41-511: Williamstown Town Hall is a civic building located in Williamstown , a suburb of Melbourne, Australia . The hall was built in two stages, the first being the front municipal offices, designed in the Greek revival style to the design of then young architect Joseph Plottel , dating from 1919. The hall behind was added to the design of Gibbs, Finlay & Morsby, and officially opened in 1927. After
82-562: A cargo of 500 sheep and 50 Hereford cattle which had been consigned by Dr. Alexander Thomson . After reaching the coastline of Port Phillip , Captain Coltish chose the area now known as Port Gellibrand, as a suitable place to unload his cargo . When Governor Richard Bourke and Captain William Lonsdale visited the emergent settlement at Port Phillip in 1837, they both felt the main site of settlement at Point Gellibrand would emerge at
123-757: A language group known as the Bunurong , which included six clans along the coast from the Werribee River , across the Mornington Peninsula , Western Port Bay to Wilsons Promontory . The Yalukit-willam referred to the Williamstown area as "koort-boork-boork", a term meaning "clump of she-oaks ", literally "She-oak, She-oak, many." In November 1835, Captain Robson Coltish, master of the barque Norval sailed from Launceston , then crossing Bass Strait with
164-423: A time when fellow Heidelberg School impressionist artist Frederick McCubbin was also painting the Williamstown landscape. Between 1909 and 1915, McCubbin visited Williamstown on numerous occasions and produced sketches and watercolours of the foreshore and the old shipyards. He also produced a major oil painting of the Williamstown docks in 1915. Williamstown was proclaimed a City on 17 May 1919. Construction of
205-460: A very accurate clock at the station which was set manually to observatory time. Following the introduction of the electric telegraph around 1850, time balls could be located at a distance from their source of mean time and operated remotely. The first modern time ball was erected at Portsmouth , England, in 1829 by its inventor Robert Wauchope , a captain in the Royal Navy . Others followed in
246-482: A very different result with a huge swing against the government. The ALP's primary vote was 46.75% (compared to 61.7 in 2007), with the Liberal Party polling 32.5% of the primary vote. In the 2014 State Election , Noonan retained the seat with a primary vote of 44.6%. Primary schools in the area include St. Mary's Primary School, Williamstown Primary School and Williamstown North Primary School. State High schools in
287-687: A visibility of 15 nautical miles (28 km) and operated as a lighthouse from 1934 to 1987. Also in 1946, nine Williamstown residents met to form the Williamstown Little Theatre Movement. Through the 1950s and 1960s, Williamstown Little Theatre had several homes in Williamstown; from the Mechanic's Institute to the Williamstown Town Hall Supper Room and the former Missions to Seamen building in Nelson Place. In 1967
328-407: Is dropped at a predetermined time, principally to enable navigators aboard ships offshore to verify the setting of their marine chronometers . Accurate timekeeping is essential to the determination of longitude at sea. Although time balls have since been replaced by electronic time signals , some time balls have remained operational as historical tourist attractions . The fall of a little ball
369-617: Is the former observatory and time ball tower. In March 1864 New Zealand's first time ball was established at Wellington. This was followed by Port Chalmers in June 1867, Wanganui in October 1874, Lyttelton in December 1876 and Timaru in 1888. Attempts were made by some people in Auckland to establish time balls there from 1864 onwards, but these were not recognized by the authorities until a permanent time ball
410-565: The Californian gold fields, the settlement's growth was phenomenal. The first Williamstown Post Office opened on 1 March 1850. Australia's first telegraph line began operating between Melbourne and Williamstown on 3 March 1854. At this time, the timeball was moved to the Telegraph Station at Point Gellibrand. The Williamstown Chronicle , the first Victorian suburban newspaper, was established in 1854. The Williamstown Freemasons chapter
451-561: The City of Hobsons Bay local government area . Williamstown recorded a population of 14,407 at the 2021 census . Indigenous Australians occupied the area long before maritime activities shaped the modern historical development of Williamstown. The Yalukit-willam clan of the Kulin nation were the first people to call Hobsons Bay home. They roamed the thin coastal strip from Werribee to Williamstown/Hobsons Bay. The Yalukit-willam were one clan in
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#1732843916973492-584: The City of Williamstown was amalgamated with the City of Altona in 1994 to form the new City of Hobsons Bay , the building continued to be used for council meetings, though not as often as its Altona counterpart. 37°51′30″S 144°53′46″E / 37.85833°S 144.89611°E / -37.85833; 144.89611 Williamstown, Victoria Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia , 11 km (6.8 mi) south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District , located within
533-795: The Indian Ocean , sailed into Hobsons Bay on the afternoon of 25 January 1865. An 1871 hearing at the International Court in Geneva awarded damages of £820,000 against Britain to the US government for use of the port at Williamstown by the CSS Shenandoah . Between 1857 and 1889, the main railway workshops of the Victorian Railways were at Point Gellibrand, and at their height covered 85% of Point Gellibrand. Imported steam locomotives were assembled at
574-556: The Kororoit Creek . Williamstown is within the Victorian electoral district of Williamstown . The 2007 by-election was triggered by the resignation of Steve Bracks as both Premier of Victoria and the Member for Williamstown. Wade Noonan successfully contested the election with 61.7% of the primary vote. The Liberal Party did not contest the seat in 2007. The 2010 State Election saw
615-563: The Williamstown Town Hall on Ferguson Street commenced a year earlier in 1918, but it was not officially opened until 1927. The Williamstown and Newport Anglers Club was formed in 1933 and rented premises at 221 Nelson Place, moving next door to 223 in March 1935. In August 1939, the club was granted a site on the Esplanade and in 1941 a clubhouse was opened. A jetty and slipway were built
656-667: The Williamstown Workshops . After 1889 the extensive workshops were moved to nearby Newport . The Alfred Graving Dock is historically significant as the first graving dock in Victoria and the third in Australia at that time, for its role in the development of the shipping industry in Port Phillip, for its continuous use as a Dockyard since its completion and for association with William Wardell during his term as Inspector General of
697-681: The Port Phillip Yacht Club , moved to its present site at 120 Nelson Place, adjacent to Gem Pier. Williamstown North Primary School was established in 1874 and in that same year part of the market reserve was purchased from the Williamstown Council by the Education Department in order to build the Williamstown Primary School No. 1183. The Williamstown CYMS football club was formed in 1886 and remains one of
738-620: The Public Works Department. Williamstown Baptist Church was officially founded in 1868, though a congregation had begun to form eight years earlier in response to an advertisement in the Williamstown Chronicle dated Saturday, 24 November 1860. Baptismal services were performed at the back beach at Williamstown from 1861 through to 1868, the first being performed 10 March 1861 by the Rev. David Rees of South Yarra. The Oddfellows' Hall
779-563: The Williamstown Baptist Sunday School called by Arthur Whitley (son of the Minister). Arthur Whitley became the first Captain and Fred Scott the first secretary. Williamstown Pier railway station was opened on 8 January 1905. The station existed primarily to serve the Williamstown docks precinct and was the terminus of the Williamstown line . In 1906, one of the largest undertakings attempted by ship repairers in Australia
820-473: The area include Bayside Secondary College and Williamstown High School , (Pasco and Bayview Street Campuses). The Junior School at the Williamstown campus of Westbourne Grammar School is housed in the National Trust classified Victorian mansion "Monomeith" at 67 The Strand. Time ball A time ball or timeball is a time-signalling device. It consists of a large, painted wooden or metal ball that
861-463: The bottom. With the commencement of radio time signals (in Britain from 1924), time balls gradually became obsolete and many were demolished in the 1920s. A contemporary version of the concept has been used since 31 December 1907 at New York City 's Times Square as part of its New Year's Eve celebrations; at 11:59 p.m., a lit ball is lowered down a pole on the roof of One Times Square over
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#1732843916973902-409: The community responded to the increasing risk of accidents from a busy port, the railway workshops and the growing industrial area of Newport , Spotswood and Footscray to establish Melbourne's first suburban public general hospital. Williamstown Central Tennis Club is on a site at the corner of Ferguson Street and Melbourne Road. The Williamstown Lacrosse Club was founded in 1898 at a meeting in
943-522: The course of the sixty seconds ending at midnight. The spectacle was inspired by an organizer having seen the time ball on the Western Union Building in operation. Over sixty time balls remain standing, though many are no longer operational. Existing time balls include: Clearly seen from the river and aligned on the meridian for observation purposes, Building 20, also known as the Ball House,
984-564: The estuary and they renamed it William's Town after King William IV , then the English monarch. It served as the Settlement of Port Phillip's first anchorage and as the centre for port facilities until the late 19th century. Williamstown was initially considered along with the sites that became known as Geelong and Melbourne for the capital of the new colony at Port Phillip. Although Williamstown offered excellent proximity to anchorage, Melbourne
1025-529: The following year. In 1934, the bluestone time ball tower (the former lighthouse) was extended by 30 feet (9.1 m) with a circular brick tower on top. The extension was then painted with a coat of aluminium paint and it was re-established as a lighthouse due to the loss of singularity against the light of the City behind the Point Gellibrand Pile Light. It was electric, gave a green and red light, had
1066-751: The major ports of the United Kingdom (including Liverpool ) and around the maritime world. One was installed in 1833 at the Greenwich Observatory in London by the Astronomer Royal , John Pond , originally to enable tall ships in the Thames to set their marine chronometers, and the time ball has dropped at 1 p.m. every day since then. Wauchope submitted his scheme to American and French ambassadors when they visited England. The United States Naval Observatory
1107-467: The old rifle range was preserved, refurbished and is now as a funeral home set in a large formal garden. The remaining 50 hectares was reserved for the protection of the surrounding environmentally sensitive area. This area, now known as the Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve consists of open grasslands for passive recreation, two wetland lakes, the saltmarsh and mangrove conservation area, Wader Beach and
1148-539: The oldest sporting clubs in Australia. The Hobsons Bay Yacht Club, situated on Nelson Place at the end of Ferguson Street and adjacent to the pier. The Yacht Club Hotel was built in 1892 at 207 Nelson Place, a site previously occupied by an iron-framed 'wooden' hotel called the Lord Clyde. It was owned by Carlton and West End Breweries, later the Carlton Brewery Ltd. The Williamstown Hospital opened in 1894 when
1189-513: The theatre company moved into its current venue, a converted bakery on Albert Street. In 1948, an electoral redistribution saw Williamstown included in the new Australian Federal electoral Division of Gellibrand , named after Joseph Tice Gellibrand (1786–1836). It was proclaimed in 1949 and was first won in that year by the Australian Labor Party candidate, John Michael Mullens. He held the seat until 1955. The destroyer HMAS Anzac
1230-632: Was also established in 1854. Fort Gellibrand was built in 1855 during the Crimean War , to guard against a possible Russian invasion. The first lightship to mark the reef off Point Gellibrand was the former barque New Constitution which the Government purchased in October 1856 for £1050. It took up station on 25 July 1859. In May 1860, tenders were called for construction of a new lightship off Point Gellibrand. The new lightship consisted of two white lights of equal height, 24 feet (7.3 m) apart, and
1271-454: Was built in 1849–50 to replace the original wooden one. It only operated as a lighthouse until 1860, when a Pile Light was built and anchored off Shelly Beach, after which it served as a time ball tower. Williamstown had been a primitive settlement until the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, but after the gold seekers began to arrive, many from the tin mines of Cornwall , and many more from
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1312-450: Was commissioned at Williamstown Naval Dockyard on 14 March 1951 under the command of Commander John Plunkett-Cole RAN. The Merrett Rifle Range at Williamstown was the rifle-shooting venue for the 1956 Olympic Games . In May 1962, the City of Williamstown annexed 83 hectares (210 acres) from the Shire of Altona . The Pile Light anchored off Shelly Beach in 1860 was destroyed in 1976 when it
1353-489: Was established aboard the steamer Fire Fly . It was used to convey passengers, as well as sheep and cattle from Tasmania. The first lighthouse, a wooden one with an oil-burning beacon at the top, was erected at Point Gellibrand in 1840. In that same year a water police superintendent was appointed to Williamstown. Williamstown remains the present-day home of the Victorian Water Police. A bluestone lighthouse
1394-513: Was established in Washington, D.C., and the first American time ball went into service in 1845. Time balls were usually dropped at 1 p.m. (although in the United States they were dropped at noon). They were raised half way about 5 minutes earlier to alert the ships, then with 2–3 minutes to go they were raised the whole way. The time was recorded when the ball began descending, not when it reached
1435-572: Was hit by the Melbourne Trader , a vessel of 7,000 tonnes. The force of the collision snapped the piles at waterline area, the light was sheared off its piles at water level, pushed 7 metres (23 feet) sideways, and was left hanging precariously on several of the remaining piles. The Urban Land Authority developed 60 hectares of the estate for housing and related commercial and community activities. Residential allotments were progressively released for sale from May 1991. The historic armoury building of
1476-415: Was in antiquity a way to show to people the time. Ancient Greek clocks had this system in the main square of a city, as in the city of Gaza in the post-Alexander era, and as described by Procopius in his book on Edifices. Time ball stations set their clocks according to transit observations of the positions of the sun and stars. Originally they either had to be stationed at the observatory , or had to keep
1517-507: Was once one of the senior thoroughbred racing clubs in Victoria. Built in 1872, the Williamstown Racecourse, with its large and elaborately decorated grandstand facing out to the sea, was considered one of the finest in Australia. The Williamstown Football Club , an Australian rules football club was formed in 1864. The Confederate States Navy warship CSS Shenandoah , which had successfully attacked several Union ships in
1558-813: Was rented for services from December 1868. The Presbyterian schoolroom in Cecil Street was later used, followed by the Temperance Hall from April 1870. The Tabernacle, now the Church of Christ on Douglas Parade, was used after this. In January 1876 services reverted to the Oddfellows' Hall. In 1884 the Baptist Church building on Cecil Street was officially opened. In 1873, the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, founded in May 1853 as
1599-738: Was shown from a temporary anchor in 4.5 fathoms of water. This lightship guarded Gellibrand's Point reef from 1861 until 1895. Williamstown Post Office (the oldest post office building still standing in Victoria) and a Mechanics Institute were built in 1860. By 1861 Williamstown had 13 slips for boat repairs and building, and pier accommodation for 40 vessels. In 1864, the town boundaries of Williamstown were expanded to take in Newport and Spottiswoode, later to become Spotswood . Piped water from Yan Yean water supply subsequently arrived, allowing more rapid growth. The Williamstown Racing Club, founded in 1864,
1640-711: Was successfully accomplished at the Williamstown Dockyard. SS Peregrine , a 1,660 GRT vessel of the Howard Smith Line, was lengthened amidships by 40 feet (12 m). This was perhaps the first jumboising operation undertaken in Australia. The Williamstown Hospital was expanded with the addition of the Male Ward in 1911 and the Female Ward in 1917. Heidelberg School impressionist artist Walter Withers painted numerous landscapes of Williamstown around 1910, at
1681-414: Was ultimately chosen due to its abundance of fresh water. Wiliamstown remained an important port of the new colony, and the first streets of old William's Town were laid out in 1837 with that in mind. The first land sales in the area took place in 1837. A 30-metre stone jetty was built by convict labour in 1838 where Gem Pier now stands. That same year a ferry service between Melbourne and Williamstown