Initially the south side of the river was used for agricultural and grazing purposes. People crossed the river by punt or ferries, or on foot across the rocks of The Falls. On the flats were the Brickfields where clay was quarried and bricks made to meet the demands of the flourishing township. The huts and tents of the brickmakers were makeshift and life was squalid. On Christmas Eve 1839 the Yarra flooded and the brickmakers’ camp was washed away.

In the 1850s, the dazzling news of Victoria’s gold rush drew thousands of prospective diggers – some with families – from across the world. In 1852 alone, almost 100,000 people made the a long and often difficult sea voyage to the colony. On arrival, the migrants were faced with the harsh reality that life was very expensive in Melbourne and accommodation difficult to find.

The government’s solution was to allow the settlement of tents along the south bank where the brickmakers’ camp had been. Residents could rent a tent for a few shillings a week at ‘Canvas Town’, but crime was rife and policing inadequate. The ground was swampy, sanitation was not established and large numbers became ill from the poor conditions and close living quarters. Many news articles reported on the sufferings of the inhabitants of Canvas Town, describing it as choked with dust, stifled with heat, or drenched with rain.

Conditions were harsh, and the weather extreme for people from the cooler climate of Europe. Disease and death were common in Canvas Town and the transitory nature of the residents of meant those who were ill or passed away were often alone.

Not all newcomers to Canvas Town stayed briefly. Some people saw an opportunity to stay on and establish homes and businesses to service the travellers. Tent-shops sold clothes and household objects. Tent-schools were set up and residents frequented tent-churches of all denominations. Many diarists reflected that without Canvas Town they would have been homeless in a foreign and relatively dangerous city.

Canvas Town was short-lived. In February 1854, the residents were advised that they had one month to vacate the area. Despite the closure, many people continued to live in tents throughout the 1850s and 1860s, some of this temporary housing extending through to Emerald Hill (later re-named South Melbourne).

FURTHER READING

• ‘Canvas Town’ – Managing Melbourne’s First Housing Crisis, https://aph.org.au/2019/11/canvas-town/
• ‘Melbourne’s Notorious Canvas Town’, https://www.goldfieldsguide.com.au/blog/197/melbournes-notorious-canvas-town

IMAGE CREDITS
Image 1: Canvas-Town, c.1855, State Library Victoria
Image 2: Looking towards former site of Canvas Town, Southbank, photographer unknown 1985