Unloading by hand when my old man walfey ,when they worked said bloody worked ,until got his own trucks 71working carting loads from walf ,, remembe goin' work with him he would dangle me by legs over side ,pretend drop me grab me again ,,I loved it ,,anyone who had trucks on walf ,way load get extra pallet on ,,always amazed at neverending amounts of knots he new how tie,,, remembe him trying teach me certain knot load moved get tighter ,,I could hardly tie my own shoes up learn fancy knots ,always remember him saying how many ropes on ship ,,only one ring bell ,rest got different names ,all gone ,, remembe driven near Dynon Rd through this Warren like roads come out about there ,,only Bedford trucks good trucks
And around fifteen years later - or perhaps at the time this video footage was taken as I was yet to be born - I remember as a child the hot jan doughnut trucks on the Port Melbourne pier, a cold wintry and windy day as the waves splashed against the rocks. The smell of the ocean. All destroyed and replaced with a gentrified sterility. Yet I will savour those memories. Thanks.
They used to be a small wooden shop on the pier around where the Tasmanian ferry comes in now. Ice creams, drinks and hot pies and streamers to throw as the ships left on sailing day.
@@andyrob3259 spent many a Sunday arvo there as kids if the old man slung us several loose change playing playing pinnies and pac man. Then a hot pie and a Tarax creaming soda for lunch with our legs dangling off the pier before exploring the many staircases, ancient lifts and luggage conveyor belts of the passenger terminal.
@@thatwasmymistake yup remember them well. At the bottom of the conveyors I think they had little cages as well. Plus various liner crews has painted their ship names in white paint on the timbers of the pier just under the terminals.
Some more here : ua-cam.com/video/g1Gta5Jllm0/v-deo.html and the train from Princes Pier to Bonegilla that may not be good memories : ua-cam.com/video/3X77EVqodHI/v-deo.html A few more on UA-cam as well. Often on the Greek ships.
Ahhh the Oriana. Been on her twice in the 1970’s. She was a lovely ship. My dad worked for P&O on the ships (but not Oriana) at the time of this film and left around 1962 to settle in Melbourne where he met my mum at Pakenham dances. I so remember visiting Station Pier in the 1980’s and there were remnants of this conveyor belt luggage system that took the luggage off the ship and took it up one level to the Customs Hall on level 1 where the passengers cleared. Like an airport arrivals hall.
I recall the Oriana, however I can’t recall if it was before or after the Arcadia - a cruise ship my grandmother took me on twice during the 1970’s. I have read your other comments, and it brings back beautiful memories of the people and places I cherished. Thank you.
@@dorothygale5129 the Arcadia was the older ship although it lasted into 1979 still cruising from Sydney if I recall. I remember it’s last cruise was Sydney - Asia where the passengers then transferred to it new replacement; the Sea Princess back to Australia.
Some great material worth seeing by the larger Gezza community. Spencer St station and Melbourne goods yard at the start not often recorded from this viewpoint.
Great video, Royal Interocean Lines, Shaw & Savill, Union Steamship Co of NZ, Port Line, Blue Funnel Line, BHP, ANL (funnels seen) and a fairly new Oriana. The grand days, before flags of convenience, RO/RO, containers and huge take overs of smaller shipping lines...thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you.
On station pier there was a hut type shop at the start of the pier before entering on a finger pier that sold hot pies etc. Always busy on sailing and arrival days of the liners. You could buy streamers there that you threw up to the passengers as the ship pulled out. Such crowds and as kids we would run round the bottom of the dock between the terminal and the ships through the streamers.
About 15 years later, we got Containers and it all changed. Without the invention of container shipping our society today would look completely different. One little idea that changed the world
No, containers first appeared here around the mid to late sixties , they were overseas well before that. I can remember even the railways started to carry them on the main country lines, i have a photo of a container being unloaded at Colac station in 1969.
@@cudgee7144 yes I know they appeared here in the 60s. I just remember the word containerisation used regarding the containers on the waterfront here in Australia in Victoria
It took off really when the International Standards Organisation ISO standardised container size, lifting points, strength and interlocking features among others that I am probably not aware of. That refinement really took off worldwide and changed everything mostly for the better. Even in the BC era the ancient Greeks and Romans shipped liquids like wine and olive oil in standardised large urns for convenience in shipping and handling. In the 1848 book called Stokers and Pokers it describes the UK removalists Pickfords using larger box like containers to shift peoples possessions from their old home to new homes on a door to door basis. If far enough away they were shifted by rail by the London North Western Railway for the longer part of the journey without the need for extra effort, damage and theft involved with repacking along the way. Standard size only for Pickfords. From our local Victorian Railways a photo exists from the 1920s of a smaller Sunshine Biscuits container being loaded or unload between a road truck and a rail wagon by a small crane. A series or curved roof about 15ft long containers were in use for interchange by most Australian Railways by the 1950s or so. Possibly inspired by similar ones on railways in Britain.
@@johnd8892 Great reply, the information about the ISO is the key, that is when they became standardised and the norm. My first job out of school was in 1973, and everything was in containers by then. What really changed though was the gantry's to load and unload them and the fork lift trucks to move them around the docks. If you look across the city now the huge gantry's just stand out, and they are massive. I new plenty of blokes who worked on the wharves before the containers were the norm, and it was back breaking work. They were all a few years older then me, most died young by today's standards, only one is still alive, he was a member of the Painters and Dockers Union, but he was and still is a hard working tough bastard.
I can still remember this very time as a six year old travelling on those Tait trains with my parents going to the city and seeing the masts of the ships from the train the other side of Footscray road, also notice no Westgate bridge in those clips, a time when it was no where near as dense with buildings, traffic and humanity! 👍
Great stuff again mate, a mate of mine's father was a union man down on the docks, he fought for an Australian boxing title, he was a tough hard man, but really respected. But you can see why crime and pilfering was rife, back breaking work for a pittance with no worksafe back then.
Loved it. 2 years before I was born, but how I dreamed of life on a cargo ship like these. Possibly deluded! By the late 1970s all these ships had almost gone and containerization spoiled the illusion. Now I saw no romance, I saw a giant dirty steel box, filled with thousands of small boxes, a bored and tiny crew and dullness. So different. How funny we are. I bet the unions were strong then.
Yes . But did you know in the early 60s when Japanese ships were coming to Melbourne they were trading in black market small transistor radios?They were selling for four or five pounds. Big money for the merchant seamen back in Nippon.
Thank-you Gezza for another remarkable video, love your work! Would you know when the clip of the Oriana was taken? My parents sailed from Sydney to the UK on their honeymoon and stopped in Melbourne for New Years eve 1961/62
Unloading by hand when my old man walfey ,when they worked said bloody worked ,until got his own trucks 71working carting loads from walf ,, remembe goin' work with him he would dangle me by legs over side ,pretend drop me grab me again ,,I loved it ,,anyone who had trucks on walf ,way load get extra pallet on ,,always amazed at neverending amounts of knots he new how tie,,, remembe him trying teach me certain knot load moved get tighter ,,I could hardly tie my own shoes up learn fancy knots ,always remember him saying how many ropes on ship ,,only one ring bell ,rest got different names ,all gone ,, remembe driven near Dynon Rd through this Warren like roads come out about there ,,only Bedford trucks good trucks
And around fifteen years later - or perhaps at the time this video footage was taken as I was yet to be born - I remember as a child the hot jan doughnut trucks on the Port Melbourne pier, a cold wintry and windy day as the waves splashed against the rocks. The smell of the ocean. All destroyed and replaced with a gentrified sterility. Yet I will savour those memories. Thanks.
That donut van is at the Vic Markets these days.
Classic donut van at footscray station I remember well.
They used to be a small wooden shop on the pier around where the Tasmanian ferry comes in now. Ice creams, drinks and hot pies and streamers to throw as the ships left on sailing day.
@@andyrob3259 spent many a Sunday arvo there as kids if the old man slung us several loose change playing playing pinnies and pac man. Then a hot pie and a Tarax creaming soda for lunch with our legs dangling off the pier before exploring the many staircases, ancient lifts and luggage conveyor belts of the passenger terminal.
@@thatwasmymistake yup remember them well. At the bottom of the conveyors I think they had little cages as well. Plus various liner crews has painted their ship names in white paint on the timbers of the pier just under the terminals.
Melbourne as it always be remembered in good times. 😀👍
I used to go to the docks as a kid in the 70's to explore. When it rained, we used to collect dozens of tennis balls. Fun times.
My grandparents immigrated to Australia in the ‘60s from Italy. Cannot wait to show this to to my grandmother.
Some more here :
ua-cam.com/video/g1Gta5Jllm0/v-deo.html
and the train from Princes Pier to Bonegilla that may not be good memories :
ua-cam.com/video/3X77EVqodHI/v-deo.html
A few more on UA-cam as well. Often on the Greek ships.
Absolutely priceless Melbourne history here..brilliantly remastered Gezza!
Ahhh the Oriana. Been on her twice in the 1970’s. She was a lovely ship. My dad worked for P&O on the ships (but not Oriana) at the time of this film and left around 1962 to settle in Melbourne where he met my mum at Pakenham dances. I so remember visiting Station Pier in the 1980’s and there were remnants of this conveyor belt luggage system that took the luggage off the ship and took it up one level to the Customs Hall on level 1 where the passengers cleared. Like an airport arrivals hall.
I recall the Oriana, however I can’t recall if it was before or after the Arcadia - a cruise ship my grandmother took me on twice during the 1970’s. I have read your other comments, and it brings back beautiful memories of the people and places I cherished. Thank you.
@@dorothygale5129 the Arcadia was the older ship although it lasted into 1979 still cruising from Sydney if I recall. I remember it’s last cruise was Sydney - Asia where the passengers then transferred to it new replacement; the Sea Princess back to Australia.
Very good film. Love the old footage of the ships being unloaded, the forklift procession and what looks like an old Vespa.
Those were the days of working a hard day . And men were men!!
And long gone are those days. So sad.
@@bradwilliams1691 so so true!
Brilliant Gezza and thanks for this M8! Also this piano version of 'the dock of the bay' by Otis Redding is beautiful.
Some great material worth seeing by the larger Gezza community.
Spencer St station and Melbourne goods yard at the start not often recorded from this viewpoint.
Fantastic!
Very nice film and music. Nice sunset at the end.
Great video, Royal Interocean Lines, Shaw & Savill, Union Steamship Co of NZ, Port Line, Blue Funnel Line, BHP, ANL (funnels seen) and a fairly new Oriana. The grand days, before flags of convenience, RO/RO, containers and huge take overs of smaller shipping lines...thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you.
On station pier there was a hut type shop at the start of the pier before entering on a finger pier that sold hot pies etc. Always busy on sailing and arrival days of the liners. You could buy streamers there that you threw up to the passengers as the ship pulled out. Such crowds and as kids we would run round the bottom of the dock between the terminal and the ships through the streamers.
Awesome video Gezza!!
About 15 years later, we got Containers and it all changed. Without the invention of container shipping our society today would look completely different. One little idea that changed the world
I remember that term - Containerisation
No, containers first appeared here around the mid to late sixties , they were overseas well before that. I can remember even the railways started to carry them on the main country lines, i have a photo of a container being unloaded at Colac station in 1969.
@@cudgee7144 yes I know they appeared here in the 60s. I just remember the word containerisation used regarding the containers on the waterfront here in Australia in Victoria
It took off really when the International Standards Organisation ISO standardised container size, lifting points, strength and interlocking features among others that I am probably not aware of. That refinement really took off worldwide and changed everything mostly for the better.
Even in the BC era the ancient Greeks and Romans shipped liquids like wine and olive oil in standardised large urns for convenience in shipping and handling.
In the 1848 book called Stokers and Pokers it describes the UK removalists Pickfords using larger box like containers to shift peoples possessions from their old home to new homes on a door to door basis. If far enough away they were shifted by rail by the London North Western Railway for the longer part of the journey without the need for extra effort, damage and theft involved with repacking along the way. Standard size only for Pickfords.
From our local Victorian Railways a photo exists from the 1920s of a smaller Sunshine Biscuits container being loaded or unload between a road truck and a rail wagon by a small crane.
A series or curved roof about 15ft long containers were in use for interchange by most Australian Railways by the 1950s or so. Possibly inspired by similar ones on railways in Britain.
@@johnd8892 Great reply, the information about the ISO is the key, that is when they became standardised and the norm. My first job out of school was in 1973, and everything was in containers by then. What really changed though was the gantry's to load and unload them and the fork lift trucks to move them around the docks. If you look across the city now the huge gantry's just stand out, and they are massive. I new plenty of blokes who worked on the wharves before the containers were the norm, and it was back breaking work. They were all a few years older then me, most died young by today's standards, only one is still alive, he was a member of the Painters and Dockers Union, but he was and still is a hard working tough bastard.
I can still remember this very time as a six year old travelling on those Tait trains with my parents going to the city and seeing the masts of the ships from the train the other side of Footscray road, also notice no Westgate bridge in those clips, a time when it was no where near as dense with buildings, traffic and humanity! 👍
Great stuff again mate, a mate of mine's father was a union man down on the docks, he fought for an Australian boxing title, he was a tough hard man, but really respected. But you can see why crime and pilfering was rife, back breaking work for a pittance with no worksafe back then.
Loved it. 2 years before I was born, but how I dreamed of life on a cargo ship like these. Possibly deluded! By the late 1970s all these ships had almost gone and containerization spoiled the illusion. Now I saw no romance, I saw a giant dirty steel box, filled with thousands of small boxes, a bored and tiny crew and dullness. So different. How funny we are. I bet the unions were strong then.
nice one
Don't see any cheap Chinese trinkets being offloaded there....nice one man.
What did you type that post on?
Yes . But did you know in the early 60s when Japanese ships were coming to Melbourne they were trading in black market small transistor radios?They were selling for four or five pounds. Big money for the merchant seamen back in Nippon.
@@romandybala I'm reporting you to the police
Got a video of the Sydney dockers??
Probably get Fremantle dockers instead ⚓️😃
@@ACDZ123 okay 👍
Thank-you Gezza for another remarkable video, love your work! Would you know when the clip of the Oriana was taken? My parents sailed from Sydney to the UK on their honeymoon and stopped in Melbourne for New Years eve 1961/62
U did good gezza
Nice
Gold
Look how magical it looked.That time was just different in so many ways.Now its all shit
My Dad would have been there RM.
Few red ensign flags
Yep, before they were highjacked by the drongos we see these days causing trouble.
@@thatwasmymistake somebody believes the media spin 🤦♂️