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Heritage Report
regarding the heritage issues
pursuant to the proposed
Rezoning Submission
at
64 Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill
18 May 2017
Mark Stephenson BSc (Hons) Building Conservation and Architecture
ABN 44168657823
47 Dove Street
Richmond Victoria 3121
P O Box 221
East Melbourne Victoria 8002
Australia
Telephone 613 9421 5448
Facsimile 613 9421 5449
Mobile 0430 962 770
Heritage Report 64 Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill
trethowan architecture interiors heritage i
CONTENTS
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Heritage Report for: 1
1.2 This Report forms part of a: 1
2. Location, Context and Site 2
2.1 Existing Buildings 4
3. History 7
3.1 Precinct 7
3.2 Industrial Context 8
3.3 Subject Site 9
4. Heritage Listings and Control 17
4.1 Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) 17
4.2 City of Yarra Planning Scheme 17
4.2.1 Heritage Overlay 17
4.2.2 Analysis Statement of Significance 18
4.4.3 Statutory Framework 18
4.3 Australian Heritage Places Inventory 18
4.4 National Trust 19
5. Significance Plan and Recommended Design Guidelines 19
5.1 Significance Plan 19
5.1.1 Buildings 1, and 3 -7 19
5.1.2 Building 2 19
5.1.3 Crossovers 21
5.1.4 Internal Courtyard 21
6. Conclusion 21
Appendix A 22
Appendix B 26
Heritage Report 64 Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill
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Heritage Report 64 Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill
trethowan architecture interiors heritage 1
1. Introduction
1.1 Heritage Report for:
64 Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill.
The heritage assessment of the above site has been commissioned by the Department of Treasury and Finance.
1.2 This Report forms part of a:
Proposed rezoning of 64 Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill – hereafter referred to as the subject site.
The aim of this report is to support the rezoning submission as being prepared by Urbis.
Heritage Report 64 Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill
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2. Location, Context and Site
An inspection of the site, its interior and surroundings was undertaken on March 30, 2017. The subject site is
located at the southern boundary of Clifton Hill in an area that was formerly part of the City of Collingwood. The
subject site is bounded by Alexandra Parade to the south and Gold Street to the east with houses to the north and
a lane to the west (refer Figure 1, below). The subject site is located within the Clifton Hill Western Precinct.
Alexandra Parade has a largely industrial history; it was formerly known as Reilly Street and featured a large drain
in the middle of the street that connected to the Yarra River to the east. The Reilly Street drain encouraged the
formation of a zone of industry which extended along the Yarra towards Abbotsford and Richmond. The subject
site is located in a former zone of noxious industries such as tanneries and industries that made use of animal by-
products and used the drain for effluent removal.
Figure 1 – The subject site is indicated in red. Source: Google Maps, 2017.
Nowadays, the Collingwood and Clifton Hill area is largely residential with many factory and industrial sites having
been converted to housing. The subject site is located in a predominantly residential precinct with most buildings
dating from the Victorian period with substantial contribution from the Edwardian and inter-war eras. While the
precinct is known to have some other types of buildings such as churches, schools, shops and industrial sites
(such as the subject site), it is a largely intact, turn of the century, residential area.1
The subject site itself is a conglomeration of built structures surrounding a central courtyard (refer Figure 2 below)
that is accessed via two bluestone crossovers. Facing to Alexandra Parade there are three structures, at the
southeast end there is a large, two-storey sawtooth roofed structure of an unknown date but between 1945 and
the 1960s. To the west of this is an original 1880 factory building. These structures are internally connected at both
1 Allom Lovell & Associates, City of Yarra Heritage Review: Heritage Overlay Precincts Vol 3, 1998: 57
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the ground and first floors. Adjacent to this is a single storey shed like structure which is completely open to the
internal courtyard. Opposite this is a similarly open shed building in an L-shape. A driveway and exit to Alexandra
Parade is at the southwest corner of the site between these two open sheds, utilising a bluestone pitched crossover
evident from at least 1896 (refer Figure 3, below). Finally, at the north-east of the site are three infill buildings of
two or one-storey separated from the sawtooth building by a further site entrance with bluestone pitched crossover.
Figure 2 – Map showing the various buildings and crossovers found on the subject site. Source: Google Maps, 2017.
Figure 3 – View of the subject site looking east along Alexandra Parade showing the early pitched bluestone crossover providing access
to the site. The Shot Tower is visible in the background. Source: Trethowan Architecture, 2017.
Sawtooth
building (1945-
1960)
Former
Factory
(1880) Open shed
Open shed
Two-storey
building Two-storey
building
One-storey
building
Heritage Report 64 Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill
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2.1 Existing Buildings
The existing buildings on site vary in age, construction and integrity. The current buildings are fitted out to suit the
site’s most recent former use as a timber and hardware merchant. Internally, there is timber racking for material
storage, and the internal courtyard is bounded by open sheds containing product storage and display. There is
currently no internal evidence of historic uses of the buildings on the site. The 1880 factory contains no remnant
machinery or equipment that could give clues to its historical use.
The original 1880 factory facing Alexandra Parade is the oldest building on the site. It is a two-storey timber-framed
structure which has been altered over time. The building’s original cladding has mainly been removed and replaced
externally with corrugated iron. Internally, the original timber frame has been left exposed revealing the locations
of original window apertures on the front and side facades. Original timber columns and roof trusses are also
evident throughout (refer Figure 4 below).
Figure 4– Internal views of the first floor of the 1880 factory. The original timber frame and truss structure is clearly evident forming one of
the two hips with original timber supporting columns and window apertures (identified in red) also evident. Source: Trethowan
Architecture, 2017.
Some evidence was found of early, possibly original, corrugated iron exterior cladding on the west façade as well
as bluestone footings (refer Figure 5 below). However, the ground floor has modern concrete and the first floor is
timber boards over original structure.
Figure 5 – Left: original corrugated iron sheet cladding to the west façade. Right: bluestone footing structure. Source: Trethowan
Architecture, 2017.
At the east side, the former external wall has been removed and the building completely connected with the
adjoining sawtooth structure at both levels to make single, large open spaces. At the north side, facing the
courtyard, there is structural evidence of a narrow structure that formerly extended back towards the rear of the
Heritage Report 64 Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill
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site (refer Figure 6 and the 1901 MMBW map at Figure 17 below). The building’s structure and roof form is intact
and recognisable as an 1880 structure, however very little of the original cladding and no original windows remain.
Figure 6 – Two columns and beam ends that demonstrate the location of a former narrow building extending from the rear of the 1880
factory towards the rear of the site. Source: Trethowan Architecture, 2017.
At the corner of Gold Street and Alexandra Parade sits a two-storey sawtooth building dating between 1945 and
1960. The building most recently contained office spaces and timber warehousing. There are some original internal
features remaining at the ground floor office (refer Figure 7 below).
Figure 7 – Interior views of the office areas within the sawtooth building. The left image shows a former entrance to the office from
Alexandra Parade and the right image shows timber windows and wall features. Source: Trethowan Architecture, 2017.
The building is timber framed with brick piers and a recent corrugated iron cladding. There is internal evidence of
brick footing structure beneath more recent concrete flooring. This is particularly evident at the point where this
building meets, and joins to, the 1880 factory (refer Figure 8 below). The first floor features recent timber board
flooring seen in the 1880 factory.
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Figure 8 – The left image shows recent timber fitout to suit the timber merchant use. Behind this a brick structural pier is visible. The
image at the right shows brick footing structure where the sawtooth factory meets the 1880 factory. Different floor levels and adjustments
over team create a series of slopes and steps internally. Source: Trethowan Architecture, 2017.
The southwest corner of the site is occupied by a single-storey shed type structure that is open to the internal
courtyard and connects to the original Alexandra Parade site access point and pitched crossover. It is unclear
when this structure was built but it is connected to the 1880 factory with timber beams and appears to have been
used most recently for storage or warehousing. The building is timber framed with a truss roof, some brick piers
and corrugated iron cladding along Alexandra Parade (refer Figure 9 below).
Figure 9 – The left image shows the beam connection between the shed and the 1880 factory. The right image shows the timber structure
and the open layout facing the courtyard. Source: Trethowan Architecture, 2017.
At the rear of the site, facing to the courtyard, is a series of four buildings – one L-shaped open shed and three
enclosed structures all of undetermined date but likely mid to late-twentieth century (refer Figure 10 below). Internal
investigation of the three enclosed buildings was not conducted but the exterior shows a mix of one and two-storey
structures, clad in corrugated iron with some evidence of timber framing. There is some possible evidence of former
site uses within the flooring of the open shed in the form of small rail tracks and timber boards covering apparent
channels (refer Figure 11 below). These buildings retain some machinery and stock related to the site’s use as a
timber and hardware merchant. These structures appear from the exterior to have a good degree of integrity and
intactness.
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Figure 10 – The left image shows the L-shaped open shed structure facing onto the courtyard. The right image shows the three enclosed
buildings of varying height and structure (the sawtooth building is to the right of the image). Source: Trethowan Architecture, 2017.
Figure 11 – These images show the rail tracks and timber covering boards within the open shed. These provide evidence of former site
uses and building layouts. There is also some remining equipment from the recent use of the site. Source: Trethowan Architecture, 2017.
3. History
3.1 Precinct
Following European settlement of Melbourne, what is now the Clifton Hill Western Precinct was part of the City of
Collingwood which itself split from the City of Melbourne in 18502 In the early days of settlement Collingwood was
a low-lying and wet area prone to flooding and disease. Land was subsequently cheap and not preferred for
residential development; this, and the proximity to the Yarra for effluent disposal, encouraged industrial growth.3
The precinct forms part of the former East Collingwood, established in 1855 with land sales commencing in the
1860s (refer Figure 15).4 The precinct contrasts to those adjacent to it in the provision of public recreation land,5
but it compares with those same precincts in the mix of residential and industrial buildings predominantly from the
Victorian and Edwardian eras. The precinct developed its residential character during the boom years of the 1880s
and was almost fully developed by 1891.6 The subject site falls within this key development period. At that time,
2 Allom Lovell & Associates, City of Yarra Heritage Review: Heritage Overlay Precincts Vol 3, 1998: 1
3 Allom Lovell & Associates, City of Yarra Heritage Review: Thematic History Vol 1, 1998
4 Victorian Heritage Database Report for Box’s Hair Curling Works, factory & yard, former, later Provan Timber Merchant retrieved from City of Yarra Heritage Database: http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/local/result_detail/98489?page=1&type=user March 16, 2017
5 Allom Lovell & Associates, City of Yarra Heritage Review: Thematic History Vol 1, 1998: 12
6 Victorian Heritage Database Report for Box’s Hair Curling Works, factory & yard, former, later Provan Timber Merchant retrieved from City of Yarra Heritage Database: http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/local/result_detail/98489?page=1&type=user March 16, 2017
Heritage Report 64 Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill
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industry was concentrated in the south east of the precinct fronting Alexandra Parade and Hoddle Street.7 These
industries, which also included boot makers, tanners and brewers, relied on the Reilly Street drain to dispose of
effluent into the Yarra River. Figure 12, below, shows the subject site in context of the wider precinct; it is in the
southeast fronting to Alexandra Parade.
Figure 12 – Extract of Planning Scheme Map 02HO, the heritage precinct is outlined in green, the subject site in red. Source: City of Yarra
Planning Scheme.
3.2 Industrial Context
The subject site is located in a predominantly residential area. However, as noted above, it is part of a small pocket
of industrial development along Alexandra Parade that once formed a larger noxious industry zone utilising the
Reilly Street drain. However, there are some other industrial and former factory sites dotted throughout the precinct
demonstrating a broader history of residential mixed with light, small-scale industry. The sites are listed and shown
on the precinct map at Figure 13 below.
1. Provans yard, 92 Alexandra Parade 2. Shot Tower, 94 Alexandra Parade. 3. Haliburton Wool Works, 94 Alexandra Parade 4. Spry Brothers Boot Factory, 628-632 Smith Street 5. Factory, 616-622 Smith Street 6. Factory, 612-614 Smith Street 7. Clifton Hill Fire Brigade Station, 662 Smith Street 8. Factory, 1A Council Street 9. Factory, 406 Wellington Street
7 Victorian Heritage Database Report for Box’s Hair Curling Works, factory & yard, former, later Provan Timber Merchant retrieved from City
of Yarra Heritage Database: http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/local/result_detail/98489?page=1&type=user March 16, 2017
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10. Factory, 7 Queens Parade 11. Yates Boot Factory, later Hill, Norman and Beard Organ Factory, 2-10 Page Street 12. JM Hanson Boot Factory site, later factory, 6-8 Kent Street 13. Factory, 41 Alexander Street 14. Factory, former, 6 Anderson Street
Figure 13 – Extract of Planning Scheme Map 02HO, the subject site is indicated in red. Other industrial sites are noted in green.
Source: City of Yarra Planning Scheme.
These sites provide a broader understanding of the historical industrial context of the precinct. Although there are
other industrial buildings in the precinct, many also form the Victorian-era, the pocket of noxious industry at
Alexandra Parade represent a rare industrial streetscape being the dominant character. The Alexandra Parade
pocket also overwhelms the other industrial sites in terms of scale and significance to the precinct and to the wider
understanding of the development of industry in the municipality and the city of Melbourne as a whole.
3.3 Subject Site
The subject site has been continuously occupied as industrial premises since 1880 when George and Charles Box
constructed a large, timber factory on the site as their Box Hair Curling Works. Hair curling is the treatment of horse
hair to make it suitable for upholstery stuffing or for brushes. No doubt the Box Brothers’ were drawn to this site as
1
2
3
4 5
6
7
8
9
10
11 12
13
14
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it was located in a noxious trades area with related industries such as tanneries, fellmongers and wool scourers
which made use of the Reilly Street drain.8 The Box Factory was the largest hair curling works in Melbourne.9
Figure 14 – Extract from Kearney Map 2 – Northcote, Collingwood, East Melbourne, Hawthorn, Richmond. 1855. Approximate location of
subject site indicated in red. The street layout suggested in this map did not eventuate. Source: State Library of Victoria Pictures
Collection.
8 Gary Vines and Matthew Churchward, Northern Suburbs Factory Study (Highpoint, Victoria; Melbourne’s Living Museum of the West: 1992) 52-57
9 Collingwood Historical Society, Inc, Collingwood History Walk 9 November 2013, www.collingwoodhs.org.au, accessed March 16, 2017
Heritage Report 64 Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill
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Figure 15 – “Plan of subdivision of allotments in the City of Collingwood, 1851-62.” Approximate location of the subject site is indicated in
red. This plan shows an early subdivision plan of the site for residences. Source: State Library of Victoria Pictures Collection.
The two maps at Figures 14 and 15 above show that the subject site was not developed by the 1860s but there
were intentions to subdivide and develop the area for residential. There is no evidence to suggest the site was
developed prior to the Box Brothers’ constructing their factory in 1880. The MMBW map of 1896 (Figure 16 below)
shows several built forms on the subject site, with the main factory building being of timber. This is the Box Brothers’
1880 building, a two-storey timber-framed factory building with a double hipped roof of timber truss construction.
This building is extant on the site today, albeit altered but still retaining its original form. There is no physical or
visual evidence of the Hair Curling Works for which the building was originally constructed.
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Figure 16 – Extract of MMBW plan No 29 of Melbourne, Fitzroy and Collingwood, 1896. This map shown the factory site, indicated in red,
extending back to Noone St. Highlighted in yellow is the original two-storey timber factory building dating from 1880. The house at Number
11 Noone St, indicated in green, was occupied by the Hair Curling Works manager10. Source: State Library of Victoria Pictures Collection.
By around 1901-1903 the site was also occupied by the ‘Clifton Wheel Company’ (possibly also known as the
‘Clifton Hill Wheel Manufacturing Company’).11 An article in the Argus from 1925 suggests that this site saw the
beginnings of Melbourne’s motor body building industry in 1902 with possibly Australia’s first ever motor chassis
constructed at this site for the ‘Tarrant Company’ by ‘Clifton Wheel Company’.12 It appears that the ‘Box Hair
Curling Works’ and the ‘Clifton Wheel Company’ shared the site for a time.
The 1901 map at Figure 17 below, shows the site had developed somewhat since 1896 as shown in Figure 16
above. The buildings fronting to Alexandra Parade have been extended eastward to Gold St. This new portion
aligns with the current sawtooth building.
The subject site was subdivided at some point after 1901 roughly in half (east to west), excising the rear portion to
Noone Street (refer Figure 17 below). The houses built on this land; 13-17 Noone Street and 135-145 Gold Street,
are all from the Edwardian era and dated between 1901 and 1915.13 These dates indicate that the subdivision
must have occurred either before or between 1901 and 1915.
10 Collingwood Historical Society, Inc, Collingwood History Walk 9 November 2013, www.collingwoodhs.org.au, accessed March 16, 2017
11 Collingwood Historical Society, Inc, Collingwood History Walk 9 November 2013, www.collingwoodhs.org.au, accessed March 16, 2017
12 Argus, Motor Body Building: New Assembling Factory, Flourishing Melbourne Industry (Wednesday 28 October, 1925): 30
13 City of Yarra Heritage Database, http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/local/search/yarra Accessed Marsh 23, 2017
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trethowan architecture interiors heritage 13
Figure 17 – Extract from MMBW detail plan 1216: City of Collingwood, 1901. The dotted red line indicates the approximate location of a
later subdivision creating the present-day site boundary. There are more buildings on the site at this time, to the corner of Gold Street and
Alexandra Parade, when compared with the 1896 map at Figure 16 above. Source: State Library of Victoria Pictures Collection.
In 1921 the ‘Clifton Wheel Company’ became ‘AT Searll Pty Ltd’ (for former partner Arthur Theodore Searll) and it
appears that the ‘Box Hair Curling Works’ was no longer on the site by this time.14 ‘AT Searll Pty Ltd’ went into
voluntary liquidation in 1924 and the site at 62 Alexandra Parade was auctioned, advertised as “coachbuilders,
woodworking machinery, plant and stock. Also, extensive galv. iron shop buildings and land … containing over half
an acre.”15 (Refer Figure 18 below.)
14 Age, Claim for Retrospective Pay (Friday 23 December, 1921): 10
15 Argus, (Tuesday 11 March, 1924): 2
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Figure 18 – Extract of Argus, 11 March 1924, page 2 Classifieds. Advertising item for the auction of the ‘Clifton Wheel Company’
premises, machinery and other equipment. Source: Trove, National Library of Australia.
The subject site was purchased by ‘David Provan and Sons Timber Merchants’. David Provan had been in the
timber business since the 1880s when he was employed at ‘John Stone & Co’., Timber Merchants of Abbotsford.
In 1903, he became partner in a new timber merchant company, ‘Mulready, Provan and Clarke’ with a yard on the
south side of Alexandra Parade near the corner of Gore Street.16 However, this site was destroyed by fire in October
1923.17 After the fire, Mulready and Clarke both decided to leave the business and Provan brought his sons Bob
and Ed on board to form ‘Provan and Sons’. The business temporarily used space with a MacRobertson Factory
on Smith Street until the site at 62 Alexandra Parade was ready.18 The business also had two hardwood yards on
Alexandra Parade, one of which at the east corner of Gold Street is still a yard today. David Provan died in 1931
and his sons Bob, Ed and Albert carried on the business before selling it to the Rosenberg family in 1966.19 The
subject site remains as ‘Provan’s Timber Merchants’, although the business has now moved nearby to the corner
of Hoddle Street and Alexandra Parade.
16 Provans Timber & Hardware, History, http://www.provans.com.au/history.ews accessed March 23, 2017
17 Argus, Timber Yards a Menace, (Tuesday 30 October, 1923): 12
18 Provans Timber & Hardware, History, http://www.provans.com.au/history.ews accessed March 23, 2017
19 Provans Timber & Hardware, History, http://www.provans.com.au/history.ews accessed March 23, 2017
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Figure 19 – “Group portrait of workers outside D. Provan & Sons Pty Ltd, Timber merchants, Joinery, Mouldings....etc” Date unknown but
it is probably from after 1924 as it was at this time that the company began to use the name ‘David Provan & Sons Pty Ltd”20 This image
shows the brick piers that are evident on site today and the original timber construction of which only the framing remains today. Source:
State Library of Victoria Picture Collection.
Gary Vines and Matthew Churchward’s Northern Suburbs Factory Study attributes the 1880 factory on the subject
site as being of ‘State’ level significance.21 They inform that the factory is one of very few two-storey nineteenth
century timber framed factories in Melbourne. The Factory Study states that the only other timber framed factory
in Collingwood is the former ‘Luton Hat Works’ at 37 Queens Parade.22 The 1880 factory is, therefore, rare in both
the municipality and Victoria. Furthermore, the site is significant for its association with the distinctive nineteenth
century hair curling industry and the industrial development of the area related to the Reilly Street drain. There
were only two other hair curling factories in Melbourne, one in Kensington and another in Sunshine.23 Neither of
those factories are extant, with the subject site therefore providing rare evidence of a building type and unique
evidence of an unusual industry.
20 Collingwood Historical Society, Inc, Collingwood History Walk 9 November 2013, www.collingwoodhs.org.au, accessed March 16, 2017
21 Vines and Churchward, Northern Suburbs Factory Study: 99-100
22 Vines and Churchward, Northern Suburbs Factory Study: 99-100
23 Vines and Churchward, Northern Suburbs Factory Study: 99-100
Heritage Report 64 Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill
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Figure 20 – The subject site as it is today (left) compared with the site in 1901 (right). Overall, the site is half the depth it originally was but
the central factory building, indicated in red, appears to be the same. The original crossover to Alexandra Parade for vehicular site access,
indicated in green, is also still evident today Sources: Left - Google Maps, 2017. Right – State Library of Victoria Pictures Collection.
Figure 21 – “Alexandra Parade around Wellington Street, shot tower visible on left, Clifton Hill” by Alan Jordan c 1960-69. The subject site
is visible on the left in front of the shot tower and is indicated in red. The 1880 hip-roofed building is prominently visible (the external
cladding and windows are now removed but the frames are still evident) and the sawtooth building can be seen behind. Source: State
Library of Victoria Pictures Collection.
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4. Heritage Listings and Control
4.1 Victorian Heritage Register (VHR)
The subject site is not listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, which would denote its significance at State level. However, the site is near the Shot Tower VHR H0709 (refer Figure 22 below). The Shot Tower’s significance comes from its being the largest example in Australia of a rare, distinctive building type and as evidence of an early industrial process. The Shot Tower is in very good condition and has acted as a local landmark for over a century.24
4.2 City of Yarra Planning Scheme
4.2.1 Heritage Overlay
The subject site falls within Heritage Overlay HO317 Clifton Hill Western Precinct and is ‘Contributory’ to the
precinct. The subject site is near HO85 Shot Tower which is an ‘Individually significant’ site.
Every building of cultural significance has been assessed and graded according to its heritage contribution. The
levels of significance identified in Policy 22.02 of the Yarra Planning Scheme are:
Individually Significant: The place is a heritage place in its own right. Within a Heritage Overlay applying
to an area each individually significant place is also Contributory.
Contributory: The place is a contributory element within a larger heritage place. A contributory element
could include a building, building groups and works, as well as building or landscape parts such as
chimneys, verandahs, wall openings, rooflines and paving.
Not contributory: The place is not individually significant and not contributory within the heritage place.
The subject site is variously known as the ‘Box’s Hair Curling Works, factory & yard’ and, more recently as ‘Provans
Timber Merchant’.
Figure 22 – Extract of Planning Scheme Map 02HO, the subject site is indicated in red. The shot tower can be seen to the right indicated
by HO85. Source: City of Yarra Planning Scheme.
24 Victorian Heritage Database Report for Shot Tower H0709 retrieved from http://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/295 Accessed March 30, 2017
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4.2.2 Analysis Statement of Significance
The Statement of Significance for Clifton Hill Western Precinct (HO317) is reproduced at Appendix A.
The Statement of Significance notes that the main development period for the precinct is the Victoria-era with
contributions from the Edwardian and Inter-War periods. The precinct is largely residential with some industrial,
civic and religious buildings. Alexandra Parade and Hoddle Street are notable as the site of Victorian-era industrial
development. Industries including a brewery, boot factory and tanner all utilized the Reilly Street drain (Alexandra
Parade was previously known as Reilly Street). The subject site fits within both the Victorian-era development
period and the industrial development clustered along Alexandra Parade. There are few remaining industrial sites
along Alexandra Parade within the precinct with the subject site and the Shot Tower providing the bulk of the
evidence of this historical use of the area.
Contributory elements within the precinct include well preserved buildings, including one storey houses plus one
and two storey industrial buildings from the pre Second World War era. The subject site’s contributory grading is
likely due to its including a two-storey, timber-framed factory building from the Victorian era. The subject site also
includes public infrastructure, expressive of the Victorian and Edwardian-eras such as bluestone pitched road
paving, crossings, stone kerbs, and channels. There are two bluestone pitched site crossings with bluestone kerbs.
These features form part of the original development of the subject site and contribute to its significance to the
precinct.
In terms of why the precinct is significant, the statement identifies two features which are directly relevant to the
subject site. Firstly, for the precinct’s fine representation of Victorian-era life, as expressed by …the dominantly
Victorian-era building stock including churches, a State School, factories and residences. Having an industrial
building in the midst of a predominantly residential area is a key feature of Victorian-era life as evident within the
precinct. The subject site is important in demonstrating the nature of Victorian suburban life which did not isolate
homes from industry. Secondly, for the strong industrial theme, seen in the south of the area with several 19th
Century industrial buildings including former boot factories, and a carriage factory that links the area with the City’s
other creek and riverside industrial localities such as Clifton Hill East, Abbotsford and Collingwood. Therefore, the
subject site provides evidence of a broader pattern within Melbourne of industrial activities facing onto waterways
for effluent removal. The Reilly Street drain flushed out into the Yarra and Merri Creek near the site of Dight’s Falls.
The subject site is significant to the precinct by linking it to Victorian-era patterns of city development.
There are several structures on the subject site, not all of which contribute to the significance of the site or the
precinct. Only the original 1880 factory building is demonstrative of the Victorian-era industrial development of
Clifton Hill and Alexandra Parade. The site layout, particularly the original vehicle entrance locations and use of
open space between structures, also provides evidence of the original industrial use of the site.
4.4.3 Statutory Framework
Any future development of the subject site needs to be mindful of relevant heritage policies of the City of Yarra
Planning Scheme. These policies include:
• Clause 15 Built Environment and Heritage
• Clause 22.02 Development Guidelines for Sites Subject to the Heritage Overlay
• Clause 22.03 Landmarks and Tall Structures
• Clause 43.01 Heritage Overlay.
Relevant sections of these policies are as outlined in Appendix B.
4.3 Australian Heritage Places Inventory
The subject site is not listed on the Australian Heritage Places Inventory
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4.4 National Trust
The subject site is not classified by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria).
5. Significance Plan
The historical research, site visit and analysis of the Statement of Significance and statutory framework conducted
above provide an understanding of what is important about the place. The site’s original fabric, historical
development, and location in a formerly industrial area all contribute to its cultural heritage significance within the
precinct. It is this contribution that should be retained and respected with any new development of the site.
5.1 Significance Plan
To illustrate those important aspects of the site and to assist with how best to manage those heritage aspects, the
following significance plan has been produced and utilises its own site specific levels of significance (gradings)
which are defined below:
Significant – Original material / space related to the 1880 construction date. The material / space
makes an essential contribution to the understanding of the overall cultural heritage significance and
physical attributes of the site. These elements contribute to the significance of the wider heritage
precinct, as defined by the Statement of Significance, because they are either of the main Victorian-
era development period, or they demonstrate its strong industrial theme.
Contributory – An original supporting feature that contributes to the understanding of the overall
cultural heritage significance and physical attributes of the site. These elements also contribute to the
significance of the wider heritage precinct, as defined by the Statement of Significance, because they
are of the main Victorian-era development period.
Non-contributory – An altered original element or a non-original space / element that does not
contribute to the understanding of the overall cultural significance of the site or the wider heritage
precinct. The space / element is not from the main development period and / or does not contribute
to an understanding of the site’s industrial character within the precinct.
An analysis of what parts of the site are graded and what is important about them, are discussed below. An
appropriate course of action has also been identified.
5.1.1 Buildings 1, and 3 -7
These post-war buildings are ‘non-contributory’ to the site or the wider heritage precinct as they are not from the main development period; although they do provide evidence of the industrial nature of the site. The industrial character is demonstrated by the hard street interface with no setbacks, and through the massing, scale and heights. It is noted that Building 4 does have remnant rail tracks embedded within the floor and could be from the 1880s but no evidence has been found to confirm this. These buildings can be demolished, subject to appropriate replacement buildings being proposed.
5.1.2 Building 2
The 1880’s ‘Box Hair Curling Works’ building’s is ‘significant’ to the site and therefore retains its ‘contributory’ value to the wider heritage precinct. The building incorporates wall, bluestone footings, window apertures, first floor and roof structures. Evidence of early corrugated iron cladding is also evident. The form of the building and its timber frame fabric is physical and visual evidence of a rare building type and demonstrates the former industrial character
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of the area. This building should be retained to maintain the significance of the subject site and a sensitive adaptive re-use proposal developed.
Figure 23 – Significance Plan that identifies the gradings of those aspects on the subject site. Source: Trethowan Architecture, 2017.
Significant
Contributory
Non-Contributory
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5.1.3 Crossovers
Crossovers to both Gold Street and Alexandra Parade are contributory to the site and feature original pitched
bluestone and in their original location. These crossovers should be retained and sensitively incorporated into any
redevelopment proposal.
5.1.4 Internal Courtyard
The internal courtyard has been an open, central area at the site from its original development in 1880. Therefore,
the courtyard space itself is contributory as a remnant of the Victorian-era and as it demonstrates the industrial
character of the site. An aspect of the courtyard should be retained and sensitively incorporated into any
redevelopment proposal.
6. Conclusion
Following investigation, analysis and understanding of the subject site, its context and confirming its contribution
to the Clifton Hill Western Precinct (HO317), it has been determined that the 1880s building is a significant
component and the crossovers and courtyards are contributory features that should be considered in any proposed
redevelopment of the site.
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Appendix A
Statement of Significance
The Clifton Hill Western Precinct has the following Statement of Significance:25
What is significant?
Survey
Following the establishment of the East Collingwood Council in 1855, The East Collingwood Local
Committee successfully sought permission for East Collingwood to annex what is now Clifton Hill. East
Collingwood wanted to extend East Collingwood's north south streets (Smith, Wellington and Hoddle)
northwards to the Heidelberg Road (today's Queens Parade) to tap the traffic and trade coming from
country areas such as Heidelberg; to gain access to the quarrying area for street making materials;
and for space to erect public buildings, such as a town hall and market.
Distinguished naturalist and engineer, Clement Hodgkinson, as Victorian Assistant-Commissioner of
Crown Lands and Survey 1861-74, was responsible for the government subdivisions of Carlton (south
of Princes St, 1860), North Carlton, North Fitzroy and Clifton Hill (1865-9), Hotham Hill (1866), South
and North Parkville (1868-9). Under his supervision, suburban planning employed the cost-efficient grid
system used by Hoddle. Hodgkinson's predecessor.
The P. M. Goldbrick's 1864 Plan of Allotments in the Boroughs of East Collingwood and Fitzroy shows
the distinctive geometric forms of Darling Gardens and Mayor's Park in Clifton Hill and Edinburgh
Gardens in North Fitzroy. (35) The streets of Clifton Hill, North Fitzroy and North Carlton, as setout by
the Colonial Government, were broader and better ordered than those created privately in Richmond,
South Fitzroy and Collingwood, with the added distinction of the curved street forms in Fitzroy North.
Sale of land commenced in the 1860s with ample reserves for public purposes, the Darling Gardens
and Mayors Park, a Market Reserve in Smith Street extending from Alexandra Parade to Council
Street, a Public Baths Reserve in Smith Street from Council Street to Hodgkinson Street, a School
Reserve in Gold Street and five Church Reserves throughout the area. By way of contrast, all the land
sold in East Clifton Hill between 1871-1874 had no provision for public reserves.
Early Residential Development
In the three years from the first land sales in 1864 only six houses were built and in the next five years
to 1872, 58 houses, four commercial premises (Queens Parade) and one industrial building (in Hoddle
Street) were built. Early residential concentrations were at the west end of Alexandra Parade and the
west end of Hodgkinson and Council Streets. These were near the horse drawn omnibuses to
Northcote along Smith Street and Queens Parade (started in 1869) and employment opportunities at
the Collingwood Gas Works in Smith Street, opened in 1861.
Amenity protection
Members of the public, including councils and organised pressure groups, wrote annually in relation to
crown land reserves. In 1862-62 a petition from the 'Municipal District of East Collingwood' was
25 Victorian Heritage Database Report for Box’s Hair Curling Works, factory & yard, former, later Provan Timber Merchant retrieved from City of Yarra Heritage Database: http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/local/result_detail/98489?page=1&type=user March 16, 2017
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presented to the Legislative Assembly citing the good work of the local Vigilance Committee towards
improving Clifton Hill (36).
The level of community involvement engaged in 'articulating public interest priorities' can be gauged by
the level and nature of the correspondence of which there was a great deal (37). Demands for public
parks, recreation areas, sporting grounds and botanic gardens increased (38).
More recently, The House of the Gentle Bunyip, constructed in three phases by two families between
1867 and the 1920s was the subject of controversy in the late 1990s when the local community
successfully saved the building from demolition, after staging a picket lasting over 400 days.
Early public gardens
Preparations for planting the two Reserves (Darling Gardens and Mayors Park) proceeded with an
application made in 1864 to Dr. Mueller FRS, Botanical Gardens Melbourne, for an assortment of trees,
plants and shrubs and a liberal supply of Victorian Hakea, for the planting of Darling Gardens. (39)
Many significant trees in Mayors Park and Darling Gardens have been identified as significant,
including elm groups, cotton and Canary Island palms, and oaks (40). The National Trust of Australia
(Vic) has identified a Quercus ilex and Ulmusproceraas significant trees in the Darling Gardens.
Trees
The 1897 MMBW Record Plan 29 shows that Hoddle Street had a double avenue of trees in Clifton
Hill, Wellington Street was fully planted both sides with street trees from one end to the other, and
Noone Street had trees at the east end. North Terrace had ten trees planted by local identity, George
Langridge, MLA and former Mayor.
Boom era
During the metropolitan boom of 1881-91, the population of Collingwood increased by half, from 23,829
to 35,070, and the number of dwellings rose from nearly 5,000 to 7,000, mostly reflecting the
development of Clifton Hill. (41) The character of the area, as later described in Victoria and its
Metropolis, was of a residential suburb '... that has of late years been extensively built on with a good
class of houses and numerous handsome shops. It has an elevated position, and commands an
excellent view of the metropolis'. (42) Local politicians and business figures (such as George
Langridge) promoted development and aided in home ownership via building societies.
By the end of the boom in 1891, West Clifton Hill was almost fully developed. The 1897 MMBW record
plan shows few vacant blocks. Most of this development took place between 1881 and 1891, more
quickly and more completely than in East Clifton Hill, North Fitzroy or North Carlton, the other
government planned suburbs. This growth was due to Clifton Hill's closer proximity to employment and
commerce in the south, with industries in Collingwood and Abbotsford being within walking distance of
Clifton Hill, and aided by cable trams running along Queens Parade and down Smith Street.
Victorian-era industrial development
Industries such as the Clifton Hill Brewery, Ridgeway's Tannery and Stacey's Boot Factory, continued
to be located in the south east of the area fronting Alexandra Parade and Hoddle Street, adjacent to
the former Reilly Street drain that was essential for effluent disposal. There was also Richard Hodgson's
distinctive shot manufacturer's tower.
Post Boom
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The early years of the 20th century saw some reinvigoration of industry after the financial trials of the
1890s. Comparatively little residential development took place after the Boom, except for development
in two small subdivisions of the original Crown allotments in streets around the Darling Gardens.
Main development period
The main development period evident in the heritage overlay is that of the Victorian-era with a
substantial contribution from the Edwardian-period. There is also a contribution from some well
preserved inter-war buildings and individually significant places of all eras.
Contributory elements
Contributory buildings are typically (but not exclusively) detached and attached Victorian-era and
Edwardian era mainly one-storey houses having:
• Expressed pitched gabled or hipped roofs, with some facade parapets;
• Mainly one storey wall heights but with some two storey house rows;
• Weatherboard, face brick (red, bichrome and polychrome), or stucco walls;
• Corrugated iron roof cladding, Marseilles pattern terra-cotta tiles, with some slate roofing;
• Chimneys of either stucco finish (with moulded caps) or of matching face brickwork with corbelled capping courses;
• Typically with post-supported verandah elements facing the street, setout on two levels as required with castiron detailing;
• Less than 40% of the street wall face comprised with openings such as windows and doors; and
• Front gardens, originally bordered by typically timber picket front fences of around 1m height; and
• Corner shops and residences with display windows and zero boundary setbacks.
And
• Well preserved buildings, including one storey houses plus one and two storey industrial buildings from the pre Second World War era
• The Darling Gardens as a typical Victorian-era Garden Square, with mature exotic formally arranged planting;
• Significant and mature park, street and private tree plantings (including plane, oak and elm trees, palms in Mayors Park, and National Trust of Australia (Vic) significant trees);
• Provision of public and church reserves in the town plan; and
• Public infrastructure, expressive of the Victorian and Edwardian-eras such as bluestone pitched road paving, crossings, stone kerbs, and channels, and asphalt paved footpaths.
How is it significant?
HO317 Clifton Hill Western Heritage Overlay Area is aesthetically, socially and historically significant
to the City of Yarra (National Estate Register[NER] Criteria E1, A4)
Why is it significant?
Clifton Hill Western Heritage Overlay Area annexed by East Collingwood Council in 1855 and
substantially developed by World War One is significant:
• As an expression, in the history of its creation as part of Collingwood East, of the aspirations of tradesmen of the Collingwood Slope for improved urban development and the provision of public facilities;
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• For the role of local politicians and business figures in social, physical and industrial improvement and home ownership in the area;
• As the focus of community sentiment and resident protest from its initial development in the 1860s, from the actions of the Victorian-era Vigilance Committee to the preservation movements of the 20thCentury, specifically the House of the Gentle Bunyip conservation campaign;
• For the distinctive street and allotment layout created under Government surveyor, Clement Hodgkinson (43), and the liberal allowance for garden squares and reserves for a market, public baths, a school, a recreation reserve and five churches, contrasting with private surveys in the City of Yarra;
• For Hoddle's provision of boulevards (Hoddle Street and Queen's Parade) skilfully merged with wide streets on a north south grid, with unusual five way intersections and triangular public spaces at each end of Queen's Parade;
• For the unique series of vistas from the crest of the hill at the end of Hoddle street that includes views of significant landmarks like the shot tower, spires of St. Johns and the former Wesleyan Church, Town Hall towers at Collingwood and Fitzroy, the Exhibition Buildings, and long vistas to the Kew hill and Studley Park, plus those to and from the Darling Gardens;
• For the area's fine representation of Victorian-era life, as expressed by the street and public reserves, along with the dominantly Victorian-era building stock including churches, a State school, factories, early houses, a large number of late Victorian terrace houses, attached and free standing, and key house designs such as 12 North Terrace.
• For its focus on a representative and intact example of a residential garden square (Darling Gardens) based on British and European precedents, with associated significant trees;
• For the mature, largely exotic trees, including those planted by George David Langridge, MLA and former Mayor, bluestone kerbs, gutters, drains, channelling, and laneways from the area's major period of development;
• For the strong industrial theme, seen in the south of the area with several 19th Century industrial buildings including former boot factories, and a carriage factory, that links the area with the City's other creek and riverside industrial localities such as Clifton Hill East, Abbotsford and Collingwood;
• For well preserved Edwardian housing estates and individual houses as complements to the dominant Victorian-era residences; and
• For good examples of the Californian Bungalow style and other well preserved interwar houses
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Appendix B
Relevant heritage policies of the City of Yarra Planning Scheme as listed in:
• Clause 15 Built Environment and Heritage
• Clause 22.02 Development Guidelines for Sites Subject to the Heritage Overlay
• Clause 22.03 Landmarks and Tall Structures
• Clause 43.01 Heritage Overlay.
Clause 15
• Planning should ensure all new land use and development appropriately responds to its landscape, valued built form and cultural context, and protect places and sites with significant heritage, architectural, aesthetic, scientific and cultural value.
• New development should respect, but not simply copy, historic precedents and create a worthy legacy for future generations.
• Provide for the conservation and enhancement of those places which are of, aesthetic, archaeological, architectural, cultural, scientific, or social significance, or otherwise of special cultural value.
• Encourage appropriate development that respects places with identified heritage values and creates a worthy legacy for future generations.
• Retain those elements that contribute to the importance of the heritage place.
• Encourage the conservation and restoration of contributory elements.
• Ensure an appropriate setting and context for heritage places is maintained or enhanced.
• Support adaptive reuse of heritage buildings whose use has become redundant.
Clause 22.02
• To conserve Yarra’s natural and cultural heritage.
• To conserve the historic fabric and maintain the integrity of places of cultural heritage significance.
• To retain significant view lines to, and vistas of, heritage places.
• To preserve the scale and pattern of streetscapes in heritage places.
• To encourage the preservation, maintenance, restoration and where appropriate, reconstruction of heritage places.
• To ensure the adaptation of heritage places is consistent with the principles of good conservation practice.
• To ensure that additions and new works to a heritage place respect the significance of the place.
• To encourage the retention of ‘individually significant’ and ‘contributory’ heritage places.
• Encourage the design of new development and alterations and additions to a heritage place or a contributory element to a heritage place to:
• Respect the pattern, rhythm, orientation to the street, spatial characteristics, fenestration, roof form, materials and heritage character of the surrounding historic streetscape.
• Be articulated and massed to correspond with the prevailing building form of the heritage place or contributory elements to the heritage place.
• Be visually recessive and not dominate the heritage place.
• Be distinguishable from the original historic fabric.
• Not remove, cover, damage or change original historic fabric.
• Not obscure views of principle façades.
• Consider the architectural integrity and context of the heritage place or contributory element.
• Encourage new building and additions on a site with frontages to two streets, being either a corner site or a site with dual street frontages, to respect the built form and character of the heritage place and adjoining or adjacent contributory elements to the heritage place.
Clause 22.03
• New buildings within the vicinity of the following landmarks should be designed to ensure the landmarks remain as the principal built reference:
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• Shot tower, Alexandra Parade, Clifton Hill
Clause 43.01
• To conserve and enhance heritage places of natural or cultural significance.
• To conserve and enhance those elements which contribute to the significance of heritage places.
• To ensure that development does not adversely affect the significance of heritage places.