A walk around Collingwood's and Fitzroy's streets is a wonderful stroll back into early Melbourne's past. From the social reminders of the workmen's cottages, Collingwood Town Hall, St Vincent's Hospital and not forgetting Carlton and United Breweries and the Collingwood Football Club '(The Pies)'. Over the years, the area has been home to substantial groups of disadvantaged people. These days grim high-rise Public Housing Units dominate the skyline but its rich colonial character is emerging again as renovators and action groups move in to restore and refurbish the area. Bill Brodie's sketches and Brian McKinlay's text combine to reconstitute the ever-transcending character of these two exceptional suburbs of early Marvellous Melbourne.