What can the first land sales of Melbourne tell us about the city's origins—and the people who seized the opportunity to shape its future?
Join us on Wednesday 26 August at 2pm on Zoom. This talk is for members only and is $10. Please log into the GSV website to register on the What’s ON - Events page. The Zoom link will be emailed to you.
On 1 June 1837, surveyor Robert Hoddle stood on a log and began auctioning the first allotments of land in the newly-surveyed Hoddle Grid, now the heart of Melbourne’s CBD. The purchasers came from a wide variety of backgrounds, but most shared a common ambition: to build wealth in a fast-growing new settlement.
Dr Liz Rushen will take us back to 1837 and introduce us to some of those early purchasers — from former convicts and publicans to merchants and investors whose fortunes were tied to global trade. They acquired land on Wurundjeri country for next to nothing, setting in motion changes that would shape the city for generations. Some went on to amass considerable fortunes; others lost everything. Every allotment reveals Melbourne’s complex origins.
This talk also looks at how these allotments have evolved, including the buildings that once stood, and those that stand today. Melbourne began as an act of confidence and enterprise — and that speculative spirit remains part of the city’s character today. It’s a tale of dreamers, schemers, workers and empire builders: the people who first bought Melbourne's land.
Dr Liz Rushen is a well known Australian historian and author. She has curated an exhibition at the Royal Historical Society, 239 A’Beckett St, Melbourne. If you want to see the exhibition, it is in the RHSV main gallery. Free entry. Open until 11 November, 10am-5pm weekdays.
https://www.historyvictoria.org.au/current-exhibitions/