1 Fitzroy St, corner The Esplanade, St Kilda
MEL: 57 K9
Originally, three houses grouped sufficiently close to one
another to enable the amalgamation via their verandahs, (the third of which
possibly belonged to James Ross Lawrence, Captain of the schooner Lady of St
Kilda, for which the area is named).
The Club Hotel was destroyed by fire at the end of 1859 under unusual
circumstances. Aba Manaski, a Russian friend of licensee Albert Edelman, was
suspected of setting the fire to avenge a threat Edelman made regarding
Manaski’s conduct towards the publican’s wife. After a coroner’s jury found that
the hotel was deliberately and wilfully lit, the community’s concern led the St
Kilda Council to pass a resolution to have a fire engine located in the
district. In 2003, it is the site of the restaurant Number One Fitzroy Street.
