Central Business District in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia — Oceania

The Things They Left Behind

— Historic Little Lon —

Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, June 3, 2026

1. The Things They Left Behind Marker

Inscription. Walking around Little Lon today, it is hard to imagine life in the crowded urban neighbourhood of the nineteenth century. Above ground, very little is left that tells us about the many varied people who called this place home. Below ground is a different story though.

Little Lon is a globally recognised archaeological precinct. More than 500,000 artefacts recovered from here tell the stories of the people who lived, worked, played and died long ago.

Peculiar to Little Lon are the 'Pepper's Ghost' pipes, named after a popular 1860s theatrical technique using lights and plate glass to make a ghost-like figure appear. No examples of these pipes have been found anywhere else in Australia.

As we see on other urban sites from this period, clay pipes make up one of the largest collections of material found here.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Colonial Era • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1860.

Location. 37° 48.526′ S, 144° 58.235′ E. Marker is in Melbourne, Victoria. It is in the Central Business District. It is on Little Lonsdale Street 0.1 kilometers west of Gorman Alley, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 33 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in Oceania,

Australasia,

the Pacific Ocean,

South Pacific,

the Pacific Rim,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony.

Other nearby markers.

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At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Odd Fellows (a few steps from this marker); River Red Gum (a few steps from this marker); Little Lon': Mission House (a few steps from this marker); Little Lon People and Professions (within shouting distance of this marker); Grit, Grime and Noise (within shouting distance of this marker); 17 Casselden Place (within shouting distance of this marker); Digging through Time (within shouting distance of this marker); Madame Brussels (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Melbourne.

Also see . . . ‘On the shick’ in Little Lon. State Library Victoria

Most of Little Lon’s original residents were Irish, but by the 1900s, the area was home to people from countries as disparate as Syria, China, Germany, India and Italy. This 1900 Sands & McDougall directory listing from the precinct was typical:

(Picture) Snapshot from Sands & Mcdougall directory featuring eclectic list of residents from McGrath Place and McCormac's Place in Little Lon. Occupants of laneways in Little Lon, 1900.

Families as large as nine and ten dwelled in small, two-room workers’ cottages. Entrepreneurial types started their own small businesses. Others eked out a living as best they could as hawkers and factory hands, laundry workers and shop assistants.

(Submitted on June 11, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria.)

The Things They Left Behind Marker in the Walkway image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, June 3, 2026

2. The Things They Left Behind Marker in the Walkway

Credits. This page was last revised on June 12, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 11, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. This page has been viewed 6 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 11, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.