When I go out to take photos I am often drawn to the older
architecture of Melbourne, particularly the deco buildings, which are often not
registered for any historical purposes outside of the CBD and will inevitably
be demolished. Today, I came across a small building on City Road nestling
between towering apartment buildings.
I approached the building just as a tow truck was making a
turn into the premises from the busy road. While the truck was sitting in the
middle of the road, blocking impatient drivers, the truck driver, Steve,
started to tell me about the building’s history.
Until recently it was the home of the Melbourne Towing
Service, a family business which was started in 1910. The family still has some
of the first Model T Ford utes in storage from that time. This garage could
store about 30 cars when squeezed in. Steve has been working for the business
for 20 years still driving his first Isuzu tow truck and assures me there is
plenty of work due to the stupidity of drivers using phones and texting while
driving.
The premises was originally purchased in 1910 for £200 and
sold recently (not by choice) for over $4million, for apartments, as you would
expect in the prolific Central Equity end of town. The towing business
continues to operate at another South Melbourne address.
