Central Business District in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia — Oceania
Grit, Grime and Noise
| | Historic Little Lon | |
Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, June 3, 2026
1. Grit, Grime and Noise Marker
Buildings rattled with the rhythm of workshops churning out brass fittings, steam engines and sausage making machines. You could hear the clang of tools, humming of grinding wheels and see hands covered with grease and sweat.
George Griffin was the first person to occupy a building on this corner, running a grocery and hay store from 1850. By 1884, Griffin's store was replaced by Porta and Sons' iron workshop.
W. H. Blakeley & Co purchased the site in 1921 and constructed a new building that filled the block bounded by Little Lonsdale Street, Griffin Lane and Casselden Place.
W. H. Blakeley & Co relocated in c1961 and the factory building was demolished in 2017.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1850.
Location. 37° 48.516′ S, 144° 58.261′ E. Marker is in Melbourne, Victoria. It is in the Central Business District. It is at the intersection of Little Lonsdale Street and Casselden Place, on the left when traveling west on Little Lonsdale Street. Touch for map. Marker
this page online
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. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Little Lon': Mission House (a few steps from this marker); Madame Brussels (within shouting distance of this marker); 17 Casselden Place (within shouting distance of this marker); Ti Cum Ah Chung, 1903 (within shouting distance of this marker); Bill Proudfoot (within shouting distance of this marker); Sister Esther (within shouting distance of this marker); Little Lon People and Professions (within shouting distance of this marker); Digging through Time (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Melbourne.
Also see . . . Little Lon District. Wikipedia
Understanding the people of Little Lon<b/>(Submitted on June 11, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria.)
Recent writers have emphasized the vibrancy and complexity of LittleLon's population of migrants and itinerant workers, and challenged the stereotype of the area as a miserable slum. This also seems to have been born out by the major archaeological studies conducted in the area in 1988 and 2002, which discovered a wide variety of objects from abandoned cesspits and rubbish dumps. Many were typical of domestic use in the nineteenth century, but a number gave indications of a flourishing community and occasionally, prosperity. Dr. Alan Mayne has commented; "Little Lon was clearly not, as the slummer genre would have it, an unstable mishmash of listless and directionless deviants. Nor were its inhabitants passive victims to poverty." By the end of the nineteenth century, the area had become home to a diverse migrant population of Chinese, German Jews, Lebanese and Italians.Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, June 3, 20262. Grit, Grime and Noise Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on June 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 11, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. This page has been viewed 25 times since then. Last updated on June 23, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 11, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
