UPC2 Amendment C178 attachments

Transcription

Urban Planning Special Committee Agenda
18/08/14
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STATE SAVINGS BANK AND RESIDENCE, FORMER
Prepared by: Context PL
Address: 1395 Toorak Road, Camberwell
Name: State Savings Bank & Residence, former
Survey Date: 24 August 2012
Place Type: Commercial
Architect: GB Leith
Grading: Individually significant
Builder: RF Anderson
Extent of Overlay: To title boundaries
Construction Date: 1938
Photo
Historical Context
Banks in Boroondara
The following is an extract from the City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History
(Built Heritage 2012:104):
Notwithstanding the catastrophic impact of the 1890s financial crisis, a number of grand
mid-Victorian trading banks emerged triumphantly in the early twentieth century to restart
their programmes of branch expansion – typified by the ES&A Bank, which opened a
branch in Maling Road, Canterbury (demolished) in 1907. This same period, however,
saw the passing of two pieces of legislation that would have a profound impact on the
subsequent development of banking in Victoria. The first of these was the
Commonwealth Bank Act 1911, which brought about the creation of the new
Commonwealth Bank of Australia as the country's federally-regulated financial institution.
This was followed by the Savings Banks Act 1911, which drew together all existing banks
that operated under the earlier Savings Bank Act 1890, and united them as the State
Savings Bank of Victoria (SSB). During the intervening period of re-structure and
consolidation, the SSB had already begun to expand its network of branches throughout
suburban Melbourne; the study area was no exception, with new outlets opening in the
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established commercial strips of Burke Road, Hawthorn East (1907) and High Street,
Kew (1908) and Maling Road, Canterbury (c.1914). This phase of expansion continued
into the 1920s, when new branches of the SSB opened in some of the outlying parts of
the study area, including Glen Iris (c.1923), Balwyn (c.1925) and Kew East (1926). An old
rival, the ES&A Bank, also opened a new branch at Kew East that year, while still
maintaining its original Gothic-style premises in High Street.
The expansion of branch banking networks across the study area intensified towards the
end of the 1930s. During the years 1938-39, the SSB established new branches at
Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn North, and Toorak Road, Burwood, while the Bank of
Australasia built others at Cotham Road, Kew, and Burke Road, South Camberwell, and
the Commercial Bank of Australia opened another at High Street, Kew (one of several
local banks to be closed during the War). Notwithstanding their chronological proximity,
these banks contrasted in architectural style. The branches of the SSB – designed by the
bank's long-time in-house architect, George Burridge Leith – were in the Classical
Revival mode, while those erected by the Bank of Australasia (who used A & K
Henderson as their regular designers) were in the more progressive and fashionable
Moderne idiom. By 1940, the SSB had established itself as the most well-represented
banking institution in the study area, with no fewer than seventeen branches – nine in
Camberwell, six in Hawthorn, and two in Kew. At that time, the ES&A Bank had eight
branches across the entire study area, while the National Bank of Australasia had four,
and the Union Bank of Australia had just one. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia was
not represented at all until 1939, when a branch opened at 759 Burke Road, Camberwell
(since rebuilt); others subsequently opened at Hawthorn (c1947) and Kew (c1955).
State Savings Bank of Victoria
The State Bank of Victoria was established by 1912 when the Savings Banks Act
(No.2365) provided for all Banks then operating under the Savings Banks Acts to be
collectively named The State Savings Bank of Victoria. Services offered by the Bank
included savings bank facilities, special loans to discharged soldiers (from 1917), building
homes for people of small means (from 1920s), including the Garden City estate at
Fisherman's Bend and credit foncier facilities including mortgage loans and sale of
debentures. The credit foncier scheme was one of the first of many introduced in
Australia over the first decades of the twentieth century and became known colloquially
as the 'cheap money' scheme. By the 1920s the success of the credit foncier scheme led
to the Bank adding other loans on special conditions for lower income workers and
returned servicemen (Murray & White, 1992:207-17).
A history of the Bank notes that:
"One of the results of the new thrust into housing was that, to get the best combination of
low prices and high standards, the Bank effectively became a builder in its own right,
issuing standard designs and selecting building contractors for many of the houses it
financed. A 'Bank home' became an affordable goal, a symbol of achievement and
recognition that the house was solidly built. Such was the enthusiasm of Victorian
workers for Bank-financed and built homes that by the mid-1920s the Bank was the
largest home builder in Victoria." (Murray & White, 1992:207-17)
Credit foncier borrowers from the SSBV could choose one of the bank's own house
designs, or choose their own design. Whatever the design, the bank required a high
standard of construction/supervision, which seems to have been the basis for the very
high reputation of a 'State Bank house' for many years. Most State Bank homes were
built in the metropolitan area, and few were built in groups. It is thought that up to 7,500
were built, principally between 1921-30, then less until 1939. All except 300 were in
Melbourne and these mostly in the ring of suburbs: Brunswick, Coburg, Preston,
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Hawthorn, Kew, Ivanhoe, Heidelberg, Box Hill, Camberwell, Malvern, Oakleigh and
Brighton (Murray & White, 1992:207-17).
In 1991 the SSB merged with the Commonwealth Bank (Museum Victoria, nd).
History
The State Savings Bank of Victoria is located on the corner of Toorak Road and Melton
Avenue, Camberwell. In the early twentieth century, this portion of Toorak Road, between
Summerhill and Warrigal roads, was known as Norwood Road, Burwood and the
shopping strip was referred to as the Village of Norwood. The Village of Norwood was
formed around Thornecombe's Hotel, which opened at the corner of what is now Toorak
and Warrigal roads in 1858, but it did not begin to develop in earnest until the interwar
period (Built Heritage 2012:48; S&Mc).
The bank and integral residence were designed in 1937 by architect G Burridge Leith,
Chief Architect of the State Savings Bank. The banking chamber was on the ground floor,
with the bedrooms of the residence above it, and the rest of the residence in a mostly
single-storey wing at the rear. It was constructed in 1938 by builder RF Anderson at a
cost of 4,500 pounds (original drawings, dated 1937 in Council building file; Building
permit No 8282 dated 08/02/1938 & No 28445 dated 19/01/1961). There was a 180
square foot (17 sqm) addition made in 1961 (Building permit No 28445 dated
19/01/1961). This may have been the addition of the upper level above the residence
entry, which is not shown on the 1937 plans, though it has all the same detailing and
cladding as the rest of the residence so may in fact date from the original building
campaign.
G B Leith, Architect
George Burridge Leith (1888 - 1969) was an architect whose greatest legacy is his
designs for the State Savings Bank of Victoria.
In 1890, George Burridge Leith's father, George Brown Leith (1858-1937), established an
architectural practice at 408 Collins Street, Melbourne. It closed during World War I,
when George Burridge Leith served with the AIF. Upon his return, Leith joined his father
and they practiced under the name GB & G Burridge Leith, from 1918 (Uni of Melb
archives; Roser 2012:403; AIF project).
In 1920, George Burridge Leith accepted a position as the Chief Architect for the Housing
Department of the State Savings Bank of Victoria, upon which the practice with his father
lapsed (Roser 2012:403). There he was the Chief Architect of the Housing Department
of the State Savings Bank until his retirement in 1953 and became one of the most
influential men in the Bank (Murray & White 1992:204-17).
As Chief Architect, Leith designed a series of 'Bank homes' - plans for standard homes,
which sub-contractors built under the supervision of the Bank's Building Department. Up
to 30 bungalow designs were produced by the Department. He was also responsible for
the designs of the many new bank branches built throughout the state (Murray & White,
1992:207-17).
Description & Integrity
The former State Savings Bank at 1395 Toorak Road, Camberwell, is a two-storey Greek
Revival building with an attached residence at the rear. The bank sits on the north-east
corner of Toorak Road and Melton Avenue, with no setback from the footpath. The
residence is set back slightly from its frontage on Melton Avenue to allow for an entrance
porch and side yard. Both parts have varicoloured brown glazed face brick, and
terracotta tiles on the hip roofs.
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The imposing banking chambers are set on a high plinth of rock-faced bluestone, harking
back to 19th-century banks. The ground and first floors are articulated by giant-order
fluted Ionic pilasters on both frontages. Above them is a plain frieze, dentillated cornice
and a simplified Greek pediment (a form that was very popular in the interwar period for
commercial buildings) which conceals the roof. The ground-floor steel windows continue
with this influence with Greek cross motifs in the window highlights. The first floor
windows have a more typical late 1930s window type of two-over-two double-hung sash
windows with horizontal glazing bars. The ground and first-floor windows of each bay are
encompassed in a single moulded architrave, adding to the vertical emphasis. The
pilasters, cornice and pediment and mouldings around the windows are all of cement
render.
The residence is set behind the bank, with a separate entrance to Melton Avenue. The
entrance porch is located next to the junction with the bank. This single-bay section is
two-storeys - though lower in overall height than the bank - with a visible hip roof and
geometric corbelled cornice. The upper level is not shown on the 1937 plans, but is
seamlessly integrated into the building in the same glazed bricks and with the same type
of sash windows and corbelled cornice. It is either an early and sympathetic addition, or
an alteration to the 1937 plans and part of the original building campaign (there are other
changes to the 1937 design of the residence, such as the windows, that support this
theory). The entry is the most striking and detailed area of the residence. A flat-roof
portico rests on short fluted square columns, which in turn rest of brick piers. The low
entrance gate to the porch is of mild steel with Greek cross and circle motifs. The
residence door has the upper two-thirds glazed with 12 panes of bevelled glass. It has
two sidelight panels, each with another four bevelled panes. The windows to the
residence are simple one-over-one double-hung sashes, and the chimney at the rear is
unadorned and rectangular in form.
No external changes were noted to the banking chambers or residence, apart from the
removal of the eight-panelled door to the banking chamber seen on the 1937 plans. As
noted above, the upper level to the residence was executed in the same materials and
details as the rest of this section, so even if it is an alteration, it is a sympathetic one.
There is a modern brick carport at the rear of the site which replaced a small brick garage
shown in the 1937 plans.
Comparative Analysis
All buildings identified as banks and former banks in Boroondara's planning scheme
which are of individual significance date from the 19th century. None from the interwar
period appear to have a significant grading.
The Thematic Environment History (Built Heritage, 2012), as cited above, lists a few
banks built at the same time (1938-9) as the former bank at 1395 Toorak Road. These
are:
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Former SSB at 822 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn North (Graded D in G Butler
Upper Hawthorn Study, 1983; contributory to precinct in Hawthorn Precincts
Study, 2008). A two-storey rendered corner building with a rock-faced bluestone
plinth, modillion cornice and simplified Greek pediment. It lacks the giant-order
pilasters and grandeur of the Toorak Road bank. The ground-floor windows have
been lengthened (destroying part of the plinth) and the original windows and door
have been lost. It is likely that this building was designed by GB Leith.
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Former Bank of Australasia, 109 Cotham Road, Kew, c1938-9 (Identified in Kew
Conservation Study, 1987). A Streamlined Moderne corner building of brown
brick with a curved corner and curved concrete hood over the entry.
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Unfortunately all horizontal steel windows to ground floor have been lengthened
and replaced with modern examples, greatly changing its original horizontal lines.
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Former Bank of Australasia, 676-8 Burke Road, South Camberwell (Identified as
SSB(?) c1940, graded C in Camberwell Heritage Study, 1991). A single-storey
corner building of overpainted brick in a very simplified Moderne style. The main
design features are delicate projecting bands above the windows and a raised
pavilion at the corner. Appears to have been extensively altered.
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Commercial Bank of Australia, High Street, Kew - it is unclear which building this
is, though there is a former National Bank at 657 High Street, Kew East graded B
in the City of Kew Conservation Study, 1987. It is a single-storey corner building
in the Greek Revival style. Walls are rendered, with a simple cornice and parapet.
The windows to the side elevation site between render pilasters and have Greekcross highlights. The original corner entrance has been bricked in since 1987,
and a new shopfront has been created on the High Street elevation.
Among this group of late-interwar bank buildings, many employed a simplified version of
the Greek Revival. Among all of them, the former SSB on Toorak Road stands out by
virtue of its very high intactness, its monumentality, and high-quality detailing and
cladding materials. The residence at the rear of the former SSB also contributes to its
architectural significance, with the beautifully designed entry. The other two-storey banks
may have had a manager's residence on the first floor, but this is not expressed in the
design.
A survey of Hermes place records makes it clear that Leith designed a number of Greek
Revival banks during his time with the SSB, both in suburban locations (such as 438
Centre Road, Benleigh, of 1927, HO98, Glen Eira; 600 Plenty Road, Preston, of c1928,
HO 243, Darebin), and a lesser number in country towns (5 Radovick Street,
Korumburra, of 1940). Among all of the designs with photos on Hermes, the SSB branch
at 1395 Toorak Road is one of the most polished and formal, with an unusually high level
of detail.
Assessment Against Criteria
Criteria referred to in Practice Note 1: Applying the Heritage Overlay, Department of
Planning and Community Development, September 2012, modified for the local context.
CRITERION A: Importance to the course, or pattern, of the City of Boroondara's cultural
or natural history (historical significance).
The former State Savings Bank illustrates the development of the (former) Village of
Norwood during the interwar period. While it was established in the late 1850s, its early
commercial development was all but subsumed by interwar and postwar development on
the Toorak Road shopping strip.
It also demonstrates the intensification of expanding bank branch networks in
Boroondara during the late 1930s, by the State Savings Bank, Bank of Australasia, and
Commercial Bank of Australia.
CRITERION B: Possession of uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the City of
Boroondara's cultural or natural history (rarity).
Not identified
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CRITERION C: Potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of
the City of Boroondara's cultural or natural history (research potential).
Not identified
CRITERION D: Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of
cultural or natural places or environments (representativeness).
The former State Savings Bank is a representative example of the many new bank
branches that were constructed in Boroondara as part of the banks' expansion at the end
of the 1930s. It also visually illustrates the provision of a bank manager's residence on
site, which was a necessity in the pre-automobile era, and phased out in the post-war
era.
CRITERION E: Importance in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics (aesthetic
significance).
The former State Savings Bank building exhibits the aesthetic characteristics of the
Greek Revival used in a relatively free manner. These features include the giant-order
Ionic pilasters, dentillated cornice, and pediments in a simplified Greek temple form.
CRITERION F: Importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical
achievement at a particular period (technical significance).
Both in comparison with other interwar banks in the City of Boroondara and GB Leith’s
Greek Revival State Savings Banks in other municipalities, the Toorak Road branch
stands out due to its monumentality, high quality detailing and cladding materials, and
high level of intactness.
CRITERION G: Strong or special association with a particular community or cultural
group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. This includes the significance of a place to
Indigenous peoples as part of their continuing and developing cultural traditions (social
significance).
Not identified
CRITERION H: Special association with the life or works of a person, or group of
persons, of importance in the City of Boroondara's history (associative significance).
The former SSB has associations with GB Leith, the Chief Architect of the SSB from
1920 to 1953. This bank branch is one of his most accomplished designs of the interwar
period. Leith’s designs had an enormous impact on the face of interwar Victoria, both in
Boroondara and beyond, not only with his bank branch designs seen in many suburbs
and country towns, but in the thousands of bungalows built to his standard designs with
SSB finance.
Statement of Significance
What is Significant?
The former State Savings Bank branch and residence at 1395 Toorak Road,
Camberwell, constructed in 1938 by builder RF Anderson to a design by George Burridge
Leith, the Chief Architect of the State Savings Bank of Victoria.
The small upper floor above the residence entry may be an early addition, as it is not
shown on the 1937 plans, but it was integrated seamlessly into the overall design in
detail and cladding materials, so is contributory to the whole.
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The modern carport at the rear is not contributory.
How is it significant?
The bank and residence are of local aesthetic, architectural and historical significance to
the City of Boroondara.
Why is it significant?
Aesthetically, the bank is a very accomplished example of the interwar Greek Revival.
Typical features of this style include the giant-order Ionic pilasters, dentillated cornice,
and pediments in a simplified Greek temple form, which contrast with the modern glazed
bricks. In comparison with other banks built in Boroondara during this period, it is also
distinguished by its very high level of intactness. (Criteria E & F)
Architecturally, the bank is one of the most accomplished Greek Revival designs of
architect George Burridge Leith. GB Leith was the Chief Architect of the State Savings
Bank from 1920 to 1953. Leith’s designs had a major impact on Melbourne’s suburbs
during the interwar era – both through his design of bank branches such as this one and
the standardised timber and brick bungalow designs built with State Savings Bank
finance. Many of these houses still survive in Hawthorn, Kew, Camberwell and Glen Iris.
(Criterion H)
Historically, the bank and residence demonstrate the intensification of expanding bank
branch networks in Boroondara during the late 1930s, by the State Savings Bank, Bank
of Australasia, and Commercial Bank of Australia. The provision of an integral manager’s
residence also illustrates a common practice for all sorts of business (banks, shops, etc.)
prior to the postwar dominance of the car and commuting to work. (Criterion A)
Grading and Recommendations
Recommended for inclusion in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Boroondara
Planning Scheme as an individually Significant place.
Recommendations for the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay (Clause 43.01) in the
Boroondara Planning Scheme:
External Paint Colours
Is a permit required to paint an already painted surface?
Internal Alteration Controls
Is a permit required for internal alterations?
Tree Controls
Is a permit required to remove a tree?
Victorian Heritage Register
Is the place included on the Victorian Heritage Register?
Incorporated Plan
Does an Incorporated Plan apply to the site?
Outbuildings and fences exemptions
Are there outbuildings and fences which are not exempt from
notice and review?
Prohibited uses may be permitted
Can a permit be granted to use the place for a use which would
otherwise be prohibited?
Aboriginal Heritage Place
Is the place an Aboriginal heritage place which is subject to the
requirements of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006?
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
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Identified By
G Butler, Camberwell Conservation Study, 1991.
References
Boroondara City Council building files notes, (former) '443 (later 1395) Toorak Road, cr.
Melton Avenue' includes original drawings.
Built Heritage (2012), 'City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History', prepared for
Hermes records, as cited above.
Murray R & K White (1992), A bank for the people: A history of the State Bank of Victoria,
North Melbourne.
Museum Victoria, 'The State Savings Bank of Victoria, Melbourne Victoria' webpage.
Retrieved from: http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/themes/2470/the-state-savingsbank-of-victoria-melbourne-victoria (accessed 22 Nov. 2012).
Sands & McDougal directories 1910-1940.
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27 Canterbury Road, Canterbury
Address: 27 Canterbury Road, Camberwell
Name: House
Survey Date: 7 Dec. 2012
Place Type: Residential
Architect:
Builder: Mr Stephenson
Extent of Overlay: Lot 1 TP613803 & Lot 1 TP399716
Historical Context
This area of Camberwell saw the construction of a series of large houses in the 1890s, in
part due to improved rail transport to the area. They include 'Coolattie' at 29 Canterbury
Road and 'Linda' at 19 Canterbury Road, both set on large blocks of land. Many of these
large estates were subdivided and developed during the first three decades of the 20th
century (Lovell Chen, 2005: Coolatie citation), and developed with single-family houses
for the middle classes.
History
Paul Thomas, a boot importer of Melbourne, purchased a block of land (measuring
140'x284') from Elgar's Crown Special Survey at the south-east corner of Canterbury
Road and the newly created Stanley Grove in 1886. After his death, Emilie Antoinette
Thomas, Spinster (most likely Paul Thomas' daughter or perhaps sister), took possession
of the property in 1893 (LV: V1840/F894). By 1903, nothing had been built on the land
(MMBW Detail Plan No 1865, 1904).
In 1914, Emilie Antoinette Wiseman (nee Thomas) began subdividing the land, selling
Nos 4 and 6 Stanley Grove. Emilie died in 1916, and her heir - Ernest Albert Wiseman -
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continued to sell off parcels; 2 Stanley Grove in 1916, 27 Canterbury Road (house site) in
1917, and the tennis courts of 27 Canterbury Road in 1919 (LV: V1840/F894).
In October 1917, Ethel Bertha Goss and Ernest (Dick) Alfred Goss, law clerk, bought the
eastern portion of 27 Canterbury Road, with the entrance off Stanley Grove. The lot to
the west - where the tennis courts are now - was sold to another person.
A building permit was obtained from the City of Camberwell on 4 December 1917, for an
attic-storey dwelling ('1+' storeys) with 8 rooms of brick with a tile roof. The owner was
recorded as EA Goss, and the builder was a Mr Stephenson (Permit No 3813). The
architect of the house has not been identified.
In the 1917-18 rate book, Bertha Goss is rated for land on Canterbury Road (no number
is recorded, but the listing is just before number 29) that had a net annual value of £18. In
the 1918-19 rate book, the Goss' are rated for a seven-roomed brick house, in which two
people lived, and the net annual value had jumped accordingly to £85 (RB). Bertha Goss
is listed as the owner and Ernest Alfred Goss, law clerk, is recorded as the occupier. At
the time of his death in 1955, Ernest Goss was the oldest active member of the
Camberwell Cricket Club, as noted by a memorial in the Argus (2 Sep 1955:13).
In October 1937 the house was sold to George J Grecian, who sold it to Arthur and Joan
Cozens in October 1955 (LV: V4073/554).
In 1966, additions were carried out by builders Dillingham Construction. These included
the creation of a laundry (by enclosing part of the original northern verandah) and the
construction of a tiny, two-room addition to the west elevation. The original billiard room
on the first floor was also reconfigured to create bedrooms at this date. The small gabled
structure at the north end of the site is shown on the drawings as 'existing garage'
(Council building file). This brick building with a tiled roof has half-timbering to the gable
end and appears to be an original outbuilding.
The tennis courts on the west side of the current extent of number 27 do not appear to
have been added until after 1979 (LV: V8777/F784).
This is a very fine Arts & Crafts attic-style bungalow of 1918, which is highly intact, with
an original garage at the rear. The property is situated at the north-west corner of
Canterbury Road and Stanley Grove, with the main entrance facing Stanley Grove. The
house has generous setbacks to both streetfronts, while the backyard comprises the
north part of the block. A small garage is located at the north-west corner of the block.
The front yard of the house is surrounded by a modern high brick fence which is
sympathetic in its use of red brick, but obscures views to the house.
The walls of the house are of red brick with black tuckpointing with a wide band of
roughcast render at the top. At the junction of the two materials is a stringcourse of
moulded brick. It is beautifully detailed and follows the curved head of windows and the
top of the entrance arch. There is a similar brick moulding beneath the bow windows. The
roof is covered in Marseille tiles with decorative ridge capping and ram's horn finials. The
three chimneys (two tall on the back slope of the roof, and one short on the front) all have
a red-brick shaft, and roughcast-rendered top between flat projecting mouldings. There
are vertical lines of brick headers to the tops of the chimneys, providing a decorative
touch.
The primary roof form is a high-pitch running north-south. While the north (rear) elevation
is gabled, with a projecting minor gable on the east side, the south end of the roof is
nominally hipped with a large 'floating gable' (a gable set at the end of the hip roof,
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making the gabled form the dominant one and reducing the hipped roof to a decorative
'skirt'). There is a projecting gable beneath it on the east side, over the verandah,
mirroring the north elevation. This same device of a 'floating gable' is repeated at the
centre of the east elevation, with a recessed balcony in it.
The multiple gables are filled with combinations of scalloped timber shingles with a bellcast profile and heavy half-timbering with roughcast render. The south major gable has a
decorative timber vent.
Figure 1. South-east corner of the house, showing the return verandah on Tuscan columns.
(Context PL, 2012)
The house addresses its corner site with a return verandah at the south-east corner of
the house, supported by pairs of Tuscan-order columns which sit on brick piers. The
verandah floor retains its tessellated tile floor. The minor gable that sits above it on the
south side has decorative curved and notched rafter ends beneath a band of shingles.
The north end of the verandah transitions to the front entry porch which is entered via a
striking round brick arch with buttressing to it. The front door has a single leaf, with a
segmentally arched leadlight window at the top and a highlight above it. Instead of the
usual sidelight(s) to provide additional light to the entry hall, there is a leadlight window
beside it.
There is a wide variety of window forms throughout the house, though most are
casement windows with highlights filled with leadlights of long, diamond-shaped panes
overlaid with floral motifs. There are bow (curved bay) windows on the south and east
elevations, as well as a projecting canted bay window at the south-east corner beneath
the verandah, and a shallower one in the south major gable. The one on the east
elevation, beside the entrance, sits beneath its own gabled roof. Another is segmentally
arched, while there is also a bank of three sash windows in a box frame at the north end
of the east elevation - all with the same sort of leadlights. There is a small dormer window
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on the east side of the central gable, south end, which has three casements with
diamond leadlights. There is a second dormer, on the north side of the central gable,
which has a similar form, but simple sash windows, and appears to be a later - though
sympathetic - alteration, related to the conversion of the old billiard room into a bedroom.
Overall the building is beautifully detailed, clearly architect designed, and highly intact.
The only external alterations visible from the public domain are a very small, red-brick
addition to the west elevation (visible from Canterbury Road), and the later dormer. The
infilling of the recessed verandah and the installation of sliding doors to the north
elevation are not visible from the public domain.
The small brick structure at the back of the garden appears to be the garage noted on
1966 building permit plans. It has similar details to the house, particularly half-timbering
to the gable, and may be original or an early addition. The brick walls have been
overpainted.
The house at 27 Canterbury Road of 1918 is a relatively early example of an early atticstyle bungalow - in which the upper storey is contained within a high-pitched gabled roof
with projecting dormers - for metropolitan Melbourne. It is among the earliest identified
examples of this type in the City of Boroondara, which include 19 The Ridge, Canterbury
of 1916; 6 Christowel Street, Camberwell of 1918; 54 Berkeley Street, Hawthorn, of
1918-19 (HO446); 127 Winmallee Road, Balwyn, of 1919-20 (HO421), 4, 6 & 8 Grange
Avenue, Canterbury, of 1919, and 2 Grange Avenue of 1920-21 (all in proposed Grange
Avenue Precinct). (NB: Reportedly earlier examples of the style - 17 Threadneedle
Street, Balwyn (thought to be 1907) and 1 Threadneedle St (thought to be 1915) cited in
the 2006 Review of C* Grade Buildings in the Former City of Hawthorn (place citation for
54 Berkeley St), have since been found to be inappropriate comparisons. 17
Threadneedle St was, in fact, built in 1924, and 1 Threadneedle St is a single-storey (not
attic) bungalow.)
The style, first paired with Federation and Arts & Crafts details, then transitioning to
California Bungalow forms, was very popular with the middle classes at the end of the
'teens and early 1920s and many fine examples are seen in Boroondara's suburbs.
Arts & Crafts Bungalows were British in inspiration and often had high-pitched roofs
(often with an attic storey), and a deep masonry arch or square piers (sometimes
buttressed) to the porch. There was less emphasis on highly detailed ornamentation, and
more of bold forms and an interplay of natural textures (roughcast render was particularly
popular in contrast with smooth materials (render, brick, etc.)). Many Arts & Crafts
houses have distinctive battered chimneys (sides sloping inwards) finished in roughcast
render.
The detailing of 27 Canterbury Road exhibits features seen in late Federation houses,
such as slender Tuscan columns, floral leadlights with a curvilinear Art Nouveau
influence, the slender chimneys with brick and render detailing, the use of decorative
ridge and crest tiles to the roof, tuckpointed red face brick, and the incorporation of a
diagonal axis as expressed in the corner bay window beneath the verandah. It also has
features of the Arts & Crafts Bungalow, including the high-pitched roof (simpler in form
than the Federation form), the use of heavy masonry elements such as round arches,
square pillars and buttressing, as well as contrasting textural building materials.
It shares this stylistic pedigree, as well as a similar scale, architectural quality and
intactness with:
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x 33 Broadway, Camberwell of 1919-20 (Individually significant to HO159). Also a
red brick house with a band of rough-cast render atop the walls and a brick
moulding between them. It shares many similar details such as paired Tuscan
columns to the corner verandah which sits beneath a minor gable, a bay window
beneath the vernadah set on a diagonal angle, a massive round brick arch with
buttresses to the entrance porch, and a recessed balcony to the major gable.
While this house has only a single street frontage, so the massing of the major
and two minor gables are to the facade, there are enough similarities to suggest
it may have been designed by the same architect as 27 Canterbury Road. (Note
that the identity of the architect has not been determined.)
x 2 Grange Avenue, Canterbury of 1920-21 (Recommended as individually
significant to Grange Avenue Precinct, 2012). This house is also of face brick
with a band of roughcast render above (without the brick moulding between). It
was also designed to be seen from two street frontages and has a return
verandah in response, but one with slender tapered pylons - showing a
California Bungalow influence. Details similar to 27 Canterbury Road include the
use of transverse gable roof, and a major 'floating' gable to the facade above a
hipped-roof breakfront. A bow window sits below, with its own gabled roof.
Beside it is a round brick arch with buttresses to either side.
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The house at 27 Canterbury Road illustrates the subdivision in the early 20th-century of
the large 19th-century estates in this area of Camberwell, to allow for the development of
middle-class housing.
The house at 27 Canterbury Road is one of the first group of attic bungalows to be
constructed in the municipality. It was a style that became very popular in the area in the
early 1920s.
Not applicable.
The house at 27 Canterbury Road is a fine and well-preserved example of an attic
bungalow which exhibits an Arts & Crafts form and materials, with a remaining
Federation influence on the details.
significance).
The house at 27 Canterbury Road is a large and architecturally successful attic-style
bungalow. Its massing skilfully responds to its corner site with a progression of major and
minor gables, one sheltering a return verandah and a bay window on a diagonal axis.
The houses has the simplified, high-gabled roof form of the Arts & Crafts attic bungalow,
and an Arts & Crafts palette of 'honest' materials with contrasting textures, including red
brick, roughcast render, and timber shingles. The remaining influence of the Federation
style is seen in the use of Tuscan verandah columns, floral leadlight windows, chimneys
and roof finials. One of the most striking elements of the design is the impressive round
brick arch at the entrance. Overall the materials and detailing are of very high quality.
The house is enhanced by the retention of an early or original outbuilding.
Not applicable.
significance).
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Note applicable.
Not applicable.
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The house at 27 Canterbury Road, Camberwell, built for Ernest A Goss, law clerk, and
his wife Ethel in 1918 by builder Mr Stephenson. It is an Arts & Crafts attic bungalow with
a Federation influence to the details. The house is significant to the extent of its original
fabric, with later additions and alterations of no significance.
The outbuilding at the rear, believed to be the former garage, with brick walls and halftimbering to the gable, is contributory.
The house is of local architectural and aesthetic significance to the City of Boroondara.
The house at 27 Canterbury Road is a large and architecturally successful attic-style
bungalow. Within the City of Boroondara it is one of the first examples of this type to be
built; a house type that became very popular by the early 1920s. Its massing skilfully
responds to its corner site with a progression of major and minor gables, one sheltering a
return verandah and a bay window on a diagonal axis. The house has the simplified,
high-gabled roof form of the Arts & Crafts attic bungalow, and an Arts & Crafts palette of
'honest' materials with contrasting textures, including red brick, roughcast render, and
timber shingles. The remaining influence of the Federation style is seen in the use of
Tuscan verandah columns, floral leadlight windows, chimneys and roof finials. One of the
most striking elements of the design is the impressive round brick arch at the entrance.
Overall the materials and detailing are of very high quality, particularly the moulded brick
stringcourse, and the multiplicity of cladding materials and window types. (Criteria D and
E)
Planning Scheme as an Individually Significant place.
Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
notice and review?
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
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No
Identified By
Context Pty Ltd
References
Boroondara City Council building files, 27 Canterbury Road.
Camberwell City Building Register, Permit No. 3813, 4 Dec. 1917.
Lovell Chen, Review of B-Graded Buildings in Kew, Camberwell and Hawthorn, Vol. 3
Data Sheets for Camberwell and Hawthorn, prepared for the City of Boroondara, 2005-9.
Land Victoria (LV), Certificates of Title, as cited above.
Former City of Camberwell rate books (RB), accessed at PROV, VPRS 5903/P0/Unit 10
(1917-18), North Ward, entry 14; Unit 11 (1918-19), North Ward, entry 14).
The Argus.
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GRANGE AVENUE RESIDENTIAL PRECINCT
Address: 2-10 Grange Avenue, Canterbury
Name: Grange Avenue Residential Precinct
Builder: Albert Vanselow
Property No:
Survey Date: 10/08/2012
Architect: Arthur E. Bidgway
Construction Date: 1919-1921
Historical Context
Settlement began in the Boroondara area in 1836, one year after Melbourne was founded,
when cattle were first driven through by John Gardiner, John Hepburn and Joseph Hawdon
(RBA 206:5-9; Built Heritage 2012:13-15).
People were able to obtain land in the Port Phillip District of New South Wales (now Victoria)
at this early date via Crown grants and Special Surveys. The latter enabled English
purchasers to buy 8 square miles of land (5,120 acres) for £5,120 at £1 per acre. Within
Victoria there were only 8 or 9 surveys selected. One of the purchasers was Henry Elgar, a
merchant, whose Special Survey consisted of land in what is now Boroondara and
Nunawading (Hanslow, PPPG).
The first form of local government was established in the area in 1854, when the Boroondara
Road District was proclaimed. The Shire of Boroondara was formed in 1871 and by this date
the immediate area included Boroondara State School (1869) and was soon to have its first
church, St Barnabas on Balwyn Road (1872). Three early houses that existed on Balwyn
Road at this date were 'Heathfield' (formerly 21 Balwyn Road), 'Shrublands' (both owned by
Ernst Carter, the major land-holder in the area) and 'The Grange', a single storey villa
(demolished). The train line was extended to Canterbury in 1882, which ushered in a period of
subdivision, including in the Balwyn Road area. Development continued at a steady pace and
the shire changed names a number of times before it became the City of Camberwell in 1914
(RBA 206:5-9; Built Heritage 2012:13-15).
From 1915, 'The Grange' holdings, also known as the Grange Estate, began to be
subdivided. This included the land that would become Grange Avenue and View Street (RBA
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206:5-9). View Street was created by a separate subdivision. The Grange was surveyed by
local surveyor, Harry Parsons in 1915. Apparently, development was to begin at an earlier
date, but was delayed due to World War I (McConville, 1991, vol 3, precinct 22.05).
Prior to this period, there was little subdivision in what was then the Town of Camberwell.
Maps from the 1890s and the first decade of the twentieth century show sparse development,
indicating that ‘much of the Town of Camberwell (as it was then) was still ripe for subdivision
and development at the turn of the century’ (Built Heritage 2012: 128). The Boroondara
Thematic Environmental History goes on to say that:
Ultimately, it was the twentieth century residential expansion across much of the City of
Camberwell (namely, the suburbs of Camberwell proper, Canterbury, Glen Iris and
Balwyn) that brought the municipality its reputation as the quintessential middle-class
inter-war residential area …
th
McConville notes that the majority of homes constructed in the first two decades of the 20
century (1901-21) in the former City of Camberwell were of timber construction, with a few
'wonderful brick villas'. By 1920 the bungalow had appeared, as evident in 2-10 Grange
Avenue, Canterbury, followed by houses in Tudor and Spanish Mission styles. These styles
demonstrate a major growth period of the area during the interwar period (McConville 1991,
Vol 2:17-19, 116; vol 3: precinct 25.02).
By the end of the 1920s, Canterbury was dominated by large brick houses owned by whitecollar professionals. Canterbury has maintained its high social status, as exemplified by high
real estate prices and areas that were mainly developed after World War I, such as the
commercial precinct on Maling Road and the 'Golden Mile', consisting of Mont Albert Road
(west of Balwyn Road) and the avenues towards Canterbury Road, such as Monomeath and
Grange avenues (Canterbury History Group).
History
Francis Rennick, Chief Engineer, and later Commissioner of Victoria Railway, purchased 9.5
acres on the south-west corner of Balwyn and Mont Albert roads in 1865, upon which he had
built 'The Grange' at what is now 162-4 Mont Albert Road c1876 (since demolished) (Argus,
27 Mar 1915:16; Built Heritage 2012:127; RBA, 33 Balwyn Road place citation).
In January 1915, sisters Florence and Ida Rennick of 'The Grange', presumably his
daughters, became the owners of just over six acres (6 acres, 1 rood, 2 perches) bound by
Balwyn Road to the east, which was originally part of Elgar's Special Survey. The Rennick's
subdivided this land to create Grange Avenue, and a majority of the Grange Avenue lots
(excluding 12 & 14 and including the current 31-35 Balwyn Road) (Title 3860/971). The
subdivision plan dates to 1915 (below). In order of sale: in June 1916 number 6 Grange Ave
was sold to William James Fowles; 10 Grange Avenue was sold to Ada Victoria Vanselow in
March 1917, 2 Grange Ave was sold to Walton Scott Finlason in May 1919, 8 Grange Ave
was sold to Laura Margaret White in July 1919, and 4 Grange Ave was sold to Edna Vera
White in August 1919 (Title 3860/971).
Builder Albert Vanselow, the original owner and occupier of 10 Grange Avenue, is believed to
have constructed all five houses (Robin Kentley, pers. comm. 20 Aug 2012). As documentary
evidence confirms that Vanselow was the builder for to numbers 2, 4, 6 and 8 Grange Avenue
(PSPs and Buildng Permits), it is highly likely that he was also the builder for his own house,
which shares so many stylistic and material palette similarities with the others. Vanselow also
had connections to the Rennicks of The Grange, as the 1919 property sewerage plan (PSP)
notes that the agent was Albert Vanselow of 'The Grange', Mount Albert Road, Canterbury
(PSP 114228). The ‘agent’ for connecting a building to sewerage was usually the builder or
architect.
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Numbers 2 and 4 Grange Avenue were both purchased by the White family and remained
st
within the extended family to the 21 century.
Subdivision plan of Grange Avenue, dated 1915.
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2 Grange Avenue, Canterbury
Property Sewerage Plan (1921)
Number 2 Grange Avenue, was purchased by Walton A Finalson, electrical engineer in May
1919, who sold it on to Margaret White in May 1920. The property sewerage plan (PSP
119692) for the property indicates that the house was built in 1921 for Mrs M. A. White (the
year is missing from the first plan, but the second plan shows the date 1921; neither shows
the agent). The identity of the builder, A Vanselow, is confirmed by the City of Camberwell
Building Register (held at the Camberwell Library), which records a building permit granted on
3 September 1920 for a 7-room brick and tile-roofed 1.5-storey house and a shed to be built
on the north side of Grange Road [sic] for a W White [name barely legible] at a cost of 1,500
pounds (Permit No 1139, 03/09/1920).
The original drawings for the house (provided by the current owner, Karen Limb) note that the
brick villa was built for Mr M. White, of Camperdown, and was designed by architect Arthur E.
Bidgway of Balwyn Road, Canterbury. The drawings are dated September 1921.
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Plans and elevations of 2 Grange Avenue by architect Arthur Bidgway, dated Sept. 1921
In 1947, upon the death of Margaret, probate was granted to Mathew White, Edna Vera
Faragher (of 2 Grange Avenue, widow) and Laura Margaret de Melnotte. In October 1956
Laura Margaret White (nee de Melnotte), teacher, and Edna Vera Faragher, who both lived in
the house, became the owners. In February 1961, Richard I Faragher, medical practitioner,
also appears on the titles. After Edna's death, the house passed to Richard I Faragher (who
now lived on Nicholson Street) and Brian S Faragher of 4 Grange Avenue. In September
1978, Laura Margaret White also became a part owner of the house at 2 Grange Avenue, yet
in November of the same year, Brian S Faragher became the sole owner. In November 1985,
owners in equal shares were Brian S Faragher, Glenys Faragher and Clair Faragher (all three
occupying the house), Lynn Smith and Richard Faragher. It passed out of the Faragher family
in 1991 (Title 4242/288).
The house is called 'Werona', believe to have been named by the Faragher family at 4
Grange Avenue, who were related by marriage to the first owners of 2 Grange Avenue (Karen
Limb, pers. comm., 20 Aug 2012).
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Number 4 Grange Avenue was owned by Edna Vera White, spinster, from August 1919. The
PSP (114771) indicates that the house was built for Mrs E.V. White in 1919 and the agent is
recorded as Albert Vanselow of Mont Albert Road, Canterbury, who would have been the
builder. Considering the dimensions of the block, the building permit appears to have been
granted to Miss White's fiancé, R Faragher, with the builder noted as A Vanselow. The permit
was for a 7-room, 1.5-storey brick and tile dwelling, on a 85' x 148' block, at a cost of 1,060
pounds (City of Camberwell Building Register, Permit No 315, 12/09/1919).
Edna married R Faragher, before being widowed by 1947. Also from this date, Edna became
part owner of number 2 Grange Avenue, as noted in the titles of that property (Title
4234/678).
The garage was constructed by builder RB Barnes in 1928, for R Faragher (Edna's husband)
(Building Permit Reg. 2460, 21/02/1928). In August 1969, a rumpus room was added to the
house (permit record), the PSP indicates that this was the single-storey wing on the east side
of the house (PSP 114771).
In October 1970 the house at 4 Grange Avenue passed to Brian S Faragher and Pamela
Faragher, both medical practitioners, who owned and lived at 4 Grange Avenue. The house
remained in the Faragher family until 2012 (Title 4234/678).
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Number 6 Grange Avenue was purchased by builder William James Fowler in June 1916. In
March 1919, the land was sold to Walton Neil McKellar, a manager of 513 Flinders Street,
Melbourne (business unknown). The house was built for McKellar in 1919. The agent was
Albert Vanselow, of 'The Grange', Mount Albert Road, Canterbury (PSP 114228), indicating
that he was the builder. This is confirmed by the City of Camberwell Building Register, in
which a building permit was granted to builder A Vanselow for owner McKellar to construct a
6-room, 1.5-storey dwelling of brick and tile for 1,100 pounds (Permit No 122, 08/04/1919)
McKellar remained in the house for a number of decades. Upon his death probate was
granted to Neil McKellar, 'manager' and Herbert J S Rayment, optical dispenser of 4 Grange
Avenue, in July 1957. Soon after, in October 1958, Elizabeth S McKellar, widow, who
occupied 5 Grange Avenue, became the owner. McKellar sold to Alexander Mitchell,
agricultural scientist, and his wife Joyce, in June 1959 (Title 8975/902). A fibro-cement garage
was constructed in 1938 by builder FC Johnson for WN McKeller (permit record).
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Number 8 Grange Avenue was sold to Laura Margaret White in July 1919. A building permit
was granted on 25 January 1921 for an 8-room brick and tile-roofed 1.5-storey house and a
shed to be constructed by A Vanselow for Miss L White at a cost of 1,300 pounds (City of
Camberwell Building Register, Permit No 1355, 25/01/1921).
Laura Margaret White was the headmistress at both Canterbury Girls Grammar and the
Brighton Campus of the Methodist Ladies' College. A commemorative pond is located at the
Brighton Campus in honour of White. It has also been suggested that White was instrumental
in saving the Dig Tree. The Dig Tree is a national icon and reminder of the country's pioneers.
It is a 200-250 year old Coolibah (Eucalyptus microtha) located on the Northern bank of
Coopers Creek, near Innamincka in north-east South Australia. The tree is related to early
explorers, Burke and Wills, whose exploratory south-north crossing expedition was sponsored
by the Government of Victoria. Provisions were left near the tree for the Burke and Wills team,
and instructions on where to dig for the stash was carved into the tree, hence the name (ABC
News; Bulloo Shire Council). In the early twentieth century, White periodically took school
children to visit the area, and upon one visit discovered that the tree was at risk of being
removed by the local pastoralists, due to a termite infestation. White returned to the Dig Tree
with a team of specialists to assess the tree, which resulted in its survival (Mark Williams,
pers. comm., 20 Aug 2012).
Upon White's death in 1922, the property was passed to Ada Victoria Vanselow, of 10 Grange
Avenue, who sold it to Harold A Fisher, Russell Street, Melbourne merchant, in July 1923.
Fisher lived there for a number of years. He commissioned 'attic additions' in 1930, which
were constructed by builder R. Barnes (Building Permit Reg. 1743, 16/06/1930). This is
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believed to be the large dormer on the front of the roof, which has matching details to the rest
of the house.
After Fisher's death in 1940, the land passed to his widow Hilda Fisher of 'Dalkuth', Grange
Avenue, in June 1941. In February 1953, Fisher sold the house to Walter L Steele, retailer,
and his wife Eileen, who erected the garage in 1963 (permit record); this may be the double
garage at the rear which imitates many features of the house. That same year a bathroom
was installed on the first floor (PSP 120255). Kevin G Walton, pharmaceutical chemist, and
his wife Beverley became the owners in July 1965 (Title 4234/679). The Waltons had a
single-storey extension constructed, set back on the east side of the house, in 1972 (PSP
120255).
Number 10 Grange Avenue was sold to Ada Victoria Vanselow in March 1917 and the
house was built in 1919 (PSP 112020). Ada Victoria nee Tyrell had married Albert Herman
Wills Vanselow in 1906 (BDM Reg. 7034/1906).
The current owner believes that Albert Vanselow built 10 Grange Avenue as his own
residence (Robin Kentley, pers. comm., 20 Aug 2012). The name of the ‘agent’ is missing
from the scanned Property Sewerage Plan for 10 Grange Avenue (PSP 112020).
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Vanselow appeared as the agent on the property sewerage files for numbers 4 and 6 Grange
Avenue when they were constructed, and the City of Camberwell Building Permit records
confirm that he also built numbers 2 and 6. The use of similar materials and details of number
10 suggest that the architect or builder of this house was the same as the rest of the row, and
it would follow the typical development pattern of a builder constructing his house first and
then the remainder in a row.
The only reference to Vanselow that was found in contemporary newspapers was in regard to
an A. H. Vanselow, builder and timber and hardware merchant, working in Camperdown in
the 1930s, who constructed St Paul's kindergarten school hall in 1937 (Camperdown
Chronicle, 23 Jan 1934:7; 4 Jan 1938:3; 17 Apr 1937:2; 20 Oct 1931:1).
The house remained in the Vanselow family until July 1971 (Title 3860/971; 4027/203). ). A
garage was constructed at the rear c1960s (certainly prior to 1978; Pers. Comm., Robin
Kentley, 12 Sept 2012). At some point the enclosed veranda in the front minor gable was infilled with windows. Further additions and alterations were also carried out in January 1989
(permit record), none of which are visible from the public domain.
Arthur E. Bidgway, architect
Considering the similarities in form of Nos 4-10, with the use of repeating elements such as
bow windows (bay windows with a curved plan), gable treatment and shaped timber shingles,
as well as the use of similar details with No 2 – the chimneys, front door and pattern of
verandah floor tessellated tiles – it would appear that all five houses were designed by the
same person. Arthur Bidgway is documented as having designed No 2, and as it was built
second to last in the row, it is likely that he designed all of them, and all were constructed to
his designs by Albert Vanselow. (It is also possible, but less probable, that Vanselow was the
craftsman-builder of the first three houses in 1919, and then Bidgway designed No 2 to blend
in with them.)
Bidgway lived and had his architectural office at 325 Nott Street, Port Melbourne, around the
turn of the century and carried out many residential commissions in Port Melbourne in the
1890s and first two decades of the twentieth century. In that suburb he was responsible for a
large number of the more substantial homes in this period. Examples of his Port Melbourne
designs include houses at 200 Graham Street (1899), 119 Clark Street (1899), 101 Spring
Street (c1899) and 336 Princes Street, Port Melbourne (1915-6). Bidgway also designed the
Jubilee Memorial Hall, Port Melbourne (1908) (Argus, 27 Feb 1908:8).
His early houses outside of Port Melbourne include those at 35 Victoria Road, Camberwell
(1898, contributory in HO159) and 20 Sandham, Elsternwick (1899) (Schmeder, 2005).
Bidgway’s houses of this period, which fall into the Italianate Victorian and Federation styles,
are characterised by decorative motifs that make them identifiable as his work. The most
common shared design element is the chimney, combining a smooth rendered base, a redbrick shaft and a top made of a combination of render mouldings, bands of roughcast and
fluted sections (straight or tapered). Other features that many houses had in common were
cast-cement cornice friezes with a sunflower motif (popularised by the Aesthetic Movement),
and coved and fluted render cornices on others, and an Islamic horseshoe verandah bracket
to his later houses.
In 1912 Bidgway moved to 7 Balwyn Road, Canterbury, just around the corner from Grange
Avenue. It was a timber house with a tiled roof, constructed by E Moller for him, presumably
to his design (RBA, 2006: place citation). He ran his architectural practice there in 1921, as
noted on the drawings for 2 Grange Avenue. The house at 7 Balwyn Road was demolished in
the 1970s.
While later in date and style than his Port Melbourne houses, the Grange Avenue houses also
exhibit his characteristic use of key repeating motifs on individually designed houses. This
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includes the use of very similar chimneys on Nos 4, 6 and 10, identical shaped timber
shingles above roughcast render to the gables of all houses in the row, and an identical
highwaisted door and sidelight to No 10.
The houses at 2-10 Grange Avenue occupy the majority of the north side of Grange Avenue,
which is located between Balwyn Road and Hopetoun Avenue. The street is entirely
residential and modest in width. Both sides are planted with mature Plane trees on the
generous nature strips. While the limbs of the trees on the south side have been lopped to
allow for power lines, those on the north side are intact.
The five houses sit on blocks of equal width that allow for generous front gardens and side
setbacks. The blocks at Nos. 2, 8 and 10 are slightly deeper than the middle two.
All of the houses are characterized by their complex gable roofs with an attic storey, and are
of a similar scale, materials and front setback. Nos 2, 8 and 10 retain their wide, curved front
paths, some with original brick edging (Pers. Comm., Robin Kentley, 21 Sept. 2012). All have
a steeply pitched transverse gable roof (parallel to the street) and dominant projecting front
gable, which often shelters the entry. Stylistically they can be called Arts & Crafts attic-style
bungalows, some with a California Bungalow influence. Arts & Crafts Bungalows were British
in inspiration and often had high-pitched roofs (often with an attic storey), and a deep
masonry arch or square piers (sometimes buttressed) to the porch. This contrasted with the
California Bungalow style which was characterised by low pitched roofs with spreading eaves,
pergola details and tapered piers as verandah supports. Typical of both these styles, the
houses have Art Nouveau decorative motifs seen in the leadlight windows.
All of the houses have high-pitched gabled roofs covered in terracotta Marseille tiles with
exposed rafter ends, red brick walls with render accents (particularly roughcast render in the
gables), leadlights to highlight windows and front doors, and distinctively shaped timber
shingles (with curved corners) at the apex of all of the gables (front and side). Other features
the houses share are bow windows (bay windows with a curved plan), often in pairs, and
slender red brick chimneys with a band of roughcast render at the top below a projecting cap.
The chimneys vary slightly among themselves, with projecting brick accents just below the
cap at Nos.2 and 4 (though the cap has been removed from No 2), or in the middle of the
rough cast band at No 6, and a taper to the roughcast section at No 10 (note that the front
chimney to No 8 was removed when the attic dormer was constructed in 1930). Front door
designs are also shared by some of the houses. Nos 2 and 10 have identical highwaisted
doors and matching sidelights and highlights with a segmentally arched window above a
decorative apron, and a ledged lower panel. Only the Art Nouveau leadlight designs differ.
Another pair of identical doors are seen at Nos. 4 and 8: a ledged and framed door with a
dramatic quarter-circle glazing, with very wide sidelights above ledging, and three highlights.
Again, the Art Nouveau glazing differs. The door to No 6 was not visible from the public
domain. Reportedly original tessellated tile floors, in identical patterns, survive on the front
verandahs of Nos 2, 4, 8 and 10 (Pers. Comm., Robin Kentley, 21 Sept. 2012).
While united by their shared features, materials, massing and front setback, each house has
an individually designed façade which can be described as a variation on a theme. Features
of note include:
-
No 2 has a very wide, round-arched brick opening to the front verandah flanked by
stepped buttresses. The verandah wraps around the east side elevation, and is
supported on elongated brick piers with rendered pylons at the top (typical of the
California Bungalow style). There is a large gabled dormer window which sits above a
hipped breakfront. The attic gable is reflected in a smaller gable roof, filled with
shaped timber shingles, to a curved window bay. The window bay and other ground
floor windows to the façade are casements, most with highlights, filled with diamond
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and floral patterned leadlights. This house has a somewhat higher level of detail and
finishes than the others in the row, particularly seen in the complex massing of the
front gable, the gabled 'roof' above the front bay window, and the fine brickwork of the
arched brick porch entry.
The picket fence is was noted as original in 1991 (McConville, (1991: Precinct 25.02),
but was replaced with an identical reproduction here and at No. 6 in 1993 (Alex
Mitchell, pers. comm., 20 June 2014). It has curved-top pickets in two sizes,
alternating between three large and three small. A nearly identical fence is seen at No
6.
Apart from the addition of a Federation-style window hood to the attic window on the
west side and the removal of the chimney caps, no external alterations are noted.
-
No 4 has buttressed brick piers supporting the verandah gable, and a brick
balustrade with bullnose bricks along the top and a pierced diamond pattern. It has
two wide bow windows to the façade comprising four and five sash windows with
leadlight highlights. The roughcast render of the chimney has never been painted.
The 1928 garage at the rear is a modest weatherboard structure with a tiled roof. It
retains its ledged timber doors.
Alterations to the house include an extension to the east side of 1969. It is set well
back from the façade and designed in a sympathetic manner, with a tiled gable roof
and red brick walls. The flat roof carport in front of it is intrusive, but its installation has
not required any alterations to the building fabric (apart from fixing points for the roof),
so should be reversible.
-
No 6 has a strong front attic gable which stretches across most of the façade and is
nearly as large as the main gable of the roof, giving the house a cruciform plan. The
entrance is tucked under the east side of the house, and the verandah area is
supported on high brick piers with tapered rendered pylons on top (typical of the
California Bungalow style, like those at No 2). The two bow windows of the facade sit
below a long tiled hood, and have double hung sashes with leadlights to the upper
sashes and the highlights.
There is a timber picket front fence which appears to bea reproduction of the original
to the house (as noted in McConville, 1991: Precinct 25.02)installed in 1993,. It
comprisesing curved-top pickets in two sizes, alternating between three large and
three small. The original pickets were made of jarrah and were 19 mm thick, with the
small pickets 44 mm wide and the large pickets 69 mm wide, with their respective
lengths approximately 1130 mm and 1180 mm. It is believed that all of the houses in
the row had this type of fence originally (Alex Mitchell, pers. comm., 20 June 2014).
No external alterations were noted.
-
No 8 has a large, projecting front gable which shelters the front verandah and one of
two bow windows to the façade. The verandah supports are brick piers with rendered
flat arches above. The leadlights use diamond panes (as seen at No 2) with Art
Nouveau floral designs. Box windows are used to the attic level, as at Nos 2 and 10.
There is a large gabled dormer to the left of the verandah gable, whose construction
in 1930 required the removal of the front chimney. It appears to have been modeled
after the original dormer at No 4 in form and detail, though in a larger version.
A single-storey, gabled brick extension has been added at the rear of the house. It
projects out on the east side of the site and is visible from the street, but is recessive.
-
No 10 has a cruciform plan of 1.5-storey gables, with another projecting gable set to
the left side of the façade. It shelters the front verandah, which rests on two larger
round arches (finished in smooth render with a keystone). There is a large bow
window beside the verandah with leadlight highlights, set below a tiled hood.
The only external alteration noted is the infilling of the former enclosed verandah in
the front gable with windows.
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Within the City of Boroondara, the Grange Road Avenue Precinct compares most closely to
the Lower Burke Road Precinct, Glen Iris (HO154). This precinct comprises a row of eight
interwar houses on the west side of Burke Road, between McDonald and Rix streets, with
Faircroft Avenue intersecting them. They number 395 to 417 Burke Road.
The row is part of a larger subdivision, presumably interwar in date, which extended to the
north and south sides of Faircroft Street, the south side of Rix Street, and Parkin Street
between Faircroft and Rix streets, about 65 house blocks in all.
The block at 395 Burke Road comprises the equivalent of three house blocks in the
subdivision, giving it a very generous setting, though the scale of the house is similar to the
rest in the precinct.
Research has not been carried out into the date or builder of the eight houses (Hawthorn
Heritage Study, 1993), but they were built with a consistent setback, scale and style in the
1930s (quite possibly by a single builder). The houses have generous front yards set behind
low rendered brick front fences. The houses are single-storey with dominant hip roofs, with
the exception of No 415, which has an attic storey and jerkin-head roof form. All have
rendered walls and tile-clad roofs. They are Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Mission in
style, both popular during the late 1920s and 1930s. They have an overall high level of
intactness.
The 1993 Study found the precinct to be of significance as being Hawthorn's most intact
group of interwar houses, adopting a variety of styles, many of which retain associated fences
and gardens. The prominent and slightly elevated siting of the houses was also considered of
interest.
The Grange Road Avenue Precinct is similar in comprising a compact and very consistent
row of interwar houses, which are highly intact and of high architectural quality. Like HO154,
the Grange Road Avenue houses have consistent setbacks, lot widths, scale, roof forms,
style (Arts & Crafts Attic bungalow), materials and details. While only two of the Grange Road
houses have retained their original front fences, tThey are more substantial and have more
accomplished massing and detailing (in keeping with the work of an architect or craftsmanbuilder).
Within the suburb of Canterbury, the Grange Road Avenue Precinct can be compared to
Hassett's Estate, Canterbury & Camberwell (HO191). This is a much larger precinct,
comprising Hassett Avenue, Catherine, Quantock, Cooba, Maysia and Alta streets. It is of
heritage significance as: 1) one of the outstanding subdivisions in the former City of
Camberwell in the 1920s which inspired much of the later built form, subdivision patterns and
street design within the former City of Camberwell; and 2) a particularly intact and notable
collection of the prevailing house styles of the 1920s to early 1940s, with an emphasis on the
interwar Mediterranean architectural style, and containing also a series of advanced Moderne
designs (Camberwell Urban Conservation Study, 1991).
Land sales took place in 1924 and 1927, so the original housing stock is later in period and
thus style than the Grange Road Avenue houses. Styles represented in HO191 are Indian
Bungalow, California Bungalow, Mediterranean, Spanish Mission, Old English, Italian villas
and Moderne. As is suggested by the wide range of styles, the development in HO191 is quite
varied in appearance.
The Grange Road Avenue Precinct also has a highly intact group of interwar houses, but they
illustrate and earlier style (Arts & Crafts bungalow) and are distinguished by their architectural
consistency. The Grange Road Avenue houses are also more substantial than the houses in
HO191, and show more accomplished architectural design and detailing.
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In contrast, the Grange Road Avenue subdivision is not considered a model subdivision within
the area, rather a typical small-scale subdivision seen in the piecemeal break-up of the
Victorian mansion estates.
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Criteria adopted by the Heritage Council on 7 August 2008 pursuant to Sections 8(1)(c) and
8(2) of the Heritage Act 1995, modified for the local context.
CRITERION A: Importance to the course, or pattern, of the City of Boroondara's
cultural history.
The row of house at 2-10 Grange Avenue exemplifies the high-quality, middle-class
residential development that characterised the former City of Camberwell, and the suburb of
Canterbury, during the interwar period. This is illustrated by the occupations of the first house
owners which include a manager, headmistress, timber merchant. Quite often the houses
were retained within a family for long periods of time.
The row of houses exemplify the move from large, mansion estates to accelerating
subdivision for middle-class development in the interwar period, as seen with the piecemeal
subdivision of ‘The Grange’ from 1915, which created Grange Avenue and View Street.
Boroondara's cultural history.
NA
The two matching and original picket fences at Nos. 2 and 6 are rare survivors, as timber
fences are frequently replaced. The two fences suggest that all of the houses in the row might
have had identical fences originally, further enhancing their visual coherence as a group.
the City of Boroondara's cultural history.
Not applicable.
cultural places and objects.
The five houses are intact and representative examples of Arts & Crafts attic-style bungalows.
This is seen in the use of complex, high-pitched gabled roofs and breakfronts, and major and
minor gables to some facades. The use of brick arches and heavy piers with buttressing to
the verandahs is also characteristic, as are the multiple cladding materials in the gables
(latticework vents, shaped timber shingles, smooth and roughcast render, half-timbering
strapwork). Two show the influence of the emerging California Bungalow style as well, with
tapered pylons to the side verandahs. Door types are also typical of their era: some ledged
and highwaisted, others with a dramatic quarter-circle window. Art Nouveau floral imagery,
which was popular from the turn of the century until the mid-1920s, is seen in the wide variety
of leadlight windows.
CRITERION E: Importance in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics.
The five houses demonstrate many typical features of the Arts & Crafts attic-style bungalow
style, however, they are more substantial than most homes of this period, and show unusual
design coherence, suggesting that they were designed by a single person (most likely Arthur
Bidgway), though the level of design and detail of No. 2 is the highest. Their coherence also
strengthens their presentation as a whole. While similar motifs are repeated, each building
has a unique massing of gables and verandah supports, giving each an individual character
and aesthetic appeal. The mature Plane street trees contribute to the spacious and green
suburban feel of the row.
achievement at a particular period.
Not applicable.
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group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. This includes the significance of a place
to Indigenous peoples as part of their continuing and developing cultural traditions.
Not investigated.
persons, of importance in the City of Boroondara's.
No 2, at minimum, has links to architect Arthur Bidgway. Bidgway practiced from Port
Melbourne in the 1890s until around 1915, and was responsible for the most substantial
houses in that suburb during the Federation period. He moved to 7 Balwyn Road in 1912, and
was practicing there where he designed 2 Grange Avenue. Little is known of his career after
he left Port Melbourne.
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The Grange Avenue Precinct comprises the interwar development on the north side of
Grange Avenue, at 2-10 Grange Avenue. Grange Avenue was created in a subdivision of the
Victorian estate called ‘The Grange’, by its owners the Rennicks, in 1915. They created
Grange Avenue and View Street, on the west side of Balwyn Road, and began selling off
residential blocks in 1916. The blocks comprising 2-10 Grange Avenue were all sold by 1919,
with house construction beginning that same year. One of the first buyers was Ada Vanselow.
She was the wife of Albert Vanselow, a builder and timber merchant with connections to the
Rennicks (‘The Grange’ was given as his address in 1919). Vanselow soon built a house for
himself at 10 Grange Avenue, and is documented as the builder for the four other houses as
well. The second to last house built in the row was No. 2, designed by Alfred Bidgway, an
architect of substantial middle-class homes in the Port Melbourne area in the late 1890s to
about 1915, who had relocated from Port Melbourne to 7 Balwyn Road, Canterbury, in 1912.
The street is planted with mature Plane trees, which have good form and intactness on the
north side of the street.
Most of the early owners of the houses, the Vanselow, White and Faragher families, were
linked by family or other ties, as evidenced by the pattern of inheritance, and their ownership
is characterised by very long tenure.
The houses are all situated on generous blocks with similar front and side setbacks. Two
retain have identical picket fences that reproduce the original form (Nos 2 and 6), and Nos 2,
8 and 10 retain wide curving front paths.
The houses are all substantial Arts & Crafts attic-style bungalows constructed of red brick with
roughcast render and timber shingles to the multiplicity of gables. The steeply-pitched roofs
are all clad in terracotta Marseille tiles and the chimneys all have a slender red brick shaft
with a band of roughcast near the top and a flat projecting cap above that (apart from No 8
where it has been removed). They all have strong similarities in massing, with a main
transverse gable roof, one or two bow windows (curved bay windows) to the façade often
below a tiled hood, and a variety of major and minor projecting gables to the front, often
sheltering the front verandah. No 10 has a particularly strong major front gable, making the
transverse gable secondary. Pleasing variation is provided both by the arrangement of front
gables and gabled dormers, and by the differing verandah supports, which range from roundheaded and flat arches and buttressed piers, to typical California Bungalow pylons resting on
brick piers. Each house also has an individual pattern of Art Nouveau floral leadlights to
highlights, door surrounds and some sashes. Two houses (Nos. 4 & 8) have front doors with
dramatic quarter-circle glazing. Nos. 2 and 10 have identical highwaisted ledged doors with
very wide sidelights. Nos 2, 4, 8 and 10 have identical tessellated tile floors on their front
verandahs.
The house at No 2, designed by Bidgway, and built after numbers 4, 6 and 10, differs in the
use of a timber-shingled gable above the front bow window, and the expression of the east
elevation – once visible from Balwyn Road – as a second façade.
The houses are generally highly intact, with later extensions at Nos. 4 and 8 set behind the
line of the main roof, though visible from the public domain. An attic dormer was also added to
No 8 in 1930, which is sympathetic in detail and form to the house, but which required the
removal of the front chimney.
The Grange Avenue Precinct, at 2-10 Grange Avenue, Canterbury, is of local historical and
aesthetic significance to the City of Boroondara.
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The Grange Avenue Precinct is of historic significance as a subdivision that is representative
of small-scale interwar subdivisions in the former City of Camberwell, which saw the breakup
of large estates, such as ‘The Grange’, into middle-class residential areas including Grange
Avenue and View Street. The substantial nature and high quality of the design of the houses
at 2-10 Grange Avenue exemplify the quintessential middle-class interwar character for which
suburbs in the former City of Camberwell are celebrated. (Criterion A)
The Grange Avenue Residential Precinct is of aesthetic significance for the strong and
visually cohesive streetscape created by the row of houses which share a common style,
setback, scale, major roof forms, materials and decorative details. Paired with their overall
visual unity, the houses are individually and skillfully designed variations on a theme,
expressed by different combinations of secondary roof gables and dormers, verandah
supports and leadlight windows. They are also high quality interwar houses, at least one of
architect design, which are substantial for the area, and good examples of the Arts & Crafts
attic-style bungalow. They are generally highly intact to their period of construction, and have
been well maintained. They are enhanced by the two rare surviving picket fences at Nos. 2
and 6, and the mature Plane street trees on the wide nature strip. (Criteria D & E)
No 2 Grange Road Avenue is particularly distinguished by its superior level of detail and
finishes, particularly seen in the complex massing of the front gable, the gabled 'roof' above
the front bay window, and the fine brickwork of the arched brick porch entry. It helps
demonstrates the evolution of architect Arthur Bidgway's high-quality middle-class houses
from the Victorian and Edwardian villas found in Port Melbourne, to this very up-to-date
interpretation of the Arts and Crafts style with California Bungalow elements in 1921. (Criteria
E & H)
Recommended heritage controls and heritage grading
Recommendations for the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay (Clause 43.01) in the Boroondara
Planning Scheme
Tree Controls
Incorporated plan
Internal Alterations Controls
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Schedule of Properties
No
2
4
6
8
10
Street
Grange Avenue
Grange Avenue
Grange Avenue
Grange Avenue
Grange Avenue
Suburb
Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury
Grading
Significant
Contributory
Contributory
Contributory
Contributory
Date
1920-21
1919
1919
1921
1919
Aboriginal heritage place
No
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Identified By:
McConville, Chris & Associates with Graeme Butler (1991), 'City of Camberwell's Urban
Conservation Study'.
References
ABC News, article by Erik Havnen, 'A wooden platform surrounds the 'Dig Tree'',
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-05-18/a-wooden-platform-surrounds-the-dig-tree/1684496,
accessed 28 August 2012.
Built Heritage (2012), 'City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History', prepared for City
of Boroondara.
Bulloo Shire Council, 'Burke and Wills', http://www.thargotourism.com.au/the-burke-and-willsdig-tree, accessed 28 August 2012.
Canterbury History Group, 'About Canterbury',
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~canthist/cantabout.htm, accessed 28 Aug 2012.
Certificates of Title, as cited above.
City of Camberwell's building permit records.
Drawings of 26 Grange Avenue, Canterbury, provided by Karen Limb, owner in 2012.
Hanslow, Jan, Port Phillip Pioneers Group Inc (PPPG), 'Early Melbourne Suburbs',
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~pioneers/welcome.htm, accessed 28 August 2012.
Kentley, Robin, owner of 10 Grange RoadAvenue, personal communication, 20 August 2012.
Limb, Karen, current owner of 2 Grange Avenue, personal communication, 20 August 2012.
Mitchell, Alex, current owner of 6 Grange Avenue (since 1958), personal communication, 20
June 2014.
Maling Road, Canterbury, 'Our history', http://www.malingroad.com.au/info/our-history,
accessed 28 August 2012.
McConville, Chris & Associates (1991), 'City of Camberwell's Urban Conservation Study', Vol
2, Environmental History; Vol 3, Precincts.
RBA Architects (2006), 'Balwyn Road Residential Precinct Canterbury, Stage 2 Heritage
Precinct Review'.
Schmeder, Natica (2005), ‘Physical Investigation of Clareville, 101 Spring Street South, Port
Melbourne’, report prepared for subject ‘Analysing Australian Buildings’, University of
Melbourne; and list of Bidgway designed houses, also compiled by N Schmeder.
The Argus, 27 Feb 1908, 27 Mar 1915.
Williams, Mark, son-in-law of current owner of 4 Grange Avenue, personal communication, 20
August 2012.
Yarra Valley Water, property sewerage plans (PSP), as cited above.
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Former Murradoc or Quitchambo
Prepared by: Context Pty Ltd
Address: 13-15 Irilbarra Road, Canterbury
Name: Murradoc (former), Quitchambo (former)
Survey Date: 8 Nov. 2012
Architect:
Builder: Lewis U Rowden
Historical Context
Murradoc is located in a part of Canterbury that was subdivided in the late 19th and early
20th century for large mansions on extensive grounds, such as Glenlea at 49 Mangarra
Road (whose ground extended to Mont Albert Road, modest houses on small blocks, as
well as substantial villas on generous blocks, such as Murradoc and Wiora (at 21 Irilbarra
Road).
When first surveyed, the present Irilbarra Road was called Mangarra Road, and the
present Mangarra Road did not yet exist (MMBW 1905).
History
Louis William Rowden, a builder of Glenferrie, purchased the site of the house at 15
Irilbarra Road (Lot 84, PS1269) in May 1889 (LV: 2155 F962), and constructed the eightroomed brick house form himself shortly afterward. Butler (1991) notes that he purchased
the adjoining Lot 85 (13 Irilbarra Road) at the same time, as recorded by the rate books.
Rowden was a civil engineer with the building firm Waring & Rowden of La Trobe Street,
first established by William Waring, which became a successful firm by the late
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nineteenth century, until it ceased to operate around 1910 (Age 4 Oct 1986; Butler 1991).
Examples of their work include the Maffra Sugar Beet Factory of 1897 (demolished)
(Maffra Spectator, 22/04/1897:3), shops and dwellings at 166-186 Little Collins Street,
Melbourne, of 1891 (Butler & Assoc, 2011), and sewerage reticulation work in Fitzroy and
Richmond (Argus, 17/01/1902:6; 18/07/1902:7).
The house was accompanied by large brick stables and a horse paddock (MMBW 1905).
By 1905, it was called 'Murradoc'. It is suggested to have been the first substantial home
built in the area (Nunawading Gazette 19 Apr 1989; Age 4 Oct 1986).
Figure 1. ‘Murradoc’ in 1905, with a large stable/outbuilding at the south-west corner of the site.
(MMBW Detail Plan No. 1992, 1905)
Rowden sold the property to Lewis Hatherley, builder of Hawthorn, in 1892. Rowden's
wife, Mary Ann Rowden, then bought back the property in 1905. By then she and
Rowden resided in Adelaide, where the breakwater was under construction (LV: 2155
F962). Butler's (1991) rate book research indicates that Rowden extended the house in
1901, so the sale to Hatherley may have been a formality.
Reportedly, Rowden’s fortunes took a turn for the worse after the breakwater constructed
by Waring & Rowden for Adelaide’s Outer Harbour collapsed in a storm, precipitating
Rowden’s sale of his house (Age 4 Oct 1986). It is not known precisely when (or if) the
breakwater failed, though the contract was awarded in 1902 and dredging was underway
in mid-1903 (Albany Advertiser 6 Dec 1902:3; Argus 8 Jul 1903:5). The breakwater was
officially opened on 16 January 1908 (Advertiser 15 Jan 1908:7), and Mary Ann Rowden
did sell the house shortly after in April 1908. However, no press articles about the
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collapse of the breakwater could be located, and in November 1910 the South Australian
Premier was praising the Outer Harbour as ‘splendid’ and a ‘show place’ (Register 5 Nov
1910:5).
The purchaser in 1908 was Edith Langford, who then sold it to Winifred Margaret Russell
in 1911. Russell was recorded as already residing at Murradoc at the time of purchase
(LV: V2115 F962). Russell died the following year, and the property remained with the
Perpetual Executors and Trustees Association of Australia until 1947, though there were
other joint owners at times (William Rankin, John Clarke, George Shaw) (LV: V3620
F808).
Butler's (1991) rate book research indicates that Mrs WJ Daly occupied the house 'from
early this [20th] century and on into the 1920's'. She was certainly there from at least
1919, when her son's marriage was announced (Sydney Morning Herald 15 Jul 1919:8).
Mrs W J Daly (Florence) was the daughter of Gustave Beckx, the first Belgian Consul in
Victoria (Argus 3 Aug 1946:11; 20). She was the widow of William John Eyre Daly, and
reportedly moved to Murradoc due to reduced circumstances after her wealthy husband
died (Free Press 23 Sep 1966). It appears she renamed the property after William Daly's
mansion in Elsternwick, Quitchambo (Argus 7 Jan 1887:8), as it is mentioned by this
name in 1919 (Sydney Morning Herald 15 Jul 1919:8).
Mrs WJ Daly was awarded the Gold Palm of the Order of the Crown of Belgium from
King Albert in recognition of her many services in war and peace for Belgium. The Order
was the first one given to a Victorian (Mirror 30 Jun 1920:2; Daily News 17 Jul 1928:2).
Later sources claim that she took over the role of Belgian Consul after the death of her
father (Free Press 23 Sep 1966), but this could not be confirmed. It is also said that the
Oak tree behind the house was planted by her son, Colonel Clarence Daly of the First
AIF, before he left for World War I, but did not return.
Reportedly, the Daly family spotted incoming ships with a telescope from a look-out: a flat
section of roof surrounded by a cast-iron railing reached by an internal staircase (Age 4
Oct 1986). A similar platform and balustrade is seen at Chalgrove, 10 Trafalgar Road,
Camberwell (HO159).
After their mother's death in 1946 (Argus 3 Aug 1946:11), the Daly children (Eleanor,
Anastasia and Gustave) purchased the property and resided there until their deaths.
Gustave was the last to go, in 1962 (LV: V7071 F143).
By the early 1960s, it appears that the stables had been replaced by a garage and
storeroom, also at the south-west corner of the site, but with a different footprint. In 1987,
the garage/store was converted for use as a billiard room, sauna and spa and the
external facebrick bagged (Building Permit No. 84041, 1987). The present owner
replaced or remodelled this building in 2006, copying many decorative features of the
house (Tony Sobol, Pers. comm., 11 June 2014).
The new owners sold the adjacent horse paddock (now 11 Irilbarra Road) after the
Council instructed that the horse's 'packing case stables' would have to be sewered (Free
Press 23 Sep 1966). The brick stables, shown on the 1905 MMBW plan, were retained
together with the house, and had been converted to a garage and wine cellar (Age 4 Oct
1986; Free Press 23 Sep 1966). By 1989, the stables had been converted into a billiard
room with a fireplace, sauna, bathroom and spa (Nunawading Gazette 19 Apr 1989).
In 1966 the interior still featured the original Kauri and parquet floors, large folding doors,
Bblackwood panelling in and gas-light fittings in the front room (Free Press 23 Sep 1966).
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In 1989 the house was advertised for sale, containing four bedrooms, three bathrooms,
an entertaining-leisure area and study (in the former garage). Tessellated tiles on the
verandah floor, cast-iron lace details and leadlight surrounds remained. Additions
included a kitchen and family room to the rear of the house, stylistically matching the
original house (Nunawading Gazette 19 Apr 1989). The addition and entertainment
centre were the work of owner and builder Peter Mastores, who had purchased the
property in 1987 (LV: V8412 F527; Building Permit No 84041, 1987).
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The house is a double-fronted Victorian Italianate single-storey house with an M-hip slate
roof and a single-storey short tower-like feature on the south side of the house, in
keeping with the Italianate villa style. It is block-fronted with a symmetrical facade of a
central doorway - replete with richly coloured and hand-painted leadlight sidelights and
highlights and a six-panelled door with patera motifs - flanked by two arched windows on
either side.
The render finish to the walls is richly finished with incised geometric patterns to the ruled
render walls, quoins to the corners, moulded architraves and acanthus-leaf capitals to the
arched windows and vermiculated window sills on corbels. The cornice is also articulated
with paired brackets, paterae and cricket-bat mouldings in cast-concrete, while the tower
element has a cast-concrete balustrade with a guilloche (of interlocking circles) motif, and
retains cast-concrete urns orbs at the corners. On the east face of the tower there is a
niche which currently holds a statue of Queen Victoria.
The roof retains its slate roof with bands of triangular purple slates along the centre. The
slate roof cladding was replaced in the 1980s, and earlier photos indicate that it did not
have this decorative band originally. (Note: the roofing slates may have been renewed,
but are in keeping with 19th-century design.) Two chimneys are arranged symmetrically
near the front of the house. They are rendered and are particularly ornate for their period,
with not only a rendered cornice, but also fielded panels to the shafts and a fluted frieze.
The house retains its original return verandah, including a tessellated tile floor with
bluestone edging and steps, a slightly concave corrugated-iron roof, cast-iron Corinthian
columns (in pairs to frame the doorway and at the corners), and a cast-iron frieze with
integral brackets in an unusual floral pattern.
While there have been alterations and an extension to the rear of the house, these are
generally not visible from the street. Judging from the current roof plan, the 1901 addition
made by Rowden appears to be the high hipped-roof wing at the north-west corner (rear)
of the house. The flat look-out section of the roof appears to exist, but the balustrade is
gone. Otherwise the house, as viewed from the public domain, is highly intact and very
well maintained.
There is a mature oak tree in the rear yard, which reportedly was planted by a member of
the Daly family at the opening of World War I. The Canary Island Palm that stands in the
front garden is likely of a similar age, as this was a very popular specimen planting during
the Edwardian and Interwar periods.
The former stables stand at the rear of 13 Irilbarra Road, behind the modern tennis
courts. The east elevation has been altered to resemble a neo-classical folly. It is not
known how much of the building's original form and fabric survive, but the footprint
corresponds with that of 1905 (MMBW 1905).
Murradoc compares favourably in its architectural expression and intactness to other
Italianate villas of the late 1880s, and is distinguished by the high level of ornamentation
and quality of its render work. Two of the most similar in form are:
x
House, 33 Alma Road, Camberwell (HO367) of 1888, a double-fronted rendered
Italianate house with a canted bay and a two-storey tower. The arched windows
to the canted bay have similar Acanthus-leaf cornices to Murradoc, otherwise the
detailing of the render is simpler. It is intact and retains its slate roof, rendered
chimneys and verandah detailing.
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x
The Knoll, 50 Wandsworth Road, Surrey Hills (HO415) of 1888-9, a doublefronted rendered Italianate house with a canted bay and return verandah. The
arched windows have simple capital mouldings, and the detailing of the render is
generally simpler than at Murradoc. It retains its slate roof and rendered
chimneys (also simpler than at Murradoc), but the main elevation is now
obscured from the street by later subdivision.
Not applicable.The stables at Morooduc, while altered, demonstrate a once common type
of outbuilding for 19th-century houses of medium and large size, when most people of
means retained their own horses for transport.
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
Murradoc is a typical symmetrical Italianate villa in regard to its hipped roof, ruled render
walls, arched windows, return verandah, bracketed cornice, and rendered chimneys. A
balustrade tower was also a desirable feature of this style, but was usually taller than a
single storey.
significance).
Murradoc is distinguished by the high-quality and extensive cement-render
ornamentation which includes incised stencil decorations, quoining, vermiculated window
sills and acanthus-leaf capitals, fielded panels and fluting to the chimneys, and
interlocking circle balustrade and urns orbs to the tower element. Also by its very intact
verandah with paired cast-iron posts and an unusual cast-iron frieze pattern.
Not applicable.
significance).
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Not applicable.
Not applicable.
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The former Murradoc (later Quitchambo) at 13-15 Irilbarra Road, Canterbury. It was
constructed in 1889 by builder Louis William Rowden as his home, though he sold it in
1892. Rowden was a partner in the Melbourne building firm of Waring & Rowden, best
known for their work on the Adelaide Outer Harbour Breakwater in the first decade of the
20th century, as well as construction of buildings and sewerage works in Melbourne and
other parts of Victoria.
The Daly family occupied the house, renaming it Quitchambo, from the interwar period
until the 1960s. It is believed they planted the Canary Island Palm in front of the house
and the mature Oak behind the house.
The house is an Italianate-style villa with a richly detailed cement render finish and castiron verandah. The house is significant to the extent of its 1889 fabric as well as the 1901
addition made by Rowden.
The former brick stables are also contributory to the place.
The former Murradoc is of local architectural, aesthetic and historical significance to the
City of Boroondara.
The former Murradoc is of architectural and aesthetic significance as a fine and externally
intact example of a symmetrical rendered Victorian Italianate villa. It is distinguished by
the high-quality and extensive cement-render ornamentation which includes incised
stencil decorations, quoining, vermiculated window sills and acanthus-leaf capitals,
fielded panels and fluting to the chimneys, and interlocking circle balustrade and urns
orbs to the tower element. Also by its very intact verandah with paired cast-iron posts and
an unusual cast-iron frieze pattern. (Criteria D & E)
The former stables are of historical significance for demonstrating a once common type
of outbuilding for 19th-century houses of medium and large size, when most people of
means retained their own horses for transport. (Criterion A)
Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
No
No
No
No
No
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Are there outbuildings and fences which are not exempt from notice and review?
Can a permit be granted to use the place for a use which would otherwise be
prohibited?
Is the place an Aboriginal heritage place which is subject to the requirements of
the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006?
No
No
No
Identified By
G Butler, Camberwell Conservation Study, 1991.
References
Building Permit records, former City of Camberwell.
Butler, Graeme (1991), 'Camberwell Conservation Study', Murradoc place citation.
Butler, Graeme & Assoc. (2011), 'Central City (Hoddle Grid) Heritage Review' for the City
of Melbourne.
Hermes citation, as cited above.
Free Press, viewed in the National Trust file No. B1331.
Maffra Spectator.
MMBW: Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works Detail Plan No. 1992, 1905.
National Trust (NT) file No. B1331.
Nunawading Gazette, viewed in the National Trust file No. B1331.
Sobol, Tony, current owner of 13-15 Irilbarra Road, personal communication, 11 June
2014.
The Advertiser (Adelaide).
The Age, viewed in the National Trust file No. B1331.
The Albany Advertiser.
The Argus.
The Daily News [Perth, WA].
The Mirror [Perth, WA].
The Register (Adelaide).
The Sydney Morning Herald.
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Former Canterbury Brickworks Housing
Address: 52-58 Rochester Road, Canterbury
Name: Canterbury Brickworks housing, former
Architect:
Builder:
Historical Context
Brickworks
The following is an extract from the City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History
(Built Heritage 2012:87-8):
Notwithstanding Hawthorn's dominance of the local industry, brickmaking also
emerged in the eastern half of the study area in the later nineteenth century. Richard
Werrett, an early Balwyn resident, was reported to be making bricks in 1881, when
he was chastised for “creating a widespread nuisance and damaging property by
burning bricks”. The 1880s residential boom spurred several other brickmaking
ventures in this vicinity. In 1885, Albert Mills established clay pits and brickworks on
land in Robinson Road, Surrey Hills, on what later became the site of the drill hall.
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Two others brickworks operated alongside claypits near Rochester Road,
Canterbury. The first of these, the Canterbury Brickworks, was established in 1883
by local pioneer Alfred Golding and subsequently taken over by W C Tyler [sic], who
built a row of cottages on Rochester Road for his employees. In 1891, Edward
Cornish acquired the adjacent site and opened a rival venture, the Mont Albert
Brickworks. But, as Blainey adds:
The shire's two brickworks employed over 40 men in 1891, but they were small
compared to the huge brickyards of the northern suburbs, and when the industry
crumbled in the Depression, Boroondara's brickworks were amongst the first to fail.
Tyler's [sic] brickworks succumbed to the 1890s Depression, while Cornish's folded
after his own death in 1896.
... the claypits near Rochester Road, Canterbury, were also shown on the [1907]
MMBW map, with adjacent buildings that were specially marked as "old brick works
- disused". The site was later reclaimed; today it is partly occupied by housing and
partly by the John August Reserve, on the north side of Mont Albert Road.
Housing for the working class
Boroondara is dominated by middle and upper class housing, and has little association
with housing for the working classes, excluding the humble houses of the early
settlement period. Where evident, working-class housing concentrated around industrial
sites such as quarries, clay-pits and brickworks, particularly in the cheaper land of
Hawthorn, where small rows of cottages were located in close vicinity. While most
evident in Hawthorn, these houses were rarely built in Kew and the former City of
Camberwell. One notable exception to this is the row of houses at 52-58 Rochester
Road, Canterbury, built for the nearby brickworks (Built Heritage 2012:143-4).
History
In April 1879, Ernest Carter, Melbourne dentist, purchased 5,120 acres in the Parish of
Bundoora and Nunawading. He subdivided this land between 1882 and 1907, selling the
land that corresponds to what is now 52-58 Rochester Road, to Mary Ann Tayler, wife of
William Charles Tayler, accountant of 'Claremont Park', East Camberwell, in August 1889
(LV: V2175/F946).
Around 1889 Tayler purchased the Canterbury Brickworks from Alfred Golding, who had
established them in 1883. The brickworks were located on the north side of Mont Albert
Road, where the John August Reserve is located today (Built Heritage, 2012: 88).
In 1889, William Tayler is rated for land (lot 18, section 3) on Mont Albert Road, with a
Net Annual Value (NAV) of £20 (about 10% of their total value). In 1890, W C Tayler,
now known as a brickmaker, was rated for eight brick houses (located on lot 18) on
Rochester Road, with an NAV of £15 each. At this date, six of the houses are occupied
(RB). This indicates that the houses at 52-58 Rochester Road were built by Tayler in
1889. It is suggested that the houses were built by Tayler for employees of his brickworks
(Built Heritage 2012:87). This is confirmed by the rate books of the 1890s, which note
that that the occupants were often bricklayers, brickmakers and labourers. (Note that the
Sands & McDougall street directories only begin to list the houses from 1896, which
appears to be an oversight.)
J McCormick, labourer, is listed in the rate books as the one constant occupant between
1890 and 1897 (RB). The rate books confirm the almost annual change in occupancy of
each house, suggesting rapid turnover of staff at Tayler's brickworks. Between 1889 and
1896, occupancy of the eight houses varied between 1 and all 8 houses occupied (RB).
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In 1892, the Argus (8 Nov 1892:5) reported that William Charles Tayler was insolvent as
a result of losses in trade in the brick-making industry (LV: V2175/F946). In the 1891-2
rate books Tayler's name is crossed out and in the 1892-3 listing, the eight houses
(seven of which are unoccupied) on Rochester Road are owned by what appears to read
'Morgan, agent'. At this date, W C Tayler is still the rated the owner of 'Stabling' on part of
lot 18, Mount Albert Road.
By 1896, the St James Building Society is rated for the eight brick houses, three of which
are occupied by labourers; McCormick continues to occupy the one house. In 1897, eight
brick houses are listed (still under the ownership of St James Building Society), however
the four new occupants are listed against two houses each, suggesting that at this date
(1897-8), the eight houses were physically altered to become four houses. This is
confirmed the following year when only four houses are listed in the 1898-9 rate books.
At this date a new owner, Rowell is listed. The occupations of the occupants are not
noted in 1897-99 (RB).
This accords with the land title, which indicates that in July 1897, Thomas A Rowell,
gentleman of Surrey Hills, became the owner of 52-58 Rochester Road, purchasing the
houses from the St James Building Society (LV: V2175/F946). This suggests that the
building society held the title of the houses after Tayler's insolvency. The rate books
indicate that brickworkers continued to occupy some of the houses until 1897 (RB). This
change of ownership in 1897 may suggest that Tayler's brickworks closed at this date.
The 1906 MMBW map shows four identical terrace houses, each with a verandah
running the length of the facade. The name of each house was recorded on the plan: 52
was called 'Thelma', 54 was 'Cosimir', 56 was 'Edris', and 58 was 'Zara'. Each house had
a narrower rear wing, two small outbuildings and an outdoor water closet at the rear
boundary (MMBW 1906: Detail Plan No.2212).
From 1923, Rowell began to sell the four houses into separate ownership. Number 52
was sold to Emma Barr in February 1937; number 54 to Rose L Shaw in November
1924; number 56 to Mary A Haig in November 1923; and number 58 to William S
Webster in June 1924 (LV V1094/F730; V2175/F946).
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The houses at 52-58 Rochester Road, Canterbury, are a terrace of single-storey brick
houses with transverse gable roofs. They are set back behind modest front yards. The
walls are of tuckpointed polychrome brick ('Hawthorn', red and cream bricks and cream
cornice brackets), which presumably display the output of Tayler's brickworks. The
chimneys, which stand at the apex of the gable, in line with party walls between the
houses, are also of polychrome brick.
The houses have convex verandah roofs set between brick wing walls with chamfered
verandah beams. The roof of No 52 is of slate with a scalloped band at the middle, while
the others are clad in corrugated metal.
There are a number of visual clues that indicate that the four houses were originally eight
in number. Each of the current houses has a party wall at the centre of the roof, which
would have divided the two tiny cottages. Only one of the original doors has been
retained for each existing house, while the other one was converted with care to a blind
arch, leaving the red and cream brick flat arch of the former door intact just below the
verandah. Nos 52, 56 and 58 retain their original four-panel doors with cricket-bat
mouldings (the door at No 54 was not visible). On either side of the central door and blind
arch are pairs of very narrow double-hung windows.
External alterations to the houses, apart from their c1897 conversion from eight to four
units, include the following. No 52 has had its front verandah extended around the south
side with a return. At No 54 the blind arch where the second entry once was has been
filled in during recent tuckpointing works. The brickwork of No 58 has been damaged by
sandblasting, the convex verandah roof has been replaced with a straight one, the
verandah beam replaced, and the timber front windows replaced with identical. And all of
the houses appear to have reproduction timber verandah posts, some have reproduction
cast-iron lace friezes, and most have recessive rear additions.
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As noted in the contextual history, working-class housing was relatively rare in the City of
Boroondara. They were particularly rare in the area of the former City of Camberwell, and
the terrace on Rochester Road is cited as a 'notable exception' (Built Heritage,
2010:144).
Working-class housing was concentrated in the low-lying areas of Hawthorn, and
otherwise located adjacent to industrial sites, particularly quarries, clay-pits and
brickworks, for example (Built Heritage, 2012: 144):
-
The western side of Foley Street, Kew, which ran along the rear of a clay pit.
These houses, at Nos 7-11 and 25-27 Foley Street, as seen on the 1903 MMBW
Detail Plan No 1296, are single-fronted timber houses with hip roofs in varying
degrees of intactness. They are not particularly identifiable as a thematically
linked group, particularly as houses in the middle have been demolished to
provide access to Foley Reserve (the former claypit).
-
The eastern end of Hill Street, Hawthorn, adjacent to a quarry (part of HO220).
These houses, at Nos 37 to 49, as seen on the 1901 MMBW Detail Plan No
1081, back onto the former claypit (now a reserve). They are identical singlefronted timber houses with concave front verandahs and corbelled brick
chimneys on their hipped roofs.
-
The south side of Melville Street, backing onto the excavations for the Hawthorn
Main Drain. These houses, at Nos 6 to 48, as seen on the 1901 MMBW Detail
Plan No 1076, are all single-fronted timber houses. They appear to have been
built in several groups of identical houses, most of them freestanding and a few
are duplexes.
-
Roseberry Street, Hawthorn East and surrounding streets, adjoining the
Hawthorn Brickworks (now Fritsch Holzer Park). These are a mix of single-fronted
and double-fronted Victorian timber houses, some of which may have been built
in groups.
In comparison, the Canterbury Brickworks houses at 52-58 Rochester Road differ in that
they are brick houses built as a terrace - which is a compact form more commonly seen
in the inner suburbs. When first constructed, they would have also stood out because of
their exceptionally small size, even in comparison to other working-class housing in the
City of Boroondara.
The row of houses at 52-58 Rochester Road illustrates the establishment of the brickmaking industry in the Camberwell area, which was secondary to the massive industry in
the Hawthorn area. The row demonstrates the modest lodgings offered to workers in this
industry, particularly in the original size of the houses, which is still legible thanks to the
redundant party walls and door lintels above the blind arches. It also demonstrates the
practice of establishing workers' housing immediately adjacent to their work site, in the
days before extensive public or private transportation.
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The row is a rare example of working-class housing in this part of Boroondara. While rare
throughout the city, apart from pockets adjacent to industrial sites and in the low-lying
areas of Hawthorn, the eastern part (the former City of Camberwell) has had a
particularly pronounced middle-class character since its establishment. The terrace form
of housing is also rare in the middle-ring suburbs.
Not applicable.
The houses are typical of inner-suburban late-Victorian housing, with a terrace form with
front verandahs between wing walls and narrower rear wings. They also employ
decorative polychrome brickwork which was popular from the 1870s to the early 1890s,
and could be seen as an advertisement for the wares of the adjacent Canterbury
Brickworks.
significance).
Not applicable.
Not applicable
significance).
Not applicable
The houses are associated with brickworks-owner WC Tayler, and with the brickmakers
who lived in them.
The row of terrace houses at 52-58 Rochester Road, Canterbury, to the extent of their
19th-century fabric. What are now four houses were constructed in 1889 as eight tiny
units for workers at the Canterbury Brickworks, by the owner of the brickworks, William
Charles Tayler. The brickworks failed during the 1890s depression, and were converted
to four private dwellings by 1898.
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The houses are constructed of tuckpointed polychrome brick, with a transverse gable
roof and polychrome corbelled chimneys. They have convex front verandahs and
symmetrical block fronts. A panelled door and a blind arch (where the second front door
was originally) are at the centre of each facade, with a pair of narrow double-hung
windows on either side.
Modern rear additions to the houses are not significant.
The terrace houses are of local historic and architectural significance to the City of
Boroondara.
The terrace houses are of historic significance for illustrating the development of the
brick-making industry in the eastern part of the municipality, which has been
overshadowed by the Hawthorn brick industry. The row demonstrates the modest
lodgings offered to workers in this industry, particularly in the original size of the houses,
which is still legible thanks to the redundant party walls and door lintels above the blind
arches. It also demonstrates the practice of establishing workers' housing immediately
adjacent to their work site, in the days before extensive public or private transportation.
The houses are also a rare example of working-class housing in this part of Boroondara.
While rare throughout the city, apart from pockets adjacent to industrial sites and in the
low-lying areas of Hawthorn, the eastern part (the former City of Camberwell) has had a
particularly pronounced middle-class character since its establishment. (Criteria A & B)
The terrace houses are of architectural significance as a representative example of late
19th-century terrace housing that, while common in Melbourne's inner suburbs, is rare in
Boroondara. The houses also employ decorative polychrome brickwork which was
popular from the 1870s to the early 1890s, and could be seen as an advertisement for
the wares of the adjacent Canterbury Brickworks. (Criterion D)
Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
notice and review?
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
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No
Identified By
Built Heritage, Boroondara Thematic History, 2012.
References
City of Boroondara Rate Books (RB), microfilm accessed at PROV, VPRS 5903/P0/
(North Riding): Unit 30 (1889-90), entry 684; Unit 33 (1890-91), entries 70-77; Unit 36
(1891-2), entries 1106-1113; Unit 39 (1892-3), entries 941-949; Unit 42 (1893-4), entries
792-800; Unit 51 (1896-7), entries 585-592; Unit 54 (1897-8), entries 552-559; Unit 57
(1898-9), entries 562-565.
MMBW plan, as cited above, viewed online on the State Library of Victoria catalogue.
Sands & McDougall directories, viewed at the State Library of Victoria.
The Argus.
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DEEPDENE POST OFFICE, FORMER
Address: 165 Whitehorse Road, Deepdene
Name: Deepdene Post Office, former
Architect:
Builder:
Historical Context
Post offices
The creation of the new Commonwealth Government in 1901 resulted in the
establishment of a federal Postmaster General's Department to oversee the management
and expansion of postal and telegraphic services. At this date there were over 7,000 post
offices in Australia and more than 6,000 staff serving purely in a non-official capacity as a
postmaster and postmistress (Hunter 2000:60-61; Built Heritage 2012:73).
Following Federation, the Commonwealth Department of Works and Railways
progressively assumed controls of the design of post offices (after the Commonwealth
Post and Telegraph Act was passed in June 1902), but it appears that the precursors of
the early standard designs were developed by the New South Wales' Government
Architect's Office and often built throughout Australia. A shortage in funds and resources
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meant that the maintenance of existing buildings and the construction of new buildings
remained the immediate responsibility of State public works departments (in some states
this continued until the 1920s) (Warmington 1990).
'Provisional' post offices and non-official post offices first opened in the area in the 1850s.
It was not until 1871-2 that the first purpose-built post office was opened in Hawthorn.
Prior to that a draper ran the Hawthorn Post Office agency from his shop. Postal services
were inadequate within the City of Boroondara at the time of Federation and many new
post offices opened here and across Australia between 1900 and 1930. During this
period, post offices were established in Hawthorn (1908), Canterbury (1908), Glenferrie
(1913), Deepdene (1913), Surrey Hills (1915) and Kew East (1924). In the 1950s, there
was a steep increase in the number of post office agencies, or 'non-official' post offices,
in the City that operated in conjunction with other businesses, such as a milk bar,
pharmacy or general store (Built Heritage 2012:72-3). In the late 1950s, the number of
purpose-built post offices constructed in the area increased again (Built Heritage
2012:73).
History
The property that is now 165 Whitehorse Road, Deepdene, was originally part of Elgar's
Crown Special Survey (LV: V2994/F773). In February 1885, Edward N Brown, a
Melbourne accountant, purchased just over 19 acres on Whitehorse Road (called
Cotham Road at this date) and quickly proceeded to subdivide, selling land that included
165 Whitehorse Road to David Gardner, a commercial traveller, in June 1885 (LV:
V732/F210; V1711/F140). In June 1904, the Bank of Victoria became the owner of the
land that included the current numbers 159-167 Whitehorse Road.
Ethel Mary Davenport purchased the block of land that is now 165 and part of 163
Whitehorse Road in December 1913 (LV: V2994/773). The 1915 street directory notes a
'house being built' in this location, then numbered 83 Whitehorse Road (NB: Construction
would have been noted in 1914 when next year's directory was under preparation). The
following year, 'Deepdene Post Office and confectionery', is recorded, run by Mrs E M
Davenport, post mistress. (S&Mc 1915, 1916, listed under Balwyn). From these records it
appears that the post office shop and adjacent residence were constructed at the same
time, in 1914-15. Certainly the timber rear wing of the shop (number 165) and the timber
residence (which was at number 163) were constructed at the same time, as
demonstrated by the remnant roof form.
Other sources indicate that a Deepdene Post Office first opened on 14 July 1913.
Considering the listings in the street directories, this may mean that it first operated from
another location before moving to what is now 165 Whitehorse Road (Watson et al 1992:
Vol 2, D15; Post Office List, accessed January 2013; Built Heritage 2012:73).
The opening of the new Deepdene Post Office corresponds with the emergence of a new
commercial centre on Whitehorse Road, made possible by the replacement of the horsedrawn trams that ran along this road with electric tram lines. A police station opened in
1920 (Built Heritage 2012: 98).
As the Deepdene Post Office was privately owned when constructed and operated, and
its design does not suggest any involvement of the Commonwealth Architect or state
Public Works Department, it is clear that this is an example of a post office agency, as
opposed to the 'official' ones that were owned and built by the Commonwealth.
From around 1925, 83 (now 165) Whitehorse Road was occupied by both Mrs E M
Davenport, post mistress of Deepdene Post Office, and A J Davenport, grocer and
stationer. Arthur J Davenport is listed as residing next door, at number 81 (now 163), until
1929 (S&Mc). This corresponds to a map of 1927 which shows a brick shop at the
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frontage, which is square in plan and has a verandah over the footpath. Behind the brick
section is a narrower timber wing, and abutting this wing on the west side is a timber
residence with a front verandah, set well back from the street (now replaced by the shop
at number 163) (MMBW, Detail Plan 2955, 1927).
From 1929 to 1938, the post office was not listed at number 83 (now 165), only A J
Davenport, grocer and stationer. It is not known whether the post office service was really
relocated or discontinued during this period or simply overlooked in the street directory.
From 1930, the numbering system changed and the post office (with the residence) was
listed at number 163-165 Whitehorse Road (S&Mc).
In 1939, the shop appears to have continued as a post office agency, as post office is
listed again as run by E G Davenport, grocer, at number 165. Mrs Davenport continued
to operate the post office until c1960 when C A Whittenback, grocers, is listed at number
165 (S&Mc). In 1970, number 165 was solely occupied by the post office. It is not known
at what date the building ceased to serve as a post office, but the current Deepdene Post
Office is located nearby in a two-storey interwar shop at 69 Whitehorse Road.
Subsequent owners of the building were John (caravan dealer) and Jean Gair, of 157
Whitehorse Road, from November 1967 and D I Carmichael Pty Ltd from August 1981.
The boundary matched the current extent from 1967 (LV: V8601/772; V2994/F773).
The former Deepdene Post Office, at 165 Whitehorse Road, is located on the north side
of the road, between Leonard and Terry streets. It stands between two single-storey
shops from the post-war era.
The former post office is a single-storey building with no setback from the footpath. There
is a narrow gap between it and the shop at number 177 to the east, while the shop to the
west (number 163) abuts it.
The building is constructed of red brick, with smooth render to the facade. In its style it is
Federation Freestyle (also called Edwardian Baroque). The roof is hipped, with an
irregular plan as the brick shop at the front is wider than the timber rear wing. The hip to
the timber wing was continuous with the roof of the residence that once stood at number
163. Following the demolition of this residence, a parapet was constructed to enclose the
roof space of the shop roof. The roof is clad in recent corrugated metal. A red-brick
chimney on the ridgeline is visible in oblique views from the west. It is domestic in form,
with a decorative band set below corbelling, and above the corbels is a raked band
finished with roughcast render. The chimney has two terracotta pots.
The shopfront is set slightly inwards from the structural piers on either side. There is a
recessed entry at the centre. The stallboards are battered (slope inward) and are clad in
rectangular tiles with a terracotta vent at the base of the west stallboard. The shop
windows are framed in a copper-coloured metal, branded with the name of the
shopfitters: Duff. The door is timber framed with a large glazed panel at the top.
The verandah mimics the cantilevered awnings of the interwar and post-war period,
though it is in fact supported by metal rods secured to the parapet.
The parapet is the most striking feature of the building, with two undulating curves which
meet in the middle and are mirrored on the bottom half of the parapet in raised render.
The parapet is contained between short piers with pyramidal caps. The top edge of the
parapet and the tops of the piers are defined with cement mouldings. Just below each
pier cap is an applied wrought-iron plate with scrolled ends, similar to a traditional hinge.
Two of the metal rods supporting the verandah roof are secured to these metal plates.
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The transition from the rendered parapet to the facebrick side walls is neatly resolved by
the use of render quoins at the corner.
The shop appears to be in very good condition, when viewed from the street. Alterations
include the overpainting of the tiled stallboard, and of the bricks to the side walls. The
ceiling of the recessed entry has been dropped, partially concealing the highlight to the
door. This suggests that the shopfront originally had highlight windows across its length
which have since been covered over (or removed). The verandah appears to have been
reclad. It may even be an early replacement of a posted verandah (unclear from the
MMBW plan), as suggested by the asymmetrical arrangement of the supporting metal
rods. The V-board sign on top of the verandah is intrusive as it conceals much of the
detail of the parapet. Views on Google Maps show a series of later extensions and sheds
at the rear of the 1927 extent of the building.
The former Deepdene Post Office can be compared to other post offices in the City of
Boroondara, as well as other Federation Freestyle shops, both modest and high-style.
Early post offices in the municipality include:
x
x
x
Hawthorn PO, 1909, 378 Burwood Road (proposed for individual HO by
Amendment C153). A grand, two-storey brick building in a free interpretation of
the Romanesque, designed by the Victorian Public Works Department for the
Commonwealth. Served as a post office until 1998.
Canterbury PO, 1908, 206 Canterbury Road (Individually significant to HO145). A
two-storey, Baroque Revival corner building with an imposing giant-order
colonnade. Designed by the Commonwealth Architect.
Surrey Hills PO, 1915, 609 Canterbury Road (demolished). An imposing red-brick
building designed for the Commonwealth.
In comparison with the above examples, the former Deepdene Post Office is a much
more modest building, in size and design, as would be expected of a private commercial
building in a newly established shopping strip.
No other early post office agencies were identified in the Environmental History, apart
from the former temporary Ashburton Post Office (285b High Street) established in
former army hut in 1949, now an op shop (Built Heritage, 2012: 73).
The use of post office agencies has again become popular with the creation of the
Australia Post government-owned corporation in 1975. In the study area, for example,
the post office at 782 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn, is located in a former shop in a terrace
of Victorian commercial buildings.
Other commercial buildings in the City of Boroondara which are of a similar style to the
former Deepdene Post Office are:
x
x
877 Burke Road, Camberwell (Contributory to HO505). Built c1915-20. A twostorey shop and residence with a similar use of the Federation Freestyle,
including a parapet with a double curve between raised (octagonal) piers. The
first-floor residential balcony is set behind a semi-circular opening. The shopfront
has been replaced.
809 Burke Road, Camberwell (not on HO). Built c1915. A two-storey shop and
residence with a similar use of the Federation Freestyle, including a parapet with
a double curve between raised (octagonal) piers. The first-floor residential
balcony is set behind two round arches. The shopfront has been replaced.
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x
x
108-112 Maling Road, Canterbury (Individually Significant to HO145) - Built 1914.
Three identical two-storey shops in a row with residences above (each with a
recessed balcony). Render with brick accents (mainly overpainted). Each shop
has an identical undulating-curved parapet between projecting piers with pepperpot caps. Hit-and-miss brick band to balconies and simple leadlight windows on
either side. Shops retain their metal and tiled shopfronts and timber posted
verandah.
Former State Savings Bank, 851 Burke Road, Camberwell (Individually
Significant to HO505) - Built 1907. A large, two-storey red brick and render
building with octagonal engaged piers dividing the four bays. The ground floor
openings are arched and above them are very ornate floral reliefs. The two wide
bays of the first floor have canted oriel windows with ornate leadlights above the
casement windows. The simple red brick parapet is divided by the tops of the
octagonal piers of varying sizes. A building of very high quality and formal detail.
Architecturally, the former Deepdene Post Office most closely compares with 877
Burke Road, as both are modest but attractively detailed buildings which were
stylistically up-to-date for their time. The former post office has a higher level of
intactness, as it retains its original metal-framed shopfront with tiled stallboard and
recessed entry. The two other examples are architect-designed and represent the
most complex and high-quality examples of the Federation Freestyle in the
municipality.
Within the Deepdene commercial precinct, the former post office appears to be one
of the very earliest surviving commercial buildings, preceding the expansion that
came with the electric tramline after 1916. The very modest single-storey shop at 137
Whitehorse Road may also date from the pre-1916 period, but the other shops
appear to date from the 1920s at the earliest. The shop at number 137 is very simple
in composition, with a segmentally arched parapet with brick edging. The shopfront
has been replaced.
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The former Deepdene Post Office illustrates the earliest phase of commercial
development in Deepdene, prior to the rush of development that followed the
replacement of the old horse-drawn tram line down Whitehorse road with an electric
service in 1916. It also illustrates the provision of 'agency' postal services from private
commercial premises, which was seen in the early development of localities, such as the
Hawthorn Post Office of the 1860s, and in smaller commercial centres.
The former Deepdene Post Office is one of the earliest surviving commercial buildings in
the Deepdene commercial centre. Almost all other surviving development dates from the
1920s or later.
Not applicable.
The former Deepdene Post Office is good, representative, and externally intact
Federation Freestyle commercial building. Features of note include the front parapet with
two undulating curves which meet in the middle and are mirrored on the bottom half of
the parapet in raised render. As is typical of the style, the parapet sits between two raised
piers, here with scrolled wrought-iron plates fixed to the face and pyramidal caps at the
top. The shop also retains its original shopfront by Duff shopfitters, with metal-framed
windows, recessed entry and a battered and tiled stallboard.
significance).
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
significance).
Not applicable.
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Not applicable.
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The former Deepdene Post Office at 165 Whitehorse Road, Deepdene. It is a singlestorey brick shop with a parapet front and rear timber wing. It was built as an agency post
office with an attached residence (demolished) in 1914-15 for private owner and post
mistress Ethel Davenport. Her husband, Arthur Davenport, ran a grocer's and stationer's
shop from the same building. The Deepdene Post Office was located here until after
1970.
Later extensions and sheds at the rear are not significant.
The former Deepdene Post Office is of local historical and aesthetic significance to the
City of Boroondara.
The former Deepdene Post Office is of historical significance as a rare survivor of the
earliest phase of commercial development in Deepdene, prior to the rush of development
that followed the replacement of the old horse-drawn tram line down Whitehorse road
with an electric service in 1916. It also illustrates the provision of 'agency' postal services
from private commercial premises, which was seen in the early development of localities,
such as the Hawthorn Post Office of the 1860s, and in smaller commercial centres.
(Criteria A & B)
The former Deepdene Post Office is good, representative, and externally intact
Federation Freestyle commercial building. Features of note include the front parapet with
two undulating curves which meet in the middle and are mirrored on the bottom half of
the parapet in raised render. As is typical of the style, the parapet sits between two raised
piers, here with scrolled wrought-iron plates fixed to the face and pyramidal caps at the
top. The shop also retains its original shopfront by Duff shopfitters, with metal-framed
windows, recessed entry and a battered and tiled stallboard. (Criterion D)
Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
notice and review?
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
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No
Identified By
Built Heritage (2012), City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History.
References
Hunter, Marcella (2000), Australia Post, Delivering more than ever, Edgecliff [NSW].
LV: Land Victoria, Certificates of Title, as cited above.
MMBW: Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works plan, as cited above.
https://www.premierpostal.com/cgiPost
Office
List,
'Deepdene',
bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocd.w?, accessed January 2013.
S&Mc: Sands & McDougal street directories, accessed at the State Library of Victoria.
Warmington G S & A Ward (1990), Australia Post Survey of Historic Properties in
Victoria, vols. 1 and 2, Melbourne.
Watson, Gary, John Webster & David Wood (1992), The Post Offices and Hand-Held
Datestamps of Victoria, Vol 2, Tullamarine [Vic].
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ASTOLAT LADIES’ COLLEGE, FORMER
Address: 59 Auburn Road, Hawthorn East
Name: Astolat Ladies’ College (former)
Survey Date: 18 April 2013
Architect:
Grading: Individually Significant
Builder:
Construction
1900 & 1932
Date:
1899-
Historical Context
Education in Boroondara
Prior to 1872, the main education providers in Victoria were private schools, secular
National Schools (funded by the government) and denominational schools run by
churches. In 1872, the Free, Compulsory and Secular Education Act was passed, which
ushered in a new era of State education in Victoria.
National schools opened in the Boroondara area from the early 1850s, which later
became Common Schools after 1862, following the implementation of the Common
Schools Act. Also in the 1850s, a number of denominational schools opened, established
by the newly-formed church congregations. A majority of the denominational schools built
in the 1850s and ‘60s closed as a result of the growth of secular schools, and were often
taken over to form a common school. Denominational Colleges however, retained a
strong and continuing presence in Boroondara, for example Xavier College (1872) and
Methodist Ladies College (1882), both in Kew (Built Heritage 2012:177-8).
Private schools operated in Boroondara from the 1850s and were not affiliated with the
church or state. They were run by individuals and operated out of domestic-scale
buildings, if not the house owned by the teacher. They are suggested to have operated in
Boroondara from the 1850s, while newspapers in the 1860s commonly advertised local
private grammar schools and ladies’ colleges (Built Heritage 2012:180-1).
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Private ladies’ colleges
For a majority of girls, the purpose of a secondary education prior to the 1920s was to be
groomed to assume the rightful place in the home as wife and mother; their true vocation.
As it was not socially acceptable for girls to travel by public transport, private girls’
schools were often local institutions or boarding schools. Classrooms were often
converted drawing and dining rooms. In addition to standard classes, visiting teachers
taught dancing, elocution, singing and other artistic accomplishments, all suitable for
young ladies. Although exams were held, few girls sat for them as few of them truly
contemplated earning their own livelihood (Peel et al, 1993:78-81).
Private ladies’ colleges in Boroondara included the Kew & Hawthorn College for Young
Ladies on Barkers Road, advertised in 1868 as a ‘select educational establishment’, run
by Mrs Young and her daughters. Others were Annesley Ladies’ College on Auburn
Road, run by Mrs Spooner and her daughters from 1888, and Astolat Ladies’ College on
Auburn Road, which was owned and run by the Misses Cards from 1889. Tintern Ladies’
College opened in a large house on Glenferrie Road in 1877, and grew to become one of
the largest and most successful secular private schools in Boroondara (Built Heritage
2012:180-1; Peel et al, 1993:78-81).
History
The block of land that is now 59 Auburn Road changed hands three times from 1886
before it was sold to David Card, jeweller of Bourke Street, in July 1890. The property
remained in the Card family until 1928, with owners including Mary Card, spinster, from
1896, and Harriet Card (Mary’s sister in-law), married woman, from 1900 (LV:
V1855/F952).
The Card sisters Mary and Rosina opened Astolat Ladies’ College in 1889 on Auburn
Road, Hawthorn (Peel et al. 1993:78; Jefferis 1982:122). One source indicates that the
school was held in a two-storey house built by David Card in 1886 (Jefferis 1982:122),
though this is disputed by Peel. Peel (1993:78) states that at first, the school was located
on the west side of Auburn Road, south of Liddiard Street, for a 'short time' before
moving to the east side, near Rathmines Road (the current 59 Auburn Road).
The school was named, reportedly by Mary, after a place of Arthurian legend. Other
members of the family also joined the school as teachers (Peel et al. 1993:78; Jefferis
1982:122-127). The property was listed for the first time in the Sands & McDougall
Directory in 1892 at the present location, as a ‘ladies’ school’, which accords with a move
to this location shortly after David Card purchased the property in 1890. It is noted in the
1892 rate book as a two-room brick building and the person rated was ‘Head Teacher’
Mary Card (RB). The Card family lived nearby at ‘Stratford’, 58 Shakespeare Grove in
Hawthorn.
In 1890, Astolat taught twenty-eight girls and nineteen boys (Peel et al. 1993:78). Astolat
Ladies' College and Kindergarten was advertised on Auburn Road in 1892 (Argus, 21
Jan 1892:10) and by this date had grown to seventy-four students. Harriet Card was in
charge of the kindergarten and Mary Card’s mother in charge of boarders (Jefferis
1982:123).
In 1900, the street directory lists Miss Mary Card’s Ladies’ School between Nos. 33 and
35 Auburn Road, which corresponds to its location as shown on the 1903 MMBW plan
(S&Mc). The schoolhouse was enlarged from the original two rooms (or more likely
entirely rebuilt) in 1899-1900 to eight rooms, as recorded in the rate books.
The footprint of the house shown in the 1903 MMBW detail plan (No. 1556) corresponds
to its present form and setback, with a few changes discussed below. The secondary
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front door, located at the south end of the facade, may have allowed the multiple uses of
the building as the school and a residence (of teachers or boarders).
Figure 1. Front elevation of 59 Auburn Road, prior to the 1932 alterations. (City of Hawthorn,
Notice of intention to build, dated 26/11/1932)
In 1903 the house was still noted as a ‘private school’ on the MMBW plan (No. 1556,
which would be based on data from c1902), although it closed that year, due to Mary’s
failing hearing (ADB). Mrs D Avery and Miss EMC Hall (who ran a small private school at
149 Victoria Grove) took over the name Astolat, and its students, and moved the school
across Auburn Road to Lyndhurst Crescent (Jefferis 1982:129). As early as 1901,
however, an advertisement listed Astolat's location at Lyndhurst Crescent, Hawthorn
(Argus, 22 Jul 1901:10).
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Figure 2. The 'Private School' at what is now 59 Auburn Road, as shown in the 1903 MMBW
plan (Detail Plan No. 1556)
Mary Card (1861-1940) was the daughter of jeweller, watchmaker and successful
businessman David Card. She is best known as a crochet pattern designer, having
studied at the National Gallery School of Design. Establishing the school, Mary had a
particular interest in speech training. When the school was relinquished in 1903 due to
her increasing deafness, she moved to Olinda, where she designed her own house
‘Carinya’ (ADB; Mary Cards Coach House website; Jefferis 1982:70).
Mary then combined her skills of writing, drawing and needlework and became a
‘professional designer and teacher of needlework’, repairing and designing Irish crochet.
Her increasingly popular designs were published in American and Australian journals.
Mary Card’s Crochet Book No. 1 was published in 1914, followed by four other
publications. By 1917, Mary was renowned for her work. In this year she visited New
York and The Mary Card Co. was set up to reprint her crochet books. Mary relocated to
Barkham, Berkshire, England, in the early 1920s and continued to produce designs for
over twenty years. She also became an authority on ecclesiastical architecture and
returned to live in Olinda, Australia in 1940 (ADB). Collections of Mary Card’s work are
held by the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (NGA website) and Applied Arts and
Sciences Museum in Sydney (Powerhouse Museum) (D&AAO).
By 1905, No. 33A was occupied by Horace C Chalmer, and was known as ‘Arranmore’
(S&Mc). While the 1903 MMBW plan corresponds with the general footprint of the house
as it is today, the canted bay window on the north side of the facade is not shown, and
may have been added in the first decade of the 20th century as part of a general
remodelling of the facade. At the time, the central front door was sheltered by a small
entrance porch.
An auction notice appeared in 1908 for 33A Auburn Road, described as a 'two-story brick
residence, containing 9 rooms' on land measuring 48 x 120-130 feet (Argus 24 Oct
1908:3). A Mrs M Champlin was noted at 33A Auburn Road in 1910 in an advertisement
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for a head teacher in Hobart (Argus, 13 Aug 1910:11). In the same year the Sands &
McDougall Directory lists No.33A as vacant.
In 1920 the numbering system changed on Auburn Road, and No. 33A changed to its
present address of 59 Auburn Road, occupied by Mrs Amelia May (S&Mc).
Joseph Richard Le Pine, undertaker, bought the house in September 1928 from Harriet
Card’s executors (after her death in 1924) (LV:V1855/F952). Le Pine & Sons funeral
parlours (established in 1891) were first located on Camberwell Road, Hawthorn, and
they expanded their business in Camberwell and Kew in the 1950s and '60s (Built
Heritage 2012:208). There is no evidence that Le Pine ever resided in the house, as it
was occupied in 1930 by Miss M Earwaker and by Alfred Nunn in 1940 (S&Mc: 1930,
1940). He did, however, commission an upgrade to it in 1932, by Camberwell builder
Donald H Gunner.
Changes made at the time include the following. The small timber front porch was
replaced with a typical interwar verandah across the facade. While the building
application plans and specification call for paired timber posts set on brick piers for the
verandah, it was built with paired concrete Tuscan columns instead (which were also
typical of the period). French doors to a skillion-roofed dormer on the facade were
replaced with casement windows and the associated balcony removed. A small, timberframed addition was made to the rear, comprising a bathroom and internal porch.
Figure 3. The new verandah to 59 Auburn Road, 1932. (City of Hawthorn, Notice of intention to
build, dated 26/11/1932)
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The former private school at 59 Auburn Road, Hawthorn, is a bichrome brick, attic-storey
building in the English Medieval/Tudor domestic revival. It sits behind a small front
garden which is dominated by two mature Norfolk Island Pines. A front fence and gate of
small-gauge chain-mesh date to the interwar era.
It is fairly modest in size, with a transverse gable roof, clad in large slates with decorative
terracotta ridgecapping and exposed rafter ends. The gable end walls are parapeted with
corbelling at the eaves and constructed of soft red brick with simple cream brick
dressings. At the apex of the north elevation gable is an oculus window with a creambrick surround and above that is a massive chimney stack. The rectangular chimney is
constructed of brown Hawthorn brick with projecting lines of red brick indicating the
location of three flues. There are four round terracotta chimney pots at the top (the north
one a later addition). The south elevation gable does not have a chimney, but has
decorative crow stepping instead.
The facade is asymmetrical in composition. The front door is situated at the centre of the
facade, with a secondary entrance at the south end (which appears to be related to a
division between the school and the teacher's residence). To the north side of the front
door is a canted window bay, which continues upward to form a large canted dormer with
a gabled roof. On the south side of the front door is a large round-arched window below a
narrow hood mould with scrolled ends. Above it is a skillion-roof dormer.
The detail to the windows and dormers is typical of the Queen Anne style, in its profusion
of materials and textures. These include timber shingles and half-timbering to the gabled
dormer, as well as heavy profiled timber brackets to its eaves and a timber hood clad in
ripple iron above the central windows. There is a band of roughcast render across the
entire facade, just below the eaves. Windows at the ground and attic-storey levels are
casements with multi-paned highlights filled with coloured glass. The front door has a
lower panel of diagonal lining boards below a large window. This glazing is echoed by a
large sidelight on the right-hand side. The secondary front door is a simple four-panel
door, below a multi-paned highlight.
The original front porch was a small structure around the front door with a half-timbered
gable front, turned timber posts and simple timber fretwork. This was replaced in the
1932 works by the current verandah which stretches across the facade. It has a hipped
roof with exposed rafter ends and clad in Marseille terracotta tiles, and is supported on
paired Tuscan columns resting on low red brick piers - a typical interwar verandah type.
The verandah floor is of concrete. The verandah sits comfortably with the house, and can
be read as a sympathetic evolution to the building as opposed to an intrusive alteration.
Apart from the addition of the verandah in 1932, and additions and alterations to the rear
wing of the building, the other major change has been the overpainting of the bricks to
the facade. This, in combination with the concrete slab installed as the verandah floor,
has had a dramatic effect on the pointing of this wall, which is rapidly crumbling (though
the bricks themselves are unharmed). To stop further progression of this problem, the
bricks should be repointed with a lime mortar, then the paint removed by gentle means,
and finally a slot cut in the concrete slab where it abuts the wall to allow ground moisture
to escape. Apart from this, the glazing to the front door has been replaced, and the
glazing of the sidelight removed (and boarded over).
While the walls of the house appear to be structurally sound, with no cracking apparent
on the facade or north elevation, the slate roof and rainwater goods have suffered severe
neglect, which is hastening the deterioration of decorative details, particularly on the
gabled dormer.
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The former Astolat Ladies’ College at 59 Auburn Road is an example of the English
Domestic Revival style, at a relatively small scale. Its most striking features are the
parapeted gable-end walls, with a massive chimney at the north end and crow-stepping
at the other (showing a Scottish Baronial influence). The window bay/dormer is another
distinctive and well-detailed feature. The use of a transverse gable roof is also relatively
unusual for this period. Bichrome brickwork, typical of the Victorian era, is combined with
Edwardian-era features. These include the diagonal boarding to the front door, the round
arched window, the combination of casement windows with coloured-glass multi-light
highlights, the double-storey canted bay with half-timbering and decorative timber
brackets, and the use of contrasting materials and textures (smooth brick, roughcast,
scalloped timber shingles, timber). The overall design is basically symmetrical, with a
transverse gable roof fronting the street, central front door and one window bay on either
side, but any monotony is skilfully avoided (different gables ends; round-headed window
below skillion-roof dormer on south side of facade, and two-storey bay window on north
side).
The roof form (transverse gable with parapeted ends) of 59 Auburn Road is fairly unusual
for its time in the City of Boroondara. While parapeted gables were typically seen on
Gothic Revival institutional buildings, such as churches and school (e.g., Glenferrie
Primary School, VHR H1630), during the 19th and early 20th century, these buildings were
typically designed with the gable to the main facade. The bungalow style in the interwar
period popularised the use of the transverse gable roof, but this was with wide eaves,
and not parapeted ends. There are, of course, a handful of Victorian houses with
transverse gable roofs - most of them terraces - including the modest row at 22-26
Lilydale Grove, Hawthorn East.
The fine Queen Anne details of Astolat can be compared to a number of larger, architectdesigned buildings of the period. Note that while it was built primarily as a school - an
institutional building - Astolat is very domestic in its scale and detail, typical of the private
schools of the time that fit comfortably into their residential surroundings.
In its use of the Scottish baronial crow-stepped gable, the former Astolat can be
compared to there buildings in Boroondara:
-
The Haven Homes for Women, 2-4A Station Street, Hawthorn, of 1901-02
(HO120) - Four small terraced houses of red brick that back onto the same
laneway as 59 Auburn Road. They share a similar chimney form, steep
transverse gable roofs with crow-stepped gable ends, slate with terracotta ridge
capping, turned timber details to the front porches, and casement windows with
multi-paned highlights.
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-
Former ES&A Bank, 705 Burke Road, Camberwell (HO18) - This two-storey
Scottish Gothic Hawthorn-brick bank was designed by architect William Wardell
in 1885. Its most striking features are the crow-stepped gables and pointed
windows.
-
Another pair of houses with high transverse gable roofs with crow-stepped gable
ends is at 68-70 Lilydale Grove, Hawthorn East (not on HO) - the verandahs have
simple turned timber posts and fretwork typical of c1900. Windows are
casements.
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While the former Astolat shares the distinctive crow-stepped gable with the Station
Street and Lilydale Grove terraced houses. The remaining details of the terraced
houses - doors, windows, verandahs - are typical of speculative-built terraced houses
at the turn of the century, while Astolat is clearly in the class of the architect-designed
buildings of the time, such as the former ES&A bank.
In its Queen Anne style and detailing, it can be compared to architect-designed
houses of the same era in Boroondara. It shares features typical of this style with
houses already on the Heritage Overlay. For example, it shares a ribbed chimney
form, gables with half-timbering to their apex above bay windows with casements and
coloured-glass multi-pane highlights, and slates to the roof with terracotta ridge
capping with Shenley Croft of 1905-6 (HO 391, 7-9 Mangarra Road, Canterbury,
architect J Edmond Burke). It shares the transverse gable roof form and halftimbered gables supported on timber brackets set above a two-storey canted bay
window with the much grander Dalrwraith of 1906 (HO193, 99 Studley Park Road,
Kew, architects Ussher and Kemp).
In comparison with these house, Astolat is much smaller in scale, but without any
diminution in the amount or quality of decorative features. As such it can be
considered a ‘bijoux’ Queen Anne building.
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The former Astolat Ladies’ College illustrates the era in the late 19th and early 20th
century when secondary education was rarely expected to lead to university for young
women. As it was not socially acceptable for girls to travel by public transport, private
girls’ schools were often local institutions or boarding schools, many of them housed in
converted residences. While the current 1899-1900 building was purpose-built as a
school it is still quite domestic in its scale and detail, only the second front door
suggesting its multiple uses.
NA
NA
NA
significance).
The former Astolat Ladies’ College is an unusual bijoux Queen Anne building displaying
features seen in architect-designed domestic examples from the first decade of the
twentieth century. Despite its diminutive scale, it displays a wealth of high-quality details
in an integrated whole. These include the large arched window with a scrolled hood
mould, diagonal boarding to the front door and sidelight, a range of cladding materials
including bichrome brick, roughcast render, timber shingles and half-timbering, a gable
with half-timbering to its apex above a bay window, casement windows with small multicoloured highlights, bull’s eye window beneath the north chimney, and a steep transverse
gable roof with terracotta ridge capping and a crow-stepped gable to the south side.
The two mature Norfolk Island Pines in the front yard provide an attractive and
appropriate setting.
NA
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significance).
NA
The former Astolat Ladies’ College has special association with the work of Mary Card
and her sisters, who founded the private school in 1889, and occupied the present site
from about 1891 to 1903, when head teacher Mary Card’s hearing began to significantly
fail. Mary Card went on to become internationally famous in her subsequent career, that
of a designer of crochet patterns published in Australia, England and the United States.
This, most significant, phase of her life is better represented by her house, Carinya, in
Olinda. The former Astolat schoolhouse of 1899-1900 is incidental to the reason for Mary
Card’s fame, so this aspect is only of historical interest.
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The former Astolat Ladies’ College, 59 Auburn Road, Hawthorn. Astolat was founded by
sisters Mary and Rosina Card in 1889 and shortly moved to this site, after it was
purchased by their father, David Card, in 1890. When it first opened its doors, the site at
59 Auburn Road contained a brick school building of two rooms, and had 74 students
(both female and male). Mary Card was the Head Teacher of the college, her sister
Harriet ran the kindergarten, and their mother was in charge of boarders.
The school building was enlarged, or more likely rebuilt, in 1899-1900 to its present size
of eight rooms. It is an attic-style bichrome brick building with a transverse gable roof and
a high level of mostly Queen Anne detailing. The school operated here until 1903, when
Mary Card retired due to her failing hearing. She went on to become famous for her
crochet patterns, published in Australia, England and the United States.
The current front porch, added in 1932 for owner Joseph Le Pine of Le Pine & Sones
funeral parlours, is sympathetic in its design.
The two mature Norfolk Island Pines in the front yard contribute to the significance of the
place.
The former Astolat Ladies’ College is of local historical and aesthetic significance to the
City of Boroondara.
Historically, as a purpose-built private school, which is domestic in its scale and detail so
ask to fit comfortably into its residential setting, its original use signalled by its two front
doors. The former Astolat is a tangible illustration of the era in the late 19th and early 20th
century when secondary education was rarely expected to lead to university for young
women. As it was not socially acceptable for girls to travel by public transport, private
girls’ schools were often local institutions or boarding schools, many of them in middleclass suburbs such as Hawthorn. (Criterion A)
Aesthetically, as an unusual bijoux Queen Anne building of the domestic type. Despite its
diminutive scale, it displays a wealth of high-quality details in an integrated whole. These
include the large arched window with a scrolled hood mould, diagonal boarding to the
front door and sidelight, a range of cladding materials including bichrome brick, roughcast
render, timber shingles and half-timbering, a gable with half-timbering to its apex above a
bay window, casement windows with small multi-coloured highlights, bull’s eye window
beneath the north chimney, and a steep transverse gable roof with terracotta ridge
capping and a crow-stepped gable to the south side. The two mature Norfolk Island
Pines in the front yard provide an attractive and appropriate setting. (Criterion E)
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Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
notice and review?
Yes
No
Yes, 2 Norfolk Island
Pines
No
No
No
Yes
No
Identified By
M. Gould, Hawthorn Heritage Study, 1993.
References
Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB), Sally O’Neill, ‘Mary Card (1861-1940),
http://adb.anu.edu.au/, viewed July 2013.
BEMJ: Building, Engineering and Mining Journal, as cited.
Built Heritage (2012), ‘City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History’.
City of Boroondara Building Permit (BP) information, including ‘City of Hawthorn, Notice
of intention to build’, with plans, dated 26/11/1932.
Design
&
Art
Australia
Online
(D&AAO),
‘Mary
Card
biography’,
http://www.daao.org.au/bio/mary-card/biography/, accessed July 2013.
Jefferis, Barbara (1982), Sisters, Three of a Kind, Carlton South.
Lovell Chen, place citation for 'Shenley Croft' in 'Review of B Graded Buildings in Kew,
Camberwell and Hawthorn', 2006.
Mary Cards Coach House, ‘History’, http://www.marycards.com.au/, accessed July 2013.
McWilliams, Gwen, ‘Upper Hawthorn Walk’ pamphlet, via personal communication with
Hawthorn Historical Society, 2013.
MMBW detailed plan, accessed online via State Library of Victoria.
National Gallery of Australia (NGA), http://artsearch.nga.gov.a/, accessed July 2013.
Peel, Victoria, Deborah Zion & Jane Yule (1993), A History of Hawthorn, Melbourne.
RB: City of Hawthorn rate books: 1892, Rate No. 4886; 1899-1900, Rate No. 6252; 190001, Rate No. 6255.
Sands & McDougall Directory (S&Mc), accessed at the State Library of Victoria.
The Argus.
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RIVERSDALE HOTEL
Address: 277 Auburn Road, Hawthorn
Name: Riversdale Hotel
Architect: William Pitt
Builder:
Extent of Overlay: To the extent of the footprint of the
three-storey hotel and the two-storey addition to the east
end of the Riversdale Road frontage, i.e. the 1888 extent
of the property (refer to the proposed HO map below).
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Historical Context
Locality
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the expanding transport network (trains
and trams) had a major impact on commercial development. In the 1880s the extension
of the railway caused a boom of retail expansion in the existing commercial strips on
Glenferrie Road, Auburn Road and Burke Road, as well as the establishment of new
retail centre around Canterbury and Surrey Hill stations (Built Heritage 2012:98).
The first horse-drawn tram terminus was established in January 1890 at the corner of
Riversdale and Auburn roads. As a result, the intersection became the centre of a new
commercial precinct, which included the Riversdale Hotel (City of Boroondara Local
History Wiki). By this date the Auburn and Burwood roads intersection was a wellestablished retail centre (Peel et al., 1993:111; Gould 1993:54).
The name of the locality where the Riversdale Hotel, at the corner of Auburn and
Riversdale roads, has been variously referred to as Hawthorn (Argus, 2 Sep 1889:3) and
Auburn (Argus 9 Jan 1901:1; 11 Oct 1897:1; Argus, 12 Jul 1938:4; 25 Aug 1956:34).
Hotels
The first licensed premises within the City of Boroondara is said to have been the
Queen's Arms Hotel at the corner of Yarra Street and Burwood Road, Hawthorn,
established 1851. With the opening of the first road bridge across the Yarra River, the
area became more accessible and many hotels opened along Burwood Road, including
the Red Lion Hotel (1852) and the Hawthorn Hotel (1853), as well as the Bridge Hotel on
Church Street (1854). There was a concentration of hotels built in Hawthorn, with the
following built in 1855: the Beehive Hotel on Church Street, the Governor Hotham Hotel
on William Street, the Sir Robert Nickle Hotel on Burwood Road and Fletcher's Hotel on
the corner of Burwood and Glenferrie roads (Built Heritage 2012:105).
It was a tendency for hotels to be built on major intersections, as was the case with the
hotels that appeared through the more sparsely populated districts of the current City of
Boroondara. The early temperance movement in the City of Boroondara was evident in
1874, when the Council resolved to oppose most new licensed houses. Later, in 1920,
the City of Camberwell became a 'dry area' after a local option poll caused the closure of
all hotels and licensed premises in the City (Built Heritage 2012:15, 106).
Development during the 1880s Boom era, and the consequent residential subdivisions,
saw a new burst of hotel construction, particularly along the railway lines, as evident in
the Glenferrie Hotel (1889), the Palace Hotel, Camberwell (1890) and Allen's Auburn
Hotel (1887), to name a few (Built Heritage 2012:106).
In the twentieth century, many hotels received an upgrade as a result of an amendment
made to the Liquor Licensing Act (amended in 1920 after the local option poll), which
enabled the Liquor Licensing Court to approve or disapprove plans for new hotels and to
order improvements to existing ones where necessary. While this legislation closed some
hotels, many were remodelled or entirely rebuilt, as was the case with the Tower Hotel,
rebuilt in 1939 on the opposite corner at 686 Burwood Road, Hawthorn East, with the
original Tower Hotel later demolished. This remodelling continued in the post-war era.
Architects that were prominent in the redesign of hotels in the area during this period
include R H McIntyre and P J O'Connor (Built Heritage 2012:107; Grow 2009:40).
History
In 1853, Robert Cam sold land on (what is now) the corner of Auburn and Riversdale
roads to Edward Sayce (LV: Old Law Note no. 8715). In 1876, Sayce's land totalled just
over 6 acres. In 1883, the land was sold to Henry William Hackeet, accountant, who
proceeded to subdivide it. In August 1884, a portion including the current No 277 was
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sold to Anna Lamond, gentlewoman of 'St Romans', Riversdale Road, Hawthorn, who
further subdivided the land (LV: V823/F486; V1499/F773).
Anna Lamond sold the block that comprises number 277 to Margaret Ryan, widow, in
May 1888. In June of the same year the property was sold to John Joseph Rosney,
gentleman (LV: V1602/F306; V2025/898; V2499/606).
An 1888 building journal (Building Engineering and Mining Journal 25 Aug 1888: suppl.
5) notes that a tender was accepted by architect William Pitt in August 1888 for the
erection of a hotel in Auburn, for J Rosney, which accords with the Riversdale Hotel (Peel
et al., 1993:111).
John J Rosney, of Burwood Road, Hawthorn, gentleman applied to obtain a victualler's
license 'for a new house proposed to be built and situate at the corner of Riversdale and
Auburn roads' which is described to contain 'forty four rooms exclusive of those required
for the use of [Rosney's] family and servants, at least 30 of the said rooms being
bedrooms' (Argus, 3 Nov 1888:21). Rosney held the license from 1890-93 (City of
Boroondara Wiki).
Rosney is first listed in the Sands & McDougall directories on Auburn Road, near the
corner of Riversdale Road in 1889. It is not until 1890 that the Riversdale Hotel itself is
mentioned in the directories, operated by J Rosney.
Figure 1. Early view of Riversdale Hotel, nd. (Local History Photograph - Hawthorn 1387,
Boroondara Library Service)
The 1904 MMBW plan shows the hotel as having a U-shaped plan (the arms of the U
extending east) with toilets and a long stable block at the rear (the toilets are just visible
in the early views held by the Boroondara Library). This portion of the site is currently
occupied by a two-storey extension to the hotel.
Rosney's widow, Annie, held the license from 1894 to 1922 and became the owner of the
Riversdale Hotel in January 1898 (LV: V2692/F334; City of Boroondara Wiki). After Annie
Rosney's death in 1930, the hotel was passed to Ellen Corry, widow, and William Hoare,
solicitor, in March 1933. In January 1935, James Parsons, hotelkeeper, became the
owner and held the license for three years (LV: V2692/F334; City of Boroondara Wiki).
From 1938 to 1978, Riversdale Investments Pty Ltd are listed as the owner. An article in
the Argus in 1938 (12 Jul 1938:4) reports that James Stewart Parsons transferred the
hotel license of Riversdale Hotel, Auburn, to Harry Thom, who held it for one year.
Clarence Williams held the license for the hotel from 1939 to 1951 (City of Boroondara
Wiki). In 1978, VAR & G Zagame Pty Ltd became the registered owners. In 1991, one
third of ownership was transferred to Lou Nominees (LV: V5836/F013; V8921/F556).
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An early photo shows the north and west facades with urns on the parapet, and an
arched pediment to the corner of the parapet (Boroondara library collection, Riversdale
Hotel, no date). This detail was removed prior to 1967, and replaced with a modest
triangular pediment. In 1967 the rusticated render and quoins to openings at the ground
floor was hacked off and replaced with the present flat render finish. Also the arched
doorway to the Tabaret (on the north elevation) was created at this time. The architects
of the works were McIntyre, McIntyre & Associates with builders Moushall & Houston
(City of Boroondara Building Permit records, Permit 7058, 30/05/1967). It is not known
precisely when the two-storey addition was constructed to the Riversdale Road facade,
but it was prior to 1967, and could have been the 'alterations and additions' of 1955 (City
of Boroondara Building Permit records, Permit 794, 1955). A building permit was granted
in 1971 for the installation of a cantilevered verandah (City of Boroondara Building Permit
records, Permit 9638, 26/07/1971), but it is not known if this went ahead.
Figure 2. View of Riversdale Hotel, 1968, just after the ground-floor render detail had been
removed. (Wolfgang Sievers, National Library of Australia)
William Pitt, Architect
William Pitt (1855-1918) was born in Melbourne and was both a politician and an
architect. Designing mostly public buildings, his most prominent works became
exemplars of the Boom Style of 'Marvellous Melbourne' in the 1880s. Following his
studies, he served his articles with architect George Brown and began to practice in
1879. In his first year he won first prize for his design of the Melbourne Coffee Palace on
Bourke Street, one of the tallest buildings in Melbourne at the time with its five storeys,
and the city's first temperance hotel (Goad 2012:542).
Pitt's early works, commissioned through competitions, include the Falls' (Queen's)
Bridge (1880), the Premier Permanent Building Society's Offices (1880) and 'Our
Lodgings' (1883; now Gordon House) on Little Bourke Street; and tenement lodgings built
for theatrical entrepreneur George Coppin (Goad 2012:542).
In 1886, Pitt designed St Peter's parsonage at Eastern Hill (ADB). In the same year, Pitt
designed the Princess Theatre in Spring Street, the third theatre on the site, in the
French Second Empire style. In addition, Pitt collaborated with competition winners
Ellerker & Kilburn for the design of the 500-room Federal Coffee Palace on the corner of
King and Collins streets (1887-90), before completing Classical designs for St Kilda Town
Hall (1887) and Brunswick Town Hall (c1889) (Goad 2012: 543).
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He adopted the Venetian form of the Gothic Revival style for commercial offices, as
evident in the Olderfleet Building (1888), Stock Exchange (1888-91) and Rialto Building
(1889), all located on Collins Street. These, along with the Safe Deposit Building (1890)
on Queen Street, were all multi-level office buildings with superior Gothic Revival detail
(Goad 2012: 543).
Pitt also designed hotels during, and beyond, this period. They include Waterloo Cup
Hotel, Ascot Vale (1887), Leitrim Hotel, Little Lonsdale Street (1888); the Riversdale
Hotel, Hawthorn (1888-9); the Markillies Hotel, Flinders Street (1890) and the Lord Clyde
Hotel (now the Waterside), Flinders Street (1915).
Partnering with architect Albion Walkley in 1900, their firm took on a number of diverse
projects, which included industrial buildings and many theatre buildings throughout
Victoria, Sydney, Adelaide, as well as New Zealand (Goad 2012:543-4; ADB).
The Riversdale Hotel stands on the south-east corner of Auburn and Riversdale roads. It
addresses the corner with a chamfered bay. It is Italianate in style, typical of the Boom
era of the 1880s. The building is three storeys in height and is terminated with an open
balustrade. It is surrounded by two-storey buildings of a similar era and by virtue of its
situation, scale and level of architectural pretension, it is a landmark building.
The entire building is finished in cement render, including the Renaissance Revival
details such as triangular pediments and segmentally arched pediments resting on
corbels to the first and second storeys, respectively. The centre of the Auburn Road
facade is defined by three-bay arcades at both of the upper levels. This is the most
ornate part of the building with scrolled keystones to the arches and engaged Corinthian
columns with fluted bases and swags around the middle on either side of the arches.
There are simple moulded cornices between the floors with a modillioned cornice below
the parapet.
As noted in the history, in 1967 the ground floor was simplified, with the rusticated render
and render voussoirs to the arched door and window openings stripped off and replaced
with plain render. The course of rock-faced bluestone at the base was retained, as were
the openings themselves. The window and door joinery, however, was replaced. Also
before this time the urns to the balustrade and arched pediment to the chamfered corner
were removed. The arched pediment was replaced by a smaller and simpler triangular
pediment.
No other buildings designed by William Pitt in the City of Boroondara are specifically
identified in Heritage Victoria's Hermes database. However, the Australia Architectural
Index records up to 10 commissions undertaken by William Pitt (including those by his
later partnership, Pitt & Walkley, up until the time of his death in 1915) in the current City
of Boroondara. Most of them are houses, with a few garages and shops. The Riversdale
Hotel is his only recorded design of this type in Boroondara.
The Riversdale Hotel is one of a number of Boom-era hotels of the late 19th-century to
survive in the City of Boroondara, including:
x
x
Allen's Auburn Hotel (1887), 87 Auburn Road, Hawthorn (Individually significant
in HO260). A grand, highly intact, three-storey corner hotel designed by architect
William Wolf in the French Renaissance style. On both frontages it has a doubleheight open arcade at the centre of the elevation, with trabeated (rectangular)
openings at the first floor and arches at the second floor.
Glenferrie Hotel (1889), 324-326 Burwood Road, Hawthorn (Individually
significant in HO491). Unusual for hotels of this era as it is not on a corner site.
The three-storey building is in the Italianate Boom style, with the most ornate
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x
x
detail the large broken pediment at the centre of the parapet. Some alterations to
the ground floor, including the enlargement of openings and replacement of the
doors.
Canterbury Mansions (former Malone's Family Hotel, 1889), 208 Canterbury
Road, Canterbury (VHR H869, HO29). A three-storey hotel corner with tower in
the Italianate Boom Style, highly intact.
Palace Hotel, Camberwell (1890), 893 Burke Road, Camberwell (Individually
significant in HO505). A three-storey corner hotel in the Italianate Boom style with
an octagonal tower. Some alterations, including infilling nearly all openings at the
first floor level, and replacement of most ground-floor windows and doors.
The Riversdale Hotel shares the Italianate detailing of most of Boroondara's Boom-era
hotels, and shares the double-height arcade motif with the Auburn Hotel. Like the other
three corner hotels, its height, size and prominent position give it landmark qualities. In
intactness, it is comparable to the Palace Hotel.
The Riversdale Hotel illustrates the new burst of hotel construction that came with the
new residential subdivisions and the overall property development boom of the late
1880s. The Riversdale Hotel was the anchor for the commercial precinct which grew up
around the intersection of Riversdale and Auburn roads, accelerated by the coming of a
horse-drawn tram terminus in January 1890, just after the hotel was built.
This is the only hotel and major commercial building by architect William Pitt known in the
City of Boroondara.
Not applicable
The Riversdale Hotel is one of a number of late 19th-century hotels in the City of
Boroondara which has a prominent corner site, a larger scale than the surrounding twostorey commercial buildings - making it stand out even more, and the use of the
Classical-inspired Boom style.
significance).
The Riversdale Hotel is a representative example of the Italianate Boom style, as
practiced by leading architect William Pitt. Significant features, drawn from the
Renaissance Revival and executed in cement render, include triangular and segmentally
arched pediments to upper-storey windows, a balustrade parapet, and an ornate doublestorey arcade at the centre of the Auburn Road facade.
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Not applicable
significance).
The Riversdale Hotel has been both a local meeting place and a local landmark since its
construction in 1888. It is still employed for its original use.
The Riversdale Hotel has associations with its designer, architect William Pitt (18551918). Pitt was one of the leading practitioners of the 'Boom style' in 1880s Melbourne,
designing major landmarks ranging from Queen's Bridge, the Princess Theatre, St Kilda
and Brunswick town halls, the suite of Venetian Gothic Olderfleet, Stock Exchange and
Rialto buildings, and numerous local hotels.
The Riversdale Hotel, 277 Auburn Road, Hawthorn, designed by architect William Pitt
and constructed in 1888 for owner John J Rosney. The hotel was run by JJ Rosney until
his death in the early 1890s, after which his widow, Annie Rosney, was the owner and
licensee until 1930.
The two-storey addition to the east side of the Riversdale Road frontage is not significant.
The Riversdale Hotel is of local aesthetic, architectural and historic significance to the
City of Boroondara.
The Riversdale Hotel is of aesthetic and architectural significance as a representative
example of the Italianate Boom style of the late 1880s as applied to a major commercial
building. Typical features of this style include Renaissance-inspired triangular and
segmentally arched pediments to upper-storey windows, a balustrade parapet, and an
ornate double-storey arcade at the centre of the Auburn Road facade, all executed in
cement render. (Criterion E)
The Riversdale Hotel is of architectural significance as a rare commercial design by
William Pitt in the City of Boroondara. Pitt (1855-1918) was one of the leading
practitioners of the 'Boom style' in 1880s metropolitan Melbourne, designing major
landmarks ranging from Queen's Bridge, the Princess Theatre, St Kilda and Brunswick
town halls, the suite of Venetian Gothic Olderfleet, Stock Exchange and Rialto buildings,
and numerous local hotels. (Criterion H)
The Riversdale Hotel is of historic significance as a local landmark and gathering place as licensed premises - since it was built in 1888. It provided a visual and economic
anchor to the new commercial precinct which grew at the intersection of Auburn and
Riversdale roads, accelerated by the coming of a horse-drawn tram terminus in January
1890, just after the hotel was built. The hotel also illustrates the new burst of hotel
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construction that came with the new residential subdivisions and the overall property
development boom of late 1880s metropolitan Melbourne. (Criteria A & G)
Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
notice and review?
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Identified By
M Gould, 'Hawthorn Heritage Study', 1993.
References
Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB), 'William Pitt', http://adb.anu.edu.au/, accessed
29/10/12.
Australasian Builder and Contractor's News, 18 August 1887, viewed in Miles Lewis'
Australian Architectural Index.
Boroondara Library collection, http://boroondara.spydus.com/, accessed 6 Sep 2012.
Building Engineering and Mining Journal, 25 August 1888: supplement 5, viewed in Miles
Lewis' Australian Architectural Index.
City of Boroondara Local History Wiki, 'Riversdale Hotel',
http://coblocalhistory.pbworks.com/, accessed 24/10/12.
Goad, Philip, 'William Pitt' in Philip Goad and Julie Willis' (eds) (2012), The Encyclopedia
of Australian Architecture, Cambridge.
Gould, Meredith (1993), 'Hawthorn Heritage Study', Vol 1A, prepared for Hawthorn City
Council.
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Grow, Robin (2009), Melbourne Art Deco, Collingwood.
Land Victoria (LV), Certificates of Title and Old Law Notes, as cited above.
MMBW: Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, Detail Plan 1540, City of
Hawthorn.
National Library of Australia (NLA), picture collection, http://www.nla.gov.au/, accessed 6
Sep 12.
Peel, Victoria, Deborah Zion & Jane Yule (1993), A History of Hawthorn, Carlton.
Sands & McDougal directories.
The Argus.
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Butcher's Shop & Residence, former
Address: 287 - 289 Auburn Road, Hawthorn
Name: Butcher's Shop and Residence, former
Survey Date: 24 Aug. 2012
Architect:
Builder:
Historical Context
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the expanding transport network (trains
and trams) had a major impact on commercial development. In the 1880s the extension
of the railway caused a boom of retail expansion in the existing commercial strips on
Glenferrie Road, Auburn Road and Burke Road, as well as the establishment of new
retail centre around Canterbury and Surrey Hill stations (Built Heritage 2012:98).
The first horse-drawn tram terminus was established in January 1890 at the corner of
Riversdale and Auburn roads. As a result, the intersection became the centre of a new
commercial precinct (City of Boroondara Local History Wiki).
By 1890 the Auburn and Burwood roads intersection was a well-established retail centre
(Gould 1993:54). By 1900, Kew Junction, Camberwell Junction and the hub at the
intersection of Glenferrie and Burwood roads were the established pre-eminent retail
areas, while Auburn Road in Hawthorn East followed close behind (Built Heritage
2012:100).
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History
In 1908, William Carr, butcher (of Auburn Road) became the owner of land that included
287-289 Auburn Road (LV: V3259/F684).
Prior to this date (from at least 1900, as confirmed in the street directories) W A Carr had
run a butcher's shop a few doors down from the current building, on Auburn Road just
north of Broomfield Road (then number 223). By 1910, William A Carr, butcher was
operating further north at what is now 287-289 Auburn Road (then numbers 209-211),
while this site had been noted as vacant land a year earlier (S&Mc directories), giving a
built date of 1909-10. The site of Carr's previous shop was shown as vacant land in 1910,
suggesting it had been demolished.
The architect of the building at what is now 287-289 Auburn Road has not been
identified. While stylistically it has much in common with the work of architect Robert
Haddon, no tender notice for the building could be located, nor is the designer recorded
in the City of Boroondara buildings files.
The Hawthorn City Council approved the registration of 'W A Carr, butcher, 211 Auburn
Road' at their 13 July 1910 meeting (Box Hill Reporter, 22 July 1910: 7). By 1918 the
street numbering had changed, and 'W A Carr, Wholesale and Retail Butcher' was
advertising from 287-289 Auburn Road (Hawthorn, Kew and Camberwell Citizen, 19 April
1918: 3). 'W A Carr Butcher' remains inscribed on the parapet of the building.
Carr later subdivided his property and in July 1936, the shops and residence at 287-289
were sold to Charles Lloyd (LV: V3259/684).
The shop at number 287 had 'alterations' carried out in 1987, for owner Rushbank Pty
Ltd. The shop front of number 289 was rebuilt in 1973 by G&G Shop Fitters, for owner A
Rouge. In 1987, a brick 'factory' was built at number 289 for owner J C Morley (Council
building files); this appears to be at the rear of the site.
The former W.A. Carr's Butcher Shop is a two-storey brick building with two shops to the
ground floor and an upstairs residence, with its entrance between the shops. The walls
are of red brick with render dressings in the Federation Freestyle style (also called the
Edwardian Baroque). The building is distinguished by its unusual design, evocative of the
work of architect Robert Haddon, particularly details such as 'pepper-pot' pinnacles to the
parapet and the wide tiled arch.
The ground floor is divided into three sections of differing size. At number 287 is a narrow
shopfront with a central recessed entry. It retains its original metal-framed shopfront with
frosted glass highlights, a glazed timber door, and tiled stallboard (overpainted). Next to it
is a narrow recessed entry to the upstairs residence (number 289A), which retains its
original doorway (three-panelled door with an arched light, small sidelight and two
highlights with simple leadlights in them, and a bluestone lintel). The south half of the
facade comprises a larger shopfront (likely the location of Carr's butcher shop).
All parts of the ground floor share a timber-framed skillion verandah with simple vertical
slats at either end. It is suspended on cables, which may have been a later alteration to
an originally posted verandah.
The upper floor is symmetrical in form, divided into three bays by plain brick pilasters.
The central bay is the most striking, and is almost wholly taken up by a large round-
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headed arch with a very fine bead around the edge executed in moulded red brick. At the
centre of the arch is a simple render keystone, and the sides of the arch rest on dwarf
piers with Art Nouveau capitals. Between the piers is a balustrade of hit-and-miss brick.
The spandrels of the arch are filled with grass-green tiles. Set behind the arch is a
balcony for the residence.
The two side bays each have a canted oriel window resting on two curved timber
brackets and set beneath a tiled hood resting on larger curved brackets infilled with slats
(like the verandah ends). The windows are casements with segmentally arched tops
below leadlight highlights (similar to those above the entry door).
Apart from the arch at the centre of the first floor, the other most striking feature of the
facade is the parapet, which is divided into three bays by octagonal pinnacles with
Baroque-inspired 'pepper-pot' tops. They taper off to a point where they meet the brick
pilasters, at the top of the first floor facade. The two side bays of the parapet are of plain
brick with moulded cement dressings above and below. The central bay of the parapet,
however, is finished in smooth render (with raised lettering: W.A. CARR. BUTCHER.). It
is higher than the two sides, as are the flanking pinnacles, and follows an undulating
arch, typical of the Federation Freestyle.
The roof is not visible behind the front or side parapets, but there is a corbelled brick
chimney on the north and south sides, near the front.
All of the rendered details of the facade (stringcourses, cornice, engaged 'columns',
arched parapet) are free from modern paint. There are hints of a yellowish colour on
sheltered parts of the render, suggesting it may have been limewashed or colourwashed
originally. Optimally, this should be investigated before any repainting/recoating so that
the original colour and finish type can be reinstated. There is a faded painted sign on the
upper part of the north wall (number 287).
At the rear of number 289 is a single storey wing which is attached to a two-storey,
gabled stables at the back of the property, all in the same red facebrick as the main
building.
External alterations to the building noted are as follows: The tiled stallboard to number
287 has been overpainted, as has the facebrick around the shopfront and entrance to
number 289A. The entire shopfront at number 289 has been replaced with an
unsympathetic modern one. All windows (all with segmentally arched brick lintels and
bluestone sills) to the south side elevation of number 289 and the stables at the rear
have been filled in with brick, as have the upper-level openings to the stables. A large
opening for a modern roller door was also created to the east elevation of the stables.
This was likely part of the works to create a factory in the rear yard in 1987.
Buildings comparable to W.A. Carr's Butcher Shop, in style, creativity and intactness are
small in number in the City of Boroondara. The handful of suitable examples found are:
x
108-112 Maling Road, Canterbury (Individually Significant to HO145) - Built 1914.
Three identical two-storey shops in a row with residences above (each with a
recessed balcony). Render with brick accents (mainly overpainted). Each shop
has an identical undulating-curved parapet between projecting piers with pepperpot caps. Hit-and-miss brick band to balconies and simple leadlight windows on
either side. Shops retain their metal and tiled shopfronts and timber posted
verandah.
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x
Former State Savings Bank, 851 Burke Road, Camberwell (Individually
Significant to HO505) - Built 1907. A large, two-storey red brick and render
building with octagonal engaged piers dividing the four bays. The ground floor
openings are arched and above them are very ornate floral reliefs. The two wide
bays of the first floor have canted oriel windows with ornate leadlights above the
casement windows. The simple red brick parapet is divided by the tops of the
octagonal piers of varying sizes. A building of very high quality and formal detail.
x
Hawthorn Fire Station, 66-68 Williams Street (VHR H1327) - Built 1910 to a
design by Oakden and Ballentyne. A fine example of a Federation Freestyle
building in red brick with minimal render dressings and Art Nouveau-inspired
wrought iron detail. Quite different in form and detail to Carr's Butcher Shop,
apart from the large round-headed arches to the ground-floor window and garage
entries, and the used of miniature curved parapets at the corner of the roof
(suggesting a tower).
In comparison to the Maling Road shops, Carr's Butcher Shop is of comparable
intactness (while it only retains one of two original shopfronts, its brick and render have
not been overpainted), and is a more striking architectural composition. In comparison to
the former Bank, its detailing is more domestic and quality of the renderwork not as
exquisite, but its parapet is of greater interest. (It is far more intact, as well, as all that
remains of the Bank is its facade.)
Further afield, in the City of Yarra, two more comparable buildings were noted, neither of
whose architect has been identified, but similarities to Robert Haddon's work was noted:
x
162-164 Bridge Road, Richmond (Individually Significant to HO310), c1900-15.
Similar materials palette (red brick and unpainted render), undulating curve to
parapet and pepper-pot pinnacles.
x
486-488 Bridge Road, Richmond, (Individually Significant to HO310), 1917 (488)
& 1924 (486 - dates on parapet). Similar materials palette (red brick and
unpainted render), use of round arch with green tiled spandrels (though here with
a Saracenic flavour), unusual pinnacles to parapet (here with ball at top).
The complex of butcher's shop and stables demonstrates the importance of horse-drawn
transport to businesses in the 19th and early 20th century.
A rare example in Boroondara of the Federation Freestyle.
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Not applicable.
Not applicable.
significance).
The former Carr's Butcher Shop is a distinguished example of the Federation Freestyle of
the ilk practiced by architect Robert Haddon among others. The designer of this building
has not been identified. It demonstrates the use of red facebrick paired with render
dressings, the strong round arch to the balcony, Art Nouveau inspired detail such as the
floral capitals, and the distinctive parapet with a curved central bay and articulated with
octagonal pinnacles with pepper-pot tops.
Not applicable.
significance).
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
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The former W.A. Carr's Butcher Shop and Residence at 287-289 Auburn Road,
Hawthorn, built in 1909-1910 for local butcher William A Carr and owned and occupied
by him until 1936. It is a two-storey brick building with render dressings which
incorporates two shopfronts and a residential entrance at the ground floor, residence at
the upper level. The upper level is articulated with two timber oriel windows and a central
balcony behind a large arch.
The building is significant to the extent of the original fabric, later alterations and
additions are not significant. The two-storey stables at the rear of number 289 is
contributory.
The former Carr's Butcher Shop is of local architectural and historic significance to the
City of Boroondara.
The former Carr's Butcher Shop is well-preserved and distinguished example of the
Federation Freestyle of the ilk practiced by architect Robert Haddon. It demonstrates the
use of red facebrick paired with render dressings, the strong round arch to the balcony,
Art Nouveau inspired detail such as the floral capitals, and the distinctive parapet with a
curved central bay and articulated with octagonal pinnacles with pepper-pot tops. It is
also notable for the survival of the render in an unpainted condition. (Criterion E)
The complex of butcher's shop and stables demonstrates the importance of horse-drawn
transport to businesses in the 19th and early 20th century, when most businesses had to
maintain their own cart and horses for everyday use. (Criterion A)
Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
notice and review?
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
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Identified By
M Gould, Hawthorn Heritage Study, 1992.
References
Boroondara City Council, building files, 287 & 289 Auburn Road.
Council.
Sands & McDougall (S&Mc) directories, dates as cited above.
The Box Hill Reporter.
The Hawthorn, Kew and Camberwell Citizen.
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Jones-Evan House (Gallery House)
Address: 23 Morang Road, Hawthorn
Name: Jones-Evan House (Gallery House)
Survey Date: Jan 2013
Architect: Dale Jones-Evans
Builder:
Historical Context
Architects making homes for themselves
An interesting sub-theme expressed in post war middle-class housing across Boroondara
is the above-average proportion of dwellings that were designed by noted Melbourne
architects for themselves and their families.
This trend continued into the 1960s and beyond, during which the geographical focus
moved from the high concentration around Studley Park to Hawthorn, Kew, Kew East
and Camberwell. In the later 1970s, three houses in the study area designed by
architects for their own occupation won major architectural awards three years in a row.
These include the respective residences of Norman Day in Hawthorn (1973), John Kenny
in Kew (1978), and Kevin Makin in Hawthorn (1979).
Other architects who, in more recent years, have designed new houses for
themselves in the study area include prominent architects John Wardle and Sean
Godsell.
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A consistent feature of these houses is their individuality and their striving for new and
sophisticated architectural expression. They are rarely contextual with the predominant
neighbourhood character.
Dale Jones-Evans, architect
Dale Jones-Evans was born in Melbourne in 1955 and completed his studies at the
Caulfield Institute of Technology and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (Design &
Art Australia). Between 1983 and 1987 Jones-Evans partnered with Roger Wood and
Randal Marsh to form the partnership 'Biltmoderne'. An example of their work is unique
Macrae and Way Film Production offices (1985) at 3 Francis Street, South Melbourne
(Goad 1999:216).
Practicing as Jones-Evans Pty Ltd Architecture, he moved the office to Potts Point in
Sydney in 1993 (Design & Art Australia Online). The multi-disciplinary firm promotes its
'multivalent architecture', which 'integrates sculptural and painterly space with
environmental and contextual performance'. The firm is engaged in commercial, leisure
and residential projects in Australia and America (Dale Jones-Evans architecture; City
Architects).
History
In July 1988, Brenda Jones-Evans of Elgin Street Hawthorn, purchased 23 Morang Road
(LV: V7865/085). Architect Dale Jones-Evans designed the existing house, called
'Gallery House', built for his mother in 1987-1990. However, Built Heritage suggests that
the house was built for himself (Built Heritage 2012:149-50; Dale Jones-Evans
architecture).
In 1991, Jones-Evans' 'Gallery House' was awarded the Royal Australian Institute of
Architects (RAIA) National Robyn Boyd Award for Most Outstanding Domestic
Architecture. In the same year he also received the RAIA Victorian Merit Award for
Outstanding Architecture, for the house (Dale Jones-Evans architecture).
The Gallery house, designed and built by Dale Jones-Evans in 1987-90, is an early
example of the innovative work of this architect. It is an idiosyncratic house with design
elements drawn from a number of sources and assembled in linear form to suit the
narrow block. It is described by the architect as “a series of strung out pavilions,
cantilevered and suspended rooms are assembled around a series of designed
courtyard-gardens. The central spine made of bridges connects the spaces through a
journey of vistas and voids”.
A wall at the front of the site has an Eastern-inspired gateway with a wall behind,
ensuring that anyone approaching the house must turn to right or left rather than going
straight ahead. The house is a series of thin cantilevered pavilions clad in different
materials, with rooves extending to form porches. To the south side a long extruded form
half barrel vault clad in curved corrugated iron provides a counterpoint in form to that of
the rectilinear form elsewhere in the design. The 'half barrel' element is the dominant
form through which the ‘boxes’ are attached.
To the front elevation, the house presents with a cantilevered ‘box’. The box concludes
with a frame that extends at an almost impossible distance into the front garden at first
floor level, is clad in zinc ‘fish tail’ shingles and encloses a recessed balcony with glass
balustrade.
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The built form is arranged around several courtyard gardens, one of which is large
enough to provide outdoor living space. The articulation of the building form provides
views from the inside the house to the internal garden space different vantages.
The north and south elevations are radically different. A curved iron addition to the south
contrasts with the rectilinear forms of the north including small decks and horizontal sun
screens. The Gallery House is unusual, distinctive and sets the tone for some of the
radical experiments carried out later by Jones-Evans and the firm of Biltmoderne. The
house has retained its integrity and has no visible external alterations. It is in excellent
condition and appears to be highly intact.
Comparative analysis for the Gallery House is best described as part of a tradition of
architects’ own houses that aim for innovative design and best fit for themselves, as well
as showcasing their work. When this has been demonstrated through accolades from the
RAIA awards process, there is a firm foundation on which to expect an enduring
architecture. There are no useful stylistic comparisons for the Gallery House.
Furthermore this building is the most recently constructed and assessed to be of heritage
significance in the City of Boroondara.
The Gallery house is part of a large group of individual architect designed houses located
in the suburbs of Kew, Hawthorn and Camberwell from the two decades of the 1970s to
1990s. Others include:
x John Kenny’s own house at 7 Raven Street Kew (1978)).
x House, 45 Morang Road, Hawthorn (1979) – Kevin Makin's own (award-winning)
house (also recommended for an HO).
x House, 8 Hodgson Street, Kew (1997) – Sean Godsell's own (internationallypublished) house
x House 1 Kevin Grove Hawthorn (2000) – John Wardle’s own house
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The Gallery House at 23 Morang Road is part of the enduring and ongoing practice of
architects in the post war era building houses for themselves and their families. This
practice stems from the nineteenth century and has been a feature of middle class
housing in Boroondara.
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
significance).
The Gallery House, designed and built by architect Dale Jones-Evans, is of architectural
significance for its innovation recognised through the Royal Australian Institute of
Architects Robin Boyd Award for residential buildings in 1991. As Australia’s most
prestigious annual architectural residential housing award, the Robin Boyd Award is
given to houses that set new benchmarks in terms of meeting the client’s needs,
responding to its site, and providing shelter which is at the leading edge of house design.
Dale Jones-Evans later became part of the innovative architectural practice Biltmoderne,
with Randal Marsh and Roger Wood producing some highly innovative buildings.
Not applicable
significance).
Not applicable
Not applicable
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The Gallery House at 23 Morang Road Hawthorn designed and built between 1987 and
1991 by Dale Jones-Evans is significant.
The Gallery House is of local historical and architectural significance to the City of
Boroondara.
The Gallery House at 23 Morang Road is part of the enduring and ongoing practice of
The Gallery House, designed and built by architect Dale Jones-Evans, is of architectural
significance for its innovation recognised through the Royal Australian Institute of
Architects Robin Boyd Award for residential buildings in 1991. As Australia’s most
prestigious annual architectural residential housing award, the Robin Boyd Award is
given to houses that set new benchmarks in terms of meeting the client’s needs,
responding to its site, and providing shelter which is at the leading edge of house design.
Dale Jones-Evans later became part of the innovative architectural practice Biltmoderne,
with Randal Marsh and Roger Wood, producing some highly innovative buildings.
Planning Scheme as an individually significant place.
Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
notice and review?
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
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Identified By
Built Heritage, 'City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History', 2012
References
City Architects, 'Dale Jones-Evans Pty Ltd Architect', http://cityarchitects.com.au/,
accessed 1/11/12
Dale Jones-Evans Architecture, 'Gallery House', http://www.dje.com.au/, accessed
24/10/12.
Design & Art Australia Online, 'Dale Jones-Evans', http://www.daao.org.au/, accessed
1/11/12.
Goad, Philip (1999), Melbourne Architecture, Sydney.
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Makin house
Address: 45 Morang Road, Hawthorn
Name: Makin House
Architect: Kevin Makin
Builder:
Historical Context
Architects making homes for themselves
An interesting sub-theme expressed in post war middle-class housing across Boroondara
is the above-average proportion of dwellings that were designed by noted Melbourne
architects for themselves and their families.
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This trend continued into the 1960s and beyond, during which the geographical focus
moved from the high concentration around Studley Park to Hawthorn, Kew, Kew East
and Camberwell . In the later 1970s, three houses in the study area designed by
architects for their own occupation won major architectural awards three years in a row.
These include the respective residences of Norman Day in Hawthorn (1973), John Kenny
in Kew (1978), and later houses by John Wardle, Sean Godsell and Dale Jones Evans.
Other architects who, in more recent years, have designed new houses for
themselves in the study area include prominent architects John Wardle and Sean
Godsell.
A consistent feature of these houses is their individuality and their striving for new and
sophisticated architectural expression. They are rarely contextual with the predominant
neighbourhood character.
Kevin Makin, architect
Little is known of architect Kevin Makin, yet he was recognised by the Royal Australian
Institute of Architects (RAIA) with an award for new House of the Year in 1979, for 'Makin
House' at 45 Morang Road, Hawthorn. The Age (8 Jan 1979) published an article in
1979, written by RAIA (Vic) Director John Barker, highlighting his design of a house built
in Arthurs Seat which was recognised for its design solutions that wind and noise
problems, as a result of the house's sea-side location.
History
In November 1975, 45 Morang Road was sold to the Yannopolous'. In February 1977,
Kevin Makin, architect, and his wife Tanya, interior decorator, became the owners (LV:
V3062/F260). Kevin Makin designed the existing house at 45 Morang Road between
1977 and 1979 (Built Heritage 2012:150). The current owner (2014) has indicated that
plans for extensions including an additional room at the rear and a deck were prepared
by Kevin Makin in 1983.
The design won the Royal Australian Institute of Architects' (RAIA) bronze medal for the
House of the Year in 1979. The jury described the house as an example of ' how flair and
imagination can achieve a distinguished architectural solution at a minimal cost'
(Heritage Alliance 2008:196; Age 20 Aug 1979). An article in the Age (20 Aug 1979) that
reported on the RAIA awards, written by RAIA (Vic) Director Dennis Carter, noted that
'Makin's brick cube is an architectural understatement. It was not conceived in visual
terms – but designed to a price, and to be a functional house.'
Morang Road has a small linear park, the boundary of which is close to the narrow site
occupied by 45 Morang Road. The proximity to the park and the views of the green
space that could be obtained was a key driver in the design of the Makin House.
The front elevation consists of a sheer two storey brick wall however a splayed corner
window extends the full two stories, enabling a view of the parkland. The window is
emphasized through a rounded panel above and a square sill below, which is the only
attention to detail given to the front elevation. The house was designed as a ‘two storey
container’ allowing a free flow of space both vertically and horizontally. It represents a
pure and uncompromising design and its extreme simplicity is a powerful object in the
street.
45 Morang Road was built of brick with a painted surface, and is still painted white and
surrounded by landscaping that matches its extreme simplicity. A garage is at the rear of
the site, concealed by side gates. The front garden has terraced walls of crazy patterned
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Castlemaine slate and lawn, with a pair of palm trees providing scale to the house itself.
An original pencil light was removed buy the current owner due to repeated damage.
The palm trees are distinctive but are not known to have been part of the original
landscape design for this house.
Comparative analysis for the Makin House is best described as part of a tradition of
architects’ own houses that aim for innovative design and best fit for themselves, as well
as showcases for their work. When this has been demonstrated through accolades from
the RAIA awards process, there is a firm foundation on which to expect an enduring
architecture. There is no useful stylistic comparison for the Makin House.
The Makin house is part of a group of houses from the two decades of the 1970s to
1990s. Others include:
x
x
x
x
John Kenny’s own house at 7 Raven Street Kew (1978) (to be assessed).
House, 8 Hodgson Street, Kew (1997) – Sean Godsell's own (internationallypublished) house (considered to be too recent to assess but should be revisited
fro assessment in the future).
Gallery House at 23 Morang Road, Hawthorn (1991) – Dale Jones- Evans
(recommended for an HO).
House 1 Kevin Grove Hawthorn (2000) – John Wardle’s own house (considered
to be too recent to assess but should be revisited for assessment in future).
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The Makin House at 45 Morang Road is part of the enduring and ongoing practice of
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
significance).
The Makin House, awarded as The Age House of the Year in 1979 is notable as an
architectural understatement and a functional house, designed to a price but achieving a
strong presence. It achieves a striking simplicity and purity of form that is unlike many of
its peers. It is a highly original house with its tall window designed to take in the view of
the park, and its unadorned two storey brick walls.
Not applicable
significance).
Not applicable
Not applicable
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The Makin House at 45 Morang Road Hawthorn designed and built in 1978-9 by architect
Kevin Makin for his own family is significant.
The Makin House is of local architectural and historical significance to the City of
Boroondara.
The Makin House at 45 Morang Road is part of the enduring and ongoing practice of
The Makin House, awarded as The Age House of the Year in 1979 is notable as an
architectural understatement and a functional house, designed to a price but achieving a
strong presence. It achieves a striking simplicity and purity of form that is unlike many of
its peers. It is a highly original house with its tall window designed to take in the view of
the park, and its unadorned two storey brick walls.
Planning Scheme as an individually Significant place.
Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
notice and review?
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
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Identified By
Built Heritage, ‘City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History’, 2012.
References
Heritage Alliance (2008), 'Survey of Post War Built Heritage in Victoria, Department of
Planning and Community Development'.
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TOWER HOTEL
Address: 686-690 Burwood Road, Hawthorn East
Name: Tower Hotel
Builder:
Property No:
Architect: P J O'Connor
Construction Date: c1941
Historical Context
Hotels
The first licensed premises within the City of Boroondara is said to have been the Queen's
Arms Hotel at the corner of Yarra Street and Burwood Road, Hawthorn, established 1851.
With the opening of the first road bridge across the Yarra River, the area became more
accessible and many hotels opened along Burwood Road, including the Red Lion Hotel
(1852) and the Hawthorn Hotel (1853), as well as the Bridge Hotel on Church Street (1854).
There was a concentration of hotels built in Hawthorn, with the following built in 1855: the
Beehive Hotel on Church Street, the Governor Hotham Hotel on William Street, the Sir Robert
Nickle Hotel on Burwood Road and Fletcher's Hotel on the corner of Burwood and Glenferrie
roads (Built Heritage 2012:105).
It was a tendency for hotels to be built on major intersections, as was the case with the hotels
that appeared through the more sparsely populated districts of the current City of Boroondara.
The early temperance movement in the City of Boroondara was evident in 1874, when the
Council resolved to oppose most new licensed houses. Later, in 1920, the City of Camberwell
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became a 'dry area' after a local poll caused the closure of all hotels and licensed premises in
the municipality (Built Heritage 2012:15, 106).
Development during the 1880s Boom era, and the consequent residential subdivisions, saw a
new burst of hotel construction, particularly along the railway lines, as evident in the
Glenferrie Hotel (1889), the Palace Hotel, Camberwell (1890) and Allen's Auburn Hotel
(1887), to name a few (Built Heritage 2012:106).
In the twentieth century, many hotels received an upgrade as a result of an amendment made
to the Liquor Licensing Act (amended in 1920), which enabled the Liquor Licensing Court to
approve or disapprove plans for new hotels and to order improvements to existing ones
where necessary. While this legislation closed some hotels, many were remodelled or entirely
rebuilt to meet the standards of the licensing board, as was the case with the Tower Hotel,
rebuilt c1941 on the opposite corner at 686 Burwood Road, Hawthorn East, with the original
Tower Hotel of 1874 later demolished. This remodelling continued in the post-war era.
Architects that were prominent in the redesign of hotels in the area during this period include
R H McIntyre and P J O'Connor (Built Heritage 2012:107; Grow 2009:40).
History
The existing Tower Hotel at 686-690 Burwood Road, Hawthorn East (then known as Auburn),
was built c1941 (Herald, dated by hand 19/2/41, includes a photo of the completed building).
The site, encompassing the current site of the hotel apart from the carpark on Burwood Road,
was purchased on 30 September 1941 by architect Patrick Joseph O'Connor and
hotelkeepers Julius J and Ethel M Dennis (LV: V6535 F948). The site had been home to the
Hawthorn Market Buildings at the turn of the century (MMBW, Detail Plan 1550, 1903).
The Herald reported on the imminent demolition of the original Tower Hotel across the road
and the relocation of its landmark clock, which was to be transferred next door to Wridgeway
Bros., where a new tower was to be built to house the clock. The article also states that the
new Tower Hotel, yet to be constructed, was designed by architect P J O'Connor. (Note that
previous heritage studies for Hawthorn state that the Tower Hotel was built c1939, as did the
Built Heritage Thematic Environmental History (2012: 109). The 1941 date is more accurate.)
The description in the Herald of 1941 said of the proposed design:
It will be one of the most modern metropolitan hotels. A feature will be that beer will be
cooled in bulk in special cool rooms in the enlarged basement instead of by refrigeration.
The building will be of brick with tile roof and reinforced concrete floors. The corner tower
will be 60ft high. On the ground floor will be public and saloon bars, bottle department,
parlors, and large lounge. Residential and private sections will contain an entrance hall,
several dining rooms, kitchens and office. Staff accommodation will be at the rear. Bar
walls, floors and counters will be tiled [?] with stainless steel fittings and tile exterior.
Under the tower there will be a large sun room. The first floor will include 12 bedrooms
and two suites.
The Tower Hotel was run and owned by Julius and Ethel Dennis from the time it was built.
They had run the previous incarnation of the Tower Hotel from 1937, and before that, the
Coburg Hotel and the Croxton Park Hotel (Argus, 19 June 1937: 16). In 1950 they transferred
the hotel licence to their sons, after which it was known as Dennis' Tower Hotel (Argus, 28
Oct 1950: 31; 4 Apr 1955: 9). In 1954, an article in the Argus (12 Jun 1954:19), notes that P J
O'Connor and Brophy, architects, of 317 Collins Street, invited tenders for 'renovations and
painting' of the Tower Hotel, Auburn. O'Connor remained the owner of 5/11ths of the property
until his death on 19 July 1955, after which his share reverted to Julius and Ethel Dennis (LV:
V6535 F948).
The existing Tower Hotel underwent alterations, thought to date to c1968 (Walking
Melbourne, The Old Tower Hotel). This may be the remodelling of the ground floor windows.
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This date corresponds to the transfer of the property title on 8 July 1968 to Julius and Ethel
Dennis's sons, who formed Dennis Bros. Investments Pty Ltd (LV: V8286 F624).
The original Tower Hotel, with its landmark Italianate clock tower, was located on the southwest corner of Burwood and Camberwell roads (MMBW, Detail Plan 1550, 1903). It was built
in 1874 to a design by architect James Gall. The first publican, from 1874 to 1891, was Anne
Hurley, an unmarried woman (Argus, 11 June 1874: 5). This building was demolished in 1954
(Built Heritage 2012:106; City of Boroondara Library photo collection; Argus, 6 Dec 1954: 10).
P J O'Connor, architect
A majority of O'Connor's work was ecclesiastical buildings and hotel design and remodelling.
John O'Connor, the son of P J O'Connor, provided the following background to his father's
career (cited from Hermes record 26888):
Patrick Joseph O'Connor was born at Melbourne on 23 February 1901, one of thirteen
children of John O'Connor, stationmaster, and his wife Margaret (nee Whelan). He was
educated at a Catholic school in Carnegie and at an early age entered the Victorian
Railways Architects Office as an articled pupil. He studied architecture at night classes
conducted at the Working Men's College and after gaining experience in the Railways
Department, he set up in practice as an architect in Collins Street in 1926. He took James
Thomas Brophy into partnership in 1946, after which the practice was known as O'Connor
& Brophy.
P. J. O'Connor specialised in ecclesiastical and liquor industry work, and designed many
Catholic churches, convents, presbyteries and schools in Victoria between 1926 and his
death in 1959. His most accomplished works include the St John of God Hospital in
Ballarat and St Roch's Church in Glen Iris.
Among his church designs, O'Connor was also responsible for St Mary Immaculate
Conception (Catholic), Ascot Vale (1934), St Theresa's (Catholic), Lake Wendouree (1938),
St Joan of Arc (Catholic), Brighton (1938), Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (Catholic),
Sunshine (1940), Sacred Heart (Catholic), Newport (1942), Our Lady Star of the Sea
(Catholic), Flinders Naval Depot (1948), Uniting (Methodist), Albion (1951), and St Margaret
Mary's (Catholic), Spotswood (1953) (Coleman 1996: 64). He also designed the Notre Dame
de Sion convent (1939), located at 6 Witton Street, Warragul (Hermes record No 31837).
His residential work included Catholic presbyteries and private homes. Those listed on the
Heritage Victoria database include St Patrick's Presbytery, Camperdown of 1927-8, the St
Mary's Presbytery, Malvern East of 1931, and Bradoc House, 32-38 George Street, East
Melbourne of 1933. In addition, O'Connor designed his own house at 452 Warrigal Road,
Ashburton, in the Spanish Mission style, in 1932 (HO417, City of Boroondara; Hermes record
No 14742).
O'Connor redesigned many existing hotels during the interwar period (Grow 2009:40). In the
late 1930s, his hotel designs were in the Moderne style. These include the Wool Exchange
Hotel, Melbourne (c1930) (RVIA journal, Sep 1930); the Shamrock Hotel, 108 Woods Street,
Donald (1877, remodelled c1938) (Age 24 May 1938); Great Britain Hotel, Flinders Street,
Melbourne (remodelled c1938) (Age, 12 Apr 1938); Royal Hotel, 73 Flemington Road, North
Melbourne (c1938; recently demolished) (Age, 24 May 1938); Star and Garter Hotel, 470Bridge Road (remodelled 1940; now the Dover Hotel) (Herald, 16 Aug 1939); and the Ararat
Hotel, 118-130 Barkly Street, Ararat (1847; remodelled 1940) (Buildings of St Kilda; Hermes
record no. 42828).
Hotels that O'Connor designed in their entirety include the Tower Hotel (c1941), and a hotel in
Wyndham Street, Shepparton (c1938; believed to be the Victoria Hotel at 272 Wyndham
Street) (Age, 20 Sep 1938).
His offices were located at 317 Collins Street (Argus, 9 April, 1938; LV: V6535 F948).
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The Tower Hotel, of c1941, is a two-storey building with a V-shaped plan, located at the
sharply angled corner of Burwood and Camberwell roads. It is Streamlined Moderne in style
with a very unusual and decorative landmark tower at the corner.
The Hotel exhibits typical Streamlined Moderne characteristics including the use of smooth
render to much of the façade, strong horizontal lines, and decorative features such as
ziggurat-like steps framing the corner tower. The horizontal emphasis is created by a wide
horizontal band with incised lines above the ground floor, a narrow banded hood above the
first-floor windows, a high parapet that conceals the tiled hip roof, horizontal glazing bars to
the first floor double-hung windows, and incised horizontal lines in the render of the ground
floor and parapet. Two original ground-floor windows, at the south end of the Camberwell
Road façade, also have horizontal etched lines to the windows and highlights above.
Apart from incised render, there is face brick between the first floor windows, and the tower is
of brick. (The colour is unknown, as it has been overpainted.)
The corner tower is very unusual in its details. It sits above banks of ten first-floor windows at
the corners, displaying the advanced steel framing of the building. It is octagonal in plan, with
a brick shaft of running bond terminating in a soldier course beneath a simple cement-render
cornice. Above the cornice rises the highly unusual tower roof, which has eight curved sides
rising to a pyramidal top and flagpole. On alternating curved sides are vertical stripes of
projecting bricks, five on each side, which are reminiscent of buttresses. The pyramidal top is
Grecian in its proportions.
At the east end of the Burwood Road elevation is a section five window bays long which was
built at a different time. The facade is identical in materials and details, though the windows
lack the horizontal glazing bars. The roof of this section is a very wide gable, in contrast to the
original hip-roof extent. It is visible in a 1945 aerial photo (Uni Mel, ERC: 849A3A, 1945), as is
the building to the east of it where the bottle shop is now. This section was either a very early
extension to the hotel, or an earlier building which was incorporated into the hotel by
O'Connor.
The hotel has the following alterations: almost all ground-floor windows have been replaced
with modern, plate glass windows (most likely larger than the originals), and all of the face
brick has been overpainted. There are also intrusive signage and mobile phone transmitters
on the tower, but this appears to be reversible.
The Tower Hotel is one of only a handful of Moderne landmark buildings in the City of
Boroondara, though there are many surviving houses of this era. These 'landmarks' are
mostly public-use buildings, designed by architects and intended to have a striking street
presence by virtue of their size, location, and design. They include:
-
-
-
Dillon's Buildings, 493-503 Riversdale Road, Camberwell of c1936 (recommended for
an individual HO by PS Amendment C101). A late interwar design with graded apricot
and tapestry brickwork, a sculpted tower and original tower signage, at the corner of
Riverdale and Burke roads. The ground floor has been entirely altered.
Second Church of Christ Scientist, 41 Cookson Street, Camberwell (VHR H1196) of
1937. This building of 1937, designed by architects Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, is
described by Heritage Victoria as being in the 'Moderne-Classical manner' (also
known as Stripped Classicism). This cream-brick building is far more austere and
grand than the entertainment-related buildings, such as the Tower Hotel, the Rivoli
Theatre and the Glenferrie Oval Grandstand, but it shares a use of strong horizontals
and boxy forms.
Glenferrie Oval Grandstand, 34 Linda Crescent, Hawthorn (VHR H890) of 1938, by
architect Stuart Calder in association with Marsh and Michaelson. This red-brick
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-
-
-
structure has a dramatic cantilevered roof which is visually suspended from the
curved corner tower.
Camberwell Police Station and Court House complex, 311-317 Camberwell Road,
Camberwell (VHR H1194) of 1938-39, designed by Public Works Department
architect Percy Everett. The complex is in the Moderne style and is set on a diagonal
axis. The buildings are constructed of red, brown and manganese bricks and contain
Everett's trademark pattern detailing.
Rivoli Cinema, 200 Camberwell Road, Hawthorn East (VHR H1524) of 1940. It was
designed by architects H Vivian Taylor and Soilleaux, and features polychrome
banded brickwork in colours ranging from pale pink to dark brown. The façade is
dominated by a vertical fin.
Kew Fire Station (former), 35-37 Belford Road, Kew (HO274) of 1940-41 by architect
Harry Winbush. It is cubic, with parapets hiding the roof. The walls are of red brick
with dark brown brick between the windows. A flagpole with horizontal bands at its
base is one of the main decorative elements of the façade. It is distinguished by a
plainness and elegance in its massing and detailing which sets it aside from earlier
Streamlined Moderne treatments, and foreshadows the Modern period.
The Tower Hotel compares most closely with Dillon's Buildings, sharing Moderne design
features such as a strong horizontal emphasis created by a concrete hood above the first
floor windows, differentiated cladding between these windows, a parapet to hide the roof
form, and a vertical anchor in the form of a corner tower. Both buildings have altered ground
floors, as is typical for commercial buildings. The striking polychrome brick of Dillon's
Buildings is intact, while that of the Tower Hotel has been overpainted. The main architectural
feature of the Tower Hotel is not its brick but the namesake tower.
The Tower Hotel is the most striking and accomplished of PJ O'Connor's known hotel
designs. His creativity, seen at places such as St Roch's Catholic Church in Glen Iris (HO351,
City of Stonnington), was hampered as most of his pub designs were remodellings of existing
buildings, with the consequent constraints. These include:
-
-
-
Shamrock Hotel, 108 Woods Street, Donald of 1938. A modest two-storey country
hotel with a hip roof. The central feature is a modest balcony at the centre of the
façade, with a parapeted awning above it. There are two cast-concrete Art Deco
reliefs - above the door and on a short parapet at one end of the façade. Windows
have a horizontal emphasis - two horizontal panes to upper sashes of first floor and
frosted horizontal lines at ground floor (both window treatments also seen on the
Tower Hotel).
Ararat Hotel, 118-130 Barkly Street, Ararat (HO16, Rural City of Ararat) of 1940. An
earlier hotel that was extensively remodeled in the Moderne style. It is a local
landmark with a dramatic double-storey curved balcony at the centre of the façade
with dramatic curved fins above them. The roof is hidden by a parapet. Cast Art Deco
panels feature above window and door openings (like the Shamrock). First floor
windows have three horizontal panes. Appears to be quite intact, apart from
overpainting.
Dover Hotel (formerly Start and Garter), 470 Bridge Road, Richmond (contributory to
HO310) of 1939-40. A remodeling of an earlier hotel, this is a modest two-storey
corner building. The remodeling was restricted to creating horizontal render bands
between the two floors and around the chamfered corner.
The Ararat Hotel compares most closely with the Tower Hotel, with its long façade and
dramatic central balconies and fins creating a dominant presence in Ararat. The Tower Hotel,
with its large and highly visible corner site, the chance to design a building from 'scratch', and
the additional influence of being nearly half owner of the property afforded O'Connor a much
greater degree of creative freedom than in his other hotel commissions. The result is a
building with standard Streamlined Moderne elevations, on a larger scale than usual, paired
with a very idiosyncratic corner tower.
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A search of hotels on HERMES (Heritage Victoria's database) indicates that only Victorianera hotels in the City of Boroondara are currently protected under the Heritage Overlay.
These include Malone's Family Hotel, 208 Canterbury Road, Canterbury (HO29), and the
Auburn Hotel, 87 Auburn Road, Hawthorn (Individually significant in HO260). No interwar
hotels were individually noted, though there may be examples protected within heritage
precincts which are not specifically noted.
Criteria adopted by the Heritage Council on 7 August 2008 pursuant to Sections 8(1)(c) and
8(2) of the Heritage Act 1995, modified for the local context.
CRITERION A: Importance to the course, or pattern, of the City of Boroondara's
cultural history.
The Tower Hotel illustrates the central role of local hotels in residential areas of the City of
Boroondara. They tended to be built on major intersections, becoming local landmarks both
for their size and visibility and as community meeting places.
The original Tower Hotel, of 1874, was built at the same intersection, on the west side of the
street. The c1941 hotel continued the role of this early hotel in the local community.
Boroondara's cultural history.
The Tower Hotel is one of only a handful of interwar public-use buildings in the City of
Boroondara, which include State-significant buildings such as the Second Church of Christ
Scientist, the Glenferrie Oval Grandstand, the Camberwell Police Station, and the Rivoli
Cinema. Locally significant examples include Dillon's Buildings, Camberwell, and the former
Kew Fire Station. On the whole, however, Boroondara's hotels, town halls, etc. were
th
th
constructed during the 19 and early 20 centuries.
the City of Boroondara's cultural history.
Not applicable.
cultural places and objects.
Not applicable.
CRITERION E: Importance in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics.
The Tower Hotel exhibits the aesthetic characteristics of the Streamlined Moderne style. This
includes the strong horizontal lines - in the rendered bands, parapet wall, continuous window
hood, and window glazing. Another feature seen in the more accomplished Moderne buildings
is the use of a strong vertical element - here, the tower, framed by ziggurat-like steps - to
provide balance.
achievement at a particular period.
The design of the tower itself is unusual and idiosyncratic for the period.
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group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. This includes the significance of a place
to Indigenous peoples as part of their continuing and developing cultural traditions.
The Tower Hotel is a local landmark in the City of Boroondara, by virtue of its highly visible
angled corner site and by its striking corner tower. The tower and name of the hotel both refer
to the original Tower Hotel of 1874, which was located across the street. Thus the current
th
hotel has been a local meeting place since 1941, with its pedigree reaching back to the 19
century.
persons, of importance in the City of Boroondara's.
The Tower Hotel of c1941 was designed by architect PJ O'Connor, who was also part-owner.
O'Connor's proprietary involvement in the building and its creation on an empty site (apart
from a small building on the Burwood Road site which may have been incorporated), gave the
architect an unusual amount of design freedom, seen in the striking and unusual tower
design. O'Connor was well-known in the interwar period for his Catholic Churchcommissioned and hotel designs. The Tower Hotel is representative of his use of the
Moderne style for his hotels.
The Tower Hotel, at 686-690 Burwood Road, Hawthorn East, designed by architect and partowner Patrick Joseph O'Connor for licensees Julius and Ethel Dennis c1941. The hotel is Vshaped in plan, due to the sharply angled corner of Burwood and Camberwell roads, giving it
visual prominence. It is Streamlined Moderne in style, with an idiosyncratic tower at the
northern corner.
The later extension to the south end of the Camberwell Road elevation is not significant.
The Tower Hotel is of local historical, aesthetic and architectural significance to the City of
Boroondara.
The Tower Hotel is of historical significance for the enduring use of this site as a licensed
premises since 1941, and of this intersection since 1874. The current hotel demonstrated that
is was a successor to the 1874 Tower Hotel by continuing its name and featuring a landmark
tower. The construction of a new hotel demonstrates the wider trend during the interwar
th
period of upgrading and rebuilding 19 century hotels to meet new and stringent State liquor
licensing laws, though it is a rare example of an interwar hotel in the City of Boroondara.
(Criteria A, B)
The Tower Hotel is of aesthetic and architectural significance as a good example of the
Streamlined Moderne style, with its strong horizontal lines created by rendered bands,
parapet wall, continuous window hood, and window glazing. This horizontal movement is
anchored by a strong vertical accent created by the idiosyncratic tower design. The building is
a local landmark due to its prominent corner site and tower.
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It is also of architectural significance as one of prominent interwar architect PJ O'Connor's
most accomplished hotel designs. While many of his Moderne hotels were remodellings of
th
19 -century hotels, he had the chance to design the Tower Hotel from scratch. His creative
freedom on this job was undoubtedly increased by the fact that he was part owner of the
property. (Criteria E, H)
Recommended heritage controls and heritage grading
Boroondara Planning Scheme
Tree Controls
Incorporated plan
Internal Alterations Controls
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Aboriginal heritage place
No
Identified By
Gould, Meredith, Hawthorn Heritage Study, 1993, Appendix B.
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References
Buildings of St Kilda and their people, '39, Elsternwick Hotel',
http://www.skhs.org.au/SKHSbuildings/39.htm, accessed 18/10/12.
Built Heritage (2012), 'City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History', prepared for the
City of Boroondara.
Carter, Francesca (2012), The Weekly Review, 'A Man of contradiction',
http://www.theweeklyreview.com.au/article-display/A-man-of-contradiction/5268, accessed
17/10/12.
City of Boroondara Library photo collection, 'Dennis' Tower Hotel',
http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/38802804?q=tower+hotel+
hawthorn&c=picture&versionId=51526136, accessed 17/10/12.
City of Boroondara Local History Wiki, 'Riversdale Hotel', http://coblocalhistory.pbworks.com/,
accessed 24/10/12.
Coleman, Ian & Roslyn (1996), Twentieth Century Churches in Victoria.
Council.
Grow, Robin, of Art Deco and Modernism Society, personal communication, 15 October 2012.
Grow, Robin (2009), Melbourne Art Deco, Collingwood.
Lewi, Hannah & David Nichols (eds), (2010) Community: Building Modern Australia.
Lewis, Miles (ed.), (1991) Victorian Churches: Their Origins, Their Story & Their Architecture,
National Trust of Australia (Victoria), Melbourne.
Lewis, Nigel, 'VCAT application P866/2012, Heritage evidence for 39-41 & 43-45 Marne
Street, South Yarra', http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/BuildingandPlanning/
Planning/planningpermits/Documents/, accessed 17/10/12.
Royal Victorian Institute of Architects (RVIA) Journal, Sept. 1930, viewed in Miles Lewis'
Australian Architectural Index, http://www.mileslewis.net/australian-architectural.html,
accessed 24/10/12.
State Library of Victoria (SLV) photo collection, Argus newspaper collection of photographs,
accessed 17/10/12.
The Age, in Royal Victorian Institute of Architects press cuttings (SLV) 1938-9, viewed in
Miles Lewis' Australian Architectural Index, http://www.mileslewis.net/australianarchitectural.html, accessed 24/10/12.
The Argus.
The Herald: 1941 article provided by Robin Grow; 16 August 1939 in RVIA Press [cuttings
1939], viewed in Miles Lewis' Australian Architectural Index,
http://www.mileslewis.net/australian-architectural.html, accessed 24/10/12.
Walking Melbourne forum, 'The Old Tower Hotel, Burwood Road, Auburn',
http://www.walkingmelbourne.com/, accessed 24/10/12).
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______________________________________________________________________________________
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2 4GS !"#!/#$T
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Herborn House
Address: 88 Pleasant Road, Hawthorn East
Name: Herborn House
Architect: Eric M. Nicholls
Builder:
Figure 1. Herborn House, c1950-73 (Peter Willie Collection, State Library of Victoria)
Historical Context
Eric M Nicholls, architect
Eric Milton Nichols (1902-1965) spent most of his youth in Kew and studied at Swinburne
Technical College before completing his article with the Melbourne firm, Haddon &
Henderson between 1913 and 1921. It was at this firm that he was introduced to Robert
Haddon's pursuit of a distinctively Australia style of architecture. After 1921, Nicholls
gained employment in the Melbourne office of Marion Mahoney Griffin and Walter Burley
Griffin. During this period, Nicholls contributed to both residential and commercial
projects, including the Capitol Theatre (1922) and Leonard House (1923, demolished).
Through their instruction, the Griffins undoubtedly instilled in him their distinctive design
ideals, including those of the Prairie Style which was developed in the United States
primarily by Frank Lloyd Wright (a former employer of both Griffins). Nicholls became a
registered architect in Victoria in 1923 (Vernon 2012:495-6).
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Nicholls was able to simultaneously work for the Griffins and take on private
commissions, his first being a meeting hall at the Wesleyan Methodist Church, Highbury
Grove, Kew (1921, HO221). His designs derived from the modular ideas developed by
Griffin, and were similar to Griffin's in their 'chunky, squat proportions', yet differed in plan
and elevation (Johnson 1980:125). Vernon (2012:495-6) cites Nicholls' key works as the
Joseph Lyddy Polish Manufacturers factory in Fitzroy (1922-3, City of Yarra HO334) and
Herborn House in Hawthorn East. He designed his own house in Hill Street, Balwyn
(c1929; demolished) in the Prairie Style, and a house for his mother in Wellington Street,
Kew (c1939; demolished) (Built Heritage 2012:149 & 231-2). He also designed
Beaumont House at 33 Uvadale Grove, Kew (1924-5, HO142) and Stanton House,
Kooyong Road (1923) (Johnson 1980: note 106 of Ch. 3).
In 1925, Nicholls was left to run the Melbourne office, assumed to be a junior partner by
this stage, when the Griffins' moved to Sydney to oversee the construction of their
community, Castlecrag. In 1930, Nicholls moved his family to Castlecrag. In this year he
was made full partner and the firm re-named Griffin & Nicholls, before the Griffins' left for
India in 1935 and Nicholls effectively ran the Australian practice from Sydney. The firm
continued to run under this style until 1942, even after Griffin's death in 1937 and
Marion's return to the USA. Nicholls continued with residential and commercial designs,
many in Castlecrag and most developing his 'earlier themes of crystalline geometries and
massive form'. In 1956, Nicholls formed the firm Nicholls, Elliot & Nicholls, with Ron Elliot
and his son Glynn. It was during this period that Nicholls designed one of his key works,
Caltex House in Sydney (1956) (Vernon 2012:496).
History
Herborn House was designed in 1929 by architect Eric M Nicholls, for Mr A W and his
wife, E M Herborn (AHB Jul 1931:21; original plan in Johnson 1980:124).
In July 1931, The Australian Home Beautiful magazine published an article 'A little house
set on a hilltop' which notes that the house had been completed, and included the original
plans of the house by Nicholls. The article further comments on the pen sketches and
plans that the magazine had published the previous year, of the 'delightful and unusual
little home' (AHB Jul 1931:21). Vernon (2012:496) also dates the house to 1931, while
other sources, including Johnson (2002), date the house to 1928-31 (Prairie School
Traveller, accessed 14 Jan 2013).
The Australian Home Beautiful (Jul 1931:21-24) continues to discuss the house at length,
stating that it had 'carried out its earlier promise of being a departure in domestic
architecture that is quite uncommon'. The article talks of the interweaving of the house
and garden by means of a trellised court at the entrance, with its greenery, flowers and
'creeper-entwined colonnade, in the centre of which a fountain plays'. The pool below
the fountain was electrically lit. To the rear of the house, the garden was designed to be
as labour-saving as the house. The original plan (published in this 1931 article) included
a planting scheme by Nicholls, which was 'virtually carried out', with a list of 100 exotic
and native plants (AHB, Jul 1931:22-4). Johnson (1980:126) compares the landscape
design to that of Walter Burley Griffin, with its open, free-form spatial arrangement. This
arrangement was a departure from the formal, axially-arranged gardens of the 1920s and
30s. Vernon (2012:496) suggests that the garden was designed by both Nicholls and his
wife.
The article notes that the original plan of the house grouped the bedrooms in the east
wing, while the living and kitchen space were in the west wing. It then stated that the
owners 'now [after completion of the house] have conceived the idea of turning the house
into two flats'. The Herborns had converted the bedroom at the south-east corner into a
dining room and kitchenette, and the north-east bedroom into a sitting room, while also
making additions to the rear of the west wing. The article commended the original design,
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which had two front doors, noting 'few homes could be induced to divide into two so
neatly and with so few alterations!' In regards to the interior, it went on, 'comfort and
homeliness have nowhere been sacrificed to bizarre effect', despite the architect's pursuit
of the unconventional. The article commented on the original light fixtures, fireplaces, the
many built-in and often-concealed cupboards (AHB Jul 1931:22-23).
Figure 2. Herborn House, 1931. Note the dark stained timber elements and the tapered front gate
post. (Australian Home Beautiful, 01/07/1931, p 21)
Herborn House has a generous setback from Pleasant Road, behind a semicircular drive
entered via two sets of mild-steel vehicular gates with tapered, rendered piers. This same
configuration is shown on Nicholls' plans of 1929.
The house is single-storey with rendered walls with a U-shaped plan. The main roof has
a low hip, following the U-shaped plan, with very wide, flat eaves extending out from it,
creating a horizontal emphasis. The eaves are strongly defined by boxed gutters with
angled fascias (this form is mirrored in the reverse by the fascias of the front pergola and
corner window hoods). The open side of the 'U' is open to the facade and holds an
entrance courtyard with a small fountain at its centre. The courtyard is enclosed by low
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battered rendered walls that contain planters, above which sits a pergola. The chunky
pergola columns have very unusual geometric capitals and bases which are square with
indented corners. The remaining three walls of the courtyard comprise solely of window
and door openings between columns. Early photos of the house from Australian Home
Beautiful show that these same columns, both freestanding and engaged, were used to
articulate the interior as well. There are two glazed front doors, side by side on the back
wall of the courtyard. The windows are casements with narrow horizontal margin glazing
at the top and bottom.
Due to the U-shaped plan, the facade is articulated as two pavilions around the entrance
courtyard. Each pavilion has a large, protecting vertical mass at the centre. On the west
side this is a wide, rectangular chimney, while on the east side, it is a projecting bay that
terminates at the eaves. On either side of each projecting mass are corner windows
beneath eyebrow-like flat hoods which continue the line of the central pergola. The low
battered walls that enclose the courtyard are interrupted by the chimney breast and
projecting bay, but then start again beneath the corner windows.
The house appears to be highly intact, even retaining its original or early white limewash.
In the rear yard, set well behind the house, is a two-storey Modernist studio with a creambrick wall to the laneway, and steel-framed glazed walls to the garden. It has been sited
with care so as not to intrude upon the 1920s house and appears to sit on the footprint of
the small garage shown in the 1931 site plan.
Built Heritage (2012: 231) notes that the City of Boroondara had many links with Walter
Burley Griffin and his circle. Griffin and his associates Eric Nicholls and Leslie Grant
(both hailing from Kew), as well as EF Billson and JFW Ballantyne. The architecture of
this 'school' was highly distinctive within an interwar architectural context, so it is
appropriate to compare Herborn House to other works by this group, including by
Nicholls himself.
Places in Boroondara designed by Nicholls that have been identified:
x
Men's Fellowship Room, rear Kew Uniting Church, 21-25 Highbury Grove, Kew,
of 1922, part of HO221. A timber building with a high-pitched, tiled roof and
angled fascias to the boxed gutters. The entry doors feature bold prismatic
decoration, and windows have narrow margin glazing at the top and bottom (as at
Herborn House).
x
Beaument (or Beament) House, 33 Uvadale Grove, Kew, 1924-5, Individually
significant to HO198. A roughcast-render clad house with its massing a
combination of cubes. An emphasis on horizontality created by wide eaves with
strongly defined edges delineated with box gutters. The walls project above the
geometric leadlight windows to create hoods, and below the front windows, is a
long masonry planter box, like a plinth to the house. There is an upper storey set
into the roofline with is noted as original in the 1988 'City of Kew Urban
Conservation Study'.
x
34 Fellows Street, Kew, Eric Nicholls, 1929, Contributory to HO143. A rendered
building with a strong horizontal emphasis to the ground floor created by a
projecting hood above the windows and a recessed band below the eaves.
Windows have geometric leadlights, and below them are large, cast-concrete
planter boxes decorated with unusual incised circle motifs and fluting. An upper
storey was added above the main roofline, copying many of these details c1990s.
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Places by Griffin and other architects of his 'school' in Boroondara cited in the Thematic
Environmental History (Built Heritage 2012):
x
House, 7 Warwick Avenue, Surrey Hills, by Walter Burley Griffin, 1923, VHR461
& HO136. A small house of modular concrete-block construction with vertical ribs
(Knitlock). Windows are slim casements with Griffinesque chevron-pattern
glazing bars.
x
George Silcock House, 16 Glenroy Road, Hawthorn, by EF Billson, 1926, HO50.
Externally, the house is dominated by a massive front gable. The building has an
implied plinth, and the wide eaves. Retains its roughcast render front fence.
x
Flats, 7 Rochester Road, Canterbury, by Leslie Grant, 1927, HO184. Cement
rendered, with a flat roof and severe, symmetrical form. Bold horizontal forms
balanced by vertical piers. Chevron-pattern glazing.
In comparison, Herborn House has the highest intactness as any of the comparisons,
down to the limewash on the render. No external alterations were noted to the building,
apart from wear and tear. It exhibits some of the same design details as the others, such
as horizontal margin glazing (Nicholls' Men's Fellowship Room), the use of a plinth at the
base of the walls and corner windows (Billson's Silcock House), the use a raked box
gutter on wide horizontal eaves (Nicholls' Men's Fellowship Room & Beaument House,
and a play between dominant horizontal lines and vertical elements (Griffin's Flats).
Like the comparisons, it was also a highly unusual house when constructed in the 1920s,
far removed from the California Bungalow and Mediterranean Revival styles that were
popular at the time. One of the most distinctive details of the house - the heavy columns
with matching square capitals and bases - are like nothing else seen at the time and
evidence of Nicholls' creativity.
Further afield, a very similar column design - with a square capital and base - is seen at
the Essendon Incinerator (VHR434), designed by Nicholls while at Griffin's office and
constructed in 1929-31. Here the capitals lack the fine detailing seen at Herborn House.
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Figure 3. The Essendon Incinerator, 1929-30. Note the colonnade at the right. (Danae Sidh,
Flikr.com, 2008)
Johnson (1980: 125-6) cites inspiration for the front courtyard as the Mary Williams
House of 1923, which is believed to by 74 Clendon Road, Toorak, the remodelling of an
existing Victorian house (Griffin Society). While this design does incorporate a recessed
entry behind pairs of columns in antis (i.e., recessed within the opening), Nicholls' design
for Herborn House is more fully developed in creating a three-dimensional outdoor
'room'. At the time, the 'embowered court' of Herborn House was praised for bringing 'the
garden almost into the house' (AHB, 01/07/1931:21) - an idea well before its time.
Figure 4. Mary Williams House, 74 Clendon Road, Toorak, remodelled by WB Griffin in 1923
with a recessed front porch. (Danae Sidh, Flikr.com, 2008)
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A second source of inspiration, cited by Johnson, is the model plan (never realised) for a
'Home of Five Rooms', which Griffin designed c1920 for Melbourne's climate. The house
in this concept has a U-shaped plan with a distinctive recessed and trellised patio forming
the entry to the house. On hot days, windows and doors can be opened to the shaded
internal patio as a source of cool air. This idea is akin to the central courtyards seen in
hot Middle Eastern countries, with the distinct difference of having it open to the street.
Figure 5. Griffin's 'Home of Five Rooms' of c1920 (Birrell 1964:144)
This design has clear links to Herborn House. Nicholls' design more fully develops the
basic concept in a very sculptural way, with the eastern wing projecting further at the
front and rear, the use of wide eaves as a corner device, and the reversal of the typical
bay window - here the projecting bays at the front and rear are solid, without openings,
but are flanked by corner windows.
Herborn House demonstrates the special association between Walter Burley Griffin and
associated architects and the City of Boroondara. In particular, its architect Eric M
Nicholls (1902-65), hailed from Kew and carried out a number of his commissions in the
area, some while simultaneously working in Griffin's practice.
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Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The Herborn House is a highly intact example of the Australian interpretation of the
Prairie style, by a member of Walter Burley Griffin's 'school'.
significance).
Herborn House designed by architect Eric M Nicholls (1902-65) shares features such as
strong horizontal lines in tension with vertical elements and ahistorical ornamentation
with other buildings in Boroondara by Griffin and his associates. Most of their houses
were clad in cement render, with concrete elements. The capitals and bases of the
columns used to define the courtyard and internal spaces are a refinement on those seen
at Nicholls' Essendon Incinerator of 1929-30. Other design features it shares with
buildings in Boroondara by Griffin and his 'school', include horizontal margin glazing
(Nicholls' Men's Fellowship Room), the use of a plinth at the base of the walls and corner
windows (Billson's Silcock House), the use a raked box gutter on wide horizontal eaves
(Nicholls' Men's Fellowship Room & Beaument House, and a play between dominant
horizontal lines and vertical elements (Griffin's Flats).
Herborn House is a considered to be one of the defining examples of Eric M Nicholls'
oeuvre, along with the Joseph Liddy Factory in Fitzroy. The traditional house form is
reversed, with a deep courtyard between the front wings of the house effectively creating
an outdoor room which modulates the heat of the Melbourne climate while remaining
open to the public gaze.
significance).
Not applicable.
Herborn House is significant for its association Eric M Nicholls as the architect. Nicholls
was one of the leading proponents of the Prairie Style in Australia. He worked with Walter
Burley Griffin in Melbourne from 1921, contributing to residential and commercial
projects, and running the office after 1925. He also carried out his own commissions
once registered in 1923. Nicholls was from Kew and studied at Swinburne University, and
a number of his surviving works are located in the City of Boroondara, including
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Beaumont House (HO142) and the hall at Wesleyan Methodist Church (HO221). Herborn
House is considered one of the defining designs of his oeuvre, along with the Joseph
Liddy Polish Factory in Fitzroy.
Herborn House, 88 Pleasant Road, Hawthorn East, of 1929-31. The house and garden
were designed for Mr A W and his wife, E M Herborn, by architect Eric M Nicholls. The
house is highly intact, down to the retention of its white limewash finish.
The house is significant to the extent of its 1929-31 fabric. Significant elements of the
design include the low, hipped roofs with wide, flat eaves to the corners, the timber
pergola over the courtyard whose line is continued by the flat hoods over the corner
windows, the battered planter boxes which form a heavy plinth to the building, and the
dematerialisation of the walls into glazing between the characteristic columns.
Its original setting, including the curved entrance drive, semi-circular garden bed,
rendered gate posts and gates at either end, is also of significance.
The modern studio, which stands where the garage once was, is not of significance.
Herborn House is of aesthetic (architectural) and associative significance to the City of
Boroondara and potentially to the State of Victoria.
Architecturally, Herborn House is considered one of the defining examples of Eric M
Nicholls' oeuvre, along with the Joseph Liddy Factory in Fitzroy. The traditional house
form is reversed, with a deep courtyard between the front wings of the house effectively
creating an outdoor room which modulates the heat of the Melbourne climate while
remaining open to the public gaze. Among Nicholls' surviving designs in Boroondara, this
is both the most unusual - for its front courtyard plan and highly sculptural form - and the
most intact. (Criterion F)
Aesthetically, it shares features such as strong horizontal lines in tension with vertical
elements and ahistorical ornamentation with other buildings in Boroondara by Walter
Burley Griffin and his associates. The capitals and bases of the columns used to define
the courtyard and internal spaces are a refinement on those seen at Nicholls' Essendon
Incinerator of 1929-30. Other design features it shares with buildings in Boroondara by
Griffin and his 'school', include horizontal margin glazing (Nicholls' Men's Fellowship
Room), the use of a plinth at the base of the walls and corner windows (Billson's Silcock
House), the use of a raked box gutter on wide horizontal eaves (Nicholls' Men's
Fellowship Room & Beaument House, and a play between dominant horizontal lines and
vertical elements (Griffin's Flats, 7 Rochester Road, Canterbury).
It is of significance for its association with Eric M Nicholls (1902-65) as its architect.
Nicholls was a Kew local and had studied at Swinburne Technical College. Nicholls had
worked with Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahoney Griffin since 1921, and ran their
Melbourne office from 1925 to 1930, after which he moved to Castlecrag, Sydney. He
was permitted to carry out his own commissions while working with the Griffins, of which
Herborn House is one. (Criterion H)
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Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
notice and review?
Yes [due to retention of
limewash; when
repainting limewash
should be used on
cement/concrete
surfaces]
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Identified By
References
Walter Burley Griffin Society, Melbourne Works, accessed 8
http://www.griffinsociety.org/lives_and_works/a_melbourne.html#built.
March
2012:
Johnson, D L (2002; first published 1980), Australian Architecture 1901-51: Sources of
Modernism, Sydney.
National Trust File B2883, accessed online via Hermes record no. 71767.
Prairie School Traveller, http://www.prairieschooltraveler.com/html/world/aus/aus.html,
accessed 14 January 2013.
The Australian Home Beautiful: a journal for the home builder (AHB) magazine, 'A Little
House Set On A Hilltop' by Easter Soilleux, 1 July 1931, pp20-24. Accessed on microfilm
at the State Library of Victoria.
Vernon, Christopher, 'Eric Nicholls' in Philip Goad and Julie Willis' (eds.) (2012), The
Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture, Cambridge.
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AV Jennings House
Address: 7 Leura Grove, Hawthorn East
Name: House
Architect: Edward Gurney
(attributed)
Builder: A V Jennings
Historical Context
AV Jennings, builders
A V Jennings, founded in 1932 by Albert Victor Jennings, was Melbourne's first project
builder, Australia's largest private home builder and the largest and most influential
provider of house and land packages (Built Heritage 2012:135; NT citation B7247). The
company was known for providing superior brick homes at an affordable price. The
company's most notable pre-war housing estates were located in Ivanhoe (Beauview and
Beaumont estates) and Murrumbeena (Beauville Estate). During the interwar period, no
A V Jennings estates were built within the current City of Boroondara, although one
suburban dwelling was constructed at 7 Leura Grove, Hawthorn (1940). This house is the
company's earliest identifiable project within the City (Built Heritage 2012:135).
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The designer of all of the AV Jennings houses from late 1932 until 1939, and many after
that time, was their in-house designer, Edgar Gurney. Garden (1992:19) notes that while
Guerney was 'essentially designing houses for the middle market, he nevertheless
exhibited an awareness of the latest trends in home architecture'. The majority of his
designs in the 1930s were in the Old English style and a conservative interpretation of
the Moderne style (a standard, hip roof house with Moderne detailing). Garden goes on:
'Few of his homes could be described as avant-garde, but he did include one flat-roof
modern house at Beauville [Estate, Ivanhoe] and of particular interest architecturally is
the flat-roofed, functional Bauhaus which he designed for himself at 17 Melcombe Road,
Ivanhoe.'
In 1943, the company headquarters moved to Trent Street, Burwood. From the early
1940s, A V Jennings began to move away from private housing, in favour of a general
contracting service, which incorporated projects for the Housing Commission of Victoria
and experimentation with prefabricated houses. An example was the prefabricated
plywood house at 55 Birdwood Street, Balwyn (c1940s; demolished), presumably
designed by architect Edgar Gurney, and commissioned as a proto-type by plywood
manufacturers Romcke Pty Ltd. This house was praised as the first wholly prefabricated
house in Australia. In addition to these houses, the company's activities in the 1940s
were limited to a small number of houses in Balwyn North and additions to its
headquarters in Burwood (Built Heritage 2012:135).
A V Jennings is most notably known for their planned community developments in the
post-war decades (NT citation B7247). In the mid-1950s A V Jennings built four
residential estates located around Melbourne, intended to re-establish the company as
providers of high-quality housing. One of these estates was the Trentwood Estate in
Balwyn North, in which cul-de-sacs branched off the central street, Trentwood Avenue.
The estate was progressive for its inclusion of a commercial strip, kindergarten and baby
health centre and RSL clubrooms (Built Heritage 2012:135).
History
In August 1938, Harry Cole, horticulturalist, purchased over one acre (Crown portion
105A, Parish of Boroondara) of land bounded by Leura Grove to the south and Saint
Helens Road to the north. Cole subdivided the land from 1939, and sold 7 Leura Grove to
Frank A G Norton, professional photographer, in April 1940 (LV:V6237/F278). The house
was sold to Louis Pogonowski in November 1950 (LV: V6378/583).
Garden (1992:48) states that the two-storey house at 7 Leura Grove was built in 1940 by
A V Jennings. Jennings was simultaneously building Beauview Estate in Ivanhoe, yet
venturing into other markets. Built Heritage (2012:135) notes that this house is the
company's earliest identified project within the City of Boroondara.
Considering its similarities to houses designed around this time by AV Jenning's in-house
designer, Edgar Gurney, it is believed that he designed the 7 Leura Grove house as well.
The house at 7 Leura Grove, Hawthorn East, is a two-story cream-brick Moderne house
set on a slight rise behind a generous front yard. The front yard is enclosed by a low brick
fence (now rendered) with pyramidal tops to the piers. It curves inward at the east side,
to sweep in along the entrance drive.
The house has a flat, concrete-slab roof. The central, two-storey mass is surrounded by
projecting single-storey wings. The front (south) wing has the most dramatic projection,
and curved walls which mirror the curved corner of the east side of the facade. There is a
decorative band at the top of the curved wall, of recessed bricks with projecting soldiers.
The projecting curved wing has a simple, horizontal metal balustrade set on a projecting
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concrete slab, creating a broad terrace accessed via a door with a decorative metal
screen. The front door, at the south-east corner of the house, appears to have a similar
metal screen.
Windows are a combination of fixed and casement timber windows, with a horizontal
band of glass block highlights on the curved corner (at first-floor level). The projecting
curved bay has a continuous curved picture window along its entire length, clearly
demonstrating the capabilities of steel framing.
There is a flat-roofed garage attached to the east side of the house, which appears to be
original. It retains double ledged timber doors. A later carport has been added to the
front.
While a small band of cream bricks are visible above the door to the first-floor terrace, the
rest of the walls have been bagged with cement slurry. It is likely that the majority of the
bricks are cream-coloured, but there may be clinker brick accents, like other AV Jennings
houses of this style and era.
The Moderne, or Streamlined Moderne, style was introduced to Australia in the 1920s via
the USA, but also shares some traits with European Modernism of the time, such as flat
roofs, corner windows (exhibiting steel's capabilities). It was first used for commercial
buildings, before being translated to residential buildings from the early 1930s. Moderne
buildings generally have asymmetric massing, strong horizontal lines sometimes
strengthened by a parapet and flat roof, ribbon windows, rounded corners and semicircular wings jutting out from the central mass. Many Australian designers compromised
the strong horizontals by including a hipped tiled roof, though the more avant-garde and
purist approach was to have a flat roof.
Stylistically, three houses included in the Schedule to the Boroondara Heritage Overlay
compare most closely with 7 Leura Grove.
The first is 15 Walbundry Avenue, Balwyn North, of 1936 (HO189). This two-storey,
rendered Moderne house has similar massing, with a curved corner to the two-storey part
of the facade, and a projecting curved single-storey section to the right, used as a
terrace. These two flat-roof, curved volumes are set in front of a more conservative,
hipped roof body of the house. Windows are modern, steel-framed with a porthole near
the front door. The house retains its low, rendered front fence.
The second is 2 Beatrice Street, Glen Iris, of 1941 (HO370). This two-storey cream-brick
Moderne house has an asymmetrical massing, parapeted walls concealing the flat roof,
projecting semi-circular bays at ground-floor level with terraces on their roof, and a flat
concrete hood above the windows. It is believed that the original windows have been
replaced by the current timber casements.
The third is 89 Studley Park Road, Kew, of 1940-41 (HO347). It is another two-storey
cream-brick Moderne house with asymmetrical massing, curved corners, particularly fine
steel windows with curved plate glass, etched-glass porthole windows, and a curved
projecting single-storey bay. The roof is hipped and tiled, but is largely hidden by a high
brick parapet.
7 Leura Grove compares well in its massing and detailing with the above examples. It
represents the purist end of the style, with a wholly flat roof. The windows lack the quality
of the curved steel-framed windows seen at 89 Studley Park Road. The bagging of the
face brick compromises its presentation, but this alteration is fairly simple to reverse (with
a careful acid wash).
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Further afield, the development of the Moderne style by Edward Guerney is seen at the
two 1930s AV Jennings estates in Ivanhoe: Beaumont and Beauview.
The Beaumont Estate of 1936-39 (Banyule, HO4) comprises houses in the Olde English
style of clinker brick, and Moderne in clinker, apricot and cream brick (one of these three
the dominant material with accents of the others). While most of the houses have pitched
roofs, a handful show more influence from International Modernism, with flat roofs hidden
by a parapet. The roofs were constructed of hollow-block reinforced concrete slabs.
Other indicators of this style include corner windows, curved balconies and glass blocks.
With their sculptural, three-dimensional form, these houses were given pride of place on
corner blocks (6, 17 and 25 Melcombe Avenue; no 17 was Edward Guerney's own
house). In comparison with the slightly later 7 Leura Grove, the Beaumont Estate houses
are far more severe and rectilinear. Only 6 Melcombe Road has small curve concrete
balconies.
At the Beauview Estate (Banyule HO91), construction began in 1939, and was halted by
the war. The house at 20 Beauview Parade shares with 7 Leura Grove a prominent
projecting curved bay with a terrace on top, while the roof is a combination of hipped and
flat sections (the face brick has also been given an unfortunate bagged finish). Other
houses have pitched roofs and are in a variety of styles.
AV Jennings also constructed houses for individual clients in the area, such as the house
at 4 Maltravers Road, Ivanhoe (City of Banyule, HO2) of 1939-40. It is a two-storey
cream-brick house with a clinker-brick base, with a flat roof, and a band of recessed
details along the top of the parapet. Also similar to 7 Leura Grove, it has a large curved
wall to one side of the facade.
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This is the first known house to be built by the AV Jennings Construction Company in the
City of Boroondara, and one of its last individual residential commissions prior to World
War Two. Founded in 1932 to provide high-quality brick houses at affordable prices, the
company began building individual houses but expanded into entire housing estates by
the mid-1930s. The company went on to have a significant presence in the area with the
Trentwood Estate in Balwyn North, and became Australia's largest private home builder
and the largest and most influential provider of house and land packages.
This was the first AV Jennings house built in the City.
Not applicable
The house at 7 Leura Grove is a representative and largely intact example of a Moderne
style two-storey residence of the late interwar period.
significance).
The house exhibits typical features of the Moderne style, including asymmetric massing,
rounded corners, strong horizontal lines strengthened by the parapet and steel railing to
the terrace, ribbon windows to the single-storey, semi-circular wing at the front, horizontal
bands of glass blocks, and a flat concrete roof.
Not applicable
significance).
Not applicable
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The design of the house is attributed to AV Jenning's in-house designer, Edgar Gurney.
Gurney designed in many popular styles of the interwar period, but a small number were
more avant-garde interpretations with flat roofs and complex massing, including his own
house at 17 Melcombe Road, Ivanhoe, as well as 7 Leura Grove.
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The cream-brick Moderne house at 7 Leura Grove, Hawthorn East, is significant to the
extent of its 1940 fabric. The house was constructed by developer AV Jennings for owner
Frank Norton, a professional photographer. The design is attributed to Jenning's in-house
designer, Edgar Gurney.
The front fence and the attached garage contribute to the significance of the place.
The carport is not of significance.
The house at 7 Leura Grove is of local historical and representative significance to the
City of Boroondara.
Historically, the house is significant as the first known house to be built by the AV
Jennings Construction Company in the City of Boroondara, and one of its last individual
residential commissions prior to World War Two. Founded in 1932 to provide high-quality
brick houses at affordable prices, the company began building individual houses but
expanded into entire housing estates by the mid-1930s. The company went on to have a
significant presence in the area with the Trentwood Estate in Balwyn North, and became
Australia's largest private home builder and the largest and most influential provider of
house and land packages. (Criterion A)
The house at 7 Leura Grove is a representative and largely intact example of a Moderne
style two-storey residence of the late interwar period. It exhibits the aesthetic
characteristics of this style, including asymmetric massing, rounded corners, strong
horizontal lines strengthened by the parapet and steel railing to the terrace, ribbon
windows to the single-storey, semi-circular wing at the front, horizontal bands of glass
blocks, and a flat concrete roof. While its presentation has been compromised by
bagging of the cream face bricks, its overall composition is still clearly legible. It is also
one of the small number of avant-garde Moderne houses built by AV Jennings in the
interwar period, and appears to be part of the oeuvre of Edgar Gurney, whose own house
in Ivanhoe was designed in this style. (Criteria D, H)
Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
No
No
No
No
No
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notice and review?
No
No
No
Identified By
Built Heritage (2012), 'City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History'.
References
Garden, Don (1992), Builders To The Nation, The A.V. Jennings Story, Melbourne.
National
Trust
citation
B7247,
'Beauville
Estate',
http://www.nationaltrust.org.au/vic/Home, January 2013.
viewed
online
at
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5 Eamon Court, Kew
Address: 5 Eamon Court, Kew
Name: House
Survey Date: 2012
Architect: Holgar and Holgar
Builder:
Photo
Historical Context
The house is located in Raheen Estate, which was named after the Victorian mansion
'Raheen' (1870; 1884), currently at 96 Studley Park Road, Kew and built for brewer
Edward Latham (Built Heritage 2010:13).
The Catholic Church subdivided and created Raheen Drive, Eamon Court and 36
residential lots, matching the current boundaries, with sales commencing in 1962 (LV:
V4269/F780). 'Raheen' was retained on a two acre allotment (Built Heritage 2010:13).
Built Heritage (2012:133) notes that the completion of subdivision in Studley Park
culminated in the creation of 'Raheen Estate' in 1960, consisting of Raheen Drive and
Eamon Court, Kew. It was the last large-scale estate to be created in Studley Park.
A newspaper reported that the 'subdivision [had] probably created more public interest
than any since the war' (Built Heritage 2010:13). The estate was praised for its wide
roadways, the underground electricity supply and each allotment's view of the river valley
(Built Heritage 2010:13). The estate also illustrated a lull in the local residential book, with
the construction of new houses across Melbourne badly affected by the Credit Squeeze
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of 1961-62, when only a few dwellings would be built on the estate during those years.
The estate filled-out by the late 1970s (Built Heritage 2012:133).
A very high percentage of houses within the estate were architect-designed in the 1960s
and 70s (Built Heritage 2010:13). Built Heritage (2010:14) further notes that the
architects and firms whose work is represented on the Raheen Estate include a broad
cross-section of Melbourne's post-war architectural community: some well-known firststring practitioners (eg. Charles Duncan, Neil Clerehan, Chancellor & Patrick), some
lesser-known but very talented designers (eg. Holgar & Holgar, Frank Steen, Murphy &
Alekna) and others who are better known for their pre-war work, (eg. Edward F Billson,
Plaisted & Warner).
As a result of the political instability in Europe in the early twentieth century, the interwar
and postwar era saw mass migration to Australia. In 1947 this migration was facilitated
when the Commonwealth Government revised its Anglocentric immigration policy,
following an agreement with the International Refugee Organisation. Within the current
City of Boroondara, Studley Park, Kew East and Balwyn North were suburbs developed
during the post-war era by European migrants who had successfully established
themselves in Melbourne and were then able to afford to build their own homes (Built
Heritage 2012:36).
The influx of European migrants continued in the 1950s and 1960s and included
architects who often designed houses for themselves and their compatriots. Migrant
architects who designed houses within the City of Boroondara include John and Helen
Holgar, Ernest Fooks, Ernest Milston, Leonas Baranasukas, Anatol Kagan, Kurt Elsner,
Laszlo Gutman, Grigore Hirsch and Klaus-Juergen Veltjens (Built Heritage 2012:36).
History
The land at 5 Eamon Court, Kew, was sold to Leon and Hanna Teperman in August 1964
(LV: V8551/F575). The existing house was designed in 1967 by Polish-born architects
Holgar & Holgar, for owner Leisir (Leon) Teperman, also a European migrant (Built
Heritage 2010:13). Hannah Teperman was the sole owner from 1989, before selling to
the Bartnickis in August 1991 (LV: V8551/575).
Holgar & Holgar, architects
The practice of Holgar and Holgar Architects was formed by Wladyslaw Aleksander
Januiz (John) Ptaszynski Holgar and his wife Helena Ptaszynska Holgar, who migrated
to Melbourne in 1952. At first the pair worked in a number of architectural firms, before
John began building up a private practice and Helen worked with Professor Brian Lewis,
the then Dean of the University of Melbourne's faculty of architecture. Helen worked with
Grounds, Romberg & Boyd before joining her husband's practice in 1958 (Anderson
2012:336).
Holgar & Holgar specialised in the residential housing sector from the 1960s to the
1980s, in many suburbs throughout Melbourne. The practice particularly designed large
houses in Toorak, Brighton, Caulfield and Templestowe; 34 houses were built in Toorak
alone. Helen Ptaszynska Holgar still lives in Eaglemont and recently published an
autobiography under the title, 'One lady: many lives' (Helen Ptaszynska Holgar pers.
comm. Oct 2010).
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5 Eamon Court Kew is situated off Raheen Drive on a steeply sloping court. It is situated
towards the front of the allotment with a large garden behind the house. The house has a
low pitched butterfly roof with internal gutter. The front elevation comprises a windowless
panel of rendered masonry with chevron patterns incised. The spacious entry has a
timber door set within a broader framework of glass panels with a terrace raised several
steps above the surrounding ground level. Upstairs is a return balcony with wrought iron
railing. The overall design is of a European expressionist style.
The front garden is planted with a number of plants of large foliage leaves either side of a
straight path to the front door.
The form of the house is a two storey cube and it utilizes the controlled composition of
wall plane contrasted with large areas of glass. Viewed from the street the house at 5
Eamon Court has a high integrity and is in good condition.
The Raheen Estate comprises a number of houses designed in the period 1960 -1980.
The houses vary substantially in their typologies and cannot be compared stylistically.
Research undertaken by Simon Reeves for the Thematic Environmental History on
individual properties in the Yarra Boulevard precinct and just outside its boundaries
(including the Raheen Estate), has identified more than 80 individual places for which the
architects have been confirmed, representing the work of over 40 different individuals or
firms. Such a high concentration of architects’ work is rare.
For first rank (or highly prominent architectural practices) assessment leans towards
innovative and seminal works rather than more mainstream, but for less well known
architects, such as Holgar and Holgar, intact representative examples of their work are
valued. Their output was highly varied and tended to the expressionist approach,
responding to site and conditions as well as individual client requirements.
There is no direct stylistic comparison between 5 Eamon Court and other modern houses
in the Kew area. However the house belongs to a period of development characterised
by strong architectural input into housing and there are many good examples of post war
architecture of diverse genres.
5 Eamon Court is a distinguished example of this period as an intact and unusual house
that demonstrates a distinctive expressionist design approach adopted by European
trained architects designing for European clients.
x
x
Other buildings in the Kew area of a similar period of construction and design
(conservative interwar domestic style) and with post war European connections,
but exhibits less architectural innovation than 5 Eamon Court include:22 Milfay
Avenue, Kew – former residence of German migrant artists Julius and Tina
Wentcher (Wentscher) and the Shipman House
9 Cascade Drive, Kew East (1947) – house designed by Anatol Kagan for an
Austrian émigré.
.
Other houses within the Raheen Estate built at the same period, including 7 Eamon
Court and 16 Raheen Drive, both by Murphy & Alekna (1966), are more conservative in
styling, and in the case of 7 Eamon Court, less intact.
Other houses designed in a similar period by European architects and deemed significant
include:
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36 Stawell Street Kew - by Anatol Kagan in1952 (HO124). This house is one of the
most innovative examples of Kagan’s work and is one of the a finest examples of
European functionalism in Boroondara.
29 Holroyd Avenue in Kew designed by Anatol Kagan in 1958 has been noted as
significant in the Yarra Boulevard Precinct, as has 31 Holroyd Street by Kurt Elsner in
1961. 5 Eamon Court is deemed to be of equivalent architectural design and integrity to
these places.
5 Eamon Court, located in the Raheen Estate which was originally developed by the
Catholic Church, and the last large scale estate to be created in Studley Park, is an
excellent example of residential development designed and built by and for European
emigres.
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
significance).
5 Eamon Court is an intact example of the work of architectural practice Holgar and
Holgar who specialised in the residential housing sector from the 1960s to the 1980s
throughout Melbourne. Often associated with large houses for European emigres, 5
Eamon Court is a representative and intact example of their output which is notable for
its expressionist style.
5 Eamon Court demonstrates some of then modern design principles of a low pitched
butterfly roof, light filled entry and outdoor terraces at ground and first floor level. A
distinctive and unusual feature of this house is the rendered masonry wall surfaces
decorated with incised chevron patterns. 5 Eamon Court has a high degree of external
integrity.
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Not applicable
significance).
Not applicable
Not applicable
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The house at 5 Eamon Court, Kew designed by architects Holgar and Holgar and built for
Leon Teperman in 1967 is significant.
5 Eamon Court is of local architectural and historical significance to the City of
Boroondara.
5 Eamon Court, located in the Raheen Estate which was originally developed by the
Catholic Church, and the last large scale estate to be created in Studley Park, is an
excellent example of residential development designed and built by and for European
emigres.
5 Eamon Court is an intact example of the work of architectural practice Holgar and
Holgar who specialised in the residential housing sector from the 1960s to the 1980s
throughout Melbourne. Often associated with large houses for European emigres, 5
Eamon Court is a modest design when compared other examples of their work.
5 Eamon Court demonstrates some of then modern design principles of a low pitched
butterfly roof, light filled entry and outdoor terraces at ground and first floor level. A
distinctive and unusual feature of this house is the rendered masonry wall surfaces
decorated with incised chevron patterns. 5 Eamon Court has a high degree of external
integrity when compared with other houses on the Raheen Estate.
Planning Scheme as an Individually significant place.
Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
notice and review?
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
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Identified By
Simon Reeves, City of Boroodara Thematic Environmental History
References
Anderson, Catriona (2012), 'Holgar & Holgar', in Philip Goad and Julie Willis' (eds), The
Encyclopedia of Austalian Architecture, Cambridge.
Built Heritage (2010), 'City of Boroondara, Assessment of Heritage Precincts in Kew',
prepared for Studley Park Modern.
Helen Ptaszynska Holgar pers. comm. Oct 2010, as viewed in Context Pty Ltd's history in
Hermes record No 120582.
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TIMBER SHOP
Address: 415-417 High Street, Kew
Name: Timber shop
Architect:
Builder:
Historical Context
Boroondara Cemetery
The Boroondara Cemetery, at the corner of High Street and Park Hill Road, Kew, was
established first set aside as a cemetery reserve in 1855 and has been in continual use
for over 140 years (NT). The grand entrance to the cemetery, including the large iron
gates and, iron palisade fence were erected in 1889 and the landmark clock tower were
was built in 1895 1899 (Heritage Alliance, 2007, section 3.1Rogers 1972:54). The
cemetery was long associated with a horse-drawn tram line that terminated at the
cemetery gates (Turnbull 2008:13).
The Tramways Trust announced its intention to immediately begin construction of a
horse-drawn tram line from the Victoria Street Bridge to Boroondara Cemetery in
November 1886 (Argus, 12/11/1886:4). The line opened on 28 December 1887 (Barnard
1910). The tram shed was located south-west of the shop, on High Street (then
numbered 305) just west of Disraeli Street (MMBW detail plan No.1586, dated 1904).
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The tram was the main mode of transport to the cemetery and people began to travel
great distances to view the impressive monuments (Rogers 1972:54-5). It is noted in
1910 that ‘on Sundays the traffic to the cemetery [was] extremely heavy on a fine day’
(Barnard 1910).
In 1910, Barnard (1910:60-1) states that the cemetery was frequented for its ‘beautifully
kept flower borders and the many striking memorials erected to the memory of the dead’.
He continues:
Among these may be mentioned the splendid Grecian temple and statuary erected
by Dr. J. W. Springthorpe in memory of his wife, reliably the finest work of the kind in
Australia, which has been visited by thousands of sightseers from all parts of the
States. Not quite so elaborate is the memorial in the form of an Egyptian temple
recently erected to the memory of the late David Syme, proprietor of the "Age."
There are many other notable monuments to leading citizens of Melbourne and its
suburbs. The views from the cemetery are very fine, and greatly add to its
attractions. The cemetery, originally intended for the use of the inhabitants of
Boroondara, has of recent years become so popular as a burying ground for
residents of other districts, that it is rapidly filling up, and ere long will be closed
except to those possessing the right of burial. At the Cemetery gates is the terminus
of the horse tram from Victoria Bridge, distant nearly a mile and three-quarters.
Local businesses often opened at tram terminuses and the same occurred at Kew. These
shops complemented the larger shopping strips whose locations were also influenced by
transport networks, such as the one further south on High Street at the Cotham Road
junction. This location also benefited from the Boroondara cemetery visitors. Frederick
Bosse purchased property and built a shop opposite the Boroondara Cemetery in 1887,
which coincided with the arrival of the tram terminus. Bosse tenanted his shop which was
a confectioners, and for a short period between 1907 and 1912, also a tearoom (Rogers
1972:55).
History
The shop at 415-17 High Street is located opposite the main entrance to the Boroondara
Cemetery. This land was originally part of The Hyde Park Company’s subdivision, which
began in 1882. In January 1885, Frederick Bosse, miner of Beechworth, bought the lot
that consisted of the current 415-419 High Street (excluding the far western strip of 415,
which was added later) from the Company (LV:V1393/F443).
Frederick Bosse held shares in the Charleston Amalgamated Goldmining Company,
Matlock in 1866 (Argus, 27 Apr 1866:3). He is also known to have owned property in
Heathcote in the 1860s (LV: OLN/Application No.8051/884).
The first building to be erected by Bosse on his High Street property was the shop, in
1887, the same year the horse-drawn tram began. In 1888, the Sands & McDougall lists
an occupant, William Rennison, in this block for the first time. The following year, the
entry is for Mrs Anne Rennison (presumably William's wife), confectioner, occupying a
building between Disraeli Street and the residence of Frederick Bosse. This indicates that
Bosse had erected the house next door, at No 419, in 1888. It is noted in a photo from
the Bosse family album as the 'original residence of Frederick and Jane Bosse'.
The shop was listed as a confectionary shop from 1889 (early confectioners including
Anne Rennison and ET Kewley). Between 1907 and 1912, the shop was listed in the
directory as a tearoom and confectionary, reflecting dual tenancies. The house at No.419
was occupied by Frederick senior and his wife until 1931, followed solely by Jane, until
1934 (Judith Vimpani, pers. comm., 11 Sep 2013). Frederick Bosse died on 14
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November 1931, and was listed as a former gardener in his will and probate (PROV
VPRS 28/P3, Unit 2271).
The MMBW plan (Detail Plan No.1586) dating to 1904 shows the shop (then numbered
309) and house (then numbered 311) on two separate lots. The south-west side
elevation of the shop is shown angled, tapering in to the north, following the property
boundary. A photo dating to 1903 shows a tram passing between the cemetery gates and
the shop, with visitors congregating around the cemetery entrance (Kew HS). The photo
shows that the south side elevation was originally clad in timber. The shop also had a
timber verandah extending over the footpath, enclosed at the end with round-edged
palings. This verandah is not shown on the 1904 detail plan (although the Boroondara
building permit files indicate that the verandah was not demolished until 1961).
Figure 1. Detail of the MMBW plan, showing the shop (No 309) and adjacent Bossefamily home (No 311) as they were in 1903. Note the jog in the facade of the shop,
which was filled in shortly afterward, possibly to provide room for the tea room. Note
also the angled south-west elevation, which was extended and straightened in 1978.
(MMBW Detail Plan No 1586, 1904)
The 1904 MMBW plan also shows that the shop does not extend completely to the east
boundary as it does today, indicating a later addition to the east end of the façade; at this
date the façade of the shop did not include the current northern bay of windows. It is
likely that the entrance to the shopkeeper's dwelling in the rear half of the building
(indicated on the MMBW plan by the bath) was accessed via this setback (MMBW Detail
Plan No.1586). The shop may have been extended to the north-east, infilling this
setback, around 1906 to allow for the creation of two tenancies (confectioners and the
tea room which opened at that time). This would correspond with the physical evidence:
The three timber shop windows to the façade are identical and have angular glazing bar
profiles common during the Edwardian period. It is also possible that the extension of the
façade and replacement of existing shop windows took place c1917 when Frederick
Bosse Junior constructed a brick house next door (at No 409) to accommodate the
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shopkeeper, making the recessed entry to the dwelling redundant, but details such as a
the diagonal boards to the shop doors favour the earlier date.
Figure 2. Detail of a photo of High Street, 1903. The shop at No 417 is at far left. Note its
timber posted verandah and weatherboard-clad side wall with bargeboards to the gable
ends. To the right are horse-drawn trams and the entrance to Boroondara Cemetery.
(Source: Kew Historical Society)
Frederick Bosse (not known if this was senior or junior) also owned the lot on the corner
of High and Disraeli streets (No.409) in the early twentieth century. Frederick Junior built
the existing house c1917. The house was initially occupied by the confectioners who
were tenanting the shop, first Charles Brookshaw. Later, from c1923 to the mid-1970s,
the house was occupied by the Frederick Bosse Junior and his family (Lovell Chen 2011;
Rogers 1971:55).
Following Frederick Bosse senior’s death in 1931, No 415-419 was subdivided. In
November 1935, the shop was transferred to his sons, Frederick William Bosse (Junior),
who lived at 409 High Street. He was a grave decorator and monumental mason,
drawing his trade from the adjacent cemetery. The house at No. 419 was transferred to
his daughter Lucy S White, who remained the owner until her death in 1966
(LV:V1653/F517; LV:V6008/F546; Rogers 1971:55; Argus, 12 May 1934:13). Both
Frederick and Jane Bosse were buried in Boroondara Cemetery.
In May 1944, the shop was sold to Rose EM Wensley, married woman, who sold it three
years later to Frank G Storey, of Burnley, a ‘radio and cycle dealer’ in March 1947. In
1951, under the new ownership of Frederick and Arthur Humby, a strip of land to the
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west was added, expanding the lot to its current extent (LV:V6008/F547; V7966/F056). It
appears that shortly afterward the south-west end of the shop was extended slightly,
turning the acute angle of the plan (as seen on the MMBW) into a right angle and the
brick end wall was added to this and the other end of the building. This brick end wall
was constructed of cream brick - popular in the 1950s. It was built in the same vergeless
form with corbelled eaves as the brick walls at the other end. The north-east wall,
however, was constructed of red brick with terracotta vents, indicating an earlier,
Edwardian or interwar date. Its greater age is also indicated by the heavier build-up of
paint on the bricks.
In 1957, the Humbys had a garage (or car shelter) built on the north boundary, accessed
via the rear lane. In 1961, the shop's timber-posted verandah was demolished (BP file,
Approvals Nos 775 & 202).
The shop was sold to William Nankervis, antiques dealer, and his wife Pamela, in
December 1969, who operated their business from it (Judith Vimpani, pers. comm., 11
Sep 2013). In 1973 William built a timber fence, extended the garage at the rear and
hung an 'antiques' sign on the shop (BP file, Approvals Nos 4314 & 4328).
A building permit was granted to the Nakervises' builders Aylward & Stone in January
1978, for 'Additions & alterations' (BP file, Approval No 7158). The plans have not
survived, but these works may correspond to the enlargement of the rear residential
section to the south-west.
Figure 3. Aerial view of the shop (Nos 415-417) and the house (No 419), 2013.
Comparing the plan of the shop to the 1904 MMBW plan, the straightening out of the
south-west end of the shop is visible, as is the extension of the wing behind it
(indicated by the new roofing). (Source: Google Maps)
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The building at 415-417 High Street currently comprises two shops with an attached rear
(former) residential wing. The shop section is built to the front boundary, and has a
transverse gable roof, clad in light grey Colorbond. The front wall is clad with ashlarboards, while the gable ends are later brick parapet walls with corbelling to the eaves.
The south-west wall is of cream brick and the north-east wall is of red brick, though both
have been overpainted.
The shop elevation is asymmetric, with a blank wall to the south-west end, while the
remainder of the facade is taken up by openings. There are three large, fixed timber shop
windows, each with eight lights. They all have simple, angled glazing bars, and appear to
have been installed at the same time.
Between them are two shop entrances, a single door to the south-east side (where the
original entrance would have been) and double-doors to the north-east side. This second
entrance fits within the original extent of the facade of the shop, but may have been
added when the shop was extended. The window beside it (north-east side) corresponds
with the early extension of the shopfront, whose original extent is indicated by a break in
the fascia above the cornice. The cornice comprises paired timber brackets flanked by
square and long rectangular fielded panels. The two shop doors differ in size - the southwest one is both shorter and narrower - but have similar details with diagonal boarding to
their bottom panels typical of the Edwardian era, set below glazing.
It appears that the shop was given a facelift at the same time it was extended (c1907),
with new windows and doors installed.
The residence wing sits beneath two parallel hip roofs with a skillion at the rear. The
original extent is timber, and weatherboards are just visible at the north-east end, as is a
very simple brick chimney with round chimney pots. As noted in the history, the front hip
roof has been extended to the south-west, and its brick wall is just visible from the
footpath.
There is cracking to the front corner of the north-east brick end wall of the shop where
the steel plate supporting the corbelling has rusted and expanded. A number of the
turned timber drops to the cornice brackets are missing, particularly at the north-east end
of the facade. When viewed in August 2013, the building also required painting and minor
patching to the timberwork.
Surviving timber shops are rare in the City of Boroondara. They were typically the first
kind of commercial building in a newly settled area, being successively replaced with
brick buildings once the area was more established. The recent assessment of the Kew
Junction Commercial Precinct did not identify any timber shop buildings in the area
around the five-ways junction (Lovell Chen, 2011, p 33).
The only early timber shops that have been identified in Boroondara are the following:
-
Shops, 351-361 Canterbury Road, Canterbury (1888) – a rare surviving row of
early timber shops (Built Heritage, Thematic Environmental History, 2012, p 99).
The row is visible on a 1909 MMBW plan (Detail Plan No. 2222). The timber
construction is only clearly visible in the pair of shops Nos 351-353, which each
have a stepped parapet clad in horizontal boards, concealing the gable-fronted
roof. Of the two, No. 351 is the most intact. It retains a timber shopfront with
recessed entry, which appears to date from the late 19th century on the west side
of the façade. On the east side is a double-hung sash window set into a wall clad
in ashlar boards. This window appears to have been for the shopkeeper’s
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residence.
The timber-framed shopfront (and wall) of No. 353 and of other shops (Nos. 355,
357 and 359) appear to have been replaced c1910-20s. The shopfronts now
cover the entire elevations (below the parapet), so all weatherboard or ashlar
cladding has been removed. No. 359 retains its stepped parapet, while the others
appear to have been altered in the interwar period (No. 361) or in recent years
(Nos. 355-357).
Shops and residence, 11-13 Peel Street, Kew - this site comprises a timber
Victorian house of c1882, a small timber shop in front of it of c1911, and a small
interwar brick shop beside it. All three elements have been substantially altered,
and for this reason it was not recommended for the Heritage Overlay by Lovell
Chen in their Review of B-Graded Buildings (2007). The c1911 timber shop
retains original ashlar-board cladding, but the front door has been replaced and
the shop window replaced with a much smaller opening.
In comparison, the shop at 351 Canterbury Road, Canterbury, while thought to be of the
same age, appears to be more intact to its original appearance than 415-417 High Street,
retaining a typical (but now rare) Victorian timber shopfront. This shop appears to be the
most intact Victorian timber shop in Boroondara.
While first constructed in 1887, the physical fabric of the shop at 415-417 High Street is
perhaps best compared to timber shops of the Edwardian era, for example the c1911
shop at 11-13 Peel Street. It is by far more intact than this shop. Moreover, it appears to
be the earliest surviving timber shop (Victorian or Edwardian) in Kew.
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Frederick Bosse built a shop located directly across from the entrance to the Boroondara
Cemetery, which was a leisure destination for Melbournians in the 19th century.
Construction of the shop would have begun shortly after the Tramway Trust’s
announcement of the new tram line, linking the site with Richmond and Melbourne. The
location at the tram terminus and across from the cemetery gates proved a profitable
one, and Bosse expanded the building to house two tenancies around 1907. The shop
illustrates the influence of both Boroondara Cemetery and the tram line and terminus in
stimulating commercial development around it to cater to both mourners and day trippers.
Its early uses as a confectioners and tea rooms indicate that the ‘tourist’ trade was in fact
the most important of the two.
The shop at 415-417 High Street is the oldest identified timber shop in the suburb of
Kew, and one of the two oldest identified in the City of Boroondara. Timber shops were
the first to be built in new suburbs and shopping areas in the 19th century, but were
gradually replaced by brick buildings, leaving few of this type in the metropolitan area.
NA
The shop exhibits typical traits of suburban 19th-century shops including the integration of
rear living quarters with the shop(s) at the front. Its simple form and lack of front setback
are also typical of its type, as are the modest-sized shop windows which allow for areas
of solid wall to the façade. Detailing of the shop doors such as the diagonal boarding and
simple angle window glazing bars are typical of the 1900s.
significance).
NA
NA
significance).
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NA
NA
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The timber shop at 415-417 High Street, Kew. It is a timber building with a transverse
gable roof, built to the front boundary. The front wall is clad with ashlar-boards, while the
gable ends are later brick parapet walls with corbelling to the eaves. An attached
residence is located to the rear.
The shop was built in 1887 for Frederick Bosse, who had previously been a miner on
Victoria’s gold fields, but worked as a gardener once he had moved to Kew. Bosse
rented the shop to confectioners, and from 1907 to 1912 it also housed a tea room. It is
likely that the north-east end of the shop was enlarged by one bay c1907 to
accommodate two commercial tenancies. It appears that the timber shop windows and
shop doors were replaced at this time.
The 1970s extension to the rear residence is not significant.
The shop is of local historical and architectural significance to the City of Boroondara.
Historically, the shop is a tangible illustration of the tourist trade that grew up around
Boroondara in the 19th century. In the 19th and early 20th century, the cemetery attracted
large numbers of leisure day trippers from around Melbourne and beyond, who came to
view its impressive monuments. The tram, opened in 1887 - the same year as the shop
was built, was the main mode of transport to the cemetery from Richmond and
Melbourne until the mid-20th century, and made this leisure traffic possible. The position
of the cemetery gates and the tram terminus at the intersection of High Street and Park
Hill Road made this an ideal location to cater to this tourist traffic, with a confectioner’s
and later a tea room. (Criterion A)
Architecturally, the shop exhibits typical traits of suburban 19th-century shops including
the integration of rear living quarters with the shop(s) at the front. Its simple form and lack
of front setback are also typical of its type, as are the modest-sized shop windows which
allow for areas of solid wall to the façade. Timber shops were the first to be built in new
suburbs and shopping areas in the 19th century, but were gradually replaced by brick
buildings, leaving few of this type in the metropolitan area. It is the earliest known timber
shop in Kew. (Criteria D & B)
Tree Controls
No
No
No
No
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Incorporated Plan
notice and review?
No
No
No
No
Identified By
Pru Sanderson, Kew Conservation Study, 1987.
References
Barnard, FGA 1910, ‘The Jubilee History of Kew, Victoria, its original & progress 18031910’, Kew.
Boroondara Building Permit (BP) for No.417 High Street, Kew.
Heritage Alliance, ‘Boroondara Cemetery Conservation Management Plan’, July 2007.
Judith Vimpani, Secretary of the Kew Historical Society, personal communication of her
research, 11 September 2013.
Kew Historical Society (Kew HS), includes photos and information provided by the Bosse
family, viewed 2013.
Land Victoria (LV), Old Law Notes (OLN), Application No.8051/844, as cited in the
Greater City of Bendigo’s place citation for ‘House, 150 High Street, Heathcote’, Hermes
No.32791.
Lovell Chen 2011, ‘Boroondara Heritage Investigations: 409 High Street, Kew’.
National Trust citation for ‘Boroondara Cemetery’, accessed via Hermes No.64888.
Rogers, Dorothy 1972, A History of Kew, Kew.
MMBW detail plans, accessed online at State Library of Victoria.
The Argus.
Turnbull, Glen (ed) (2008), Triangle of tranquility: 150 years of the Boroondara (Kew)
Cemetery 1859-2009, Riddells Creek [Vic].
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AUSTIN BRAMWELL SMITH HOUSE
Address: 8 Orford Avenue, Kew
Name: Austin Bramwell Smith House
Survey Date: 7 Dec. 2012
Architect:
Smith
Builder:
Austin
Bramwell
Historical Context
Orford Avenue is located in the eastern part of Kew, not far from Deepdene and Canterbury. The
area was settled in the 19th century, with a large number of substantial villas and mansions
constructed along Sackville Street. The surviving ones are now protected as part of the Sackville
Street Precinct (HO162), though the Victorian mansion 'Northumbria' was demolished to create
Orford Avenue during the late interwar period (MMBW Detail Plan No. 1564, 1904). Both the
Garden Suburb inspired cul-de-sac form of the street and the Old English and American Colonial
Revival houses along it were fashionable for their time. A similar cul-de-sac subdivision was
created just to the east, Bramley Court, around the same time, on the site of another Victorian
villa ('Eschol').
Architects making homes for themselves 1
An interesting sub-theme expressed in middle-class housing across the study area is the aboveaverage proportion of dwellings that were designed by noted Melbourne architects for
themselves. This trend began on a modest scale in the second half of the nineteenth century. ...
1
This section is cited from Built Heritage, 'City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History', 2012, pp. 147149.
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Although noted city architect Henry Kemp designed a house for himself in Kew in 1913, it was
not until the inter-war era that architects really began to establish a presence in the study area in
that way. Eric Nicholls, a long-time associate of Walter Burley Griffin, grew up in Kew and, after
his marriage in 1928, designed a much-published (but sadly demolished) Prairie School-style
house for himself in Doncaster Road, Balwyn. ...The trend of architects designing their own
houses intensified in the later 1930s, when architects like Norman Seabrook, Edgar Gurney and
Roy Prentice built houses in Hawthorn, and Bramwell Smith built his in Kew. It peaked after the
Second World War, when young architects – many recently demobbed from military service and
keen to rejoin civilian life – were drawn to the developing suburbs east of the Yarra River. A
young Robin Boyd built his house in Riversdale Road, Camberwell in 1946, while J Brett Finney
built his in Kew East in 1949 – his first independent architectural commission after leaving the
AIF.
History
The house at 8 Orford Avenue was built in 1938, designed by owner and architect Austin
Bramwell Smith (Built Heritage 2012:150; AHB). Smith’s father, who owned the adjacent lot,
gave the land at 8 Orford Avenue to him as a wedding present. The land was officially transferred
to A.B. Smith’s in August 1937, and remained so until 1973 (LV:V6137/F228).
The house subsequently built was featured in Australian Home Beautiful in May 1938. The
article, ‘An attic house in brick’, notes that the recently completed house was an 'excellent
example of American Colonial architecture', constructed for the architect and his family. The
article describes the house:
The general exterior finish is ivory painted brick walls to roof gutter level, then cream painted
12 inches wide red pine weatherboards in gables and dormer windows, all contrasting with a
chocolate blended Marseilles tile roof and pale green curved roofs over the three dormer
windows, two of which have gaily flowered window boxes.
Figure 1. Photo of 8 Orford Crescent, as built. (Source: Australian Home Beautiful, 01/05/1939, page 12)
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The house was designed to complement the unusual site, which ‘commands a view’. The house
was positioned to face north, with its east side elevation facing the street, to allow for sunlight
and air. The article includes photos of the interior, with its timber joinery and floors, as well as a
floor plan of the ground and attic levels. Personalised touches include a built-in 'drawing table' in
Bramwell Smith's study, wrought-iron grilles and fly wire on the front door sidelights so they could
be safely left open at night, and labour-saving touches such as a laundry chute from the atticstorey bathroom to the laundry below.
It is believed that the Bramwell Smiths resided here until the early 1970s.
In 1976, additions were made to the house, for the next owners John and Janet Murphy, which
included the conversion of the original garage, attached to the west end of the house, into a
rumpus room. In 1977 new wrought iron gates were installed and a pool built in 1980. In 1982 a
small skillion-roofed addition was made to the south side of the house, to serve as a store room
for new owner M Loftus (BP).
In 1989, owners G and H Harris carried out further additions, designed by architects Derek
Green and Associates Pty Ltd of Glen Iris Road, Camberwell. The addition was a substantial
two-storey wing added to the west elevation, with materials and details, such as dormers, similar
to the originals. Its facade was set back from the original extent of the building, so it is not visible
from the public domain and reads as a later phase. A fourth dormer window was added to the
west side of the original roof at this time (BP).
In 1993 a ‘study bay window’ was added to the south elevation of the original house. In 1995 a
garage was built, designed by Ball Coghlan Architects. It sits at the south end of Orford Avenue,
to the east of the house, and is clearly visible. It also adopts the same gabled roof form and
dormers as the original house (BP).
Austin Bramwell Smith, architect
Smith (1898-1975) was born in Geraldtown, Western Australia, before moving to Hawthorn,
Victoria in 1909. He is listed as an alumnus of the University of Melbourne, Faculty of
Architecture, Building and Planning in 1922. Smith was a student of architect Rodney Alsop
(1881-1932) and practiced with Alsop in 1931-2 (ADB).
Arthur Bramwell Smith's former house is located at the end of the Orford Avenue cul-de-sac, on
the west side. The east side of the house faces the cul-de-sac, while the main elevation - the
north side - is visible obliquely from the public domain. A low brick wall delineates the boundary
to Orford Avenue, corresponding to the curved 'low brick wall' shown on the 1939 plan (though a
neo-Victorian palisade fence has been added on top of it, but this is reversible). The house is
separated from the street by a garden, while a paved driveway along the north side of the house
has replaced the narrow double-track drive and stepping stone path seen in the 1939 plan. As
noted in the history, the garage at the south end of the cul-de-sac is a recent addition, in keeping
with the style of the house.
The house itself has a transverse gable roof, clad in variegated brown Marseille tiles. The walls
are of painted brick, with wide timber weatherboards to the gable end facing the street. This
elevation has a simple, external chimney at its centre, with tiny casement windows in the gable
picturesquely placed on either side. At the ground-floor level, windows are four-over-four doublehung sashes with panelled shutters. The shutters each have a cut-out design of a tree in a pot in
the upper panel. While American Colonial Revival houses of all types generally had louvered
shutters appropriate for the humid summers of the U.S. Eastern Seaboard - to exclude light but
admit a cooling breeze - the solid shutters to this house appear to be an appropriate adaptation
to Melbourne's hot, dry summers. The Australian Home Beautiful article notes that the
downstairs rooms remained a pleasant 77 degrees Fahrenheit when the shutters were closed,
despite 114 degree temperatures outside.
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Most of the facade (north elevation) is in a symmetrical arrangement around the front entrance
portico. On either side of the portico is a pair of four-over-four sash windows with suitably wide
panelled shutters, these ones with a cut-out floral design. Above these three openings are three
small dormer windows with segmentally arched heads. A fourth bay at the west end of the facade
breaks the symmetry, and did not originally have a dormer above it. It is filled with a bank of
French windows.
The portico is the focal point of the house, and clearly referencing the American Colonial Revival
style. It has a broken pediment front and rests on three simple classical piers at each corner. Like
the rest of the house, its gable roof is clad in brown tiles, with wide timber weatherboards to the
gable front. The four-panel front door has sidelights; the cast-iron grilles over them survive.
While the house has undergone a series of alterations and additions, these are not visible from
the public domain apart from the small skillion of the storeroom at the east end of the south
elevation. The new dormer added at the west end of the roof would be partially visible should the
present tree cover be removed. Apart from that, the house is intact to its original design when
viewed from the public domain.
In the early 20th century Australian architecture was influenced by the parallel Georgian Revival
movements in England and America. William Hardy Wilson is considered the main inspirer of the
Georgian Revival movement in Australia, both by his designs and his book of drawings titled Old
Colonial Architecture in New South Wales and Tasmania of 1924. This book was based on
Wilson's researches from 1912 to 1920. He also visited America in 1923, at the height of the
'academic' Colonial Revival (as Georgian Revival was known) in that country, travelling down the
East Coast as a student, from Massachusetts to the Carolinas, sketching 18th-century
architecture.
Australian Georgian Revival became synonymous with upper-middle-class concepts of good
taste, with its order and restraint, and was favoured by academically trained architects. For this
reason interwar Georgian Revival houses are seen mostly in well-to-do suburbs of Melbourne.
High-style Australian Georgian Revival houses are few in Boroondara. A fine example is the
elegant and accomplished 'Wynivy', 15-17 Deepdene Road, Balwyn (1924, Barlow & Hawkins).
More typical is a 'Georgian' variant of the typical 1930s bungalow. To the standard house form
with rendered walls and a tiled high hip roof, a classical porch - often semicircular - is appended
to the front. Examples are seen in the Reid Estate precinct (HO192). While these houses are
attractive, their Georgian features are not an integral part of the design and their approach is far
from academic.
A distinct and important sub-section of the interwar Georgian Revival in Australia is the American
Colonial Revival, which was very popular in well-heeled suburbs like Camberwell and Toorak, as
well as exclusive holiday spots like the Ranelagh Estate in Mount Eliza. These houses are
inspired by the Federal period in America (the first decades of the 19th century). The most
common type is two-storey, with a symmetrical facade and multi-pane sashes windows with
louvered shutters. The central front entry has a porch in the form of a classical portico, with an
entablature or triangular pediment, resting on slender columns. The roof is often a transverse
gable, though hip roofs are also seen. In the United States the Colonial Revival houses of the
1920s were most frequently clad in weatherboard, while brick was the most common material for
suburban examples in Australia with weatherboard reserved for regional and holiday houses,
such as Percy Meldrum’s ‘Summerlease’ in Mt Eliza of 1933.
Another American Colonial Revival house type that was very popular during the 1920s through
the 1940s in the United States was the ‘Cape Cod cottage’. These were attic-storey houses,
inspired by the vernacular cottages of eastern Massachusetts but with the addition of Georgian
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or Adamesque doorways and porticos (McAlester, 1984: 322). These houses were modestly
scaled, more informal in their level of classical ornamentation and more likely to stray from a
strictly symmetrical façade so as to suggest organic growth over the centuries. They usually had
multi-pane double-hung windows with shutters (usually louvered), and were constructed most
commonly of timber, but also of brick.
There are a handful of American Colonial Revival houses on the Boroondara Heritage Overlay.
The most common expression of this domestic style is the formal, two-storey house which
usually has a highly symmetrical facade, a classical portico to the central front door, a simple
classical cornice below the eaves, and a simple hipped or transverse gable roof (the grander
houses may have a classical pediment at the centre of the roof). Almost all are constructed of
brick. They characteristically have multi-pane double-hung windows with shutters (usually
louvered).
Examples of this type include:
-
-
HO392 - 91 Maud Street, Balwyn North, of 1940. A simplified version of red brick, with a
symmetrical facade, shutters to the nine-over-nine sash windows, and a hip roof. The window
above the front door has a curved metal balcony balustrade. There is no entrance portico.
HO383 - 119 Doncaster Road, Balwyn North of 1948. A rather ornate and late cream-brick
example of this style, and one that introduces asymmetry to the facade. Classical ornament
includes raised window keystones, an octagonal window, wide eaves with a modillioned
cornice, and an entrance aedicule with a scrolled broken pediment. The six-over-six sash
windows do not have shutters, but some first floor windows have delicate mild-steel
balustrades.
HO192 (contributory) - 4 Bowley Avenue, Balwyn of the 1930s. A simple version of the twostorey type with red-brick walls, symmetrical facade, shutters to first-floor windows, hip roof,
highly simplified front entrance. There are a number of contributory houses of this type in the
Reid Estate precinct, which was developed in the 1930s.
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-
HO159 - 19A Trafalgar Road, Camberwell (NB: This house is non-contributory to the
precinct, as only the Victorian and Edwardian houses are contributory). A real estate ad
claims that it was designed and built by Fritsch Holzer (a major local brickmaker). This twostorey brick house has a transverse gable roof as well as a rooflet above the ground-floor
facade, lending it informality. The nine-over-nine sash windows have louvered shutters. The
entrance portico has Tuscan columns and a triangular pediment.
Figure 2. 19A Trafalgar Road, Camberwell (Source: www.masonpoint.com.au)
-
67 Mont Albert Road, Canterbury (in the proposed Mont Albert Road West Precinct, but not
on HO). This is one of the grandest houses of this style in Boroondara, and one of the most
authentically detailed, with its high hip roof and deep modillioned cornice. It is reminiscent of
the grand Georgian houses of the state of Virginia.
Figure 3. 67 Mont Albert Road, Canterbury. (Context Pty Ltd, 2012)
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No examples of Cape Cod cottages could be identified on the Heritage Overlay, but there are
examples scattered around the City of Boroondara, most of which appear to have been built in
the 1940s. Two examples are 2A Scott Street and 74 Robinson Street, Hawthorn, neither of
which are on the Heritage Overlay. Both appear to be builder-designs, and lack the authenticity
and fine detail of the Bramwell Smith house.
To conclude, the Bramwell Smith house is a faithful rendition of a Cape Cod cottage, making it a
very rare type in Boroondara. Even in comparison with the above examples of the more formal,
two-storey American Colonial Revival houses protected on the Heritage Overlay, the house is
distinguished by its fidelity to the original forms (though comparable in this aspect to the two
unprotected houses on Trafalgar and Mont Albert roads).
Criteria referred to in Practice Note 1: Applying the Heritage Overlay, Department of Planning
and Community Development, September 2012, modified for the local context.
CRITERION A: Importance to the course, or pattern, of the City of Boroondara's cultural or
natural history (historical significance).
The Bramwell Smith house illustrates the strong theme of architects designing their own homes
in Boroondara's suburbs.
NA
CRITERION C: Potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the City of
Boroondara's cultural or natural history (research potential).
NA
CRITERION D: Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or
natural places or environments (representativeness).
The Bramwell Smith house is an accomplished example of the American Colonial Revival
imported to Australia.
significance).
The Bramwell Smith house exhibits typical features of the American Colonial Revival style
including its shuttered multi-pane windows and broken-pediment portico resting on slender
classical piers. Its modest, attic-storey massing, subtle asymmetry of the facade, and picturesque
details such as the curve-roof dormers and tiny windows flanking the end chimney place it into
the sub category of the Cape Cod cottage mode.
CRITERION F: Importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement
at a particular period (technical significance).
NA
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CRITERION G: Strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for
social, cultural or spiritual reasons. This includes the significance of a place to Indigenous
peoples as part of their continuing and developing cultural traditions (social significance).
NA
CRITERION H: Special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of
importance in the City of Boroondara's history (associative significance).
NA
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The house at 8 Orford Avenue, designed by architect Austin Bramwell Smith (1898-1975) as his
own home and constructed in 1937-38. The house was constructed in the American Colonial
style, in the Cape Cod cottage mode. It has painted brick walls, and wide weatherboards to the
gable end, brown Marseille tiles to the gabled roof which contains an attic storey, and an
entrance portico near the centre of the main facade, which faces the side boundary.
The low, curved brick wall along Orford Avenue contributes to the significance of the place.
Alterations and additions of the 1970s or later are not significant.
The Bramwell Smith house is of local architectural and historical significance to the City of
Boroondara.
Architecturally, it is a faithful and successful rendition of a Cape Cod cottage, a variant of
American Colonial Revival which was popular in America in the 1920s-40s, but is rare in the City
of Boroondara. These houses are modestly scaled, informal in their level of classical
ornamentation (usually restricted to the entrance portico) and more likely to stray from a strictly
symmetrical façade so as to suggest organic growth over the centuries. They typically have an
attic storey, and - like all types of Colonial Revival houses - have multipane windows with
shutters. The Bramwell Smith house reflects these features, including its most prominent element
- the broken-pediment portico resting on six slender timber piers. Picturesque details include the
curve dormer windows, the tiny casement windows in the gable on either side of the chimney,
and the wrought-iron screens to the entrance sidelights. The use of solid timber shutters, instead
of the typical American louvered shutters, show adaptation to Melbourne's climate. (Criteria D &
E)
Historically, as a representative example of the above-average proportion of dwellings that were
designed by noted Melbourne architects for themselves in the City of Boroondara. While the
trend emerged on a modest scale in the late nineteenth century, it became a pronounced theme
during the interwar years, particularly in Kew. (Criterion A)
Recommended for inclusion in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Boroondara Planning
Scheme as an Individually Significant place.
Recommendations for the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay (Clause 43.01) in the Boroondara
Planning Scheme:
Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
No
No
No
No
No
No
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notice and review?
No
No
Identified By
Built Heritage, City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History, 2012.
References
Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB), George Tibbits ‘Rodney Howard Alsop (1881-1932)’,
http://adb.anu.edu.au/ accessed July 2013.
Australian Home Beautiful journal (AHB), ‘An Attic House in Brick’, May 1 1939, pp11-15.
Built Heritage, City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History, 2012.
City of Boroondara Building Permit (BP) information, including plans for additions dated 1976,
1977, 1980, 1982, 1988, 1993 & 1994.
McAlester, Virginia and Lee, A Field Guide to American Houses, 1984.
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Shops and Offices
Address: 1363 Burke Road, Kew
Name: Shops and office
Architect: John R. Tovey
Builder:
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Historical Context
Suburban shopping centre at Kew East
The development of the retail centre at Kew East was strongly influenced by the vagaries
of public transport networks. A branch rail line to Kew (1887) and the Outer Circle line
running from Ashburton to Alphington via Balwyn and Kew East (1891) were not
particularly successful and their respective closures in 1952 and 1926 curtailed
settlement in those areas until the establishment of an electric tram network in the 1910s.
Kew East started to develop key institutions and shops throughout the 1920s, however
the commercial centre developed an effort to keep up with the burgeoning car-based
retail culture. New shops erected in established retail strips in the 1950s were often
designed along modern lines, with large plate-glass windows, prominent signage and
deliberately eye catching architectural forms to attract the attention of passersby.
John R. Tovey, architect
Little is known of architect John Richard Tovey. In the late 1940s, Tovey briefly entered
into a partnership with architect Robert G Warren, until it was dissolved in 1949. Their
office was located at 309 Spring Street Melbourne (Built Heritage website; Argus 17 Aug
1949:12). An article in 1955 noted that architect John R Tovey (ARAIA, ARVIA) had his
office at 42 Toorak Road, South Yarra. Tovey was calling for tenders 'on behalf of the
committee of the Stock Exchange of Melbourne for alterations and additions to existing
building at Lit. Collins St., Melbourne' (Argus 22 April 1955:11).
History
In January 1938, Stanley Morrison, a chemist of Hawthorn, purchased the recently
subdivided lot, located on the corner of Burke and Harp roads; the extent matched the
current boundaries of 1363 Burke Road (lot 1, Crown Portion 84, Parish of Boroondara).
From this date the lot had a number of owners with various occupations. Owners
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included: Gerald Thomas, shipping clerk from 1944; Raymond Wootton, dentist, from
1949; and Leslie Woolley, dentist, from 1951 (LV: V6174/647). As Kew experienced a
boom in residential subdivision between 1910 and 1940 (Built Heritage 2012:128), it is
likely that a building occupied the site at the corner of Burke and Harp roads, during this
period.
In January 1952, 1363 Burke Road was purchased by Richard, Douglas and Francis
Buxton, estate agents of 443 Collins Street, Melbourne (LV: V6174/647). JR Buxton and
Co (later Pty Ltd) was located at 443 Collins Street from at least the 1920s (Argus 3
March 1928:24; 21 April 1934:17). John Robert Buxton founded the company in 1861,
opening an office in South Melbourne (Buxton website).
The titles indicate that Raymond Maintenance Building Company Pty Ltd are noted on
the titles as the owners from September 1953 (not noted as a mortgage) (LV:
V6174/647). The shops and offices at 1363 Burke Road, Kew East were built in 1954 and
designed by architect John R Tovey (Built Heritage 2012:102).
Newspaper articles in 1956 indicate that offices of J. R. Buxton Pty Ltd were located at
the corner of Burke and Harp roads, East Kew, at this date. In 1956, J R Buxton had
offices in East Kew, Box Hill and Melbourne (Argus 24 Aug 1956:14; 12 Dec 1956:17; 4
April 1956:13). This suggests that 1363 Burke Road served as an additional Buxton real
estate agency.
Subsequent owners of 1363 Burke Road included Serge Kunstler, a medical practitioner,
from 1962 to 1985 (LV: V6174/647). In 2013, the building serves as three separate
shops.
The commercial premises at the corner of Burke Road and Harp Road in the local
shopping centre of Kew East, occupies a prominent corner site. It comprises a long
narrow building built to the boundary lines with monopitch roofing. Although most of the
building is of cream brick with a base course of brown brick, the facing cladding around
the front door is of colourful Castlemaine slate that makes a highly decorative entry. The
windows are of simple anodised metal framing and the timber framed door and sidelight
appear to be original. The side elevation has particular attention paid to the window
design that utilises bands of highlight windows at ceiling level and a group of six square
windows form an unusual feature. This is complemented by a pair of square windows
places at eye level adjacent to the entry.
A cantilevered verandah wraps around the entry area with an angled corner and extends
along Harp Road in stepped form. The building is quite intact apart from some window
changes to the Harp Road elevation and the advertising signs on the fascia of the
verandah. The entry is given dramatic effect by the roof lines of the monopitch roof as
they follow the recessed corner.
Three modern commercial premises are noted in the City of Boroondara Thematic
Environmental History.
A former carpet showroom, now Cash Converters at 1360 Toorak Road, Burwood (1960)
is a striking modern building designed by architect John Ahern and an outstanding
example of modern commercial architecture. It also has a high degree of integrity.
A modern supermarket at 1424 Toorak Road, Camberwell (c.1955) is less innovative
than 1360 Toorak Road and also less intact than 1363 Burke Road.
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A row of modest shops at 57 Canterbury Road, Canterbury (c.1963) – that display typical
skillion-roofs and glass-walled frontages are directly comparable to 1363 Burke Road,
however the latter is a more arresting composition.
Post war commercial places are not well represented in the heritage schedule to
Boroondara and 1363 Burke Road, Kew is an excellent example of this genre.
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1363 Burke Road is an excellent example of 1950s commercial premises and is a
landmark building within the local shopping centre of Kew East. It represents the new
modern retail culture of the 1950s.
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
significance).
Designed with a monopitch roof, cantilevered, splayed verandah and a highly decorative
entry of Castlemaine slate cladding, the building is an unusually intact and fine example
of 1950s commercial architecture. Also of note are the anodised window frames
designed in a combination of large glazing and small square window boxes, and the
timber framed doors.
Not applicable
significance).
Not applicable
Not applicable
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The commercial building at 1363 Burke Road Kew East designed by architect John
Tovey in 1954 is significant.
1363 Burke Road is of local historic and architectural significance to the City of
Boroondara.
1363 Burke Road is an excellent example of 1950s commercial premises and is a
landmark building within the local shopping centre of Kew East. It represents the new
modern retail culture of the 1950s.
Designed with a monopitch roof, cantilevered, splayed verandah and a highly decorative
entry clad with Castlemaine slate cladding, the building is an unusually intact and fine
example of 1950s commercial architecture. Also of note are the anodised window
frames designed in a combination of large glazing and small square window boxes, and
the timber framed doors.
Tree Controls
Incorporated Plan
notice and review?
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Identified By
Built Heritage, ‘City of Boroondara Thematic Environmental History’, 2012.
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References
Built Heritage website, 'Dictionary of unsung architects: Robert G Warren (1920-2002)',
http://www.builtheritage.com.au/, accessed April 2013.
Buxton, '152 years', http://www.buxton.com.au/, accessed April 2013.
State Library of Victoria (SLV) online.
The Argus.
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$WWDFKPHQW
ARDEN
Address: 1045 Burke Road, Hawthorn East
Name: Arden, house and garden
Grading: Individually significance
Architect:
Edna Walling (garden)
Builder:
Extent of Overlay: Lot 1 TP873071
History
A new building on the corner of Burke and Rathmines Roads was recorded in 1906,
the owner being C. Goodridge of Wattletree Road, Malvern. The designing architect
is unknown. A new owner, Henry C. Colville of 244 Burke Road was listed in 1931. 1
Since construction the building and front fence have undergone minor alterations.
The dwelling received a single storey extension to the east and west elevation in and
around the 1990.
Garden designer and writer, Edna Walling prepared a plan for the garden in 1928. A
copy of this plan ‘Proposed Design for Garden Doctor H. C Colville’ is held by the State
1
MMBW House Service Cover No. 52311 (1905-1931), as cited in Gould, 1992
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Library Victoria. 2 Walling is widely regarded as the pre-eminent garden designer in
Australia in the early to mid twentieth century, and is known to have designed between
300 and 400 gardens (although not all were implemented), of which many have been
lost.
The plan clearly shows that numerous trees which existed on the site were to be
retained, suggesting that an earlier garden, probably established c.1906 pre-dated the
Walling design. The design prepared for Dr. Colville is a good example of Walling’s
designs for suburban residential gardens in the late 1920s and 1930s. The design
was well structured around a series of garden rooms with differing characters (more
and less formally arranged), linked by stepping stone paths. Utilitarian structures and
areas were integrated into the design at the rear of the residence, and a large portion
of garden was devoted to sweeping lawns and specimen trees. The whole was
enclosed with a tapestry hedge which utilised and built on the privacy afforded by the
existing brick fence.
Evidence of the garden layout and plantings stipulated in Walling’s 1928 design
survive in the front garden at the subject site. The original plan prepared by Walling
in 1928 provided a garden design for the whole site; in part it incorporated existing
trees, which are likely to have dated from the early twentieth century, when the
residence was erected.
A very large Queen Anne house with substantial land coverage to the ground floor and
an extensive attic storey. The design addresses both Burke Road and Rathmines Road
with prominent gable end treatment, and, a strong corner emphasis via a splayed gable
to the corner verandah.
The strong Queen Anne character is overlaid by some Art Nouveau inspired
embellishment on the verandah valence, verandah balustrade and the cast iron to
the fence. The walls are the "regulation" red brick, embellished only by render string
courses. Gable ends are half timbered, the roof is terracotta tiled with particularly
fancy ridge capping. The property is enhanced by an original brick and cast iron
fence.
The building presents in good condition, although some minor structural and damp
issues are noted.
The timber annex to the eastern extension was constructed between 1988 and 1991
and adopts the Art Nouveau stylistic attributes of the building. 3 The single storey
western elevation was constructed c1990s in a matching style to the original building.
Other minor alterations include: replacement of original glass with laminated glass
(windows facing Rathmines Road); insertion of modern roof lights (north and south
roof slopes); insertion of full length windows in lieu of doors (living accommodation);
and the insertion of new external doors (north elevation).
Alterations to the front fence include the rippled iron to the back face of the boundary
treatment; rebuilt splayed corner gate pillar and replacement gate.
2
Edna Walling Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria, ‘Proposed garden design for Doctor H. C
Colville”
3
Yarra Valley Water. Plan No. 52311.
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Gardens surround the residence on its north, east and south sides. To the west is a
large modern tennis court, and on the northern boundary there is a modern garage
and swimming pool. It is clear that the Walling design has been entirely lost at the
rear (west) of the residence, and to a large degree to the north of the site. However,
the gardens at the front (east and south) of the residence fronting Rathmines Road
and Burke Road retain a good degree of integrity and intactness, including original
hard landscaping, original design intent for garden layout and several plantings which
can be confirmed to date from the Walling plan from c.1928.
All of these elements are considered important, and lend to the significance of the
garden. Hard landscaping which is significant and intact in the garden includes
bluestone pitchers edging garden beds; the triangular garden bed located west of the
diagonal entrance path; the diagonal corner entry; all of the ‘crazy paving’ pathways
and natural flag stone pathways which survive in the garden. These are all evident in
the 1928 plan in the east and western portions of the allotment. In addition, there are
several finely shaped bluestone plinths set into the gravel paths as steps or separate
the paved paths from gravel (usually by a step to another level). Several early
plantings survive, including a Crabapple located on the Rathmines Road boundary
(specifically identified on the Walling plan as ‘Flowering Apple’). Other early
plantings are mainly shrubs (now mature and overgrown into small trees) which
made up the tapestry hedge (comprised of Viburnum, Photinia, Shining Privet and
Variegated Privet) fronting Burke and Rathmines Road or were specimen shrubs
around the house. The Variegated Privet and Shining Privet located on the north
east corner of the residence are clearly marked on the 1928 plan, and survive today
as sparse, leggy trees. The Lilly Pilly planted near the Burke Road perimeter hedge
may also be original, as it is an appropriate age and one of the typical species
favoured by Walling in the interwar period.
The house
Ussher and Kemp were at the forefront of the development of the domestic Queen
Anne in Melbourne and Australia. Early buildings such as Campion College (former
Dalwraith) of 1906 (Studley Park Road, Kew), and Woodlands of 1888 (Woodlands
Street, Essendon) were instrumental in the development of the style to suit the typical
suburban form which reached its peak in the first decade of the twentieth century.
Ussher's work falls into two categories, the gabled design - usually a two storey form,
and the hipped design where gables on two co-ordinate points project from an overall
hip - usually a single storey form. In general, Ussher's largest houses, e.g. Dalwraith
in Kew of 1906, adopt the gabled designs. These houses fall into the mansion
category. It is the single storey designs, which usually apply to large houses rather
than mansions, which have developed into the distinctive Australian style, Queen
Anne domestic, and which were the most popular in the first decade of the twentieth
century, e.g. Hedges Residence, 1897 in Canterbury and Clarke's Residence in
Toorak of 1897. Ussher joined with Kemp and developed the style with the
characteristic features of tiled hipped roofs, timber verandah decorations, and a
strongly three dimensional form with a corner emphasis.
Several key practitioners worked within the style. Ussher and Kemp, WaIter Butler,
Christopher Cowper amongst others. The early development occurs in the last
decade of the nineteenth century culminating in the first decade of the twentieth
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century. The key practitioners were widely copied by builders up to the First World
War.
The Queen Anne style, combined with some of the principals of Australian
homestead planning and design, around the turn of the century, produced a new
suburban style continuing to the end of W. W. 1. Sometimes loosely referred to as
"Edwardian" or "Federation" it is more appropriately referred to as "Garden
Bungalow", because it does not relate just to the period around Federation at 1901,
and because it is intimately related to the garden suburb concept. What sets the
"garden bungalow" and "Queen Anne domestic" apart from the other red brick styles
of the period is a purposeful and close relationship with the garden as the dominant
feature. A variety of decorative forms are used within this framework. The "garden
bungalow" eventually developed into the ubiquitous Californian Bungalow of the
1920s and 1930s.
The "domestic Queen Anne" had an ongoing influence on vernacular designs which
can be seen up to the 1960s. The domestic Queen Anne buildings which survive
from the turn of the century had a vital role in the development of the urban form of
metropolis.
The architect for the residence has not been determined. It shows some of
Christopher Cowper’s design traits, but the complexity of the roof suggests a different
designer. This building is atypical for Queen Anne in its overwhelming emphasis of
the corner. The incorporation of the entry here is particularly unusual, as is the small
verandah for a hipped roof design type. These changes are a direct response to the
prominent corner site, and the unusually elaborate fence also reflects this siting.
Despite the high site coverage, the attention to a public address on both frontages,
the use of a hedge and the increased garden area achieved by cutting of the corner,
have combined to retain a strong sense of the house in a garden setting.
The garden
Although Edna Walling prepared a number of garden designs for places in Kew,
Hawthorn, Balwyn, Surrey Hills and Camberwell, none of these are included on the
Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Boroondara Planning Scheme.
Other gardens which are known to have been designed by Walling in Boroondara
include the Whale Garden in Camberwell (1937), ‘Silver Birches’ in Balwyn (1936),
the Craymer Garden, Winmallee Road, Balwyn (1932) and the Freiberg Garden, 26
Yarravale Road, Kew (1960) (Olsen, 2003). Of these, only the Freiberg Garden (an
example of Walling’s post World War 2 work) is known to survive with any level of
integrity. This garden represents Walling’s later style and interest where her designs
favoured predominately native plantings.
A keyword search in the HERMES database (administered by Heritage Victoria) for
‘Edna Walling’ in all places located in the City of Boroondara yielded one place (20
Yarra St, Kew), which was not designed by Walling, but made reference to the
Freiberg house and garden as a comparative example.
There are several examples in inner Melbourne of Walling’s suburban residential
gardens from the interwar period which retain a high degree of integrity to the
remnant garden design, layout, and or planting. Some of the better examples (on the
VHR) include Little Milton, 26 Albany Road, Toorak (1927), Marshall Garden,
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Eaglemont (1936), and Woodbine, Toorak (1939). (This assessment is based on
information included in citations in the HERMES database).
Little Milton’s garden (VHR H1378) was designed by Walling in 1927, and on a
substantially larger scale with more sophistication to the design than the garden at
1045 Burke Road Glen Iris. Little Milton’s garden features the extensive use of red
brick paving. Of the original design, only the dense perimeter planting, a portion of
the original timber pergola and some mature trees survive. The Marshall Garden at
40 Carlsberg Rd, Eaglemont (VHR H1962), designed in 1936 is a highly intact
example of Walling’s work, and exhibits many of the original plantings and landscape
architectural features including terraces, pools, paving, stone walls, mature trees,
under plantings, shrubberies and other elements of the original design. Woodbine,
161-163 Kooyong Road, Toorak (VHR H1955) is an intact early example of Edna
Walling's landscape style for suburban gardens, and is one of only a few that
remains largely intact and respectful to its original (1938) plan and vision. The garden
design of Woodbine incorporates features typical features of Walling’s suburban
designs, including the use of geometric layout and planting, tennis court, both
rectangular lawns and organic lawn space with informal planting, dense perimeter
planting, landscape ponds, separation of spaces ('rooms') for functional and design
purposes executed by the use of low walls, flagstones, steps, tea-tree and timber
fences and gates, a large Lilly Pilly hedge and smaller hedges, and planting to define
entrances to the next garden room, each with an individual character.
Those Walling gardens which are considered as being comparable at the local level
as interwar gardens designed by Edna Walling have several similarities – generally
they are able to be proven to have been designed by Edna Walling, they exhibit at
least some of the principal design characteristics typical or Walling’s style, and
exhibit a good representation of the garden or a portion of the garden as shown in
the original garden plan.
These include Appledore, Eaglemont City of Banyule
(HO130), Robin Hill House and Garden, Chadstone (City of Monash, HO33),
Churston House, Toorak (City of Stonnington, HO211). Many other types of Walling
garden (originally farms, town gardens and homestead gardens) are included on the
heritage overlay at the local level but are not directly comparable.
Appledore was designed by Walling in 1936 for her friend Mille Gibson. The garden
has been subdivided from its original layout but retains distinctive Walling elements
including thick planting of perimeter shrubs, dominant smooth barked eucalypt
(E.Citriodora) as a marker to the driveway,. A small stone pillar with the name
'Appledore' attached, a terrace to the north of the house and extensive use of
random rock paving, as well as signature species used by Walling including SIlver
Birch (Betula pendula), flowering Cherry and Crab Apples (Prunus sp. & Malus sp.)
and Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.).
Robin Hill House and Garden was designed by Walling in c1930-1940, and displays
several characteristic features of a Walling 'structured' garden, including
compartmentalised lawn areas which create a series of 'pictures' and plays with false
perspectives, sweeping garden beds with rock edging, informal groupings of exotic
trees (which Walling favoured until the 1950's) dry stone pillars with wrought iron
gates at the main entrance to the property, natural flagstones through lawn areas, a
stone path with steps passing through the garden at the rear of the property, a small
stone paved area at the rear of the house which extends the house into the garden,
and a rock wall and stone steps along the western edge of the driveway. Several
modifications however have been made to Walling's garden, including new fences,
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red brick paving, a pool and planting and an extension to the residence and loss of
garden.
Churston House’s garden was designed by Walling in 1935 for Dr and Mrs Ringland
Anderson, and incorporated one of Melbourne’s earliest private swimming pools and
the garden designed by Enda Walling. A large garden remains, but the integrity to
the original Walling design has not been considered in the assessment of
significance.
The east (front) and side (south) garden areas at 1045 Burke Road retain a good
degree of integrity and are relatively intact to the original Walling design prepared in
1928. They retain and exhibit many of her trademark garden elements, as shown on
the original plan for the garden, including the principal garden paths to access the
residential entrances constructed of random ‘crazy paving’, bluestone pitchers lining
garden beds, original garden bed layouts, changes of level defined by large
bluestone slabs in stone paths, natural flagstone paths through lawn areas and
tapestry hedges edging the perimeter of the garden. Some remnant plantings
survive from the original design, including two specimens of Pprivet on the north east
corner of the house, , a Lilly Pilly near the eastern boundary, an early Crabapple on
the southern boundary and various under plantings.
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Arden, including the house and garden, at 1045 Burke Road. The house, constructed in
1906 for owner C. Goodridge, is a very large Queen Anne house with an attic storey
constructed of red brick with Art Nouveau-inspired details. An original brick and cast iron
fence defines the site boundaries along Burke and Rathmines roads.
The garden was redesigned in 1928 by Edna Waling. The garden to the front of the
residence (to the south and east) retains many original features shown in the 1928 plan.
The key elements of the surviving (significant) garden are:
-
Intact hard landscaping fabric and layout, including paths, bluestone pitchers,
garden edging and steps (c.1928)
-
The intact layout and design intent of the front garden as per the c.1928 plan
(including the placement of plantings against the residence and surviving open
spaces and garden rooms)
-
Plants which date from c.1928 or earlier (Crabapple, Tapestry Hedge, Privet
specimens)
-
The brick and cast iron fence (c.1906)
The single storey c1990s extension to the west elevation, laminated window glass,
modern roof lights, alterations to some windows, ripple iron to the rear of the boundary
fence and gate, swimming pool, its associated paving and the garage are not significant.
Arden is of local architectural and aesthetic significance to the City of Boroondara.
Architecturally significant for: its adaptation of Queen Anne to a tight site; the complexity
of its elevation and planning; the use of the unusual splayed corner on a Queen Anne
design; and for the outstanding fence, rare on Queen Anne houses throughout
Metropolitan Melbourne. (Criteria B, E and F)
The garden is of aesthetic significance as a surviving example of an Edna Walling
suburban garden from the interwar period. While not wholly intact, the front section of
the garden (south and east of the residence, fronting Burke and Rathmines roads)
exhibits features typical Walling’s garden designs during this period, including the
use of various stone paths (gravel, crazy paving and stone flag), use of bluestone
pitchers extensively, tapestry perimeter planting hedges, and a strong geometric
layout which linked the residence and the garden. Many of her other suburban
gardens have been lost through subdivision. (Criteria D and E)
Already included in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Boroondara Planning
Scheme as an Individually Significant place, it is recommended that tree controls
(specimens of Privet, Crab Apple, and plants comprising Tapestry Hedge on Burke and
Rathmines Road frontages), and Fence Controls (that the column ‘Outbuildings and
fences which are not exempt under Clause 43.01-3’ is marked as ‘Yes – fence along
Burke and Rathmines Road frontages’) be added to the HO Schedule (as shown below)
for this place.
Page 7 of 9
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No
No
Tree Controls
Yes (Specimens of
Privet, Crab Apple,
and plants comprising
Tapestry Hedge on
Burke and Rathmines
Road frontages
significant trees noted
in 'what is significant')
Incorporated Plan
notice and review?
No
No
Yes - fence along
Burke and Rathmines
Road frontages No
No
No
Identified By
References
Allom Lovell & Associates, Place citation for Marshall Garden, prepared for Banyule
Heritage Study, 1999. HERMES Database ID31484
Context Pty. Ltd., Place citation for Appledore Garden, prepared for Banyule Heritage
Review, 2009. HERMES ID 123990
Edna Walling Collection, State Library of Victoria ‘Proposed Garden Design for Dr. H.C
Colville”, 1928.
Edna Walling Collection, State Library of Victoria, various drawings by Edna Walling c.a
1920-1965
Gould, M., Place citation for Arden in Hawthorn Heritage Study, 1992.
Heritage Council of Victoria, Place citation for Woodbine prepared by Heritage Victoria ,
2001. HERMES Database ID12399
Page 8 of 9
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Nigel Lewis and Richard Aitken Pty. Ltd., Place citation for Little Mitlon, prepared for
Stonington – City of Malvern Heritage Study, 1992. HERMES Database ID31521
Nigel Lewis and Richard Aitken Pty. Ltd., Place citation for Churston House, prepared for
Stonington – City of Malvern Heritage Study, 1992. HERMES Database ID31108
Olsen, K. (Heritage Victoria), Edna Walling Extant Gardens in Victoria : Desktop Survey,
Report prepared for Landscape Heritage Advisory Committee, Heritage Council of
Victoria, 2003.
Ward, A. (Gerner Consulting Group) Place citation for Robin Hill House and Garden,
prepared for Monash Heritage Study, 1998 HERMES Database, ID 111611
Yarra Valley Water. Plan No. 52311
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$WWDFKPHQW
RECOMMENDATION TO REGRADE A PROPERTY IN A HERITAGE PRECINCT
Address: 55 The Boulevard, Hawthorn
Name: Norman Seabrook House
Survey Date: 22 Nov 2012
Architect: Norman Seabrook
Current Grading: Non-contributory to HO164
Recommended Grading: Contributory to HO164
Builder:
Architect Norman Seabrook's own house of 1935, as noted in the 'City of Boroondara Thematic
Environmental History' (Built Heritage, 2012, p 150) and the 'Encyclopaedia of Australian
Architecture' (eds P Goad & J Willis, 2011, p 620). It was, in fact, purchased in the name of his wife,
Linda May Seabrook, in August 1934 (Land Title Vol 5923 Fol 599). Christine Phillips writes of
Seabrook in the 'Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture':
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Norman Hugh Seabrook (1906-79) and Alan Louis Fildes (1909-56) formed the practice of
Seabrook & Fildes in 1936 at 84 William Street, Melbourne. Their most innovative work was
produced during the 1930s when they championed modernist designs across a diverse range of
building types. ...
[Seabrook] was the practice's principle designer. He was a strong advocate for modernist
architecture, voiced publicly in his seminal '1935' article, published in Australian Home Beautiful
(July 1935). The practice's early works were well published in Australian Home Beautiful, Art in
Australian, the RVIA Journal and local newspapers like The Argus.
The practice is best known for Seabrook's 1933 competition-winning design of the MacRobertson
Girls' High school in Albert Park, Melbourne. ... Seabrook won the competition after returning
from Europe, where he had gained experience at the notable firm of Burnet, Tait & Lorne in
London and had also embarked on a self-guided architectural cycling tour through England, the
Netherlands, Germany and France.
Inspired by his travels, Seabrook's design was a radical departure from the design of other
contemporary schools in the state ... Its cream brick cubic forms, vertical clock tower, raked out
mortar joints and De Stijl red-and-blue coloured detailing also echoed Willem Dudok's design for
the Hilversum Town Hall, Netherlands (1923-31) ... The design marked the beginning of an
important Melbourne architectural practice when Alan Fildes joined Seabrook to assist with the
project and later became a partner. The school's functionalist planning, brick forms and detailing
became a signature palette for the practice's later works....
The practice's early residential commissions were also consistently modern in a climate
dominated by stylistic eclecticism. Typically open-planned designs with colourful interiors
featuring built-in furniture and modern kitchens, key examples include Seabrook's own house
design in Hawthorn (1935) ...
Seabrook's house is a brick building (overpainted) with horizontal banding visible. The red brick front
fence appears to be original. It is a very simple house which illustrates Seabrook's modernist style,
as well as the raked out horizontal mortar joints, as seen at MacRobertson Girls' High.
The front entry, however, which was a major decorative feature of the facade, was demolished and
reconfigured in 1993. The plans from that time note that the original porch had a reinforced concrete
roof slab resting on 'decorative brick piers'; this decorative brickwork may have continued along the
inner walls of the porch. The new porch is similar in overall form, but the new piers are narrower and
set farther apart (to allow for a larger porch floor area) and they are rendered. The new roof is still
flat, but constructed of fibro-cement sheet. A new door and surrounding lights was also installed.
Because of these alterations, the house now falls short of individual significance.
The house, however, is located within HO164 - Leslie Street Precinct, Hawthorn. It is currently
graded 'non-contributory'. The statement of significance notes that the precinct 'has a particularly
well-preserved and notable collection of the prevailing house styles of the 1880s through to the
1930s', and it 'illustrates the significant development phases affecting Hawthorn including ... interwar
concepts of the garden suburb'.
As Seabrook's house dates to the interwar period, and is still identifiable as such (notwithstanding
the new front porch), it also contributes to an understanding of interwar residential development in
Hawthorn, in accordance with the precinct statement of significance. It is particularly desirable to
extend protection under the Heritage Overlay to this house, considering its architectural and
associative significance, namely for its links with distinguished early Modern architect Norman
Seabrook and as an example of his work from the interwar period.
For these reasons it is recommended that 55 The Boulevard, Hawthorn, be regraded to
'Contributory' to HO164 - Leslie Street Precinct.
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52
37
18
22
21
39
41
45
47
49
20
eet
35
19
21
51
Urquhart
53
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Elmie Str
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Lyall Stree
t
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54
59
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Street
38
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44
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53
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The Boule
21
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Legend
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vard
1/28
2/28
17
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15
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13
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SIGNIFICANT
10
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9
76
28
r Street
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2/68
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66
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61
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Belgrave
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Violet Gro
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8
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9
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24A
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17
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Leslie Str
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Heritage grading for 55 The Boulevard, Hawthorn (HO164)
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$WWDFKPHQW
Whitty House (former Glencara)
Revised citation for HO223, prepared by Context Pty Ltd, February 2014
Address: 6 Studley Park Road, Kew
Name: Whitty House (former Glencara)
Survey Date:
Place Type: Residential (former)
Architect: Leonard Flannagan
Builder:
Extent of Overlay: HO223
Construction Date:
History
The land bound by Princess Street, Stawell Street and Studley Park Road was originally
the location of architect George Wharton’s house ‘Fernhurst Park’, which was
subsequently subdivided by Frank Vial, following Wharton’s death (Fairbank, 2013). The
Fernhurst Park subdivision was for released for sale in 1897. Advertisements promoted
the sale of ‘25 choice buildings sites’ (Fernhurst Park subdivision advertisement;
Fairbank, 2013).
In December 1899, George Herbert Hope, South Yarra Merchant purchased lots 23, 24
and 25 on the corner of Studley Park Road and Fernhurst Grove (LV: V2749 F623). Lots
24 and 25 comprise the current extent of 6 Studley Park Road. In 1898, the Net Annual
Value (NAV; approximately 10% of the total value) of each lot was £12. The 1903 MMBW
Detail Plan No.1352 (dated 1903) shows that no house had yet been built on the site.
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In October 1907, Hope sold the land to Charles Bonynge Kelly, a draper of Smith Street,
Collingwood. The following year, in 1908, it was transferred into his wife Lydia’s name. In
1908 the NAV of the property increased from £21 to £120. The rate books recorded that
there was a house with 13 rooms and a stable at this date. In 1909, the NAV increased to
£160 (RB). This indicates that the house was built in 1908-9, for owner Charles Kelly.
The architect is believed to be Leonard J. Flannagan. Flannagan called for tenders three
times in 1908, in the Argus, which appear to correspond with this site and the information
from the rate books. Tenders were invited for a 'large two-storey brick residence, in
Studley Park Road, Kew' on 25 April 1908 (p. 4); another called 'for brick stable buildings
and garage at Kew' on 8 August 1908 (p. 4); and finally 'for ornamental brick boundary
walls, Gates and Gal. Iron Fencing, at Kew' on 18 November 1908 (p. 3). (The original
wall along the Studley Park Road frontage was demolished when road-widening works
occurred ca.1972. An original section still stands along Fernhurst Grove.)
Architect Leonard John Flannagan (1864-1946) was responsible for many notable works
in Victoria including dwellings, several churches and convents and works for the Prahran
and Malvern Tramways Trust. A number of his buildings are on the Victorian Heritage
Register including: Darnlee, a grand Queen Anne house of 1899 in Toorak (VHR H1024);
the Elizabethan style Little Sisters of the Poor Convent in Northcote of 1888-90 (H1950);
and a number of buildings for the Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust, including a
shelter in Caulfield of c1915 (H0174).
Little is known of Charles B Kelly. The Kelly family named the house ‘Glencara’, as they
did their previous house at 59 Sackville Street, Kew (Fairbank, 2013). An article in the
Argus in November 1909 (p. 2) advertised the house for let. The advertisement briefly
described the ‘furnished, lovely home, “Glencara”, Studley-Park Road, Kew.’ The house
was listed as having four reception rooms, seven bedrooms, a stable, garage and ‘man’s
room’.
Auguste de Bavay tenanted the house in 1909-10 (RB), before purchasing ‘Glencara’ in
1911 (LV: V2749/F623). At this date the Kelly family is known to have moved to
‘Ellesmere’ at 80 Princes Street, Kew, which they owned between 1911 and 1923
(MMBW, record No.2652).
Auguste JF de Bavay was a brewer, chemist, bacteriologist and metallurgist, born in
Belgium, and travelling to Australia via Ceylon. He arrived in Melbourne in 1884 and
worked on refining the fermentation process for colonial brewers, soon becoming an
Australian expert on yeasts and teacher in the brewing industry, which he continued
throughout his life. He also continued his work as a bacteriologist and entered into the
industry of mining and ore extraction. Following two earlier business partnerships, in
1909 he formed Amalgamated Zinc (de Bavay’s) Ltd, for which he invented and patented
machinery for the extraction of zinc blende, which solved the problem of separating
sulphides from worthless residue. He became world-famous for the ‘de Bavay process’,
which was said to have added millions to the wealth of Australia. De Bavay also identified
the contamination of Melbourne’s water-supply causing increasing cases of typhoid and
diphtheria, which triggered a Royal Commission and the subsequent improvement of the
system (George Parsons, ADB; Fairbank, 2013). Madame A de Bavay and her daughter
Miss Marie de Bavay held many parties and fundraisers (often for Belgian soldiers) at
Glencara, also holding events to honour people and welcome Melbourne figures. The
family were known for their hospitality (Argus, 10 Aug 1917:31; 18 Aug, 1917:9; 22 Jul
1936; 12 Nov 1937:12; 27 Nov 1936:4).
Auguste de Bavay remained the owner of the house until his death in 1944, when it was
passed to his executors and Xavier de Bavay of ‘Woodstock’, Hobart, Tasmania. In April
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1961 the trustees became the sole proprietors before they sold it to the Villa Maria
Society for the Blind in May of the same year (LV: V2749/F623).
In 2014, the house was known as 'Whitty House' and was part of the larger ‘Villa Maria’
complex providing services for people with disabilities and aged care.
N.B. The heritage citation from the Kew Conservation Study of 1988 by Pru Sanderson
erroneously states the following:
Documentary evidence records that in 1900 Theodore Kitchen, manufacturer, was
the first occupant of this ten-roomed brick house, owned at that date by John Bee.
The initial N.A.V. for the property was £80. By 1903 the building was known as
‘Torwood’ (RB).
Additional research - particularly the MMBW Detail Plan 1352 of 1903 (below) - clearly
demonstrates that the above history refers, in fact, to the house at 1 Fernhurst Grove.
Figure 1. Aerial view of 6 Studley Park Road, 2013. (Land Victoria, Planning Maps Online)
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Figure 2. The vacant site of 6 Studley Park Road in 1903. (Detail of MMBW Detail Plan No.
1352)
The building was rather old fashioned for its time, when constructed in 1908-9, with the
design being substantially Italianate with an arcaded verandah, a canted bay window and
heavily bracketed eaves line. In contrast to these and more typical of its date, is the Art
Nouveau-inspired parapet to the tower. Despite a somewhat incongruous design, the
house stands as one of the key mansions along Studley Park Road.
The outbuildings (stable, garage and men’s room that appeared in the 1909 rental
advertisement) are extant at the north-west corner of the site. The original high brick
fence, with decorative rendered mouldings along its top survives along the Fernhurst
Grove frontage. It is of overpainted red brick. A reproduction of brown brick, which may
incorporate the original mouldings along the top, has been built along the Studley Road
frontage.
What is significant?
The former ‘Glencara’ (now Whitty House), at 6 Studley Park Road, Kew, which is a twostorey Italianate mansion of 1908-09 with an arcaded verandah and an Art-Nouveau
parapet to the tower above the main entrance. The architect is believed to be Leonard J
Flannagan, who designed it for owner Charles Bonynge Kelly, then a draper of Smith
Street, Collingwood. Kelly named the house ‘Glencara’ and let it upon its completion to
Auguste de Bavay, a Belgian-born brewer, chemist, bacteriologist and metallurgist who
formed Amalgamated Zinc (de Bavay’s) Ltd. that same year. Bavay then owned the
house from 1911 until his death in 1944. It has been owned by Villa Maria since 1961.
The outbuildings (stables, garage and men’s room) at the north-west corner of the site
are also significant.
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The former ‘Glencara’ is of local historical and aesthetic significance to the City of
Boroondara.
Historically, the former ‘Glencara’ is of significance as one of the key mansions to have
been built in Kew, and aesthetically for the landmark value it holds in this high part of
Studley Park Road. (Criteria A and E)
This property is included in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Boroondara
Planning Scheme as an Individually Significant place, HO223.
Identified By
Sanderson, Pru, ‘Kew Conservation Study’, 1988.
References
City of Kew, Rate Books (RB), 1898-1899, p.105, property numbers 2061 and 2062;
1905-1906, P. 129, property numbers 2267 and 2268; 1908-1909, P.132, Property
number 2398; 1909-1910, P135, property number 2478. Cited in research conducted by
Kerry Fairbank, for 6 Studley Park Road, Kew.
Fairbank, Kerry, ‘Glencara, Studley Park Road’, notes provided to the City of
Boroondara, 2013.
Fernhurst Park, Kew, subdivision advertisement, 1887, State Library of Victoria.
George Parsons, ‘Auguste Joseph Francois de Bavay (1856-1944), in Australian
Dictionary of Biography, http://adb.anu.edu.au/, accessed December 2013.
Miles Lewis, Melbourne Mansions Database (MMDB), Record No. 2652, accessed 18
Dec 2013.
MMBW Detail Plan of Kew,– No. 1352', Scale: 40 feet to 1 inch, July 1903.
The Argus.
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TANFIELD LEA (former Brenkeel)
Revised citation for HO288, prepared by Context Pty Ltd, February 2014
Address: 221-229 Cotham Road, Kew
Name: Tanfield Lea (former Brenkeel)
Survey Date: 12 Sept. 2013
Architect:
Builder:
Extent of Overlay: HO288
Construction
1940
Date:
1912,
Historical Context
Other than for a few large mansions, the area along the north side of Cotham Road and
the surrounding streets - Uvadale Grove, Hopetoun Avenue and Park Street - was
developed for residential use during the early decades of the twentieth century,
presumably prompted by its proximity to Kew Junction and the tram service (MMBW
Detail Plan No.65).
History
In 1904, Stanwell A Adeney, Gentleman of Cotham Road, Kew, purchased just over 16
acres, bound by Cotham Road, Adeney Avenue and Parkhill Road (part of Crown Portion
83, Parish of Boroondara). Adeney subdivided this property from 1911, also creating and
naming Florence Avenue (LV:V2999/F650).
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Adeney’s first land sale was in October 1911, selling two lots (the extent of the current
221-229 Cotham Road and 2 Florence Avenue) to Edgar Leopold Guest of 9 Auburn
Road, Auburn, Company Director (LV:V3547/F315). In June 1912, Guest also purchased
the lot to the north from Adeney (the current 4 Florence Avenue) (LV: V2999/F650).
The 1913 MMBW detail plan (No.1597) shows that a house was built by this date, with a
footprint that matches the form and setback of the present western wing of the Tanfield
Lea flats. At that time the house was known as 'Brenkeel'. This indicates that the original
portion of the house at 221-229 Cotham Road was built in 1912 for owner Edgar L Guest.
Edgar Leopold (1854-1936) was the youngest son on TB Guest Esquire (of ‘Cestra’
Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn) (Argus, 12 Oct 1901:9). With his brother, Edgar was the
Company Director of his father’s internationally award-winning biscuit manufacturing
company, TB Guest & Co. In 1962, the business (continued by the Guest family) merged
with William Arnott (Holdings) Pty Ltd, with the Guest family continuing to serve on the
board of the extended company (Hone, ADB).
Figure 1. Footprint of 'Brenkeel' at 221-219 Cotham Road, as built in 1911-12. The
house is built of masonry, with recessed porches on each elevation and the two
outbuildings on the east boundary are of timber. (MMBW Detail Plan No. 1597, 1913)
In November 1920, Guest sold the house to William James Urwin, Gentleman of Cotham
Road, Kew (LV:V3547/F315). Prior to this, William James and his family had lived in
Williamstown, which was also the location of William’s butcher's businesses (Galbraith,
pers. comm. 16 Dec 2013).
William James Urwin (1860-1924) was a butcher, slaughterman, grazier,
importer/exporter and businessman. He was one of the original partners and directors of
William Angliss & Co and in 1914, was the Chairman of the Hawthorn City Council. He
owned a number of properties in Hawthorn. One of James’ sons, Sergeant Cuthbert
William Urwin, served as a driver in World War I for the Red Cross, 10 Field Ambulance
and the 3rd Mechanical Transport Co Australian Army Corps. James donated the first
ambulance to the Red Cross, which is suggested to have been driven by Cuthbert, and it
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was the first to arrive at the scene when Manfred von Richtoven (the Red Baron) was
shot down over France in April 1918 (Galbraith, pers. comm. 16 Dec 2013).
The Urwins renamed the house ‘Tanfield Lea,’ after the birthplace of JW Urwin’s
grandmother in the County of Durham, England. As early as 1921, an article refers to
‘Tanfield Lea’ as the home of the Urwin family (Argus, 15 Sep 1921:1).
Family photos dating to the Urwin’s ownership in the 1920s show a large Arts & Crafts
attic-style house with a complex gable roof, walls finished in roughcast render and timber
shingles to the gable ends. The main north and south-facing gabled bays had recessed
porches within them. The main entry to the house was via an arch below the main
southern gable, beside which was a semicircular bow window. A picket fence with top rail
enclosed the property, with a square topiary hedge behind it. A tennis court was to the
rear of the house (the location of the current flats at 2 Florence Street) and extensive
gardens surround the house. Outbuildings to the rear of the house included a
greenhouse and garages (Galbraith, pers. comm., 16 Dec 2013 and early photos) .
Figure 2. Tanfield Lea in the 1920s, viewed from the south-west. (Courtesy of D.
Galbraith)
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Figure 3. Rear (north) elevation of Tanfield Lea in the 1920s. The corner of the tennis
court and the glasshouse are visible to the far left. (Courtesy of D. Galbraith)
Upon Urwin’s death in 1924, the house was passed to Trustees (LV:V3547/F315). At the
time of his death, James William Urwin was noted as owning ‘a brick and rough cast attic
dwelling on Cotham Road'. He also owned thirteen other properties – including houses
and shops - in the Parishes of Boroondara and Prahran, as well as Williamstown and
Mornington (PROV, will & probate).
Eliza Urwin of Tanfield Lea (widow of William James Urwin) died in August 1939 (Argus,
25 Aug 1939:10). Subsequently, an article in the Argus in October 1939, advertised the
Trustee sale of ‘Tanfield Lea’, describing it as an ‘attractive brick home’ with an entrance
hall, 12 main rooms, two all-tiled bathrooms and an asphalt tennis court (Argus, 7 Oct
1939:14). In October 1939 an article appeared in the Argus (7 Oct 1939:14) also
advertising the Trustees sale of Tanfield Lea’s ‘superior household furnishings’ which
included pianos, a wireless, a safe, billiard table, carpets and a 1934 Buick.
Alfred Thomas Urwin (JW Urwin’s son), Company Director, and his wife Clarice, became
the owners of the house in November 1939. At this date the extent of the property still
included the current Nos. 2 and 4 Florence Street (LV:V6347/F396).
In 1940, Alfred Urwin and his sister Eliza Urwin converted the house into flats, naming
them ‘Tanfield Lea Flats’ (Lovell Chen, 2005). (S&Mc). The conversion enlarged the
eastern wing, creating a total of six flats.
Alterations at the time included the following: The front entrance arch was filled in and
replaced with a box-frame leadlight window. The recessed porch in the gable above it
was in-filled and simple windows installed, and the expanse of timber shingles were
replaced with half-timbering at the apex here and on other gables. The verandah roof on
the west elevation was replaced by a gabled rich cream-brick entrance porch, as was the
ground-floor conservatory below the rear (north) main gable. This large rear gable was
remodelled to create a small gable and abutting hip roof. The roof cladding was changed
from flat tiles (possibly slate) to Marseille pattern tiles. The face-brick shafts of the tall
chimneys were covered in roughcast. The single-storey eastern wing of the house was
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likely entirely rebuilt and replaced with a two-storey hip-roof wing, clad in roughcast and
rich cream brick which projects further south than the original part of the house.
Elements of the original house that survived include the massing of the south and west
elevations (of the attic-style west wing), the roof form and eaves brackets to these
elevations, the leadlight windows to these elevations, including the bow window and a
rectangular bay window to the south elevation, the render to the walls above a red-brick
plinth, and the flared rendered caps to the chimneys.
On its completion, the Urwins occupied flat no. 1, a large apartment consisting of nine
rooms (RB 1940-1). Other flats were all significantly smaller with the smallest being a one
roomed flat, occupied by the caretaker. It appears that the purpose-built block of flats (‘St
Joan’) behind Tanfield Lea at 2 Florence Avenue was constructed around the same time
for the Unwins. In 1955, the Urwins subdivided the land and sold the current Nos. 2 and 4
Florence Street. The house at 221-9 Cotham Road was sold to Eileen Mardling in
November 1955 (LV:V6347/F396). In 1957 Mrs. Mardling commissioned architect James
Wardrop to make alterations to the building, dividing flat No. 1, the Urwin's flat, in two
(between the ground and first floor levels) to create a seventh flat and to increase flat six
by an additional room (Architect drawings, 1957). The Mardling family retained the
property until April 1984, at which time it was sold to Frederick Koch (LV: V8102/F429).
At this time the present brick fence around the property was constructed (Building file). In
1991, the property again consisted of 6 flats, suggesting that the caretaker's one-roomed
flat had been absorbed into one of the other flats. In 1995 approval was given for the
subdivision of the Tanfield Lea flats into six lots (Building file; RB, 1957-8).
(Context Pty Ltd, 2014, revising the history from 'City of Boroondara Review of B-graded
buildings in Kew, Camberwell and Hawthorn' by Lovell Chen, 2005)
The Tanfield Lea Flats at 221-229 Cotham Road, Kew, comprise a substantial Arts and
Crafts attic-style house built in 1912 which was converted and enlarged to create a block
of six Old English-style flats in 1940. The building of brick construction is asymmetrical in
plan. Its complex massing incorporates the multiple gables of the original attic-style
house at the west end, and the two-storey hip-roof extension at the east end.
The gabled roofscape of the original house is finished with Marseille terracotta tiles and
exposed rafters and is punctuated by roughcast rendered chimneys, while gable ends
are variously unadorned or half timbered. With two principal elevations addressing a
corner location, the facade of this section generally displays roughcast rendered walls on
a brick plinth - the exception being a small parapeted porch on the symmetrical west
elevation which is of rich cream coloured face brick. This is flanked by a pair of singlestorey projecting gabled bays, each of which contains singular and paired windows with
timber-framed double-hung sashes with carved timber heads and leadlight glazing. The
south-west corner of the building is marked by a large semi-circular bow window
containing similar windows.
To the east the building becomes double-storey and the composition here is awkward, as
the transitional area between the original house and the later flats. The roofscape is
gabled to the front and hipped at the rear and the plain chimneys are of cream face brick.
The break-fronted facade (or south elevation) of this eastern section largely displays
cream face brickwork with sections of roughcast rendered finish to friezes and smaller
first floor areas. The double-height gabled projecting bays have mock half-timbering
which extends down to meet the first floor window heads. This frontage also contains two
additional entrances which access the stairwells which are fitted with wrought iron
screens. The windows throughout this section lack the detail of the western section and
comprise conventional singular and grouped timber-framed double-hung sashes.
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A non-original brick fence extends along both street frontages with steel gates located at
the corner vehicular access and timber gates at the south-east corner. Incorporated into
the fence are recessed pedestrian gates.
It is difficult to identify direct comparisons for the complex, because of its apparent
composite form. The western section of the flat block (ie, the attic residence) bears some
similarities to a small number of late Edwardian and interwar bungalows located
throughout the municipality, including, for example, 44 Studley Park Road, Kew (q.v., Bgraded). For 1940, the balance of the building is an extremely late mix of Old English and
Bungalow styling. It compares with Cloville Flats at 31-9 Cookson Street Camberwell (Cgraded), of 1939-1940, built in a revived Federation style with some Neo-Georgian
touches, and voted Blot of the Month in the student broadsheet Smudges. Similar critical
fates awaited other throwbacks from around this period, as with Bernard Evans' Tudor
flats and shops in Toorak and South Melbourne, and Arthur Plaisted's Castle Towers,
Toorak, of 1940-1.[i] Tanfield Lee similarly, would have struck most contemporaries as
stylistically regressive, though it also reads a quite sympathetic addition, in 1940 terms,
to the earlier house on its site.
[i] See Conrad and Chris Hamann, 'Anger and the New Order: some aspects of Robin
Boyd's career', Transition, 2, 3-4 (7-8), 1981; reprinted in Transition 38, Robin Boyd
retrospective issue, 1992, pp. 16-43, esp. 18-19.
significance).
Tanfield Lea is an interesting example of an apartment block which was created using an
existing Edwardian residence. It is one of a small number of stylistically conservative even regressive - apartment blocks appearing in Melbourne suburbs at the end of the
interwar period. In this case, the flats read as a sympathetic acknowledgement of the
earlier house, at a time when most architects and designers were struggling to find ways
of adding well to earlier twentieth century styles.
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significance).
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What is significant?
Tanfield Lea, at 221-229 Cotham Road, Kew, comprise a substantial Arts and Crafts
attic-style house built in 1912 which was converted and enlarged to create a block of six
Old English-style flats in 1940. The building of brick construction is asymmetrical in plan.
Its complex massing incorporates the multiple gables of the original attic-style house at
the west end, and the two-storey hip-roof extension at the east end.
The house was originally built for Edgar Leopold Guest, who named it Brenkeel. Edgar
Guest was a Company Director in his father’s biscuit-manufacturing company, TB Guest
& Co. Guest sold to William James Unwin in 1920. Unwin was a butcher, slaughterman,
grazier, importer/exporter and businessman. He was one of the original partners and
directors of William Angliss & Co and in 1914, was the Chairman of the Hawthorn City
Council. The Unwin family renamed the house ‘Tanfield Lea,’ after the birthplace of JW
Urwin’s grandmother in the County of Durham, England. William Unwin died in 1924, and
after his widow died in 1939, his children Alfred and Eliza Unwin had a new east wing
constructed and converted the enlarged house into six flats.
Tanfield Lea is of local historical and architectural significance to the City of Boroondara.
Historically and architecturally it is of significance as an unusual and interesting example
of an apartment block which was created incorporating an existing residence, built in
1911-12. (Criteria A and B)
Architecturally, it is one of a small number of stylistically conservative - even regressive apartment blocks appearing in Melbourne suburbs at the end of the interwar period. In
this case, the flats read as a sympathetic acknowledgement of the earlier house, at a
time when most architects and designers were struggling to find ways of adding well to
earlier twentieth century styles. (Criterion E)
Included in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Boroondara Planning Scheme as
an Individually Significant place HO288.
Identified By
Pru Sanderson, ‘Kew Urban Conservation Study’, 1988.
References
Architect drawings sourced from the City of Kew Building Index cards, #886, dated 23
May 1957.
City of Kew Rate Books (RB), 1940-41, #2817-2813; 1957-58, #2091-2097, NAV £127200.
Building file 40/408/07381 Part 1, and the City of Kew Property file 108443 1 & 2,
containing details of recent history and subdivision plans copied from the City of
Boroondara.
Deborah Galbraith, descendent of William James Urwin, personal communication and
family photos provided (from c1920s and later), 16 December 2013.
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Hone, JA, ‘Thomas Bibby Guest (1830-1908)’, in Australian Dictionary of Biography,
http://adb.anu.edu.au/, accessed 19 Dec 2013.
Land Victoria (LV), Certificate of Title, as cited above.
Lovell Chen & Assoc., building citation in 'City of Boroondara Rev
iew of B-graded buildings in Kew, Camberwell and Hawthorn', 2005 (revised 2009).
MMBW Plan Detail no. 1597, Kew, scale 40':1", dated 1913.
Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV), Will & Probate for William James Urwin, VPRS
28/P3/Unit 1521.
Sands & McDougall Directory of Victoria (S&Mc) listings for the years 1938-41, listed
Mrs. Eliza Urwin as resident at 229 Cotham Road during 1938 and 1939, the property
listed as vacant during 1940 and then listed as Tanfield Lea flats occupied by Alfred T
Urwin during 1941.
The Argus.
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$WWDFKPHQW
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Boroondara Heritage Review B Graded Buildings
Lovell Chen 2005
Building Citation
Name
Tanfield Lee Flats
Reference No
Address
221-229 Cotham Road, Kew
Survey Date
13 December 2005
Building Type
Residence
Grading
B
Date
1940
Previous
Grading
B
Extent of Overlay
To title boundaries.
Intactness
Heritage Status
9 Good
Fair
Poor
HV
AHC
NT
Rec.
BPS Heritage Overlay
History
Tanfield Lee (or Lea) Flats take their name from a town in the county of Durham, England. They were
built for Alfred and Eliza Urwin in 1940. Originally constructed as a block of six flats, the complex
appears to have incorporated the Urwin’s pre-existing brick home (refer discussion below under
Description and Integrity).1 On its completion, the Urwins occupied flat no. 1, a large apartment
consisting of nine rooms.2 Other flats were all significantly smaller with the smallest being a one
roomed flat, occupied by the caretaker.
The property changed hands during the early 1950s and was acquired by Mrs Eileen Mardling. In
1957 Mrs. Mardling commissioned architect James Wardrop to make alterations to the building,
dividing the Urwin’s flat in two (between the ground and first floor levels) to create a seventh flat and
to increase flat six by an additional room.3
Mrs. Eileen Mardling retained the property until 1984, at which time it was sold to Frederick Koch in
1984. In 1991, the property again consisted of 6 flats, suggesting that the caretaker’s one-roomed
flat had been absorbed into one of the other flats. In 1995 approval was given for the subdivision of
the Tanfield Lee flats into six lots.4
(G Butler & Associates, Kew B-graded buildings study (draft), 2001, additional research by Lovell
Chen, 2005)
The Tanfield Lee Flats at 221-229 Cotham Road, Kew, comprises an interwar building of brick
construction and asymmetrical planning which displays Old English and bungalow styling. At the
western end the complex appears to have incorporated an existing c. 1920s attic storey house of
complex massing. The gabled roofscape of the original house is finished with terracotta tiles and
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Lovell Chen 2005
Building Citation
exposed rafters and is punctuated by roughcast rendered chimneys while gable ends are variously
unadorned or half timbered. With two principal elevations addressing a corner location, the façade of
this section generally displays roughcast rendered walls on a brick plinth – the exception being a small
parapeted porch on the symmetrical west elevation which is of rich cream coloured face brick and
which appears to have been the main entrance. This is flanked by a pair of single-storey projecting
gabled bays, each of which contain singular and paired windows with timber-framed double-hung
sashes with carved timber heads and leadlight glazing. The south-west corner of the building is
marked by a large semi-circular bow window containing similar windows.
To the east the building becomes double-storey and the composition here is awkward, suggesting the
transitional area between either the original house and the later flats. The roofscape is gabled and the
plain chimneys are of cream face brick. The break-fronted façade (or south elevation) of this eastern
section largely displays cream face brickwork with sections of roughcast rendered finish to friezes and
smaller first floor areas. The double-height gabled projecting bays have mock half-timbering which
extends down to meet the first floor window heads. This frontage also contains two additional
entrances which access the stairwells which are fitted with wrought iron screens. The windows
throughout this section lack the detail of the western section and comprise conventional singular and
grouped timber-framed double-hung sashes.
A non-original brick fence extends along both street frontages with steel gates located at the corner
vehicular access and timber gates at the south-east corner. Incorporated into the fence are recessed
pedestrian gates.
Historical Context
Other than for a few large mansions, the area along the north side of Cotham Road and the
surrounding streets –Uvadale Grove, Hopetoun Avenue and Park Street was developed for residential
use during the early decades of the twentieth century, presumably prompted by its proximity to Kew
Junction and the tram service. 5
It is difficult to identify direct comparisons for the complex, because of its apparent composite form.
The western section of the flat block (ie, the attic residence) bears some similarities to a small number
of interwar bungalows located throughout the municipality, including, for example, 44 Studley Park
Road, Kew (q.v., B-graded). For 1940, the balance of the building is an extremely late mix of Old
English and Bungalow styling. It compares with Cloville Flats at 31-9 Cookson Street Camberwell (Cgraded), of 1939-1940, built in a revived Federation style with some Neo-Georgian touches, and voted
Blot of the Month in the student broadsheet Smudges. Similar critical fates awaited other throwbacks
from around this period, as with Bernard Evans’ Tudor flats and shops in Toorak and South Melbourne,
and Arthur Plaisted’s Castle Towers, Toorak, of 1940-1.6 Tanfield Lee similarly, would have struck
most contemporaries as stylistically regressive, though it also reads a quite sympathetic addition, in
1940 terms, to the earlier house on its site.
Amended Heritage Victoria Criteria
CRITERION E: The importance of the place or object in exhibiting good design or aesthetic
characteristics and/or in exhibiting a richness, diversity or unusual integration of features.
Tanfield Lee is an interesting example of an apartment block which appears to have been created
using an existing interwar residence. It is one of a small number of stylistically conservative – even
regressive - apartment blocks appearing in Melbourne suburbs at the end of the interwar period. In
this case, the flats read as a sympathetic acknowledgement of the earlier house, at a time when most
architects and designers were struggling to find ways of adding well to earlier twentieth century
styles.
Tanfield Lee, at 221-229 Cotham Road, Kew, is of local historical and architectural significance as an
unusual and interesting example of an apartment block which appears to have been created
incorporating an existing interwar residence. Architecturally, it is one of a small number of stylistically
conservative – even regressive - apartment blocks appearing in Melbourne suburbs at the end of the
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Lovell Chen 2005
Building Citation
interwar period. In this case, the flats read as a sympathetic acknowledgement of the earlier house,
at a time when most architects and designers were struggling to find ways of adding well to earlier
twentieth century styles.
Grading Review
Unchanged.
Recommendations
Recommended for inclusion in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Boroondara Planning
Scheme.
Identified By
Pru Sanderson Design Pty Ltd, Kew Urban Conservation Study, 1988
References
General: Pru Sanderson Design Pty Ltd, Kew Urban Conservation Study, 1988, G Butler & Associates,
Kew B-graded places study (draft),2001.
Specific:
1
Sands & McDougall Directory of Victoria listings for the years 1938-41, listed Mrs. Eliza Urwin as
resident at 229 Cotham Road during 1938 and 1939, the property listed as vacant during 1940 and
then listed as Tanfield Lea flats occupied by Alfred T Urwin during 1941.
2
City of Kew Rate Books, 1940-41, #2817-2813.
3
Drawings sourced from the City of Kew Building Index cards, #886, dated 23 May 1957; City of Kew
Rate books, 1957-58, #2091-2097, nav £127-200.
4
Details of recent history and subdivision plans copied from the City of Boroondara Building file
40/408/07381 Part 1, and the City of Kew Property file 108443 1 & 2.
5
MMBW Plan no. 65, Municipality of Kew, scale 160’:1”, dated 1904 with 1933 overlay.
6
See Conrad and Chris Hamann, ‘Anger and the New Order: some aspects of Robin Boyd’s career’,
Transition, 2, 3-4 (7-8), 1981; reprinted in Transition 38, Robin Boyd retrospective issue, 1992, pp.
16-43, esp. 18-19.
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$WWDFKPHQW
*Denotes comments from officers and heritage consultants.
Response
No.
1
Place
Makin
House
Address
Summary of feedback
45 Morang
Road,
Hawthorn
Generally supportive of the heritage
assessment.
Provides a copy of a Feb. 1983 plan by
Kevin Makin for a proposed rear room and
deck.
Believes that flats at 41 Morang Road
were also designed by Makin.
Amendment C178
The original bollard 'pencil light' was
removed due to repeated damage.
2
Arden
1045
Burke Rd,
Hawthorn
East
An arborist report prepared by John
Patrick and Associated (2012) states that
the discernable elements of the Edna
Walling garden are over mature and in
decline, overgrown remnants of hedging
or sucker regrowth, or classed as
environmental weeds.
The report also stated that no trees had
been assessed as being of high or
medium value.
Response to feedback*
Recommendations*
Acknowledged and thank you.
No change.
The existence of plans for a proposed extension by
the original architect is notable.
Provide additional note in
citation.
From the physical appearance of the flats it is unlikely
that they were designed by Kevin Makin as they are
quite unlike his other work.
The removal of the pencil light is worthy of note.
No change.
The physical condition of a place or its elements does
not generally influence its significance, unless the
condition inhibits the values of the place being
understood.
The trees and plantings which survive from the Edna
Walling design are significant as part of the remnant
garden design rather than as individual or collective
group of ‘significant trees’. Together with the remnant
hard landscaping, and house, these trees form part of
the significance of the place.
Page 214 of 230
The assessment of ‘high’ or ‘medium’ value referred to
in the Arborist report is a consideration of the amenity
value of each tree or group of trees. This is does not
warrant being taken into account in the consideration
of heritage value.
Provide additional note in
citation.
Specify the trees for
protection in HO20:
Tree Controls – YES
(Specimens of Privet, Crab
Apple, and plants
comprising Tapestry Hedge
on Burke and Rathmines
Road frontages)
Update the
"Recommendations for the
Schedule to the Heritage
Overlay" table to correctly
reflect the intended control
discussed in this section,
that fence along Burke and
Page 1 of 17
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City of Boroondara
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Summary and responses to feedback
Place
Address
Amendment C178
Summary of feedback
Recommendations*
Allan Wyatt, Landscape Architect in his
expert evidence before Tribunal (VCAT
Ref. No. P228/2013) states that the
proposed landscape (under the approved
permit):
• builds upon landscape features of the
area
• provides a contemporary landscape that
complements the building and the
surrounding area.
• is in keeping with the residential
character of the area
• will filter views to the building, create
seasonal shade for residents of the
building and provide courtyards with a
high level of visual appeal and amenity'
The VCAT decision states that while it is
acknowledged that the remains of an
Edna Walling garden survive at 1045
Burke Road Hawthorn East, the garden
was not relevant to the significance of the
place.
As this comment relates to a new landscape, rather
than the amended citation to include Tree Controls, it
is not a relevant consideration.
Rathmines Road frontages
are not exempt from notice
and review.
The consideration of the garden is relevant to the
significant to the heritage place. It is considered that
there is sufficient material surviving in the southern
and eastern portions of the garden at the front of the
house to warrant the updated citation and application
of tree controls.
Page 215 of 230
The trees alone do not provide sufficient evidence to
understand the value of the place as a rare example
of a surviving Edna Walling garden within the
municipality. The understanding of the values relies
on the trees in conjunction with other elements,
including the fence, the steps, paths, garden beds and
edging, and the residential setting including the
house.
Page 2 of 17
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City of Boroondara
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Response
No.
3
Place
Address
Murradoc,
13-15
Quitchambo Irilbarra
Road,
Canterbury
Summary of feedback
The house is not the first substantial
home in the area, having been preceded
by Glenlea (behind it), Shrublands of
c1863, Frognall, Parlington and Astolat.
Amendment C178
The original stables were at 11 Irilbarra
Rd and are now gone (demolished 52
years ago and replaced with a garage).
The building identified as the former
stables was built by the current owner in
2006 (as an extension to the altered
garage?).
Recommendations*
The contextual history at the start of the citation
states: 'Murradoc is located in a part of Canterbury
that was subdivided in the late 19th and early 20th
century for large mansions on extensive grounds,
such as Glenlea at 49 Mangarra Road (whose ground
extended to Mont Albert Road, modest houses on
small blocks, as well as substantial villas on generous
blocks, such as Murradoc and Wiora (at 21 Irilbarra
Road).' It does not say that Murradoc was the first in
the area. The history, however, notes the 'suggestion'
it was the 'first substantial home built in the area'. As
this press report is clearly exaggerated, it could be
removed from the citation.
1905 MMBW Plan (No 1992) shows
stables/outbuilding at the south-west corner of 13-15
Irilbarra Road, in the same position as the current
outbuilding, but with a slightly different footprint by
1962 (on the title certificate). That same footprint is
shown in 1987 as the 'garage' so there is certainly a
possibility that the stables on this spot were rebuilt or
wholly replaced by 1962 with a modern garage. And it
is certainly agreed that the stable/garage has been
embellished with ornament not in keeping with its
original use. On this basis it is accepted that this
outbuilding does not have sufficient significance to be
protected as part of the HO.
Reference to the
Nunawading Gazette story
about Murradoc being the
earliest house has been
removed.
The history has been
corrected to note that the
stables are gone. The
stables have been removed
from the statement of
significance.
Page 216 of 230
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Response
No.
Place
Address
Amendment C178
Page 217 of 230
Summary of feedback
Recommendations*
Around 1987 owner and builder Peter
Mastores 'recreated a lot of what is seen
today' as 'all internal and external features
had been nearly eradicated'.
Peter and Christine Mastores became the owners in
May 1987 (Title Cert. Vol 8412 Fol 527). While it was
advertised for sale in late 1986, prior to their
purchase, press articles include photos and sketches
that show the front part of the house as it is today
(with verandah, tower element, quoining, niche,
window surrounds and incised decoration as it is
today). It was described in Oct. 1986 as having 'an
elegant return-verandah with tessellated tile floor,
column posts and "lace", a brilliant-coloured leadlight
and stained glass entrance, ... A statue recess in one
of the end walls ... the house has been maintained in
god order' (The Age, 4 Oct. 1986). Clearly Mr
Mastores did not add the external ornament, but may
have repaired it. He did add a small rear extension to
the south-west corner of the house in 1987 (Building
permit No 84041). The internal features of the house
are not an issue, as no Internal Controls are
proposed.
This could be referred to as a 'tower feature' or a room
'massed as a tower'. A 1905 footprint of the house
(Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works Detail
Plan, No. 1992) shows that it is an original (or very
early) part of the design. If it was a smoking room, it
may have had external-type finishes inside.
The 1987 date of the rear
extension could be added
to the citation, though the
presence of alterations to
the rear is already noted.
There is no evidence that
all 'external features had
been nearly eradicated' by
1987, so no change to the
description or statement of
significance is warranted in
this regard.
The citation currently states: 'The roof retains its slate
roof with bands of triangular purple slates along the
centre. (Note: the roofing slates may have been
renewed, but are in keeping with 19th-century
design.)'. The photo provided by the submitter shows
The description has been
updated in line with
the photo provided, noting
that the original slate roof
was simpler than the
What is described in the citation as a
'short tower' was an addition over a
section of the original verandah. As it is
only single storey it cannot be properly
described as a tower.
Current slate roof is not original. A 1964
photo shows that it had a plain slate roof
at the time, not the present banded
design.
The terms 'short tower' and
'tower' have been replaced
with a more detailed
description of this room
massed like a tower, in
keeping with the Italianate
fashion of the day, followed
by the term 'tower element'.
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Response
No.
Place
Address
Summary of feedback
The tree in the rear yard is not the oak
tree planted by the Daly family, but an elm
of about 30 years old. The oak tree stood
where the tennis courts are now and was
removed in 1994.
Palm in front yard recently died.
Amendment C178
There are better examples of fine
renderwork at the corner of Trafalgar &
Prospect Hill roads, and 3 houses going
south on Trafalgar Road.
House is not important due to its builder
Lewis Rowden.
The house has been extensively altered
internally.
House is a typical mass-produced house
of the late 1880s and 1890s of no
particular note and no outstanding
features unique to it.
Most of the visible features of the home
are recent reproductions.
Recommendations*
Page 218 of 230
that the original slate roof did not have this decorative
band.
present one.
There are no tree controls recommended for the site,
so this does not change the recommendations, but the
history and description should be updated to reflect
this information.
The reference to the oak
tree has been removed
from the citation.
There are no tree controls recommended for the site,
so this does not change the recommendations, but the
description should be updated to reflect this change.
This entire area is covered by heritage precinct
HO159, in recognition of the heritage value of the
houses within it.
The reference to the palm
tree has been removed
from the citation.
No change.
Agreed, this information was put in the 'What' section,
as factual background, not the reason it is of note.
No change.
No internal controls are recommended, so this has no
impact.
The house has largely typical massing - a symmetrical
double-fronted house with an M-hip roof, but is
distinguished by its embellishment with the tower
element, fine renderwork, and elaborate verandah.
When the Mastoreses purchased the house, for a
'record' price in late 1986, they are quoted as saying
they 'would renovate a little, but intended to keep the
property more or less as it was' ('Camberwell Free
Press', 21 Oct 1986). As noted above, they built a
small extension at the rear, but there is no evidence
that there was any more than repairs (and roof
recladding) to the exterior of the original house. As
noted above, internal alterations are not an issue.
No change.
No change.
No change.
Page 5 of 17
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City of Boroondara
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Response
No.
4
7
Place
Grange
Avenue
Residential
Precinct
Amendment C178
Page 219 of 230
Address
Summary of feedback
4 Grange
Avenue,
Canterbury
No additional controls are recommended
for the HO Schedule, so why should the
house be listed at all.
Purchased the house with the intention of
demolishing it and replacing with a
modern home for the long term. House is
currently run down and it will cost more to
fix it up than to replace it. No objections to
HO for the other houses, especially No 2.
6 Grange
Avenue,
Canterbury
Fences at 2 and 6 Grange Avenue were
replaced in 1993 in a similar pattern to the
original fences.
The main heritage control is over the external built
elements of a site by being listed in the HO Schedule.
The optional "tick-boxes" are all extras.
Condition of a building is only taken into account
insofar as it affects its intactness, that is, if almost all
of the external contributory elements were in such a
poor condition need to be replaced. Judging from
external views, this is far from the case with 2 Grange
Avenue, and its current condition does not diminish its
heritage significance.
The owner of the property showed us the pickets from
the original fence and provided information on its
replacement with an identical one in 1993. Also stated
that all houses Nos 2-10 may have had same fence
pattern originally.
Property value is not related to the assessment of
heritage significance. In addition, there is no set
pattern of how heritage listing impacts property
values. A review of financial implications of the
Heritage Overlay by Heritage Victoria in 2001 was
largely inconclusive. The review could not find a
strong association between the introduction of the
Heritage Overlay and reduced property values over an
extended period of time. The 2006 Productivity
Commission Inquiry Report on Conservation of
Australia’s Historic Heritage Places found that the
impact of the Heritage Overlay on property values
varied in different circumstances. Circumstances
where the Heritage Overlay had a negative impact of
property values were situations where the properties
are unusually development constrained.
Circumstances where property values were positively
impacted included where the Heritage Overlay
Believes that the value of the property will
go down due to HO.
Recommendations*
No change.
No change.
This information has been
corrected and Criterion B
(rarity) has been removed
from the assessment of
significance.
No change.
Page 6 of 17
18/08/14
______________________________________________________________________________________
City of Boroondara
______________________________________________________________________________________
Response
No.
5
Place
Deepdene
Post Office
(former)
Address
Summary of feedback
Amendment C178
Notes typos in referring the Grange
Avenue as 'Grange Road' several times.
165
Objection to the inclusion of the property
Whitehorse in any HO. Did not address the citation
Rd,
and intended to engage a heritage
Deepdene consultant to prepare a submission.
The preliminary consultation time was not
adequate. The proposed HO would have
a fundamental and detrimental effect on
the proprietary interests and such scant
regard for the ability of owners to form a
position, instruct heritage consultants at
extremely short notice, and to receive
timely advice is an abuse of process and
not at all appreciated.
facilitated the preservation of a place that was
considered to be appealing as a rare or prestigious
example of type, or valued neighbourhood character
in a precinct setting.
Agreed that this is in error.
Objection acknowledged.
The preliminary consultation Is only the initial
notification stage prior to Council considering whether
to pursue a planning scheme amendment to introduce
HOs to the properties. The preliminary consultation
was carried out from 9 May 2014 to 13 June 2014 for
over one calendar month - equivalent and in addition
to the exhibition during the planning scheme
amendment stage. This timeframe is considered
adequate and allows a heritage amendment project to
progress in a timely manner.
Recommendations*
These errors have been
corrected.
No change.
No change.
Page 220 of 230
Should the UPSC resolve to commence the planning
scheme amendment, there will be further
opportunities for affected parties to be involved,
including the formal amendment exhibition stage. Any
unresolved objections received during the amendment
exhibition stage will be referred to an independent
Planning Panel before Council makes a decision on
the amendment.
Page 7 of 17
18/08/14
______________________________________________________________________________________
City of Boroondara
______________________________________________________________________________________
Response
No.
11
Amendment C178
Page 221 of 230
Place
Address
Summary of feedback
Deepdene
Post Office
(former)
165
Whitehorse
Road,
Deepdene
The building is of some historical interest
within its immediate environs, "but it does
not make the place historically significant
at a local (i.e. municipal) level."
According to the VPP Practice Note 'Applying the
Heritage Overlay' (2012): "'Local significance' includes
those places that are important to a particular
community or locality.' This means that the former
post office can be an important part of Deepdene's
early history and meet the threshold of local
significance under this definition. It does not have to
be of significance municipality-wide.
While official post offices were designed and
constructed by the Public Works Department, and
thus of a grander scale and higher level of
architectural pretension, post office agencies were
private ventures and were designed and built by the
same builders who were responsible for other
commercial buildings in the area. It would be unusual
for this function to be expressly demonstrated in the
design. Post offices (or their agencies) were, however,
some of the earliest facilities to appear in new
shopping areas and this is demonstrated by the early
date of 165 Whitlehorse Rd in comparison to other
shops in the Deepdene shopping strip (between the
railway line to the west and Terry Street).
There is more room for architectural expression by
877 Burke Road as it has two storeys, in comparison
to the single-storey 165 Whitehorse Road, which is
still a good example of this style at a smaller scale.
Moreover, 165 Whitehorse Rd is more intact, retaining
its original shopfront, which elevates its architectural
significance as a good and intact example of its type.
The use of the place as a former post
office agency is not demonstrated in the
fabric. The Canterbury PO is a much
better example of this.
The comparison of the building to a
Contributory place (877 Burke Road),
which is architecturally superior, highlights
how ordinary and representative the
former Deepdene PO is.
Recommendations*
No change.
No change.
No change.
Page 8 of 17
18/08/14
______________________________________________________________________________________
City of Boroondara
______________________________________________________________________________________
Response
No.
6
Place
G Nissel &
Co (Aust)
Pty Ltd
Factory
(former)
Address
4A
Montrose
St,
Hawthorn
East
Amendment C178
Page 222 of 230
Summary of feedback
4A Montrose Street built in 1962 doesn’t
provide “evidence” of the ongoing
expansion of industrial activity along
Burwood Road from the 1850s to the
1990s. The building in no way represents
development for the one hundred years
up until the 1950s, which was
predominantly Victorian in character and
mixed use. Likewise, 4A Montrose St. in
no way demonstrates industrial expansion
into Hawthorn in the twentieth century,
which the Built Heritage Pty. Ltd.Report
incorrectly describes as a “renewed burst
of industrial expansion into Hawthorn
East”.4A Montrose Street has no
architectural resemblance to the six light
industrial premises slowly built in
Montrose Street in the ten years between
the mid 1950s and the mid 1960s.
Montrose Street has always been partially
a residential street. It was never, as
suggested in the heritage assessment,
part of a “regional epicenter” of industrial
development along and around Burwood
Rd since the 1850s.The historic scale and
context of the street will soon disappear
and the building at 4A Montrose Street will
have no meaningful relationship with its
environs.
Factories built along, or just off, Burwood
Road after the Second World War have
generally not been considered by the City
of Boroondara or the responsible Victorian
While the submitter may be correct to point out that
Montrose Street was characterised by residential use
until the early post-war period, the fact remains that
the subsequent overlay of post-war industrial
development, which includes the subject building, has
been identified as indicative of a significant theme in
the development of the area and of the municipality.
As the subject building at 4a Montrose Street is being
recommended for inclusion on the heritage overlay
schedule as an individual heritage place, it is not
necessary to take its streetscape context into
consideration. The citation certainly did not ascribe
any significance to the place on the basis of a
“meaningful relationship with its environs”.
Recommendations*
No change.
The submitter’s assertion that post-war factories along
or near Burwood Road “have generally not been
considered by the City of Boroondara or the
responsible Victorian Government authority to be of
Page 9 of 17
18/08/14
______________________________________________________________________________________
City of Boroondara
______________________________________________________________________________________
Response
No.
Place
Address
Summary of feedback
Government authority (Heritage Victoria)
to be of any heritage significance.
Amendment C178
it is not clear why 4A Montrose Street
should have heritage significance based,
as claimed by Heritage Pty. Ltd. upon
being “endangered or a rare survivor” of a
group of factories deemed by the relevant
Heritage authorities to have no
significance. Furthermore, the fact that 4A
Montrose Street has a flat for a live in
caretaker is not
grounds for concluding the building has
heritage significance.
David Godsell’s work is not well known,
even within the Architecture profession.
He was not influential or significant in
Boroondara’s cultural history.
Recommendations*
heritage significance” is not sufficient justification for
these types of buildings to be excluded from
consideration as such at any time in the future. It must
be acknowledged that cultural heritage significance is
an evolving and cyclical phenomenon. A heritage
study must never been seen as a “closed set” into
which not further correspondence can be entered, and
the fact remains that hitherto overlooked buildings will
invariably be “rediscovered” as places of heritage
significance in the future. There are examples of postwar buildings that have never been identified in local
heritage studies but have since been added to the
Victorian Heritage Register, such as the Delbridge
House in Ivanhoe (1960) and the Chef stove factory in
Brunswick (1962).
The consultants maintain that the subject building is
indeed a rare survivor of a post-war architectdesigned factory along the former industrial heartland
of Burwood Road.
Page 223 of 230
David Godsell was highly regarded by former
employer Guilford Bell, that his work attracted a
degree of attention during his own solo practice in the
1960s, and that, since his death in 1985, he has
generated further popular and scholarly interest. This
includes acknowledgement by such experts as
Professor Philip Goad, Professor Leon van Schaik
and Alex Njoo, the National Trust of Australia
(Victoria), and two leading firms of heritage
consultants, Allom Lovell & Associates and Heritage
Alliance.
Page 10 of 17
18/08/14
______________________________________________________________________________________
City of Boroondara
______________________________________________________________________________________
Response
No.
Place
Address
Amendment C178
Summary of feedback
4A Montrose Street is not a notable
example of a building in the “Prairie
School of Frank Lloyd Wright”. It was
designed by David Godsell, who in the
1960s was one of an informal group of
Melbourne Architects that adopted
features from American sources such as
Frank Lloyd Wright, which they
intentionally merged into modernist
designs. In fact, they did not see
themselves as followers of Frank Lloyd
Wright or Walter Burley Griffin.David
Godsell was not influential as an
Architect, building very little anywhere. He
was not, as claimed, a “leading exponent
of the Wrightian Style”. David Godsell built
nothing in Boroondara before or after 4A
Montrose Street. He simply had no
subsequent effect upon architectural
design in Boroondara and had no part in
the cultural history of Boroondara.
There is no doubt that the subject building and the
work of David Godsell in general, shows the clear
influence of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie
School.While the submitter might be correct in noting
that there are relatively few post-war examples of this
particular architectural style in the municipality, this
should not be misconstrued as justification for
downplaying the significance of those examples that
do exist there.The Nissel & Company factory in
Hawthorn is recommended for an individual heritage
overlay because, considered in isolation as an
individual specimen, it represents a striking distillation
of the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie
School on a local architect whose work was very
strongly defined by those influences. Ultimately, this
is irrespective of whether or not Godsell otherwise
“contributed to the cultural history of Boroondara” or
“built nothing in Boroondara before or after”. A case
for cultural heritage significance certainly does not
hinge on whether an architect had any profound and
ongoing impact on the architecture of a locality.
Indeed, few architects could even claim such an
influence on a locality.
Recommendations*
Page 224 of 230
Page 11 of 17
18/08/14
______________________________________________________________________________________
City of Boroondara
______________________________________________________________________________________
Response
No.
Place
Address
Amendment C178
Summary of feedback
The Griffin and Wright modular block
systems were innovative achievements in
their time. Both systems predated the
precast blocks used at 4A Montrose
Street by 40 years. Godsell used precast
blocks to form vertical buttresses that
extended beyond the roof as finials. The
blocks are non-structural and decorative
only. In essence, they are superficial and
not part of an authentic, new structural
system. The use of surface decoration
doesn’t demonstrate a high degree of
creative or technical achievement in the
early 1960s, by which time it was common
place. Further to the above, “fastidious
attention to detail” by a former local
Building Company fifty-two years ago is
not grounds to deem 4A Montrose Street
has heritage significance to the City of
Boroondara in 2014.
This citation only invoked the creative achievement of
the textured concrete blocks, as they were unusual in
their form, finishes and colouring, and that their use
therefore constitutes “creative achievement” within the
building. Criterion F can be applied in this instance.
Recommendations*
Page 225 of 230
Page 12 of 17
18/08/14
______________________________________________________________________________________
City of Boroondara
______________________________________________________________________________________
Response
No.
Place
Address
Summary of feedback
No physical evidence remains of its
previous uses. The existing
building doesn’t reflect its original use as
an industrial workshop.
Amendment C178
Nissel & Company were not the pioneers
of contact lens manufacturing in Australia.
The pioneers were OPSM who
commenced manufacturing fifteen years
before Nissel and Company. The latter
were only one of a number of small
manufacturers in a market that came to
be dominated in the mid 1970s by Bausch
and Lomb. Nissel and Company
commenced manufacturing 4A Montrose
Street in 1962 and ceased business 20
years ago. The building has been utilized
for other purposes since.
8
Timber
Shop
Page 226 of 230
415-417
High
Street,
Kew
It is unreasonable to suggest the building
at 4A Montrose Street retains in 2014 a
credible association with Victor Lowe and
as a consequence, is of such importance
in Boroondara’s history that it needs to be
preserved as a physical memorial to a
past use.
Questions whether the level of intactness
is sufficient, or as high as reported in the
citation. The windows and at least one of
the front doors had been altered or added.
Has also found 'several changes' to the
building in his own inspection.
Recommendations*
While the submitter draws attention to the fact that
local manufacture of contact lenses can be traced
back to 1940, when OPSM commenced production in
Sydney (as recorded in the citation), the subject
building was indisputably the first purpose-built
contact lens factory in Victoria, and only the third such
business established in the country (after two in
Sydney). A case for historical significance at the local
level does not need to take into consideration any
developments that took place interstate. In this regard,
the former Nissel & Company factory is important in
the Victorian context (as well as the local context of
the City of Boroondara).
That no evidence remains to provide evidence of its
original industrial use cannot be put forward as a
compelling reason for a heritage overlay not to be
applied. Historic associations do not necessarily need
to be demonstrated by built fabric in order to be
acknowledged.
Ultimately, the subject building would still be
considered of architectural and aesthetic significance
irrespective of the type of business that carried out
there.
If documentation of the purported alterations can be
provided, the significance of the shop and its parts
can be reassessed in light of this.
No change at present
Page 13 of 17
18/08/14
______________________________________________________________________________________
City of Boroondara
______________________________________________________________________________________
Response
No.
Place
Address
Summary of feedback
1903 photo purportedly of the shop is in
fact another building further north-east
(No 427).
Internal
information
Amendment C178
9
Astolat
Ladies’
College
(former)
59 Auburn
Road,
Hawthorn
East
Has provided a chronology of early Kew
Cemetery development, which comes
from a report by heritage consultants
Heritage Alliance. The chronology was
prepared on the basis of the Minute
Books of the Cemetery Trustees. It
provides an 1899 date for the clock, while
the entrance gates and adjoining iron
palisade fence are from 1889.
Significant financial loss from reduced
land value and resale price due to
heritage controls.
Recommendations*
Page 227 of 230
The Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works Detail
Plan No 1586 of 1904 shows that the shop at 415-417
High Street and the house next door were the only
building on that side of High Street between Disraeli
and Gladstone Street. There was no shop near 427
High Street at that time.
This contradicts the date given in D Rogers' 'Jubilee
History of Kew', which puts them all as 1895. Agreed
that the detailed search of the minute books is likely to
be the most accurate source.
No change.
varied in different circumstances. The constraints on
development potential associated with listings can
have a negative impact on property values. However,
where neighbourhood amenity is to be preserved,
heritage listings can have a positive impact on
property values.
No change.
The dates in the history
have been corrected, citing
the Heritage Alliance
report.
Page 14 of 17
18/08/14
______________________________________________________________________________________
City of Boroondara
______________________________________________________________________________________
Response
No.
Place
Address
Amendment C178
Summary of feedback
Significant cost of repairs and
maintenance of the property and the
burden of future repairs and maintenance
due to heritage requirements.
Maintenance cost is not relevant to the heritage
significance of the property. However, in
consideration of the location of the property, the
proposed heritage control includes "Prohibited uses
may be permitted", i.e. a permit may be granted to use
the building for a use which would otherwise be
prohibited in a residential zone, such as an office.
This flexibility may provide some incentives to the
current or future owners to maintain the heritage
building.
In consideration of the location of the property, the
proposed heritage control includes "Prohibited uses
The property is on a busy arterial road
adjacent to an activity centre and is
surrounded by flats and apartments, not
by any buildings of heritage significance.
There is little or no justification in
maintaining an isolated heritage building
in this setting.
Recommendations*
No change.
No change.
This property is an individually significant property
therefore the surrounding buildings' heritage
significance is not relevant.
Page 228 of 230
Page 15 of 17
18/08/14
______________________________________________________________________________________
City of Boroondara
______________________________________________________________________________________
Response
No.
10
Place
Address
Amendment C178
Summary of feedback
There will be reduced land values and
subsequent loss of future amenity in the
immediate vicinity of 59 Auburn Rd is
dealings on the property are restricted by
heritage controls.
varied in different circumstances. The constraints on
development potential associated with listings can
have a negative impact on property values. However,
where neighbourhood amenity is to be preserved,
heritage listings can have a positive impact on
property values.
Page 229 of 230
The subject property is in an advanced
state of disrepair and has fallen down and
collapsed in places. It is partially boardedup. It does not contribute to the urban
streetscape in any positive way. The
current owners do not appear to be able
to maintain and repair the property to the
required standards.
Introducing heritage controls to the subject property is
not likely to have a negative impact to the amenity in
the surrounding area.
Condition of a building is only taken into account
insofar as it affects its intactness, that is, if almost all
of the external contributory elements were in such a
poor condition they needed to be replaced. While
there are some maintenance works that clearly need
to be done (especially to the rainwater goods), its
current condition is not one that significantly
diminishes its heritage significance.
Recommendations*
No change.
No change.
Page 16 of 17
18/08/14
______________________________________________________________________________________
City of Boroondara
______________________________________________________________________________________
Response
No.
Place
Address
Summary of feedback
The urban context and streetscape
around the subject property is not typical
of heritage environs, being a busy arterial
road surrounded by apartment blocks and
walk-up flats. The immediate urban
environment will not attract a potential
landowner interested in the proper
restoration and reconstruction of a HO
controlled property. It is likely the
property would only continue to further
deteriorate and detract from the
streetscape.
In consideration of the location of the property, the
proposed heritage controls include "Prohibited uses
This flexibility may also provide some incentives to the
current or future owners to maintain the heritage
building.
Recommendations*
No change.
This property is an individually significant property
therefore the surrounding buildings' heritage
significance is not relevant.
Amendment C178
Page 230 of 230
Page 17 of 17
18/08/14
______________________________________________________________________________________
City of Boroondara
______________________________________________________________________________________
Response
No.

UPC2 Amendment C178 attachments

Transcription

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