and very soon established themselves...
  • Rhodes and Heron, mechanical repairs 1925 -

    William Archibald Rhodes and Hugh Heron began their carriage works and motor repair in St. Georges Road in...
  • Robert Broadhurst

    Robert Broadhurst was born in Preston in 1884. His father, Thomas had established the Thos. Broadhurst...
  • Robert Simpson - Blacksmith and Wheelwright, Preston

    Robert Simpson started his wheelwright and blacksmithing business at 173 Plenty Road in 1886. J. T. Peters...
  • Rona Dairy

  • Rona Estate

    Rona Street and the Rona Estate was named after a Dairy Farm situated on Spring Street, Preston. In April...
  • Saddlers - Thornbury

    Thomas White established his saddlery at in a timber building at 759 High Street, Thornbury in 1887. In...
  • Samuel Angior - Chemist

    The first Chemist store in Northcote was established by a Mr. Turner who operated his business from a timber...
  • Samuel Leakey Bartlett

    Arriving in Preston in 1875 with his wife Anna (1844-1927), Samuel Bartett purchased seven acres of land on...
  • Samuel White - Bootmaker

    Samuel White set up his boot making business in a small weatherboard building on the east side of High...
  • Sargent's Cakes

    Sargent’s Cakes at 40 Edwardes Street Reservoir was established in 1952 by James Percy G. Sargent and his son...
  • Separation Street, Northcote

    Separation Street, Northcote came into existence in July 1851 when property owner Peter Macarthur sold a few...
  • Shops and businesses of Northcote

    The first known shop in Northcote was an ironmongers operating from a tent and started by William Shade in...
  • Shops and businesses of Preston

    The first store in Preston was probably Woods general store on the corner of High Street and Wood Street. It...
  • Sir Herbert Horace Olney

    Sir Herbert Olney (1875 – 1957) was born in Ballarat in 1875, the eighth child of Charles Olney and Annie...
  • South Preston Patent Brick and Tile Company

    The South Preston Patent Brick and Tile Company was formed in 1888 to develop a clay hole at the end of the...
  • South Preston Tannery, 60-68 High Street South Preston

    In the 1890s Paul Hardenack ran a tannery from 46 High Street South Preston. High Street has subsequently...
  • Stephenson's Grocery Store, Preston

    Charles Stephenson opened his grocery store in Plenty Road, South Preston in 1903. In 1911 he moved to 357 -...
  • Sterling Soap Company

    Ernest W Mylius originally operated a soap manufacturing business in Adam Street, Richmond, until 1909 when...
  • Sutton's Tool and Gauge Company

    The Sutton Tool and Gauge Company opened its factory on corner of Union and Plant Streets in 1917. The...
  • T. Adams & Co Quarry, Alphington

    The Adams Quarry was located in Alphington, bordered by the Darebin Creek to the east and north, Yarana Rd to...
  • Thomas Broadhurst

    Thomas Broadhurst was born in Windsor, Victoria in 1858. In 1874 he began working at Braithwaite's tannery in...
  • Thomas King - Butcher

    In around 1863 Thomas King owned a bluestone building at 756-8 Heidelberg Road, Alphington. It was one of the...
  • Thomas Weatherhall

    Thomas Weatherall (1835-1897) arrived in Victoria from the north of England in 1859 and pent ten years on the...
  • Thomas White - Saddlers, South Preston

    Sands and McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1864- 1974. [Microfiche]. (1974). Melbourne,...
  • Thomas William Mason

    Thomas Mason was a well known figure in the manufacturing trade between 1854 until his retirement in the late...
  • Twomey’s Garage break in

    On the morning of 5th January 1940 there was a break it at Twomey’s Garage at the back of 411 High Street...
  • Universal Carriage Works

    In 1903 Edward Fellowes established the Universal Carriage Works at 285 – 287 High Street, just across...
  • Vine Tree Hotel

    The Vine Tree Hotel opened on Heidelberg Road in Alphington in 1868. It was probably located in a small...
  • W. A. Tacey - Butcher

    W. A. Tacey operated a wholesale butcher shop from 322 High Street from 1898 to 1909. Tacey had taken over...
  • W. J. Inglis Store

    The W. J. Inglis store at 188 Plenty Road Preston was established in 1921 by William Inglis (1873- 1944), on...
  • Walkerden Brickworks

    Walkerden Brickworks stared in Oakover Road in around 1890 under the general managership of John Walkerden....
  • Watson and Paterson's Bacon Factory

    The factory was built in 1862 on the corner of Dundas Street and Plenty Road, Preston by 2 Scotsmen - William...
  • Weaver's Grocery Store

    Richard Weaver operated a grocery store in High Street, Northcote in the 1860s. It was located on the east...
  • Whalley Brothers

    Robert Whalley (1816-1891) was working as a news vendor in Creswick when his wife Joan gave birth to twin...
  • William B. Howe

    William Howe was the son of J. P. Howe, founder of the Howe & Co. Tannery in High Street Preston....
  • William J. Inglis

    William Inglis was the founder of a well known timber and hardware store on the corner of Plenty Rd and...
  • William Madsen

    William Madsen arrived in Victoria in 1878 and was a journeyman tanner before starting his own business in...
  • William Paterson

    The Paterson family arrived from Scotland in the early 1860s and in 1862 established a ham and bacon curing...
  • William Rowe - Blacksmith and Wheelwright, Thornbury

    After many years working with Frederick Yann, a prominant and successful Preston wheelwright and blacksmith,...
  • William Shade - Ironmonger

    When William Shade arrived in Northcote in 1848 the town was little more than a few scattered huts with High...
  • William T. Clapham - Butcher

    Ward, Andrew (2001). Darebin Heritage Review 2000. Burwood, Vic: City Of Darebin.
  • William Watson

    With William Patterson, Watson established the Watson and Paterson Bacon Curers factory on the corner of...
  • Wollert Dairy

    The Wollert Dairy operated at 204 High Street Preston between the years 1936 and 1954. By 1955 the location...
  • Wood Family's General Store

    The Wood family was one of Preston’s pioneer families, arriving in the district in 1850 as part of a large...
  • Wool scouring - 64 Oakover Road Preston

    In 1892 Mr Caulfield established his wool scouring factory at what would later become 74 Oakover Road...
  • Woornack Dairy

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