A memorial to Port Melbourne’s first permanent settler Wilbraham Frederick Evelyn Liardet, 1779-1878 is located on the foreshore opposite Nott Street. Liardet arrived with his wife Caroline and nine children in 1839 and erected a tent on the beach opposite what is now Bay Street. They had the extraordinary energy typical of many new immigrants. Within a year they had built a hut, a jetty, a watch tower and a rough road to the city for a daily mail run to Melbourne, dug a well, created a ferry service to Williamstown, and established the Pier Hotel. Liardet later painted early scenes of Melbourne that are now national treasures. His small tea-tree jetty was the forerunner of busy Town Pier at the end of Bay Street (1849-1950s). The Port Melbourne Yacht Club is now built on the site. Wilbraham had a gift for hitting every recession and wealth eluded him.
by cityofportphillip on March 31, 2016Please login to comment on this item