Photograph of the week: Princes Pier, Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Wander to the very end of the 580-metre long Princes Pier in Port Melbourne, Victoria, and you will see, stretching into the distance, a mesmerising series of wooden pillars, emerging from the shimmering water in hypnotic lines. Mere wooden stumps to some, an Instagrammable photographic opportunity to others, for so many others these pillars represented freedom and safety in years gone by. These old pylons are the remains of the original wooden pillars of a pier which served as a major arrival point for new migrants to Australia for over half a century.

Built between 1912 and 1915, Princes Pier was the third major pier constructed at Port Melbourne. From its completion in 1915 until 1969 it was the gateway to a brand new city, in a brand new country, and a brand new life, for immigrants disembarking here, particularly during the post-war period.

Over and above this, together with its neighbour, Station Pier, Princes Pier served as a major…