PMHPS - History - Maskell and McNab Memorial

Maskell and McNab Memorial

On 11th May 1887 there was a major rail smash near Windsor. Rail employees and Port Melbourne residents Frederick Maskell and James McNab were killed in the smash but their brave actions apparently averted a much worst disaster.

The Council and residents of Port Melbourne decided to erect a memorial in Maskell & McNab’s honour. Performances were held at Excelsior Hall to raise money for the fund. In late 2004, PMHPS acquired some tickets from one of these performances from the soil under Excelsior Hall when it was refitted as Public Housing.

On 17th July 1890 a Memorial Drinking Fountain was erected in the central rockery at the intersection of Graham and Princes Streets. At some point before WWII

Tickets for a fund raising performance at Excelsior Hall June 27th, 1887

the rockery was removed and the memorial relocated outside Graham Railway Station on the corner of Station St and Graham St.

In the 1970s, the double railway gates at Graham St were causing long traffic delays so an overpass was built to take cars over the railway line. While the memorial was not directly in the way of the overpass, general consensus is that the memorial was moved to the Port Melbourne foreshore at that time.

U’ren and Turnbull in A History of Port Melbourne, published in 1983, write that the memorial ‘now stands in the new Graham St Reserve’. Members of PMHPS believe this to be a factual error but have not uncovered any proof either way.

In any case, as of April 2005, the memorial stands on the Port Melbourne foreshore near the bottom of Princes St.

The inscription reads …

This memorial was erected by public subscription in honor of Frederick W. Maskell and James McNab, the former engineer aged 46 and the later fireman 21 years, who lost their lives through devotion to duty in an accident on Victorian Railways near Windsor on the 11th May 1887.

Originally the memorial had a central light with two side lights hanging down from ornate metalwork arms. These have been removed and the memorial is a plain column on a stepped stone plinth. The drinking fountain has a modern fitting but still works.

Maskell & McNab Memorial on the foreshore at Port Melbourne

Sources
Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society Collection
A History of Port Melbourne, U'ren and Turnbull, Oxford University Press

© 2005 Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society
Images must not be reproduced without prior permission
All images from the PMH&PS collection unless otherwise credited

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			Maskell and McNab Memorial On 11th May 1887 there was a major rail smash near Windsor. Rail employees and Port Melbourne residents Frederick Maskell and James McNab were killed in the smash but their brave actions apparently averted a much worst disaster. The Council and residents of Port Melbourne decided to erect a memorial in Maskell & McNab’s honour. Performances were held at Excelsior Hall to raise money for the fund. In late 2004, PMHPS acquired some tickets from one of these performances from the soil under Excelsior Hall when it was refitted as Public Housing. On 17th July 1890 a Memorial Drinking Fountain was erected in the central rockery at the intersection of Graham and Princes Streets. At some point before WWII		Tickets for a fund raising performance at Excelsior Hall June 27th, 1887
			the rockery was removed and the memorial relocated outside Graham Railway Station on the corner of Station St and Graham St.
			In the 1970s, the double railway gates at Graham St were causing long traffic delays so an overpass was built to take cars over the railway line. While the memorial was not directly in the way of the overpass, general consensus is that the memorial was moved to the Port Melbourne foreshore at that time. U’ren and Turnbull in A History of Port Melbourne, published in 1983, write that the memorial ‘now stands in the new Graham St Reserve’. Members of PMHPS believe this to be a factual error but have not uncovered any proof either way. In any case, as of April 2005, the memorial stands on the Port Melbourne foreshore near the bottom of Princes St. The inscription reads … This memorial was erected by public subscription in honor of Frederick W. Maskell and James McNab, the former engineer aged 46 and the later fireman 21 years, who lost their lives through devotion to duty in an accident on Victorian Railways near Windsor on the 11th May 1887. Originally the memorial had a central light with two side lights hanging down from ornate metalwork arms. These have been removed and the memorial is a plain column on a stepped stone plinth. The drinking fountain has a modern fitting but still works.		Maskell & McNab Memorial on the foreshore at Port Melbourne
			Sources Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society Collection A History of Port Melbourne, U'ren and Turnbull, Oxford University Press © 2005 Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society Images must not be reproduced without prior permission All images from the PMH&PS collection unless otherwise credited back ...