1950s Melbourne: Photos give a revealing

insight into everyday life in Melbourne in the

1950s

1956: Fans get a real close look at Neil Mann and Ian Ridley in the Melbourne v
Collingwood grand final.

1950: The Old Tin Shed in Elizabeth St stood next to the GPO. Built in 1906, the shed
was intended to be on the site temporarily, but it became a city landmark despite
persistent calls for its removal.

April 1950: The handwritten caption on the back of this image describes it as the
township of Broadmeadows. It is actually a street in Westmeadows that was the site
of the original Broadmeadows village.

1950s: Shoppers at Coles.

1950: Children helping their father in his grocery shop.

1951: People relax on the lawns outside the State Library of Victoria.

1951: Children from Scotch Church Elwood Play Centre meet a joey with some help
from Joyce Seekamp at Melbourne Zoo.

1951: The Melbourne Town Hall at the intersection of in Swanston St and Collins St.

1951: Tattersalls Lane, off Bourke St. Picture:

1952: Myer's cafeteria packed in the crowds.

1952: Matt Beha and the bells in the GPO clock tower in Elizabeth St.

1953: Children feed swans at the Royal Botanic Gardens.

1953: Dan Curtain, licensee of the Turf Club Hotel in North Melbourne, presents local
paperboy Peter Hargraves with a watch for his 15th birthday. A collection was taken
up for him by his grateful customers.

1953: Swinging high above a street, rigger Jack Farley directs his invisible crane

driver to lower him to a pile of girders on a building site in Spencer St.

29 July 1953: In Sunshine where the roads were unmade and there was no running
water, Mrs Anita Steigler and her son Ernst along with the family dog set out for home
with a bucket of water. Mrs Steigler uses three of these for the family bath. Also
pictured is Mrs Urmgard Stanik, who has to carry water home.

2 October 1953: Main street in Belgrave.

31 December 1953: Bill Young, Brian Collins, David Young and Judith Young enjoy a
stroll along Mentone's breeze-swept foreshore.

1953: Kids enjoy the water in the children's pool at Eastern Beach, Geelong.

31 December 1953: Main street in Mentone pictured after all the shops closed for the
day.

1954: Drive-in branch of the ES & A Bank at Camberwell.

16 July 1954: Buildings at 88-92 Puckle St, Moonee Ponds that were bought by
Woolworths for $84,000.

1954: This dance craze called the Roo Roo Kangaroo was introduced in Victoria at
Ormond Hall.

28 July 1954: Locals chat outside a new shopping centre at Nunawading.

1954: Dandenong Town Hall.

1954: Corner of Barkly St and Nicholson St, Footscray.

1954: Bay St, Frankston.

1954: Newsboys Leon Wiegard, Wally Leckie, Kenneth Brian White, Paul Wenn and
Brian Galley leave for their rounds.

1955: Intersection of Mount Alexander Rd and Fletcher St in Essendon.

1956: Workers unload ships at Melbourne docklands.

1956: Ahead of the Olympic Games opening in Melbourne, a giant torch was placed
outside Flinders St.

November 1956: The Olympics came to town.

Crowds watch the opening ceremony.

1956: Station St, Sandringham.

1 January 1957: Graham Horn, Lillian Stiles, Peter Hunt and Julie Barlow were all

dressed up for New Year's Eve at Luna Park. The original caption noted that the group
had a gay time.

1957: Immigrant men play billiards in the Democritus Club.

1957: Shoppers in Bourke St.

1958: Heatwave? Children at the North Melbourne Day Nursery grab a cool drink.

1958: North Melbourne footballer Laurie Dwyer was nicknamed Twinkle Toes and

is pictured with his dance partner Veronica Boyhan, with whom he became a national
ballroom dancing champion.

AUGUST 1959: South Melbourne footballer Bob Skilton at work.

LIFE IN 1950s MELBOURNE AT A GLANCE

Price of a loaf of bread: 8 cents
Average yearly wage for male factory workers: $592.33
Average yearly wage for female factory workers: $294.40
Average yearly wage for a male clerk or manager: $866.14
Average yearly wage for a female clerk or manager: $325.06
Unemployment rate: 1-1.7 per cent
Biggest names in sport: Dawn Fraser, Betty Cuthbert, Peter Thomson.
Latest tech device (the tablet of its day): Television
Population of Melbourne: 1.3 million in 1950

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