Old Melbourne meets new Melbourne in Spring St photo 128 years in the making

OLD Melbourne meets new Melbourne in a photographer’s blended image of modern Spring St with the same view from 128 years ago.

An image of Spring St blending Melbourne’s past and present. Picture: Robert Smith/John William Lindt/National Library of Australia

OLD Melbourne: meet new Melbourne.

This remarkable amalgamation of circa 1889 Spring St with the modern-day view is the work of amateur photographer Robert Smith.

And while much has changed in 128 years, what’s perhaps more surprising is how much remains the same.

The photograph is taken from the forecourt of the majestic Old Treasury Building, which still stands tall 155 years after it was built during the Gold Rush. Not a bad effort given its architect — JJ Clark — was a lad of just 19 years of age.

Also still standing tall across the road is the Windsor Hotel, which opened as the Grand Hotel in 1883, only a few years before the original photo.

On the right is Parliament House, which was constructed in stages from 1855.

Also still taking pride of place is the statue, unveiled in 1889, of British general Charles George Gordon — who incidentally never set foot in Australia — holding his cane and bible.

To create this image, Robert layered a photo he took last month on top of the 1880s photo taken by John William Lindt at the same location, and painstakingly blended the two with the help of a fair bit of Photoshop magic.

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“I have an interest in all things history and I like to see how things change over time,” says Robert, from Narre Warren South.

“The hard part is that modern cameras are a lot different to the ones used in the 19th century. While both photos were taken in the same spot, the visual dimensions of each item may be slightly out.

“Where the old meets the new, you can either gradually blend one to the other like I did with the statue or you can have various parts of each image meeting together without any blending involved.”

To see more of Robert’s before and now compositions of the Melbourne CBD, inner suburbs and the Puffing Billy railway, go to facebook.com/Past2Present1.

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