Heritage Talk: Merchants, Makers and Innovators
During the second half of the 19th century, factories making ships biscuits, candles, town gas, sugar, coffee and spices, glassware and bottles, starch, chemicals and spirits emerged along the foreshore of Port and South Melbourne and in Fishermans Bend.
In this talk, David F Radcliffe will explore the merchants, entrepreneurs, artisans, and engineers behind this wave of industrialisation and the influence of geography and serendipity.
When and where
Tuesday 30th May, 6:30 pm to 8 pm
Emerald Hill Library & Port Phillip Heritage Centre
This event is free, however bookings are required.
Please note: Bookings open Tuesday 2nd May
Port Phillip Collection, PM 1624 (detail)
About the presenter
David F. Radcliffe is a mechanical engineer and retired academic with longstanding interests in the practice of engineering design as a social activity and the history of engineering education.
Recently he has written articles on the lives of four immigrant engineers who played important roles in developing manufacturing in Port Melbourne and Fishermans Bend. His book Changing fortunes: the ebb and flow of people and place in a pocket of Port Melbourne (Penfolk Press, Blackburn) was published in 2021.