The first advert for this property was the hiring of a laborer to attend with his pick and shovel in August 1915 (The Age, 11 Aug 1915). This likely co-incides with when Arthur William Patrick moved into the house, he is listed as living here in 1914 (Australian Electoral Roll, 1914 &1915). During this period he is recorded as being a ‘button manufacturer’, but it is not clear if he was doing this on this site or another at the time.
Prior to moving to 440 Rae Street, Arthur lived at 469 Nicholson Street in North Carlton, and at that time was listed as a ‘photo enameller’ (Australian Electoral Roll, 1913).
In 1946, an advert to ‘Demolish inner walls, convert brick cottage to factory’ was run (The Age, 28 Feb 1946) so this must have been when it was converted to use as AW Patrick Badge Factory, as described below by Russ Anderson.
Later that year, in August, the site advertised for a Press Hand, Junior.
The photo below is interesting and relates to a comment that Russ Anderson made on what I have now updated to be 442 Rae Street, but is relevant here:
That wide doorway on 440 Rae was enlarged to fit a Thomson Platen printing machine through in late 60s. The new owners have restored brickwork to the old cottage size.The original cottage had a walk-through passage on RHS and 3 rooms to the left. Then some add on kitchen and laundry. Customers walked through a maze of ancient rooms to get to factory at rear and stairs to upstairs office and production finishing room. Downstairs were6 Heine metal stamping presses run from overhead leather belts and a lathe, drill press and a couple of guillotines for tin cutting.
The following information was supplied by Russ Anderson in July 2025, I am in his debt for this wonderful personal account of this house (once factory):
440 Rae Street is next to a double story brick factory (18 foot wide by about 20 foot long) which housed the metal stamping Heine presses, also run by two parallel overhead belt systems.
Metal strips would be cut from waste tin plate (obtained cheaply from old stock that the tin plate printers had discarded and printed with beer anything from beer caps to baked bean tins). These strips would be fed by hand in a step and repeat motion through the stamping press (Ron Russell has one finger missing from a run in with the press).
The next stage would be for the backs to be punched with a pin hole and cut out on one edge for the pin to pierce the back and be wrapped around and also a J shape on the opposite edge where the pin would hook into.
An old single fronted cottage fronting Rae Street, and the front room was used for an office, and store (Second room was kept locked as it contained the highly flammable celluloid that was used to cover the badges) and the third room contained a single gas burner that was used to melt carpenters glue in a double boiler glue pot (Stinking of horses hooves) Further down the corridor was the remains of the former living area which contained a monstrous cast iron roller heated by a internal gas burner. This area was the laminating room where sheets of printed badges would be soaked in an old porcelain phot bath containing methylated spirits. The wet sheets would be put face down on sheets of clear celluloid which were laid onto sheets of thick blotting paper and fed through the jumbo heat roller.
The smell of evaporating metho was extreme and I can recall as a young man working in this section and feeling mighty woozy after a while (NO PPE or MSDS here)
I can recall as a teenager working some Saturdays making badges on a hand operated button press that had a cam action lever, and had two swivel dies that pressed the badge “parts” together. (see attached photo of original badge press – coming).
A button badge consisted of a pinned back, a front shell, a printed round die cut paper and topped with a round cut celluloid cover.
Badge sizes made were ¾”, 1”, 1¼”, 1½”, 1¾”, 2¼” to the largest size of 3½”.
The sizes were based on the clothing button manufacturers sizes (Check this?)
Originally the smallest size was a ¾ inch badge – which was dropped before my memory recalls for the slightly larger 1 inch size (this was popular for fundraising for schools etc as they could also be numbered for a lucky prize)
Every footy fan would have had a 1¼ team badge printed from the Melbourne Sun’s artwork and blocks. Thousands of these were made each season for concession holders that sold footy paraphernalia outside the grounds.
This size as also popular featuring religious leaders such as Daniel Mannix and The Pope??
A 1½ inch badge was renowned for being used for Badge days by the Barrier Industrial Council in Broken Hill each year showing a chosen colour and individually numbered. The purpose of these was to define the paid up union members and identify those that weren’t.
The 1¾ size was once again a favourite footy badge, but also popular for promotion in show bags with early TV Western heroes such as Maverick and Annie Oakley in three colour printing.
Getting up in the range the 2¼” size was popular for advertising a product and political campaigns. This was probably the most popular size for the Service Club name badges.
The jumbo sized 3½” badge was the one used by Lions and Rotary Clubs for their members that had the organisation and local club name pre-printed in a colour and the persons name, club title, “Nickname” and occupation category overprinted as required. Advertising agencies liked this large size and would often provide the printed stock for the badge to be made.
The late sixties/ early seventies saw a revival of the badge as an icon to wear for laughs or for the protest movement against the Vietnamese war.
This came about purely by chance as my Uncle Ron Russell and I would sometimes have a drink after work on our way home. One of Ron’s watering Holes was The Terminus Hotel???> at Brighton Beach where Ron’s love of fishing led him into conversation with a very loud chap named Jack??? who owned a clothing button distribution business in Highett???>
As a joke Ron made some badges saying (Gone Fishing or Fisherman are liars ???>) and presented them to Jack??>
Well after a few more beers Jack came up with the idea of using his marketing system of plastic tubes in a display rack and network of retailers. Plastic tubes are filled with buttons (badges) and a sample is stuck on the lid of each tube. These were displayed in a rack at city kiosks that sell a plethora of goods. Sales of badges took off , and I can recall working till late and also weekend on this antique machinery making all sorts of badges in a multifarious range of colours including the new “Day Glo” range of papers.
After a short time the demand for badges dwindled and the more advanced offshoots of Arthur Patrick’s Badge business – namely Patrick Brothers, in Elizabeth Street Melbourne, Parramatta Road in Sydney and also in Adelaide that had kept up to date with machinery and printing techniques continued in business
Ron Russell sold the business located at 440 Rae St North Fitzroy in about 1980?? Prior to his retirement.
Ron is still catching fish in the “Sea Witch” conveniently moored in the Mordialloc Creek.
This is another of the badges produced, this one was circa 1919, by AW Patrick, but was long before they started using the site here.
There are so many badges in the Museum Victoria Collection, so if you are interested, this is the place to go.
Russ Anderson had worked at the cottage during the school holidays for his uncle ‘Ron Russell’ referred to above. Ron was the brother-in-law of Arthur William Patrick who died May 30 1954 (aged 90). Ron ran the business from about 1960 until it was sold c1980 to Patrick Brothers Australia in North Melbourne after a few managers had swindled his aunt. He can recall visiting the site in the early 1950s as a kid. Trucks would park at the rear of Moss Street to unload Tomatoes and the aroma of cooking tomato sauce wafted over the neighbourhood. After he left school, Russ would work there at times and buy ‘West Indies Lime Cordial’ from Mrs Eddington next door.
Russ Anderson also mentions some of the engineers – Alf McMillan.
The images below I have included, as the house was given rather interesting colour schemes. I am not sure when the first photo was taken and the second (house on far right) is very full on.
Given the information about the history of this little house, I would love to see what the insides look like today, but unfortunately it hasn’t gone on the market recently, and so there are no ‘real estate’ pictures.
If you have more information about this cottage, please let me know.
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