1861-2007
On The 3rd Day Of April In The Year 2007

Located at 46 Otter St Collingwood for 156 years St Josephs church had become a famous Collingwood landmark built some fifteen years before Collingwood would become a City. It would of been a grand place for many weddings, A sad but much needed place for quiet times and reflection during the great depression, The same church during two World Wars would of offered hope and prayer, And a place of farewell for many Collingwood residents embarking on the final journey beyond.

 The devastation of St Josephs was bought on by an electrical fault on a cold morning in April 2007, I remember in disbelief whilst listening to the radio news service informing Melbourne that the church had been destroyed, Its front walls would stand in defiance but the rest of the place would be gutted to ashes with it's original stained glass ( see top right ) and it's wonderful anonymous single-manual organ of six stops of local manufacture possibly built by the local organ builder William Anderson about 1880 would also perish.

The township of Collingwood has seen major changes over recent years, The removal of club to another location, The destruction of suburb in the name of progress and now the fire that all but destroyed St Jospehs. It will be rebuilt but it will never be the same, This website feels it important to honour St Josephs, To acknowledge it's significant role in the history of Collingwood to it's people, joffasfrontpage will be there as it rebuilds.!

We will also show never before seen pics of  St Josephs as it is today whilst it waits for the rebuild, I would precariously stand amidst the ruin with wet eyes to capture for which many would describe as  ' The burning of the soul.'

Collingwood , an industrial and residential suburb , is 3km north-east of Melbourne. I'ts Western boundary is Smith St Fitzroy, and it's southern boundary is Victoria Parade. On it's east are Clifton Hill and Abbotsford, both included in the former Collingwood Muncipality. It was named after Admiral Lord Collingwood, who fought at Trafalgar.

Along with Fitzroy, Collingwood was sub divided in 1838 into allottments each of about 12ha. At thet time both districts were known as Collingwood, although the Fitzroy part was differentiated  by being as Upper Collingwood or Collingwood West. It was the elevated part, as the land falls away to a plain about 200 meters East of Smith St, otherwise known as Collingwood flat. Storm-water drained from the elevated part along today's Alexandra Parade and thence south east  to near the Victoria Park Football ground into the Yarra river. The entry to the yarra was a swampy area.

Buyers of the 12ha allottments  set about further sub-dividing them for re-sale, and by 1854 nearly all but the swampiest parts were cut up. Settlement intensified after the Gold Rush's , and the area was exempt from building control laws, which encouraged the concentration of cheap houses on small blocks of land. The flat topography made subdivision easy. Increased urbanisation in elevated Fitzroy increased storm water run off, and East Collingwood was frequently flooded. The impervious sub soil caused stagnant sheets of water. Calls of drainage were neglected by Melbourne City Council, which had durisdiction over Collingwood. On 24th April, 1855, Collingwood became a muncipality. It was called East Collingwood until 1873,  when it was proclaimed a town.

Between 1856 and 1860 primary schools were opened by the Methodist, Independent, Free and Catholic churches. Collingwood's early civicand commercial centre was in Johnston St, which was a route to the eastern suburbs via the bridge over the Yarra ( 1857 ) A town hall and police were built on the site now occupied by the TAFE.

The Yarra river on Collingwood's East attracted industry. In 1840 John Dight hewed out a mill race through the basalt rocks in the river near where the Merri Creek joins in. He operated a mill for Flour making with varying success. A more productive use was harnessing the water for wool washing. Local councillors advocated the repeal of laws for Yarra river water purity, arguing that effluent from noxious trades was merely an addition to the sewage from Fitzroy and the Collingwood flat.

By 1857 the Reily Street drain ( now under Alexandra Pde ) had been built, and discharged into the Yarra  with reasonable efficiency except when over filled stormwater or brewers waste. The purificationists struggled against the advocates for ' unlocking the Yarra ' to provide employment for workers after the gold boom. Beginning in the 1860's several churches built their future permanent structures: St Phillips Anglican church Hoddle St 1863-1969, The Methodist church Hoddle St 1874, St Georges Presbyterian church Wellington St 1859, and the Baptist Tabernacle Sackville St 1878, Practical help for Collingwood residents was provided by Dr Singleton from his dispensary, Wellington St 1869-1932 later becomming a council health clinic.

On 14th January 1876 Collingwood became a city.

During the 1850's Wellington St was the busiest commercial strip, but it was overtaken by Smith St which ran into Queens Parade  and drew custom from Northcote and Heidelberg, By the 1870's Smith St was a major retail thoroughfare, by when Mark Foy had opened his drapery store which was the forerunner of the Foy and Gibson retail empire, A tram service from the City to Smith St was opened in 1887, adding to Smith Street's regionale shopping role.

Tram services to Collingwood were not of much conveniance to it's resident workers, No direct connection to the City was available for sometime, the line being an indirect one which ran from heidleberg  via Fitzroy, Carlton and North Melb to the City 1888. Consequently resident's employment was concentrated in local factories. Footwear Hats and Garments were locally made in large quantities. Collingwood's famous John wren Tote operator  and sporting entrepreneur was a boot clicker in his early working life.

The Collingwood Football Club was founded in 1892 formed from the Britannia club. It joined the Victorian Football Association in 1892 and was one of several which broke away to form a League in 1897. A forerunner of the Britannia club played in 1880 in an area near the Reilly St drain.

Collingwood Muncipality's population  nearly doubled between 1871 and 1891 to 35.000 persons. The town hall was transferred to more opulent premises in Hoddle St in 1885 , small houses proliferated. South of Alexandra Parade there were fifteen houses per acre compared with half that density in neighbouring Clifton Hill . Outside of Melbourne the Collingwood area  was Victoria's biggest brewing centre. The Fosters Brewery 1888 in Rokeby Street  generated nearly a monopoly in bottled beer and the Yorkshire Brewery, Wellington St, was noted for the brick brewing tower which still stands.

The Victorian housing commission built numerous estates in outer suburbs in post war years, encouraging an exodus of residents away from the inner suburbs.The inner suburban cottages were taken by post war migrants. Greek and Italian migrants accounted for 8% of Collingwoods population in 1954, 21% in 1961 and 27% in 1971. Fifteen years later residents born in Europe and Asia were 23% of the population, and those from South East Asia 8.2%, In 1958 The Commission moved into Collingwood , demolishing cottages near Johnston and Hoddle Streets. Three story blocks were built, and later twenty storey blocks 1967-1971, for over 2.000 people. They almost halted the Muncipality's population decline, but it was renewed by the mid 1970's.

The population decline lessened the local catchment  for the Smith St shops, and the growth of Bourke St Melbourne , since Sidney Meyer opened there in the 1920's, eroded Smith Streets regional shopping role. G.J Coles and Coy started it's first variety store in Smith St in 1912, and left when variety stores were superseded by K Marts and supermarkets. The density of sub divided land at the rear of  Smith St has discouraged the opening of a drive in shopping centre, which probably would have drawn patronage away from the strip. The exceptional land parcel is the gigantic suite of industrial buildings once used for Foy and Gibson's Garment manufacturing, but some of them are on the Victorian Heritage Register.

By the 1990's Collingwood underwent moderate gentrification. Housing prices reflected the change, In 1987 Collingwood's median house was 86% of the median for metropolitan Melbourne rising to 117% in 1996, Abbotsford and Clifton Hill, from higher base figures, behaved much the same, On the other hand ,a report in 1997  showed that 21% of Collingwood's children were in families on a welfare benefit or classed as working poor.

On 22 June, 1994, Collingwood City  was united with Fitzroy and Richmond cities to form Yarra City.

Collingwood's muncipality's census population were :10.786 in 1857,  23.829 in 1881,  34.239 in 1921,  25.413 in 1961,  and 33.388 in 1991.

The Wonderful St Josephs Organ
Destroyed In The Fire!

Church statement of significance:
A cement faced hall church comprising three broad aisles and tower begun in 1861 to the design of J B Denny and completed in 1875 and 1891. Although cement rendered externally and devoid of it's interior fittings, the building retains excellent stained glass by Ferguson & Urie, Rogers & Hughes and William Montgomery, and an anonymous organ placed in the rear gallery, possibly by William Anderson of Melbourne.

Organ statement of significance:
An anonymous single-manual organ of six stops of local manufacture, Possibly built by the local organ builder William Anderson about 1880. The instrument  remains unaltered from the original apart from the introduction of electric blowing and retains it's cedar console fittings, hand blowing and zinc facade pipes which are undecorated. It is the only pipe organ to survive in it's original location in this suburb until destroyed by fire 2nd April 2007.

Joffasfrontpage will photograph the rebuilding of St Josephs this page will be updated on a regular basis!