Thursday 31 October 2019

University of Melbourne Digitised Map Collection

The University of Melbourne has a collection of maps, some of which they have digitised and are available on-line at https://digitised-collections.unimelb.edu.au/handle/11343/19 As you might expect from an Institution which started in 1853 - their collection includes both historic and more modern maps - there is the Ronald and Pamela Walker collection of maps of Asia Minor, 1511 - 1774, interesting in themselves and for students of Asian history, but there are also maps for people interested in local history.

There are over 260 maps of Melbourne including Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works Plans, Sands and McDougall maps from 1868 to 1899, which show how Melbourne developed in that time.  Of interest to the Casey Cardinia region is the fact that the Melway Street Directory has been digitised from 1966 until 1999. These maps chart the change of this region from farmland to suburbia. The first five editions of the Melway are also available on the Melway Street Directoyr website - https://melwayed1.melway.com.au/

The State Library of Victoria also has street directories digitised from 1912 to 1952 - they don't, however,  cover the Casey Cardinia area - the closest we get is to Oakleigh or Frankston - even Dandenong must have been considered country then. Find these Street directories here - under their 'Popular Digitised Collections'

http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/98883


The collection also includes some historic maps of Victoria - including this one, below, from 1851.


Victoria or Port Phillip, published by John Tallis & Co., 1851

Excerpt from a 1851 map showing our area - the Great Marsh is the Koo Wee Rup Swamp, north of that is Mt Ararat - the first Europeans who occupied this land were John Dore and Michael Hennessey, who took up the Mount Ararat Run, of 1,900 acres, at Nar Nar Goon  in 1844.  Rutherford is Rutherford Inlet - which goes to Warneet and Cannon's Creek. It was named after Thomas Rutherford who took up the Bourbinandera Run,  also known as Rutherfords for obvious reasons, in 1842. Jamieson is named for Robert Jamieson, who along with Samuel Rawson, took up the Yallock Run (on the Yallock Creek) in 1839. Further around the Bay, Anderson was at the Bass River.