photograph of the St Peter chapel sanctuary

Written in black ink at he bottom of the mount: To Miss Ethel Godfrey/ Hon. General Secretary L.H.L.G. / April 1929 / From A [missing] Written at the back in black ink: Mission to Seamen / Flinders Street Extension

st peter chapel, cross, altar, alm's dish, sanctuary, altar lectern, ethel augusta godfrey

Medium size mounted photograph depicting the Williamstown Mission, Nelson Place.

Stamp at the back: Melbourne Harbour Trust Negative number: 00884

seamen mission, williamstown, nelson place

Large mounted photograph depicting a lady preparing plates for a meal in the kitchen at the Flinders Street Mission.

hlg, meals, dinners, seamen, sailors, reverend c.j. eldridge-doyle, lady, salad, plates, kitchen

Large mounted photograph depicting a dance at the Flinders Street Mission with three couples dancing in front of the stage where a band is playing.

Written n black ink: Bill Eldridge-Doyle / Chaplain / 1960 Written in pencil: P3 / Dance Pic

hlg, seamen, sailors, reverend c.j. eldridge-doyle, dances, stage, music, band, drums, flags, microphone, saxophone, flowers

Large mounted photograph depicting a meal at the Flinders Street Mission. At the back traces of newspaper glued.

hlg, meals, dinners, seamen, jukebox, tables, bentwood chairs, sailors, reverend c.j. eldridge-doyle

claude james eldridge-doyle, bill doyle, reverend c.j. eldridge-doyle, reverend t.p. kerfoot, reverend frank leslie oliver, felicity eldridge-doyle, orcades

newspaper clipping with portrait

written in black ink: The Age, 20 June 1960

claude james eldridge-doyle, bill doyle, reverend c.j. eldridge-doyle, orcades

Black and white photograph with a white border. Image is taken from inside the main hall of the Mission to Seafarers Melbourne depicting the stage with its curtains, the floorboard, chairs.

window, jukebox, main-hall, wainscote, wood-panelling, arch, chairs, mission to seafarers, mission to seamen, music, floorboards, flowers, flying angel club, stage, curtains

Sir Reginald Alexander Dallas Brooks (1896–1966), State Governor of Victoria 1949 - 1963 was the Patron of the Mission and guest speaker at a special fundraising dinner held to commemorate the centenary of a mission to seamen in Victoria. The image depicts the State Governor flanked by Archbishop of Melbourne and E.B.Coles, Chairman of the Mission, presenting a cheque as donation, at the centenary dinner. The photograph was published in the 1956 Annual Report (page 5).

The Centenary dinner held in 1956 marked a key milestone in the maintenance of services to seafarers in Victoria. The State Governor presence as special guest and speaker helped to launch a key fundraising drive that was much needed.

large rectangular b/w photograph in landscape format depicting three men on the left a clergyman, centre a man with a moustache in a dark suit and on right man in a light suit and wearing spectacles seems to be presenting a cheque.

mission to seafarers, donors, state governors, sir reginald alexander dallas brooks, centenary, 1956, e.b. coles, centanery appeal, g.j. coles

Sir Reginald Alexander Dallas Brooks (1896–1966), State Governor of Victoria 1949 - 1963 was the Patron of the Mission and guest speaker at a special fundraising dinner held to commemorate the centenary of a mission to seamen in Victoria. The image depicts the State Governor flanked by Archbishop of Melbourne and E.B.Coles, Chairman of the Mission, presenting a cheque as donation, at the centenary dinner. The photograph was published in the 1956 Annual Report (page 5).

The Centenary dinner held in 1956 marked a key milestone in the maintenance of services to seafarers in Victoria. The State Governor presence as special guest and speaker helped to launch a key fundraising drive that was much needed.

large rectangular b/w photograph in landscape format depicting three men on the left a clergyman, centre a man with a moustache in a dark suit and on right man in a light suit and wearing spectacles seems to be presenting a cheque.

mission to seafarers, donors, state governors, sir reginald alexander dallas brooks, centenary, 1956, e.b. coles, centanery appeal, g.j. coles

Sir Reginald Alexander Dallas Brooks (1896–1966), State Governor of Victoria 1949 - 1963 was the Patron of the Mission and guest speaker at a special fundraising dinner held to commemorate the centenary of a mission to seamen in Victoria. The image depicts the State Governor flanked by Archbishop of Melbourne and E.B.Coles, Chairman of the Mission, presenting a cheque as donation, at the centenary dinner. The photograph was published in the 1956 Annual Report (page 5).

The Centenary dinner held in 1956 marked a key milestone in the maintenance of services to seafarers in Victoria. The State Governor presence as special guest and speaker helped to launch a key fundraising drive that was much needed.

large rectangular b/w photograph in landscape format depicting three men on the left a clergyman, centre a man with a moustache in a dark suit and on right man in a light suit and wearing spectacles seems to be presenting a cheque.

mission to seafarers, donors, state governors, sir reginald alexander dallas brooks, centenary, 1956, e.b. coles, centanery appeal, g.j. coles, ship model, flag

Draft for the 1920 Annual Report: Visit of HRH Prince of Wales on 12 June 1920

prince of wales, cinema, reverend alfred gurney goldsmith

Since the 1960s, the Mission had to adapt to the seafarers coming from Asia.

flying angel club, chinese, mandarin, koala, kangaroo, lounge, tv, games, soccer, sports, souvenir, shop, post, library, books, chapel, pastoral service, seafarers' rights, exchange, hospitality, japanese

From the book Colonial Clippers: "Carmichael’s Superb Wool Clipper “Mermerus.” This beautiful ship was one of the finest and most successful of all the iron wool clippers, and as a specimen of an iron sailing ship she could hardly be beaten, either for looks, speed or sea worthiness. Barclay, Curle never turned out a more graceful and handsome ship as looks; and like all Carmichael’s, she was most beautifully sparred, crossing the main skysail yard, which was so characteristic a feature of their ships. I give her spar plan below. This is her original spar plan. Barclay, Curle planned her spars for three skysails, but the fore and mizen were not sent aloft. Mermerus had a poop 54 feet long, and a foc’s’lehead 32 feet long. She carried a cargo of 10,000 bales of wool, representing the fleeces of a million sheep and worth £130,000 more or less as wool varied in price. 228 She never made a bad voyage under the Golden Fleece house-flag, and the regularity with which she arrived every year in time for the February wool sales caused her to receive the most out-spoken praise. On one occasion, when as usual she had arrived in time and several notable ships had missed the sales, Mr. Young, of the Australian Mortgage Land and Finance Company, greeted one of the Carmichaels in Cornhill with the heart-felt remark:—“That ship of yours is the most satisfactory ship in the wool trade.” Most of those connected with the Mermerus regarded her with great affection and spoke of her as a living thing. Mr. John Sanderson, a well-known Melbourne merchant, was often heard to say:—“The Mermerus is a wonderful ship, I can always depend on the Mermerus.” The Melbourne people, indeed, looked upon her as the pride of their port; and Lord Brassey, when Governor of Victoria, heard so much about her that he paid her a special visit and inspected her with the approving eye of a seaman. Captain W. Fife commanded her until 1888, and then Captain T. G. Coles had her until she was sold to the Russians. Except for her third voyage she was always in the Melbourne trade, but in April, 1874, she went out to Sydney. On this passage she took out a dozen South Sea Island missionaries as passengers. Whilst in the North Atlantic she happened to be becalmed for a few hours, and several turtle were noticed lying asleep on the water close to her. Captain Fife, who was a great fisherman, immediately launched a boat and succeeded in capturing six of them. The Mermerus duly arrived in Sydney early one morning in June after a splendid passage of 72 days. The passengers, on the morning of her arrival, were229 joined at breakfast by a troop of friends, who so enjoyed themselves that they all returned, sky-pilots and friends as well, to the mid-day shipboard dinner, and at its finish declared that they would all return again for supper. This was too much for Captain Fife and he plainly said so. The parsons thereupon began grumbling at his meanness, whereat the irate skipper fairly boiled over:—“You are the greediest lot I ever carried,” he thundered; “on a 70-day passage you have eaten up 140 days of cabin stores and six turtle besides—and you call me a stingy Scottie. Now clear out and never let me see you again.” This voyage she did not come home with wool, but went up to Newcastle, N.S.W., and loaded coal at 24s. for San Francisco. After making the passage across the Pacific in 56 days, she loaded 2420 tons of wheat at £4 1s. 3d. for Liverpool. She finally arrived in the Mersey on the 25th May, 104 days out from Frisco. This must have been a good voyage for her owners, as the freight on the outward passage to Sydney alone came to £5000. On her next voyage she left Liverpool Docks on 21st July, 1875, and went from the Tuskar to Melbourne in 69 days; this time she loaded wheat home. She made her best passage out in 1876; leaving London on the 25th June, she took in gunpowder at Gravesend, and arrived in Hobson’s Bay on 30th August, exactly 66 days from the Gravesend powder buoys to Melbourne. The powder was only just 66 days on board, being landed on the 67th day. She crossed the line on 17th July and the Cape meridian on 6th August. Her best homeward run was made the following year, when she was 71 days to the Lizard, and then was held up by head winds. And in230 1886-7 she docked in London only 78 days out from Melbourne. And as she grew older, her splendid average in no way deteriorated. In 1896 she went out to Melbourne in 76 days, and in 1897, her last voyage under the British flag, she went out in 77 days. She was then sold to the Russians, but they kept her going. On 4th February, 1902, she arrived at Port Adelaide from Cardiff only 73 days out, whilst in 1904 she made the best passage home from the Antipodes of the year, from Adelaide to the Wight in 69 days. This beautiful ship came to her end at the beginning of December, 1909. She had sailed from Frederickstadt on 29th November, timber laden for Melbourne, and stranded near Christiansand in a heavy fog; she was floated again, but was found to be so damaged that it was not thought worth the money to repair her, so on 28th April, 1910, she was sold to the shipbreakers.

Captain Coles from the Mermerus was one of the captain signant the 1896 petition.

wool clipper, mermerus, captain t.g. coles, victoria dock, petition, captains' petition

My Little Melbourne Girl, Exploring the love letters of Lillie Duncan

lillie duncan, my little melbourne girl

My Little Melbourne Girl, Exploring the love letters of Lillie Duncan was an exhibition curated by Catherine McLay and held at the Library at the Dock in 2015.

lillie duncan, my little melbourne girl

non-fiction

captain trader horn

Small book with chinese temple photograph tinted in orange hue.

non-fiction

reverend kerr johnston, 1812-1887, agnes cleverley, mary danne

non-fiction

vasa, warship, sweden

non-fiction

ships, australia

non-fiction

shipping companies, union steamship company of new zealand

non-fiction

training ships, apprentices, education, navy school

non-fiction

tug boat

non-fiction

iron clads, peter hore, battleships, wwi, first world war, great war

Black cover with picture of ship and embossed gilded writings

non-fiction

Illustrations of Venetian ships

seafarers, time life books, east india

Black cover with picture of ship and embossed gilded writings

non-fiction

Illustrations of Venetian ships

seafarers, time life books, clippers