FOG hangs over Melbourne as traffic trundles across the Princes Bridge.

Trams rattle and motorists sigh - they might be late again.

In Collingwood a mother washes clothes in an open air wash house. The kids, holding hands, are playing at her ankles.

And down at St Kilda families bustle with buckets and spades, eager to catch their first glimpse of the waves to start a long day at the beach.

These historic images, remastered in brilliant colour by the Herald Sun Department of Internet, show Victorians and Australians from a bygone era in a way we seldom consider - strikingly similar to us.

A crowd in Melbourne's CBD after the end of WWII in 1945.

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An undated photo of strapper Tommy Woodcock with champion racehorse Phar Lap.

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W.H. Jeaners, Secretary of the Australian Board of Control and Don Bradman watch the Australian team at practice in 1947.

Changing house at St Kilda Beach, circa 1930.

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Dick Reynolds, who played for Essendon between 1933 and 1951.

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Gough Whitlam during the 'It's Time' election campaign of 1972.

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Prince Charles farewelled by Melbourne Lord Mayor Irvin Rockman after a visit in 1977.

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Prime Minister Robert Menzies gives Australian athletes, including Betty Cuthbert, a lift to the track during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

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An undated photo of Flinders Lane in the early 20th Century.

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A woman washes clothes in an open air wash house in Collingwood in the early 20th Century.

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Traffic approaching the Princes Bridge, circa 1930.

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media_camera Before and after colour treatment.

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media_camera Before and after colour treatment.

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