Altona Laverton and Newport Districts He

heritage study
a lto n a , l ave rto n a n d n e w p o rt d i st r i c ts

stag e 2 vo lu m e 1
Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: Vol 1

Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts Heritage Study Stage Two
Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts Heritage

Study Stage Two
Volume One
Hobsons Bay City Council
Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: Vol 1

ALTONA, LAVERTON & NEWPORT DISTRICTS HERITAGE STUDY STAGE TWO

VOLUME ONE PLACE REPORTS 1
INTRODUCTION 1
P ROJECT OBJECTIVES 1
DETERMINING THE SCOPE 2
SUMMARY OF AGREED STUDY SCOPE 2
COMMUNITY CONSULTATION 3
TIMING 4
STUDY TEAM 4
STEERING COMMITTEE 4
P LACE REPORT STRUCTURE 5
P LACE RECOMMENDATIONS 6
RECOMMENDATIONS 8
APPENDICES
APPENDIX ONE: ALTONA, LAVERTON AND NEWPORT DISTRICTS HERITAGE PLACES AND
PRECINCTS POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT TO THE CITY, WESTERN REGION, STATE OR N ATION -
GEOGRAPHIC GROUPING
APPENDIX T WO : ALTONA, LAVERTON AND NEWPORT DISTRICTS HERITAGE PLACES AND
PRECINCTS POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT TO THE CITY - NOT IN PROPOSED PRECINCTS
APPENDIX THREE: CITY OF HOBSONS B AY HERITAGE PLACES IN AMENDMENTS L14, L15
HERITAGE OVERLAY SCHEDULE BUT NOT IN HERITAGE OVERLAY 22 AND NO STATEMENT OF
SIGNIFICANCE
APPENDIX FOUR: CITY OF HOBSONS B AY HERITAGE PLACES AND OBJECTS IN AMENDMENTS
L14, L15 HERITAGE OVERLAY SCHEDULE ALSO IN HERITAGE OVERLAY 22 BUT NO STATEMENT
OF SIGNIFICANCE
APPENDIX F IVE: CITY OF HOBSONS B AY HERITAGE OBJECTS IN PLANNING SCHEME
AMENDMENTS L14, L15 HERITAGE OVERLAY SCHEDULE ALSO IN HERITAGE OVERLAY 22 BUT NO
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
APPENDIX S IX: ALTONA, LAVERTON AND NEWPORT DISTRICTS HERITAGE PRECINCTS
POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT TO THE CITY NOT IN HERITAGE OVERLAY
APPENDIX S EVEN : EVALUATION & SELECTION METHODOLOGY
APPENDIX EIGHT: CRITERIA FOR THE R EGISTER OF THE NATIONAL ESTATE
APPENDIX NINE: PROJECT BRIEF EXTRACT
APPENDIX TEN : PLACE REPORTS FOR INDIVIDUALLY SIGNIFICANT SITES AND PRECINCTS
APPENDIX ELEVEN : PLACES RECOMMENDED FOR NOMINATION TO THE VICTORIAN HERITAGE
REGISTER
APPENDIX T WELVE: P LACES RECOMMENDED FOR NOMINATION TO THE R EGISTER OF THE
NATIONAL ESTATE
APPENDIX THIRTEEN : PLACES RECOMMENDED FOR PROTECTION WITHIN THE PLANNING
SCHEME
APPENDIX FOURTEEN : ALTONA, LAVERTON AND NEWPORT DISTRICTS HERITAGE PLACES
Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: 1

Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts Heritage Study

Stage Two
Introduction
The purpose of this heritage study is to identify, assess and document all post
contact places of cultural significance within the Altona, Laverton & Newport districts
of the municipality and to make recommendations for the future conservation of
these places.
This study is commissioned by the City of Hobsons Bay, referred to as Council in the
following report. Funding has also been provided by the Department of
Infrastructure.
The Heritage Study is divided into two stages

Stage One, which has been completed, involved the preparation of a thematic
environmental history and the identification of all places of potential cultural
significance across the study area. Stage One also involved an estimation of the
time and resources required to undertake this project, being Stage Two.
Stage Two involves the detailed assessment of significance end documentation of

those places that were identified to be of potential cultural significance to the City,
Western Region, State or Nation in the Stage One survey. A review of the existing
City of Williamstown Conservation Study was to be undertaken as part of Stage Two
but has been withdrawn by Council for lack of funding.
Project objectives
The purpose of the Stage Two project is to:
• rigorously assess and document the identified places of post-contact cultural
significance;
• review and revise the Thematic Environmental History from Stage One (Volume
Two of this project) to reflect any findings from Stage Two; and
• provide recommendations for the conservation of precincts and places.
Project plan
At the start of the project a project plan was prepared to map out the activities
required to achieve the aims of the heritage study. The plan requested an agreed
course of action on the following matters from the steering committee:
• Research;
• Community consultation;
• Timing;
• Payment schedule;
• Milestones;
• Meeting dates;
• Completion details.

Determining the scope

The budget for Stage Two of the heritage study was fixed such that the
recommended scope had to select from a number of options outlined in the Stage
One report, rather than undertaking all of the recommended options.
These options included:
• as yet undocumented individually significant places in the City,
• significant precincts outside of the existing heritage overlay.
These budget limitations meant that the potential scope excluded any revision of the
Williamstown heritage overlay ( task 4 in the brief) on instruction from Hobsons bay
Council. Further selection had to be made among the options priced.
Prioritising assessment of potential heritage places

Estimates from Stage One of the heritage study included potential assessment of a
maximum of 91 individual potential heritage places in Stage Two. Using data from
the initial survey and initial assessment undertaken as part of Stage Two, the
number of individual places outside the Williamstown heritage overlay was found to
be 88. Grouping of these potentially significant places into precincts revealed that the
number of places not in proposed precincts was 36: these places were cited as the
top priority for detailed assessment.
Other places proposed for assessment from both within and without the existing
heritage overlay included those that came from the recent planning scheme
amendment that did not have citations or where their citations were incomplete.
These numbered approximately 42, bringing the total places to over 130.
Of these places there are 10 heritage objects which are all in the existing heritage
overlay which were regarded as a low priority given that most were also in Council’s
control or ownership. These objects (drinking fountains, memorials, and horse
troughs) were not accounted for in the Stage One estimates.
Another 20 of this planning scheme amendment group are outside of the heritage
overlay so that provision of a citation for them is also a high priority. Citations for the
amendment places inside the heritage overlay were recommended to be carried out
as part of any proposed review of the Williamstown heritage overlay which has been
deferred indefinitely.
Potential precincts
Twelve precincts (including two large residential precincts) were identified in the
initial part of Stage Two compared with the Stage One allowance for 10 (also
including two large residential precincts). The Spotswood Industrial Precinct was
added as recognition of this early industrial area while the Newport Railway Estate
and Melbourne Geelong Road sites have been redefined as a precinct rather than a
place because they contain multiple properties or places 1.
Summary of agreed study scope

The following is a summary of the study scope, as presented to the steering
committee at the beginning of the project.
Place group Number Priority Appen Tender
s dix Allowance
Group 1: Significant individual places outside the 86 Medium 1 91
Williamstown heritage overlay needing citations
1
balances budget, with precincts costed at twice that of places

Place group Number Priority Appen Tender

s dix Allowance
or citation revision
Group 2: Significant individual places outside the 36 High 2
Williamstown heritage overlay and outside of
proposed precincts (included in group 1)
Group 3: Planning scheme amendment places 19 High (if 3
needing citations or citation revision outside the amendmen
heritage overlay (included in group 1) t proceeds)
Group 4: Planning scheme amendment places 22+ Low 4
needing citations or citation revision inside the
heritage overlay
Group 5: Planning scheme amendment objects 10 Low 5 -
needing citations or citation revision inside the
heritage overlay (included in group 4)
Group 6: Precincts, outside the heritage overlay 12 Medium 6 10
Conclusion
Adjustment of the tender allowance by the redistribution of funds from individual
places to precincts has allowed the examination of a total of 98 heritage places,
including 85 individual sites and 13 precincts (see Appendices One & Ten).
After the first draft June 2000, a number of places was added to the Stage Two
assessment at the request of Council: the places assessed in the final report totaled
104.
Community consultation
Community consultation was achieved by circulation of numerous drafts to the
community reference group established in Stage One.
Reference group
Angela Mamalis
Ann Linke
Anne Short
Bev Martin
Bob Hawkins, Laverton & Point Cook Historical Society
Catherine Turner
Chris Hughes
Cliff Gibson
Craig Jackson
D K Grant
David Mortimer
Denise Greenslake
Dorothy Page, Williamstown Newport Spotswood Residents Association
George Ridley, Williamstown Historical Society
Glenys Perkins
Heather Burns
Helen Page, Garden History Society
Ian Higginbotham
Irene Rhodes, Altona Historical Society
Joan Ridley
Joan Ridley, Williamstown Historical Society
John Haywood
Katarina Persic
Kevin Skehan, Laverton Historical Society
Laverton Altona Meadows Residents Association
Lara Prestan

Laverton Historical Society

Maria Constantinou
Marie Jones
Mark Azzapardi
Matthew Churchwood, Scienceworks Museum
Max Elliot
Melissa Findlay
Paul Hunt
Preserve Old Williamstown group
Professor ID Rae
Susan Van Wyk
Wayne Banks
Timing
The draft report completion of the project was achieved by 30 June 2000, with an
extended comment stage after that date allowing the final report production by the
end of 2000.
Study method
• Australian Heritage Commission criteria was used along with the Principal
Australian Historic Themes (see appendices);
• All submissions were provided during the project to Council in an Adobe Acrobat
PDF form before each meeting, allowing Council to print from this file and
distribute;
• final copies of this report was provided as one loose leaf copy and one bound,
with all images supplied on compact disk; and
• the copyright for the study is jointly held by Council and Graeme Butler &
Associates.
Study Team
The study team drew from the Stage One.
Team member Task

Graeme Butler Architectural & social historian, place and precinct
assessment, citation and management, project coordinator
and report production, computer services
Jill Barnard Social historian, environmental history review, historical
overview of place assessments
Francine Gilfedder Heritage landscape
Gary Vines Industrial archaeology place assessment
Beatrice Magalotti Place history research
Steering committee
Anita Brady Heritage Victoria
Cyril Curtain and Hugh Bassett National Trust, Inner West Branch
Judy Mahoney Heritage Planner, City of Hobsons Bay
Markus Terjung, Claire Scott Strategic Planners, City of Hobsons Bay (part)

Council resources provided for Stage Two

Council provided assistance in the following areas to aid in the efficient execution of
Stage Two of this project:
• hosting of all study meetings, supply and distribute minutes after each meeting
• copies of any relevant Council heritage files for review;
• detailed municipal maps showing precise property boundaries and property street
numbers, overlaid on cadastral information or a parish plan base for place
mapping;
• access to all planning and building permit records, rates property database;
• access to and loan of aerial photographs of the project area; and
• use of office space at the City sufficient for relevant research work.
Place report structure

The places reports (98 places) are in Appendix 10, with a summary of the places
assessed in Appendix 1.
Each place report is intended to be self-contained, with extracts from the

environmental history to provide some context for the specific historical background
of the place.
Each report contains the following data:
• Name of place: Current name

• Other name/s of place: Former or other names of the place (where relevant / known)
• Address: Street number, street and suburb
• Boundary description: Brief description of the boundary and its rationale
• Physical description: A succinct description of the place and its component elements, context and
characteristics. Significant elements must be included.
• Site type: Use list of categories provided by the Australian Heritage Commission.
• History: A succinct history of the place relevant to its significance, including dates of importance,
past and current uses, changes to the place over time associated people or organisations (etc).
• Thematic context: The primary Australian Principal Theme and local theme for each place.
• Condition: Using the terms: excellent (undisturbed, well-preserved), good (partially disturbed, well
preserved), fair (disturbed, reasonably preserved), poor, totally destroyed or removed.
• Integrity: The intactness of the significant elements and their ability to be restored or understood
as significant. Use the following terms: intact/minimal intrusions, substantially intact/some
intrusions, partially intact/intrusions, substantially changed/major intrusions, grossly modified.
• Statement of significance: A concise statement of why the place is significant, including the level
of significance and the significance of any component parts. The statement of significance is
based on the Australian Heritage Commission criteria, and reference to specific criteria is made in
the wording of the statement of significance.
• Level of significance: The thresholds used are national, state, regional (Western region), City and
local significance.
• Comparative examples: any examples of similar places that have been used for the purposes of
comparative analysis.
• References: References including written records, oral sources, maps relevant to the
assessment. The Harvard system is used for referencing the text and in the list of references.

• Assessed by: Person/consultant, and project title/date

• Assessment date: Date
Place recommendations
Each place report also includes the following recommendation structure.
• Heritage Registers: addresses each of the heritage registers in terms of existing or
recommended listing
• Planning Scheme protection: recommended or existing;
• If a place is recommended for planning scheme protection, recommended action on the following
are made as derived from the standard heritage overlay schedule:
• External Paint Controls Apply? - Yes/No
• Internal alteration controls apply? - Yes/No
• Tree controls apply? - Yes/No
• Included on the Victorian Heritage Register under the Heritage Act?- If Yes, include VHR Ref. No.
• Are there outbuildings or fences which are not exempt under Clause 6R-4? Yes/No, and list items
• Prohibited uses may be permitted? Yes/No, and if yes, explain why
General findings
The study area has great diversity for one so close to the metropolitan heart, with:
• large open areas engendered by the presence of hazardous industry,
• remnants of the pastoral era;
• major service lines crossing the area;
• early transport routes and major transport industry infrastucture;
• seascapes and waterscapes associated with these areas;
• old recreation areas which are close to the coast;
• early and 20th century residential areas, with distinctive traits relating to the
transport modes in favour when they were developed;
• major petro-chemical industrial plants unmatched by any other municipality in the
State.
Of the places recommended to the Victorian Heritage Register - all are industrial or
utility complexes.
Recommendations structure
Each place, recommendations are drawn from the Statement of Significance in terms
of what parts of the place contribute to or make up the significance of the place. The
recommendations are structured in a generic as follows.
Generic phrase Notes

contributory elements are Definition of what contributes to the heritage or
generally those which derive cultural expression of the site or area, in terms of
from the construction period how the site or areas was defined (by period?), and
(ie. inter-war era ). thus an indication of what elements have to be
managed by any responsible authority.-
To conserve and enhance the The assumption in this is that heritage conservation
public view of these is for the enjoyment of the public at large and thus


contributory elements; their enjoyment of the heritage place must not be
reduced and preferably enhanced.
The public view however is that which could be
reasonably enjoyed by the general public and is
usually from publicly accessible places like streets,
roads, parks, or reserves. The public view is
typically a priority in management of the place if its
worth derives from this vantage point.
To conserve and enhance the If identified elements make up the place, as houses
contributory and individually might in a residential precinct, each has to be
significant elements of the managed by the responsible heritage authority.
place where elements include Usually this means limiting change from the state
bridge structure, paving, road which contributes to the overall significance.
reserve and land;
To conserve and enhance the Places will often depend on each other to form a
visual relationship between distinctive group or greater heritage place, in the
contributory elements at the form of a built precinct or a group of trees, or an
place; industrial landscape. The relationship between
these elements should not be disrupted by the
physical introduction of new elements between the
contributory elements or by the addition of new
unrelated elements to the contributory elements
themselves and thus changing the relationship
between the parts of the recognised group.
To ensure that new elements An assumption is that new elements to a precinct,
at the place are recessive and place of building should not introduce a new
related to the place's character or by their size or bulk disrupt the
contributory elements as existing character by introduction of more visible
viewed from public areas. fabric than can be seen of the contributory parts.
The combination of something which is visually
different and larger in scale or bulk or set in front of
the contributory parts, will be particularly harmful to
any existing heritage theme.
Visually related does not mean that the new
element should be identical to or copy closely in
detail those elements which are contributory.
Instead it implies a lesser visible scale, similar
materials, siting, and outline to the heritage place,
to ensure a visually bland addition to the
streetscape or landscape.
To continue research of the What is in the place report is not the end of the
place and maintain its physical historical data available on the identified heritage
link with that history. places. Oral history is a great means of adding
humanity to a place as well as providing facts which
may never have been written down. Research into
and appreciation of the place should continue and
the management of the physical expression of this
history must always account for maintaining the
story that can be told by the place and hopefully


adding to it.
Recommendations
Summary of place recommendations

The table below lists place numbers recommended for each statutory heritage body.
Statutory heritage body Places recommended
places recommended for nomination to 4
the Victorian Heritage Register
places recommended for nomination to 41
the Register of the National Estate
places for protection within the Hobsons 97
Bay planning scheme
Council should undertake to add these places to the relevant statutory registers.
Council should also facilitate the creation of incorporated plans where recommended
in the place reports to simplify the management of these heritage places.
Further recommendations
Stage One of this study outlined a number of options for future heritage work. Not all
of these have been accounted for in this study.
It is recommended that the following work should be carried out:
• Assessment of some 66 identified Locally significant places ( see Stage One, Vol 1 appendix 1);
• Provision of a statement of significance and management recommendations for all places (places
and objects) of identified individual significance (A, B, C graded on the A-E scale) from within
heritage overlay 22 (Williamstown & Newport heritage overlay) with priority to those currently also
within an individual heritage overlay (ie. from L14, L15) but with no Statement of Significance (refer
to Appendices 4 & 5);
• Revision of the existing Williamstown and Newport heritage overlay areas, the site schedule
which defines the contributory places within them and the associated management guidelines;
• Continue or encourage effective historical investigation into all identified heritage places, in the
form of record research and oral history; and
• Consideration of incorporating this report and the City of Williamstown Conservation Study 1993
(existing or as revised) within the Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme as a matter of urgency to
provide a statutory basis for heritage management of the existing and proposed heritage overlays;
• All areas previously outside of the Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme (ie. Commonwealth or State
owned lands, particularly land sold to private owners along the foreshore) which as a result have
not been appraised for cultural heritage should be assessed as a matter of urgency.

Appendix One
Appendix One:
Altona, Laverton and Newport districts heritage places and
precincts potentially significant to the City, Western
Region, State or Nation - geographic grouping
Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: Appendix 1

Appendix One:
precincts significant to the City - geographic grouping
Places grouped by locality and street

Appendix One
Name Address
The Pines scout camp, entrance gates, off Altona Road Altona
archway, trees
Stone pitched road or paved yard off Altona Road Altona
Quarryman's house, trees 75 Blackshaws Road Newport
Newport Railway Estate No 2- Garden south of Blackshaws Road Altona North
Suburb Precinct
Spotswood Residential Precinct parts Bolton, Forrest, George, Spotswood
Hope, Robert Streets
Gilbertsons meat processing complex & off Brunel St Altona North
quarry, former
Riveted Oil Storage Tanks (2) part former off Burleigh St Spotswood
Commonwealth Oil Refinery Complex
(COR)
Shell Oil complex including riveted oil off Burleigh St Spotswood
storage tanks & packing sheds
Housing Commission of Victoria Champion Cerberus, Edina & Gem Williamstown
Road Estate Precinct Streets North
Quarryman's house 13 Champion Road Williamstown
North
Assistant Manager's residence, Newport 57 Champion Road Williamstown
Railway Workshops (former ) North
Manager's residence, Newport Railway 59 Champion Road Williamstown
Workshops (former ) North
Railway bridge site, part Melbourne - over Cherry Creek Altona
Geelong Railway
House & garden 176 Civic Parade Altona
Altona City Council Civic Centre (domed off Civic Parade Altona
council chamber)
Grindley's Estate Precinct (part) 2-52 Collingwood Road Newport
Memorial Park Crematorium & Floral Lawn off Dohertys Road Altona North
Cemetery, landscape & memorials
Eastern Market gates, former, at Memorial off Dohertys Road Altona North
Park Crematorium & Floral Lawn Cemetery
Squadron Leader Cottee's House, formerly 6 Donald St Laverton
RAAF base
BP oil mixing tower & warehouses, Canary 431 Douglas Parade Spotswood
Island palm
Newport Power Station site, trees & cooling Douglas Pde Newport
water outlet (Warmies)
Quarryman's house 15 Elizabeth Street Newport
Graeme Butler and Associates 2000, Appendix 1 - 1

Appendix One
Name Address
Halls Farm Residential Precinct Elphin, Farm, High, Newport
Hobson Streets, Home
Rd, River St
Altona pier Esplanade Altona
Norfolk Island pine row Esplanade Altona
Row Houses 6-8 Florence Street Williamstown
North
Washington palm row (6) 8 Florence Street Williamstown
North
Housing Commission of Victoria West parts Fowler Crescent, Newport
Newport Estate precinct, part Champion Road, Market
St, Challis St, Crocker
St, Melrose St
Brooklyn Migrant Hostel site, former 431 Francis St Brooklyn
Vacuum Oil Company Ltd depot, former off Francis Street Yarraville
Melbourne - Geelong Road Precinct Geelong Road Altona North
Kororoit Creek Bridge, part Melbourne - off Geelong Road Brooklyn
Geelong Road
Spotswood Signal Box, part Melbourne - off Hall St Spotswood
Williamstown Railway
Newport Commercial Bank, former 1 Hall Street Newport
Junction Hotel 15 Hall Street Newport
W. Goetz Sons Ltd offices & factory 140 Hall Street Spotswood
complex, former
Spotswood Railway Station, part off Hall Street Spotswood
Melbourne - Williamstown Railway
Newport Railway Station & trees, part off Hall Street & Melbourne Newport
Melbourne - Williamstown Railway Road
Seaholme Station Precinct High Street Seaholme
House 28 Home Road Newport
Home Road Kindergarten 48-50 Home Road Newport
State Savings Bank (SSB) house 56 Home Road Newport
Houses 1- 3 Hope Street Spotswood
Afon Rhos Cottage (5) and house (7) 5-7 Hope Street Spotswood
Spottiswoode Hotel 56 Hudsons Road Newport
Spotswood State Savings Bank 98 Hudsons Road Spotswood
Raleigh's Boiling-down Works off Hyde St Yarraville
archaeological site (City of Maribyrnong)
and the Victorian Meat Preserving Company
archaeological site
Pridmore house 8 Junction St Newport
Laverton State School, former SS2857 Kiora St Laverton
Commonwealth Oil Refinery (COR) off Kororoit Creek Road Altona
complex, offices & refinery site, later part
BP complex
Railway bridge & stone ford over the over Laverton Ck. Altona
Laverton Creek, part Melbourne - Geelong
Railway
Fishing Village, anglers clubs, boat sheds off Maddox Road, JT Gray Williamstown
Reserve Access Road

Appendix One
Name Address
Maidstone Street House Group Precinct 169-175 Maidstone St Altona
Newport Quarry, now Newport Lakes off Margaret St Newport
Newport War Memorial, median Mason Street Newport
Newport Hotel, former 1 Mason Street Newport
Newport Mechanics Institute & interior, 13 Mason Street Newport
former
Shop & Residence 15-17 Mason Street Newport
Baptist Hall & Church complex 24-26 Mason Street Newport
Tyrone house 35 Mason Street Newport
Christ Anglican church & residence complex 59-61 Mason Street Newport
St Arnaud 65 Mason Street Newport
Williams house 85 Mason Street Newport
Perfectus Air Screw aircraft parts factory, 175 Mason Street Newport
former
Spotswood Victorian Railways Stores end McLister Street Spotswood
Branch administrative building & stores,
trees
Masonic Hall No.5925 405 Melbourne Road Newport
McDonald house 471 Melbourne Road Newport
WC Thomas & Sons Flour Mill 482-490 Melbourne Road Newport
Loft's Blacksmiths 521 Melbourne Road Newport
Spotswood Railway Workshops (part) & off Melbourne Road Spotswood
palm trees, part Melbourne - Williamstown
Railway
Newport Victorian Railways DC substation, off Melbourne Road Newport
part Melbourne - Williamstown Railway
Boyd house 37 Milford Street Newport
Brooklyn MMBW pumping station & main off Millers Rd Brooklyn
sewer
Cherry swamp, later Cherry lake Millers Road Altona
Mobil Refining Australia offices & refinery Millers Road Altona North
complex, former Standard Vacuum Refining
Company (Australia) Ltd.
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Convent, part 7 Newcastle St Newport
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Complex
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Presbytery, 9 Newcastle St Newport
part St Joseph's Roman Catholic Complex
Sacred Heart RC Church & School, part St 22 Newcastle St Newport
Joseph's Roman Catholic Complex
Newport Coffee Palace, former 24 Newcastle St Newport
Red Robin Hosiery factory, now Finnish Hall 119 Pier St Altona
Memorial plaques, Altona off Pier Street Altona
Cheetham Salt Works site (part) off Point Cook Road Laverton
North Williamstown Railway Station, part off Power St Williamstown
Melbourne Williamstown Railway Nth
Laverton homestead & garden 128 Queen St Altona
Truganina Explosives Magazine & Reserve, 276 Queen St Altona
trees

Appendix One
Name Address
Truganina Explosives Magazine tramline & off Queen St, Merton St Laverton
tramway sites
Williamstown Racecourse site Racecourse Rd Altona
St Mary's Roman Catholic School & former Railway St North Altona
Church, and camphor laurel tree
Hugh Lennon Agricultural Implement works, Raleigh & Hall St. Spotswood
part
Melbourne Glass Bottle Works, former off Raleigh St, Douglas St, Spotswood
Booker St
The Gables house, garden 21 Rayner St Altona
Altona Baptist Church Sargood St Altona
Loft's house 41 Speight St Newport
Seaholme Railway Station & landscape off Station St Altona
McKenzie & Holland P/L factory betwee Stephenson St. & Sutton Spotswood
n St.
House 86 The Avenue Spotswood
Altona Primary School 3923 complex and Upton St Altona
trees ( poplars and sugar gums)
Newport Estate Residential Precinct Varies Newport
Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong Varies Varies
Railway precinct (part)
Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct Varies Newport
Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct varies Altona,
Laverton
MMBW Outfall Sewer, Spotswood to Varies Altona
Werribee, Pipe Track & Tree rows
Spotswood Industrial Precinct varies Spotswood,
Newport
Rifle Club Hotel 121 Victoria Street Williamstown

Appendix Two
Appendix Two:
precincts potentially significant to the City - not in
proposed precincts
Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: Appendix 2:

Appendix Two:
precincts potentially significant to the City - not in proposed
precincts

Appendix Two
Melway Name Address
55H1 Quarryman's house, trees 75 Blackshaws Road Newport
41D12 Gilbertsons meat processing complex & off Brunel St Altona North
quarry, former
55H6 Quarryman's house 13 Champion Road Williamstown
North
54H10 House & garden 176 Civic Parade Altona
54H10 Altona City Council Civic Centre (domed off Civic Parade Altona
council chamber)
40F12 Eastern Market gates, former, at Memorial off Dohertys Road Altona North
40F12 Memorial Park Crematorium & Floral Lawn off Dohertys Road Altona North
53D10 Squadron Leader Cottee's House, 6 Donald St Laverton
formerly RAAF base
55H7 Row Houses 6-8 Florence Street Williamstown
North
55H7 Washington palm row (6) 8 Florence Street Williamstown
North
41B10 Brooklyn Migrant Hostel site, former 431 Francis St Brooklyn
Drinking Fountain, Williamstown Botanical off Giffard St Williamstown

Gardens
41H12 Spotswood State Savings Bank 98 Hudsons Road Spotswood
53F11 Laverton State School, former SS2857 Kiora St Laverton
54GH5 Commonwealth Oil Refinery (COR) off Kororoit Creek Road Altona
BP complex
55G2 Newport Quarry, now Newport Lakes off Margaret St Newport
55F3 Perfectus Air Screw aircraft parts 175 Mason Street Newport
factory, former
55K4 McDonald house 471 Melbourne Road Newport
55H5 Boyd house 37 Milford Street Newport
41B10 Brooklyn MMBW pumping station & main off Millers Rd Brooklyn
sewer

Appendix Two
Melway Name Address
55A6 Mobil Refining Australia offices & refinery Millers Road Altona North
complex, former Standard Vacuum
Refining Company (Australia) Ltd.
AT Clark Statue, Williamstown Botanical off Osborne St Williamstown
Gardens
54H10 Red Robin Hosiery factory, now Finnish 119 Pier St Altona
Hall
54H10 Memorial plaques, Altona off Pier Street Altona
54G10 St Mary's Roman Catholic School & former Railway St North Altona
54E11 The Gables house, garden 21 Rayner St Altona
54G11 Altona Baptist Church Sargood St Altona
41H11 House 86 The Avenue Spotswood
Bluestone Wall, running parallel with off Twyford St Williamstown

Morris St, off Twyford St, behind the
houses fronting Morris St & near the
Blisters,
54F11 Altona Primary School 3923 complex and Upton St Altona
varies MMBW Outfall Sewer, Spotswood to Varies Altona
56A8 Rifle Club Hotel 121 Victoria Street Williamstown

Appendix Three
Appendix Three:
City of Hobsons Bay heritage places in amendments L14,
L15 heritage overlay schedule but not in heritage overlay
22

Appendix Three:
Altona, Laverton and Newport districts heritage places
and precincts potentially significant to the City in
amendments L14, L15 - but not in Heritage Overlay 22

Appendix Three
Melway Name Address
55H6 Assistant Manager's residence, Newport 57 Champion Road Williamstown

55H6 Manager's residence, Newport Railway 59 Champion Road Williamstown
54H10 Altona City Council Civic Centre (domed off Civic Parade Altona
council chamber)
54H12 Altona pier Esplanade Altona
40G11 Kororoit Creek Bridge, part Melbourne - off Geelong Road Brooklyn
Geelong Road
55K1 Spotswood Signal Box, part Melbourne - off Hall St Spotswood
55K4 Newport Commercial Bank, former 1 Hall Street Newport
55K2 W. Goetz Sons Ltd offices & factory 140 Hall Street Spotswood
complex, former
55K1 Spotswood Railway Station, part off Hall Street Spotswood
55K4 Newport Railway Station & trees, part off Hall Street & Melbourne Newport
55K1 Houses 1- 3 Hope Street Spotswood
55J4 Newport War Memorial, median Mason Street Newport
55J4 Newport Hotel, former 1 Mason Street Newport
55K1 Spotswood Victorian Railways Stores end McLister Street Spotswood

trees
55K4 Masonic Hall No.5925 405 Melbourne Road Newport
55J1 Spotswood Railway Workshops (part) & off Melbourne Road Spotswood
Railway
55J4 Newport Victorian Railways DC off Melbourne Road Newport
substation, part Melbourne - Williamstown
Railway
55J3 St Joseph's Roman Catholic Presbytery, 9 Newcastle St Newport
56 A7 North Williamstown Railway Station, part off Power St Williamstown

Appendix Three
Melway Name Address
54H11 Laverton homestead & garden 128 Queen St Altona
55H1 McKenzie & Holland P/L factory betwee Stephenson St. & Sutton Spotswood
n St.

Appendix Four
Appendix Four:
City of Hobsons Bay heritage places and objects in
amendments L14, L15 heritage overlay schedule also in
heritage overlay 22 but no statement of significance

Appendix Four:
City of Hobsons Bay heritage places in amendments L14, L15
heritage overlay schedule also in heritage overlay 22 but no
statement of significance
Places grouped by locality and street (heritage objects see appendix 5)

Appendix Four
Name Address
Williamstown City Council Electric Supply Department 6 Bath Pl Williamstown

building, former
Italian Soccer Club Garden St Williamstown
House 13 Giffard Street Williamstown
Railway Pedestrian Bridge off Hanmer Street Williamstown
7 Haslam Street Williamstown
House & garden 244 Melbourne Road Newport
10 Parker Street Williamstown
100 Railway Crescent Williamstown
Williamstown Beach Railway Station, part Melbourne off Railway Crescent Williamstown
House 16 Railway Place Williamstown
House 62 The Strand Newport
House 69 The Strand Newport
13 Thompson Street Williamstown
10 Twyford Street Williamstown
Beach Hotel, Former 41 Twyford Street Williamstown
81 Twyford Street Williamstown

Appendix Five
Appendix Five: City of Hobsons Bay heritage objects in

planning scheme amendments L14, L15 heritage overlay
schedule also in heritage overlay 22 but no statement of
significance

Appendix Five:
City of Hobsons Bay heritage objects in amendments L14,
L15 heritage overlay schedule also in heritage overlay 22 but
no statement of significance

Appendix Five
Name Address
Drinking Fountain, Town Hall Ferguson St Williamstown
Drinking Fountain, Williamstown Botanical Gardens off Giffard St Williamstown
Bills Horse Water Trough, Nelson Place Williamstown
Wrought iron gaurd rails & stone kerb, channel and Nelson Place & Cole St, Williamstown
culvert Parker St & Thompson St
cnrs
War Memorial, median Nelson Place & Ferguson Williamstown
St cnr
Street Lamps Nelson Place, between Williamstown
Pasco & Ferguson St
Post Box North Rd & Douglas Newport
Parade cnr
AT Clark Statue, Williamstown Botanical Gardens off Osborne St Williamstown
Railway Bridge Thompson Street Williamstown
Bluestone Wall, running parallel with Morris St, off off Twyford St Williamstown
Twyford St, behind the houses fronting Morris St &
near the Blisters,

Appendix Six
Appendix Six:
Altona, Laverton and Newport districts heritage precincts
potentially significant to the City not in Heritage Overlay 22

Appendix Six:
Altona, Laverton and Newport districts heritage precincts
potentially significant to the City not in Heritage Overlay 22

Appendix Six
Name Address
Newport Railway Estate No 2- Garden Suburb Precinct south Blackshaws Road Altona North
of
Housing Commission of Victoria Champion Road Estate Cerberus, Edina & Gem Williamstown
Precinct Streets North
Grindley's Estate Precinct (part) north Collingwood Road Newport
side
Hobson Streets
Maidstone Street House Group Precinct 169- Maidstone St Altona

175
Newport

Laverton
Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong Railway precinct Varies Varies
(part)

Appendix Seven
Appendix Seven:
evaluation & selection methodology
Assessment against Australian Heritage Commission (AHC) criteria
The Australian Heritage Commission criteria consist of eight criteria which cover
social, aesthetic, scientific, and historic values. Each criterion has sub-criteria written
specifically for cultural or natural values. As this project is for cultural values, the sub-
criteria used are identified by their alpha-numeric code and briefly described as
follows:
A.3 richness and diversity of cultural features
A.4 demonstrates well the course and pattern of history, important historic events
B.2 rarity
C.2 research potential
D.2 good example of type
E.1 aesthetic importance to the community or cultural group
F.1 design or technological achievement ·
G.1 social importance to the community
H.1 association with important person or group
Heritage place selection is based on meeting these criteria. Places are selected from
the knowledge of what is required to meet the criteria, the knowledge gained from
the study of place data and the context formed by comparison with other similar
places in the study area. Thresholds of significance used in this study are as follows.
Compared with other places in the locality, Shire, region (metropolitan area) or State,
the place is:
• A3 · exceptional for its richness and/ or diversity of features relating to a particular
historic theme or its array of features that clearly demonstrate more than one
historic theme.
• A4 · one of a small number of places with the best integrity and ability to
demonstrate the theme or the theme combination or represent a particular event
• B2 · rare in the district or region as a place representing a theme or as an
example of a type
• · rare in the district or region for representing an event
• · rare in the district or region as an example of type
• C2 · the place is known to have been used for research or teaching purposes
• the place is exceptional for potential for research or public education
• D2 · one of a small number of places with the best integrity and ability to
demonstrate the type of place
• H1 · associated with a person or group judged to be of importance, and the
association with the place is of considerable depth, a strong association with the
person's productive life, or a clear link with the person's or group's work.
Parallel with places of potential individual significance are those which have a
contributory role in demonstrating a theme which is of significance to the locality,
City, Western Region, Victoria or Australia. This might include the network of places
associated with the petro-chemical industry, etc..
Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: Appendix 7: 1

Appendix Eight
Appendix Eight:
Criteria for the Register of The National Estate
Without limiting the generality of sub-section (1) of the Australian Heritage
Commission Act, a place that is a component of the natural or cultural
environment of Australia is to be taken to be a place included in the national
estate if it has significance or other special value for future generations as well
as for the present community because of:
CRITERION A:
ITS IMPORTANCE IN THE COURSE, OR PATTERN, OF AUSTRALIA'S
NATURAL OR CULTURAL HISTORY.
A.1 Importance in the evolution of Australian flora, fauna, landscapes or
climate.
A.2 Importance in maintaining existing processes or natural systems at the
regional or national scale.
A.3 Importance in exhibiting unusual richness or diversity of flora, fauna,
landscape or cultural features.
A.4 Importance for their association with events, developments or cultural
phases which have had a significant role in the human occupation and
evolution of the nation, state, region or community.
CRITERION B:
ITS POSSESSION OF UNCOMMON, RARE OR ENDANGERED ASPECTS
OF AUSTRALIA'S NATURAL OR CULTURAL HISTORY.
B.1 Importance for rare endangered or uncommon flora, fauna, communities,
ecosystems, natural landscapes or phenomena, or as a wilderness.
B.2 Importance in demonstrating a distinctive way of life, custom, process,
land-use, function or design no longer practiced, in danger of being lost, or of
exceptional interest.
CRITERION C:
ITS POTENTIAL TO YIELD INFORMATION THAT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO
AN UNDERSTANDING OF AUSTRALIA'S NATURAL OR CULTURAL
HISTORY.
C.1 Importance for information contributing to wider understanding of
Australian natural history, by virtue of their use as research sites, teaching
sites, Type localities, reference or benchmark sites.
C.2 Importance for information contributing to a wider understanding of the
history of human occupation of Australia.
CRITERION D:
ITS IMPORTANCE IN DEMONSTRATING THE PRINCIPAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF:
(I) A CLASS OF AUSTRALIA'S NATURAL OR CULTURAL PLACES; OR
(II) A CLASS OF AUSTRALIA'S NATURAL OR CULTURAL
ENVIRONMENTS.
Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: 8: 1

Appendix Eight
D.1 Importance in demonstrating the principle characteristics of the range of

landscapes, environments or ecosystems, the attributes of which identify them
as being characteristic of their class.
D.2 Importance in demonstrating the principle characteristics of the range of
human activities in the Australian environment (including way of life, custom,
process, land-use, function, design or technique).
CRITERION E:
ITS IMPORTANCE IN EXHIBITING PARTICULAR AESTHETIC
CHARACTERISTICS VALUED BY A COMMUNITY OR CULTURAL GROUP.
E.1 Importance for a community for aesthetic characteristics held in high
esteem or otherwise valued by the community.
CRITERION F:
ITS IMPORTANCE IN DEMONSTRATING A HIGH DEGREE OF CREATIVE
OR TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AT A PARTICULAR PERIOD.
F.1 Importance for their technical, creative, design or artistic excellence,
innovation or achievement.
CRITERION G:
ITS STRONG OR SPECIAL ASSOCIATIONS WITH A PARTICULAR
COMMUNITY OR CULTURAL GROUP FOR SOCIAL, CULTURAL OR
SPIRITUAL REASONS.
G.1 Importance as places highly valued by a community for reasons of
religious, spiritual, cultural, educational or social associations.
CRITERION H:
ITS SPECIAL ASSOCIATION WITH THE LIFE OR WORKS OF A PERSON,
OR GROUP OF PERSONS, OF IMPORTANCE IN AUSTRALIA'S NATURAL
OR CULTURAL HISTORY.
H.1 Importance for their close associations with individuals whose activities
have been significant within the history of the nation, state or region.

Appendix Nine
Appendix nine:
Project brief extract
HERITAGE STUDY
STUDY BRIEF - STAGE TWO
(extract)
PLACE DOCUMENTATION AND ASSESSMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF

A HERITAGE
PROGRAM
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this heritage study is to identify, assess and document all post
contact places of cultural significance within the municipality and to make
recommendations for their future conservation.
This study is commissioned by the City of Hobsons Bay,
The Heritage Study. is divided into two stages

Stage One, which has been completed, involved the preparation of a thematic
environmental history and the identification of all places of potential cultural
significance across the study area. Stage One also involved an estimation of
the time and resources required to undertake Stage Two.
Stage Two involves the actual assessment of significance end documentation

of those places that were identified to be of potential cultural significance in
the Stage One survey. A review of the existing City of Williamstown
Conservation Study will need to be undertaken as part of Stage Two 2.
Definitions,
Place means site, area, building or other work, group of buildings or other
works tether with associated contents and surroundings. Place includes
structures, ruins, archaeological sites and landscapes modified by human
activity.
Post-contact means the period since first contact between aboriginal and
non-aboriginal people.
Cultural significance aesthetic, historic, scientific or social value for pest,

present, or future generations.
2
Withdrawn from the project by Council

Appendix Nine
STUDY AREA
The City of Hobsons Bay has a total area of 66 square kilometres, of which 45
percent is residential. it incorporates the farmer Cities of Altona and
Williamstown and the communities of Laverton (from the former City of
Werribee, South Kingsville and the Francis Street Wharf (from the former City
of Footscray).
The study area will include the areas covered in Stage One and will
incorporate a review of the City of Williamstown Conservation Study.
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of Stage Two of the study is to:
• rigorously assess and document the identified places of post-contact

cultural significance.
• provide recommendations for a heritage conservation program for the
study area.
REPORT METHODOLOGY
The heritage study is to be prepared in accordance with The Australian
ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance
(Burrs Charter) and its guidelines.
Criteria to be used for the identification and assessment of places of cultural

significance are the Criteria adopted by the Australian Heritage Commission.
Although the Australian Heritage Commission's criteria are to be adopted, the
thresholds applied in the assessment of significance may include State
Significance and Local Significance.
The consultant shall be required to use the draft Principal Australian Historic
Themes developed by the Australian Heritage Commission.
Effective community consultation is an essential aspect of the Study.

Consultation with community groups and members of the public may be
required at various times during Stage Two. The approach taken to
community consultation shall be discussed with and approved by the Steering
Committee. References such as What is Social Value? A Discussion Paper,
(Australian Heritage Commission 1902) and Mapping Culture - A Guide for
Cultural and Economic Development in Communities (Commonwealth
Department of Communication and the Arts 1995) may provide ideas as to
approaches to community consultation. The consultant shall also refer to Why
hold community heritage workshops (Attachment Three to the Brief3).
TASKS
3
no attachments supplied with brief

Appendix Nine
The tasks shall be undertaken in the order that they appear below
1.0 Preparation of Project Management Plan

The consultant shall prepare a Project Management Plan in consultation with
the Steering Committee for the endorsement by the Steering Committee.
This Plan will set out an agreed course of action for the content and progress
project including research, community consultation, timetable, payment
schedule with related milestones, suggested meeting dates for the Steering
Committee and completion details.
2.0 Research, documentation and assessment of places of

Post-contact cultural significance
This aspect of the study shall address itself to the research, documentation
and assessment of those places identified in Stage One of the heritage study
project to be of potential cultural significance.
Assessment of cultural significance.

Each place of potential significance identified in Stage One will be assessed
against the Australian Heritage Commission's criteria. Although the Australian
Heritage Commission's criteria are to be adopted, the thresholds applied in
the assessment of significance may include State Significance and Local
Significance.
Comparative analysis and research will be required to substantiate the
significance of each place. The assessment process is expected to be
rigorous and analytical and require a strict application of the assessment
criteria.
Documentation
The documentation of all identified places of cultural significance shall be
undertaken on the pro-forma sheet that forms part of this brief4. The client
may rewire that the documentation be included in a data-base in a format that
satisfies the client's requirements.
Mapping
All identified places of cultural significance must be marked on base maps
to be bound into the report.
Heritage areas
Where heritage areas are identified a conservation policy establishing specific
policies for the conservation of the area and significant elements within the
area shall be provided. The boundaries of each heritage area shall be
4
no attachments supplied with brief

Appendix Nine
identified on a map(s). All significant places and elements within the heritage
area shall be shown on this map(s).
3.0 Review of the Thematic Environmental History

At the completion of Task 2.0 (Research, documentation and assessment of
places of Post-Contact cultural significance), the draft thematic environmental
history prepared during Stage One of the Study shall be reviewed. The
emphasis which is given to particular themes may need to be amended in the
light of the detailed work that has been undertaken.
4.0 Review of the City of Williamstown Conservation Study

(not included in the project at the direction of Council)
A review of the City of Williamstown Conservation Study will involve a range
of tasks,
including. -
1. Review and update the Site Schedule to ensure the

database is consistent with
planning applications and alterations to buildings.
2. Review the buildings with citations in the former study

and make recommendations regarding their future
inclusion or to reflect alterations in buildings, for
example, demolitions or external alterations.
3. Apply the Stage One PAHT history to the former study

area and review the heritage places in accordance
with the history identified as part of Stage One,
4. Review the precincts and their extent of coverage.
5. Review the extent of the Urban Conservation Area and

make recommendations on its retention or reduction.
6. Conversion of Site Schedule based on an evaluation

scale in the former study to individual places within a
geographic area of relevance.
5.0 Recommendations for Statutory Registers

The consultant must compile a schedule of:
• places recommended for nomination to the Victorian Heritage Register, -
• places recommended for nomination to the Register of the National Estate;
• places for protection within the planning scheme.

Appendix Ten
Appendix ten:
Place reports for individually significant sites and
precincts

Appendix Ten:
Heritage place reports
The following places were identified in Stage One of the Altona, Laverton Newport Districts Heritage
Study 1999 as potentially significant to the City of Hobsons Bay. The place reports which follow are a
heritage assessment of each place or precinct and are self-contained. This sometimes means repetition of
some of the historical data to provide a context for each place, rather than requiring further reading.
Where an inspection is noted as being required in the citation, the owners of the complexes were
contacted by the City to arrange this but did not respond.
Graeme Butler & Associates, 2000: Appendix 10: 1

Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts Heritage Study Stage 2: Appendix Ten
Identification and location
Name of place: Stone pitched road or paved yard

Place Identifier 1804
Other Names Convict Road
Address off Altona Road Cultural Significance: City
Altona Creation date(s): 1870s?
Site Type Road Map (Melway) 55B8

Boundary Description:
Stone paved area and land within nominally 5m of its perimeter.
Description
Physical Description:
West of the Pines scout camp entrance, across the road in the verge, is an
approximately 100m long section of what appears to be stone (basalt) pitched
roadway or paved area with a dressed kerb on its eastern side. This extends to near the
length of the Pines frontage and may be connected with the stables and house built in
the area by Phillip Dowling in 1874. The `road' was reputedly built by convicts for
access to Langhorne's Laverton homestead but in fact is more likely to have been
linked with Wrede's (later Cherry's) Altona pre-emptive right which was entered in the
line of today's Civic Parade. It is also the site of a dray track marked on an 1860s plan
of the area. Cherry is said to have driven his stock along this road, over the Kororoit
Creek ford and on to an abattoirs located on part of the former Williamstown rifle

range reserve.
The localised nature of the paving suggests another use other than for a road as does
the lack of built-in drainage.
External Condition:
good (partially disturbed, well preserved) part covered
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions
Context:
The stone paving is located in an open landscape at the side of an asphalt paved road and next to the railway
reserve, outside of The Pines entrance. It is contributory to the Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct.
Comparative Analysis
Stone paved service lanes are common in parts of Williamstown but not in this part of the City and not in this
configuration.
History and themes
History
Historical background
….early tracks developed along routes used by pastoralists and farmers to get to
markets and many of these tracks prefigured the major roads that cross the study area
today. From the 1840s at least stepping stones on the lower reaches of Kororoit
Creek connected the track to Point Gellibrand to the pastoral stations on the bay at
Altona. It is possible that stones placed naturally in the creek bed here were added to
create a crossing at about the same point as the current ford across the creek in
Racecourse Road. There is still evidence nearby of a very old road base, that possibly
dates from the 1870s when part of this road was constructed. The stepping stones
were a component of the route called Skeleton Creek Road, but now called Kororoit
Creek Road, which connected Williamstown, across Altona, to properties at the
Skeleton Creek in the 1850s. The road was rerouted further north in the 1860s, to
provide more direct access to North Williamstown Station and the wharves and a
new bridge crossing Kororoit Creek was installed in 1871{ Barnard, 1999}.
Specific History
Two pastoral licensees in the Hobsons Bay area were Robert Wrede, who held a
license for 'Truganina and Altona' from 1842 onwards and Alfred Langhorne, who
had the Truganina or Laverton station from 1836 onwards. Wrede's house is said to
have been near the beach end of Millers Road. It is certainly marked on early maps,
close to the beach in this area' { Barnard, 1999}. William Cherry purchased Wrede's
Altona homestead and property in 1861 after Wrede's death in 1857 { Priestley: 46}.
William Cherry was noted as a horse breeder among his other farming activities,
having provided horses for the British Army in India. Cherry is said to have driven
his stock from his pre-emptive right (entered at the east end of Civic Drive) north
along Altona Road across the stepping stones' (ford) in the Kororoit Creek and on to
the abattoirs which were once on part of the rifle range reserve. There is an early
picture of what presumably is the Cherry family in front of a random basalt rubble
house on this property.
A plan of 1863 shows the Kororoit Creek Road crossing a landscape which was low
land, rich sandy loam' and had been subdivided by the Crown and sold off in lots of
14-37 acres to persons such as Cherry and Pearson. A road (Altona Road) is shown
heading south between a block selected by Pearson and Deagan (?). A ford is marked
on the plan at the creek crossing. In later years the branch railway line to Altona was
to follow this road on its western side and the Williamstown Racecourse Station
ground was located on the west side of the road, just north of the ford. Further north,
at the main `South Western Railway' was the cemetery reserve as part of a larger
reserve re-acquired for the Health Department from the former selections of Lynch
and Rees.
A plan from the 1860s shows the 120 acre Williamstown Race Course reserve,
bounded by the creek, surveyed roads and the bay. Where Altona Road intersected
the creek a `crossing' was shown, with a road branching west from just below that
point. Altona Road then ended on Cherry's pre-emptive Section, a probable drive to
his homestead (typically pre-emptive rights were created around improvements made
by squatters). At its end was a short section of road reserve turning due west on the
line of today's Civic Parade. The race course reserve itself, on the east side of the
road, ended where the stone pitched road ends, at the turn into the RA Burns
Reserve. Another plan from the late 1860s showed a `Dray Track' on the line of
Altona Rd, south of today's The Pines Camp, perhaps explaining the stone pitched
surface near there { RS 245}.
The adjoining Wyndham Shire complained, in 1868, about the damage to the main
road from Williamstown to their Shire caused by what they termed as the
`Williamstown town herd'. Williamstown Council replied that they would use the
money gained from leasing the land for grazing and make the road between the
Wyndham boundary and the North Williamstown Railway Station and improving the
reserve itself for recreation purposes. They would also maintain the road already
built by Wyndham to the reserve. These road sections were on each side of the
Swamp and ideally had to be constructed before winter using similar specifications {
RS 245}.
A plan from the 1890s shows the creek, the race course and an ìron fence' which
bounded the west side of the course (corrugated iron). What appears to be a stone
kerb is shown on the west side of a road reserve (Altona Rd) heading south. The road
is shown at 150 links wide { RS 245}.
Associations: Robert Wrede? William Cherry? Werribee Shire

Thematic context - the place expresses the following themes:

Principal Australian Historical Theme(s) (PAHT):
Moving goods and people
PAHT Subtheme: Moving goods and people by road

Other Subtheme:
Significance
The place is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay within the following Australian Heritage Commission
(AHC) categories and above threshold using the following AHC criteria:
Aesthetic? Historic? Social? Scientific?

AHC Criteria satisfied:
B.2 Rarity
A.4 Association with important events or historical themes
G.1 Social significance
Statement of significance:
This stone pitched road or paved yard is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- as early road or yard paving which is constructed from bluestone typically quarried
in the region but laid in a form which is unusual in the City ( Criterion B2);
- as potentially a major and recognisably early part of the former main access road to
the Altona Station homestead and later Altona (criterion A4); and
- as recognised by the community for its history in the installation of a plaque at the
site ( Criterion G1).
Documentation
References
Gary Vines 1989, Western Region Industrial Heritage Study, Melbourne's Western Region Cultural
Heritage Study, (Melbourne's Living Museum of the West): site 149 no grading
`Special Lands Parish of Cut Paw Paw' 1863;
Barnard, J. 1999 Environmental History in Stage One of the Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts
Heritage Study
Land Victoria reserve file RS 245 contains many early plans, letters, etc.
Last edit: 20/05/2000 Consultant(s): Graeme Butler
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Heritage Victoria Register: No
Register of the National Estate: recommended
National Trust Register: recommended

Planning Scheme
Planning Scheme Protection: Recommended
External Paint Controls Apply? No
Internal Alteration Controls Apply? No
Tree Controls Apply? No
Are there Outbuildings or Fences not Exempt? No
Prohibited Uses may be Permitted? No
Recommendations
Management Objectives:
The following objectives have been drawn from the Statement of Significance where
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 19th century as
identified:
- To conserve and enhance the stone paving and land within nominally 10m of its
perimeter;
- To carry out an archaeological survey and investigation to determine the extent and
survival of other historic fabric; and
- To further research the place using oral and documentary sources and reassess, then
provide further interpretive public information at the site.

Name of place: The Pines scout camp, entrance gates,

archway, trees
Other Names `Pinus halepensis' and `P pinea'
Address off Altona Road Cultural Significance: Regional
Altona Creation date(s): 1880s-
Site Type Scout Lodge Map (Melway) 55B9

The Pines scout camp reserve, entrance gates, archway, and Aleppo and stone pines on the three boundaries
Description
A 1960s wrought iron gateway marks the entry to the site, leading to a winding
gravelled road lined by painted rocks introduced by the scouts and the earlier Aleppo
and stone pine groups (`Pinus halepensis' and `P pinea') which also occur on all
boundaries of the site, having probably once formed a triangle. There are also gums
and Monterey cypress which may have been introduced around WW2.
Plaques on the site include:

- gates presented by Ern Richards, President of the Pines Development Committee
1964-67

- Footscray Altona Werribee District Scout Camp official opening 29/8/1964- Ralph
Schutt district commissioner 1947-69
To the north is the former Williamstown Racecourse site: `… the former racecourse
is part of the Altona Coastal Park. A lone date palm, rising out of the flat landscape,
and some ruins of the grandstand are reminders of its nineteenth century grandeur' {
Barnard (1999)}.
West of the entrance is a section of what appears to be stone pitched roadway with a
dressed kerb on its eastern side. This extends to near the length of the Pines frontage
and may be connected with the stables and house built in the area by Phillip Dowling
in 1874.
External Condition:
fair (disturbed, reasonably preserved)
External Integrity:
partially intact/intrusions
Context:
Set in an open coastal landscape strip, adjoining wetlands and opposite a section of early stone paving next to
Altona Rd.
Aleppo and stone pine grouping can also be seen at the pinetum at the Williamstown Botanic Gardens and at
the former CB Fisher Maribyrnong Park property (also connected with horse racing) which is now part of
Commonwealth owned land off Cordite Rd. These are rare in the Western Region.
Permanent scout camping grounds are also uncommon in the region.
History and themes
History
This reserve was sought by Williamstown Council in August 1857 as a place for
`horse exercise and a Racecourse between the Kororoit Creek and the sea shore'.
The Crown lands Department disagreed, stating that it was too close to settled areas
and the major transport use for reservation (only six miles form Williamstown) but
they agreed to an alternative option put by the Council, being that of permissive
occupancy of the land. This was granted in late 1859. The Council persisted with
their quest for reservation in November 1864 when they formally sought setting
aside of 400 acres. The department thought 120 acres was more appropriate and
gazetted a temporary reservation in August 1865 `..for racing and other purposes of
public Recreation at Williamstown' to be controlled by Williamstown Council.
A racehorse trainer, Phillip Dowling, leased part of the Williamstown race course in
1874-6 and built a house and stables reputedly on the `hill' near or at the Pines scout
camp. The well known horse trainer, CB Fisher, took his place 1877- 1881, followed

by James Redfearn to 1889 { Priestley: 76-}. Fisher's occupation of the site may
account for the groups of Aleppo and stone pines which follow the track into the
camp and are located around the perimeter { Priestley: 76 }. CB Fisher's former
Maribyrnong Park property also has a large grove of Aleppo and stone pines and is
also connected with horse racing and training, the pines serving as shelter for the
horses. His property which was developed into a landscape show piece by the late
1880s is now part of Commonwealth owned land off Cordite Rd, Maribyrnong. An
aerial view of Williamstown Race Course in late 1945 shows a double avenue of
trees around the perimeter of the triangle but nothing inside. What appears to be a
small complex of buildings facing onto Altona Road to the north of the Pines may be
associated with the Fisher/Dowling stables complex. The Pines may have been a
sheltered holding paddock for any horses kept there.
In the 1930s a controversy erupted in the Werribee Shire over the use of the whole
reserve. It was supposed to serve as a recreation reserve but actually served solely as
a race course; a growing population and numerous sporting clubs needed recreation
space. A plan of the reserve at that time showed `Plantation' where The Pines camp
is today. A newspaper article in September 1934 underscored this Altona
indignation. The racing club were in the process of using another 50 feet of the
reserve in alterations to the track, saying that they were merely improving an area
which had previously been a quagmire. Altona councillor, FJ O'Brien, retorted that
this was in fact a `fine level area and was used by Boy Scouts to hold their events'. It
was just to the north of the Plantation (now The Pines) which was then described by
a Crown Lands Inspector as ùncared for' with stock wandering in and out of broken
fences. The Pines was shown as dots (trees) around the perimeter in a 1933 army
topographical plan next to the racecourse { Priestley: 142}.
Informal scout activities at The Pines Scout Camp was already established by 1943
when Cliff Gibson attended a Scout Camp for the Williamstown pack here. A Scout
troop had already been formed in Altona before the Second World War. { Barnard,
1999} However, Susan Priestley writes that the First Altona Troop was formed in
1949 and the Altona Scout Hall opened in 1953 { Priestley: 219 }. Other scout
groups in the region used the camp. Scouting in Footscray had commenced in (1st
Footscray Troop) in 1909 and a Yarraville group in the following year { Lack: 204}.
A new scout hall was built in Hyde Street in the 1920s and the famous scouting
figure, Hoadley, was involved in the leadership of the local troops as well as the
State scouting movement.
The iron gates at this site were presented by Ern Richards, President of the Pines
Development Committee 1964-67 for the official opening of the Footscray Altona
Werribee District Scout Camp 29/8/1964. Ralph Schutt was the district
commissioner 1947-69. The local newspaper, `The Altona Banner', reported that
the Shire president (Cr AE Davis) would plant a tree on this occasion. They stated

that the camp was 20 acres of the old Williamstown racecourse reserve which had
been fenced and levelled for use by the scouts. Each group had been allocated land to
plant trees and tend them until they reached maturity { `The Altona Banner'
20/8/1964}.
The official acquisition of the Pines was to wait until 1966 when part of the Altona
Sports Park (then leased from the government by the Altona municipality) called The
Pines was sublet by Altona City Council to the Boy Scouts Association for 21 years
at $10/annum. Three years later the Council sought to use part of this area as a tip
site, stating they had the approval of the Scouts
Associations: CB Fisher Footscray Altona
Werribee District Scout
Camp

Forming associations
Organising recreation
PAHT Subtheme: Associating to pursue common leisure interests

Other Subtheme: Playing and watching sports
Significance

B.2 Rarity
The Pines scout camp, entrance gates, archway, and maritime pines are significant to
the City of Hobsons Bay:
- as an early landscape element (pines) linked with the regionally popular race course
reserve over a long period (criterion A4);
- for the relative rarity of mature Aleppo and stone pines in the City, as a group and
individually (criterion B2);
- for the link the pine formation has with racing and the well-known figure of CB
Fisher (Criterion H1); and
- for the associations with the scouting movement within the local and Footscray
district community (criterion G1) .

Documentation
References
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 219 scout formed 1949, 142 - 1933 map illustration shows
dotted reserve next to racecourse, 225 re horses;
Heritage Study;
Lack, 1991. À History of Footscray': 204, 261 re Footscray scouting;
Land Victoria aerial photo Run 18W Film 177 Melbourne & Metropolitan Area December 1945;
`The Altona Banner' 20/8/1964;
Land Victoria reserve file RS 245 contains many early plans, letters, etc. and provides the basis for
most of the history
Last edit: 25/08/2000 Consultant(s): Francine Gilfedder, Graeme Butler
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
External Paint Controls Apply? Yes
Tree Controls Apply? Yes
Recommendations
contributory places or elements are generally those which derive from the Victorian-
era planting and the use by scouts this century:
- To conserve and enhance the contributory and individually significant elements of
the place where elements include buildings, objects, landscape, land and street works;
- To conserve and enhance the visual relationship between contributory elements at
the place;
- To conserve and enhance the public view of these contributory elements;
- To conserve and enhance aspect from Racecourse Road and the former
Williamstown Race Course;
- To conserve and enhance the amenity of the place to aid in its heritage conservation;
- To ensure that new elements at the place are recessive and related to the place’s

contributory elements in roof and plan form, external materials, front rear and side
setbacks from property boundaries, and building bulk as viewed from public areas;
and
- To carry out a conservation analysis and management plan using documentary and
oral sources and then reassess the heritage significance of the place.

Name of place: Quarryman's house, trees

Other Names
Address 75 Blackshaws Road Cultural Significance: City
Newport Creation date(s): 1886c
Site Type House, urban Map (Melway) 55H1

House, land with `Washingtonia sp.' palm, 2 pepper trees with emphasis on built fabric from the 19th century.
Description
This is an altered hipped roof bluestone house (part rebuilt?) with a `Washingtonia
sp.' palm, 2 pepper trees at the rear, and a new bullnose verandah with the ends filled
in with rubble stone. The façade is simple with a central door and flanking double
hung windows. A related timber picket fence is at the front.
External Condition:
good (partially disturbed, well preserved)
External Integrity:

Context:
Set in generally later suburban housing.
Other quarrymen's houses are at Champion Rd and in Elizabeth Streets (q.v.).
History and themes
History
The vast deposits of basalt that covered the plains to the west of Melbourne are the
result of volcanic eruptions. From the earliest years of settlement this resource, better
known as bluestone, was exploited by quarrying for use in constructing buildings and
bridges and paving roads throughout Melbourne and as ballast for shipping.
Quarrying took place at Williamstown, Spotswood, Newport, Yarraville, Altona,
Brooklyn and Kingsville. In effect, quarrying was the City of Hobsons Bay's first
heavy industry.
….convict labour was used to quarry bluestone at Gellibrand Point in the 1850s, for
use in the construction of significant early government structures. Bluestone from the
region was also utilised as ballast for the many ships which came to the colony
loaded down with imports and needing something to fill their holds for the return
journey to Britain.
A map of part of the Parish of Cut-Paw Paw dated 1844 also shows seven 'suburban'
lots fronting what was then called 'Hobson's River' (we call it the Yarra ) just north
of the mouth of the Stony Creek (south of the line of Somerville Rd). Two wharfs
were already in existence here and it was in this location that Joseph Raleigh
established a salting establishment .... There was no urban development on the site,
but the existence of 'ironstone' and a little tramway marked on Hoddle's map, made it
a site for quarrying. The tramway was used to haul horse-drawn carts of quarried
bluestone to ballast craft loaded at piers at Spotswood and Newport.. These piers are
shown on an 1864 map of the area. An 1859 geological survey of the area noted that
the quarries here provided 'good building stone'. Ballast was also loaded at the Ann
St and Stevedore St piers. By 1879 Williamstown had 200 resident quarrymen.
There were several quarries at Newport in the 1880s and 1890s. Thomas Hall had a
quarry in Mason Street Newport in the 1880s. Perhaps this was the quarry on the
present site of Newport Lakes , where, despite substantial landfill through tipping in
the twentieth century (and subsequent landscaping), some of the quarry face can still
be seen.
Quarrying was carried on in the study area until very recent times. Although most of
Brooklyn's quarries were outside of the City of Hobsons Bay, there were still some
Brooklyn quarries within the study area in the 1950s. The site of Altona Gate

shopping centre was an operating quarry in the 1950s too.
Several historic structures and buildings within Hobsons Bay are built of local
bluestone{ Barnard, 1999}.
Specific history
The early history of this house is a little unclear. It was rated on lots 38-44 in 1886-7,
owned and occupied by John Edwards, quarryman. However, it was described as 4
rooms and wood. But it was shown as masonry on the MMBW 1894 plan, set out in
two bays with a verandah, fenced house yard and large adjoining fence area. Timber
framed out-buildings were at the rear of the site. The house was one of two on that
side of the street and just to the south were two quarry holes. The large Newport
quarry was further south and a lesser hole was north on what is now Sutton St.
McKenzie & Holland's Interlocking Works were to the north on the railway. About
that time the house was rated to Patrick Cunningham and described as 4 rooms and
of stone. By 1900 his name was crossed out in favour of Albert King.
More recently Robert Cockerill, a labourer, had the house, leasing it from Pat
O'Regan, gentleman of Footscray: then it was on lot 41. It was described as of stone
in the 1940s-50s but timber in the period 1900-1930s. Owners and occupiers
included Miss C Hopkins, Mrs Nissen, and Robert Welsh.
Associations: John Edwards Patrick Cunningham Pat O'Regan

Making suburbs
Developing cultural institutions and ways of life
PAHT Subtheme: Making suburbs

Other Subtheme: Creating private landscape
Significance

B.2 Rarity

This quarryman's house is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:

- as a representative of the important stone industry which thrived in this part of the
City, made more pertinent by the stone construction of the house (criterion A4) ; and
- for the relatively rare bluestone construction of the house (criterion B2) .
The trees are significant as supportive of the house setting, as mature specimens and,
in the case of the palm, as rare for a domestic garden in the city (Criterion B2) .
Documentation
References
MMBW Record Plan 10, 1894 - shown as masonry
Municipal Rate Books (RB)
Sands & McDougall Victorian directories (D);
Heritage Study
Last edit: 19/06/2000 Consultant(s): Graeme Butler, Francine Gilfedder
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Register of the National Estate: No
National Trust Register: Recommended
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the Victorian-era:
the place where elements include buildings, objects, landscape, and where
enhancement includes reinstatement of known missing original elements;
the place;

- To conserve and enhance aspect from Blackshaws Road;

- To ensure that new elements at the place are recessive and related to the place's
setbacks from property boundaries, and building bulk as viewed from public areas.

Name of place: Newport Railway Estate No 2- Garden Suburb

Precinct
Other Names
Address south Blackshaws Road Cultural Significance: Regional
of 1927-
Altona North Creation date(s):
Site Type Housing estate Map (Melway) 55E2

The subdivision (LPs 12834, 12379) south of Blackshaws Road, east of Millers Road, north of Ross St, west of Mills Road and west of
Hansen St with parks including Cooper, Langshaw, Clement, and Irwin reserves, including all allotments, park and road reserves planned
in the 1920s.
Description
This estate was not built on until after WW2 such that the distinctive radial
subdivision pattern is the only significant element from the original concept. This
pattern centres on a city circle called The Circle, with a major radial axis heading
south west along McIntosh Road to Millers Road. This axis cuts through what would
otherwise have been a grid plan running between Blackshaws Road and Ross St.
The subdivision is south of Blackshaws Road, east of Millers Road, north of Ross St,

west of Mills Road and west of Hansen St with parks including Cooper, Langshaw,
Clement, and Irwin reserves.
External Condition:
The street layout is good (partially disturbed, well preserved)
External Integrity:
The street layout is substantially intact/some intrusions
Context:
On flat land bounded by main roads and railway routes.
The geometric form of this estate may be seen at contemporary examples such as the Mt Eliza estate, two
beach side estates at Somers and the Burley Griffin Mt Eagle and Glenard estates.
History and themes
History
The Newport Railway Estate No. 2, between Mason, Mills and Hansen Streets and
Blackshaws Road, was also planned in the mid-1920s, reputedly by Walter Burley
Griffin's Company, though it is more likely that it was by well-known planner, Saxil
Tuxen. Although houses did not spring up immediately on this estate, the
distinctive street layout, with The Circle at the centre of a radiating grid, can still be
seen and is a contrast with the subdivision of most areas within the municipality of
Hobsons Bay'. { Barnard (1999)}.
The Melbourne Metropolitan Town Planning Commission (MMTPC) report of 1929

showed this estate layout as an example of the transformation of a gridiron' layout to
a garden city plan, similar to what the layout is today. The Commission was able to
remodel' submitted subdivision plans to improve them although only 0.5% of the
submitted plans in the metropolis were examined by them. A prominent member of
this commission was Saxil Tuxen and his influence may be seen in the remodelling
of the Newport Railway Estate at Altona { Freestone}.
As a context for this `remodelling' the Victorian Town Planning Association had
stated in 1924 that:
`The old gridiron pattern still rules- monotonous rows of allotments, all the same
size; just large enough to comply with minimum requirements; no need to contour
lines, and no provision of reserves'.
The remodelled MMTPC plan shows the section of the estate south of Blackshaws
Road, north of Mason St, east of Mills Road and west of Hansen St: the layout is
identical today with the public reserve being the RJ Cooper Reserve. A `General
Scheme of Development Plan' (sheet 5) included in the report shows more of the
estate, extending the diagonal axis to Millers Road, with park reserves dotted within

the grid. As lodged plans this estates was made up of two (LP 12379, 12834) being
subdivisions of Crown Portions C & D, Section 6: they were declared by solicitors,
Bullen & Burt, lodged by the surveyor GT Little (later Little & Brosnan) in 1927,
and with consent of Council given in the same year. The official stamp was given in
1929 and there was even a `Little Street' included in the plan named after the
surveyor.
An aerial view of the estate in the early 1950s shows little in the way of road
construction or houses but it does show a tank farm (9 round tanks, oil storage?) in
the north west corner, aligned with and west of May St.
Associations: Melbourne Metropolitan GT Little
Town Planning
Commission

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

H.1 Association with important person or group
B.2 Rarity
Newport Railway Estate No 2- Garden Suburb Precinct is significant to the City of
Hobsons Bay:
- for its unusual radial planning which is evocative of the latest town planning theory
of its time in the State (criterion B2);
- for its evocation of a period of ascendency for new town planning ideas after WW1
(criterion A4) ;
- for its association with the Melbourne Metropolitan Town Planning Commission
and the noted surveyor Saxil Tuxen (criterion H1) ; and
- for its use in the landmark Melbourne Metropolitan Town Planning Commission
1929 report to illustrate modern planning principles (Criterion F1) .

Documentation
References
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 167
Freestone: 201 plan, cites The Melbourne Metropolitan Town Planning Commission report of 1929:
261;
Victorian Titles Office (VTO) LPs 12834, 12379
Land Victoria Aerial Melbourne & Metropolitan Project 65 Jan 1951 run 18 film 1424;
Heritage Study
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Register of the National Estate: Yes
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory places or elements are generally those which derive from the 1920s plan:
the precinct.

Name of place: Spotswood Residential Precinct

Other Names
Address parts Bolton, Forrest, George, Hope, Cultural Significance: Local
Robert Streets
Spotswood Creation date(s): 1886-1915c
Site Type housing estate Map (Melway) 41 K12

George Street 1-23, 6-26, Hope St 13, 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1 west side only and McLister St 2 , Robert Street 49-59, west side only, and The
Avenue 35-43 at George St.
Description
The following streets make up the precinct:
George, Bolton, Robert, and Forrest Streets (all north of Hudsons Road ), Hope Street
(west side only)
The dominant period expression of the precinct is c1890-1915 but there are many
intrusions from various other eras. There are some mature street trees (planes) in those
streets north of Hudsons Road. Small groups of houses in the precinct are significant
but the overall character of the estates is inconsistent.
Selected heritage house overlay groups:

George Street 1-23, 6-26

Hope St 13, 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1 west side only and McLister St 2
Robert Street 49-59, west side only
The Avenue 35-43 at George St
The following streets and places are elements in the assessed area:
Bolton Street 1-31, 2-24. Melway 41K12

sprinkling of Edwardian timber houses, between Hudson and The Avenue, plane and
Norfolk Island hibiscus street trees,
many alterations/demolitions, new 2 storey intrusions in a one storey area. Near 50%
of the houses have been altered or
renewed.
Non-contributory places (outside the Victorian & Edwardian-era period, vacant, or
defaced) include:
26, 24, 22 , 20, 25, 16, 14, 17, 9, 11, 7, 1A, 2, 4
Forrest St 1-25, 8-24. Melway 41

Edwardian-era weatherboard character between Hudson and The Avenue, ash street
trees, near 50% altered or new.
defaced) include:
17, 15, 13, 11, 4, 6, 2, 1-5, 11
George Street 2- 28, 1-11, 21-3. 1910c , Melway 41J12

Good Edwardian timber group (5, 9), south of Little Mary St, but otherwise mixed.
Non-contributory places (outside the Victorian & Edwardian-era period, inter-war
and vacant, or defaced) include:
1, 18, 20, 13, 21
Selected group:
11, 9, 5, 3
Hope Street 1-67A. Melway 55K1

General character Edwardian-era weatherboard houses, west side only, south end
notable streetscape with The
Avenue as the north termination, near 50% altered or defaced or new.
Non-contributory (outside the Victorian & Edwardian-era period, vacant, or defaced)
include:
17, 19, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 61, 65, 67A (corner)
Selected heritage group: 13, 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1
Hudsons Rd Melway 41K12

Mainly commercial with some Edwardian-era and inter-war houses

McLister St 2 Victorian-era weatherboard continuation of Hope St south group, faces

Victorian Railways complex.
Reed St, Melway 55J1

inter-war weatherboard houses facing primary school and other open areas, many
altered.
Robert Street 34-58, 35-59, Melway 41K12

Victorian & Edwardian timber character (see 57) north end, west side, between
Hudson Rd and The Avenue, mature plane
street trees, good Edwardian-era group at 49-59:
defaced) include:
58, 52, 50, 44, 42, 43, 36-8, 34, 37
Selected heritage group: 49-59
The Avenue 13-51, 1910c- , Melway 41H11

Contributory house groups around George St Victorian-era, Edwardian and inter-war
examples at 35-43, south side only- Edwardian & Victorian-era but few in number
External Condition:
good (partially disturbed, well preserved) parts
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions, parts
Context:
Set on flat land between major transport rotes and near industrial development.
Similar housing development can be seen around the Newport and Williamstown North railway stations, the
former being typically better preserved.
History and themes
History
Early farmers in the area included William Hall who established Mount Pleasant
farm on 100 acres at what is now Newport sometime in the 1840s. J.S. Spotswood
also purchased 119 acres to begin a dairy farm in the area that was later named after
him. Michael Hannan bought 100 acres and established Prospect Farm in 1846 in the
area between present day North Williamstown Station and the Esplanade Beach, Port
Phillip. William Cherry bought land on both sides of Kororoit Creek from Brooklyn
down to the edge of the Altona property. By 1873 he could pass on about 4000 acres
to be shared between his three sons, William, Robert and James. All three farms

grazed cattle, mainly for dairying{ Barnard, 1999}.
Around the end of the 1840s John Stewart Spotswood, who farmed land at what is
now called Spotswood, set up a punt service across the Yarra near the mouth of
Stony Creek. The service operated at least until the 1860s.{ ibid. }'
Stations along the Williamstown line opened as demand arose. At first only
Williamstown, Williamstown Pier (then known only as Pier) and Footscray were
opened, followed, a few weeks later, by North Williamstown. Geelong Junction
(Newport) opened in the next month, March 1859. It was renamed Williamstown
Junction in 1868 and was not called Newport until 1881. Spotswood Station opened
as Edom in 1878, became Spottiswoode in 1881 and Spotswood in 1905{ Barnard,
1999}.
Specific history
The main plan of subdivision within this precinct was lodged in 1886 and declared
by surveyor, William Bage. It was part of Cut Paw Paw parish Crown Allotment
16/7. Street names were changed over time, William St becoming Bolton and Henry
St becoming Forrest (1911). Bay View Avenue was changed to simply, The Avenue.
Mary St was changed to Little Mary. There were 158 approximately 33-38 x 100 feet
lots distributed from Williamstown Road' (Melbourne Road ) to Forrest St, north of
Hudson Road. South of Hudson Road there was another small estate, a
resubdivision, lodged by Hall and declared by JS Jenkin in 1911-12. It was, in turn,
once part of a larger estate, declared in 1890, which included Hope (formerly
Station), Robert, Manchester and Birmingham Streets (LP2966): stretching from
Melbourne Road to the railway. The surveyor was Robert Poole and it was lodged by
solicitors and land boomers, Fink Best & Phillips { VTO}. Part of this land was later
taken up by the Spotswood primary school. The remaining part of the precinct,
around the Hudson Road railway crossing was a built on a plan lodged in 1890 for
AC Thomas solicitors and surveyed by Bruford & Braim.
An earlier estate from 1878 was also created around this part of the precinct, east of
Forrest St, and based around both sides of the railway station. The plan, surveyed by
the much noted former government surveyor and engineer, Clement Hodgkinson,
showed the Edom' Railway Station which had been created for Sir Charles
MacMahon and Thomas Bent (LP 298).
The 1894 MMBW Record Plan showed the 4 brick row houses in Hope St, with four
timber cottages in McLister St, as an isolated group from the populated areas around
Newport Railway Station to the south. On the south side of McLister St, where the
Victorian Railways Stores complex is was a quarry. Across the railway, to the east,
was another isolated row of seemingly identical timber houses (10) facing Craig St.
Further north there were more larger weatherboard houses facing Hope St, The

Spotswood Railway Station opposite was a timber building on the eastern side only
with a platform and small store on the west. In the precinct there were about 28
houses scattered across largely vacant blocks. By the 1920s these streets had filled
up { D1925}.
Associations: Varies

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

The selected streetscapes in the Spotswood Residential Precinct are significant to the
locality of Spotswood:
- as indicative of the first and second waves of housing the area, grouped around a
railway station (the estate as a whole was assessed at below the study threshold,
using criterion A4 but selected groups have been assessed as above the threshold).
Documentation
References
Victorian Titles Office (VTO) lodged plans
Heritage Study 1999
MMBW Record Plan 8
Sands & McDougall Victorian directories (D)
Recommendations

Heritage Registers
National Trust Register: No
Planning Scheme
Planning Scheme Protection: Recommended (part)
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the c1900-40
development phase:
- To encourage conservation and enhancement of the contributory and individually
significant elements of the place where elements include buildings, objects, paving,
landscape, and where enhancement includes reinstatement of known missing
original elements;
- To encourage conservation and enhancement of the visual relationship between
contributory elements in the precinct;
- To encourage conservation and enhancement of the public view of these
contributory elements;
- To encourage conservation and enhancement of the amenity of the place to aid in
its heritage conservation;
- To encourage new elements at the place to be recessive and related to the place's
setbacks from property boundaries, and building bulk as viewed from public areas.;
and
carry out further survey to identify isolated streetscapes or house groups and then
reassess their heritage significance.

Name of place: Gilbertsons meat processing complex & quarry,

former
Other Names Don factory
Address off Brunel St Cultural Significance: City
Altona North Creation date(s): 1951, 1969-70
Site Type Factory, meat processing Map (Melway) 41D12

The land and the following contributory structures, with emphasis on fabric from the 1951, 1969-70 development phases:
1. large skin sheds x4, with elevators.
2. stock yards to north east with former rail siding.
3. open-sided low-pitched king-post truss roofed sheds to north.
4. shed with bow truss roof and curved ridge ventilator.
5. former quarry;
6. office/amenities building at the north end of the western (Kyle Road) frontage;
7. two storey process range of buildings behind the office/amenities building
8. prominent brick and concrete modernist block, the Don retail outlet, on the Blacks haws Road frontage.
Description
The complex consists of (Inspection Required):
1. large skin sheds x4, horizontal timber slatted to top parts of walls, low pitched
corrugated cement sheet clad roofs with prominent curved ridge vents, elevators- the
last of their kind in the metropolitan area, once prolific among the meatworks,

tanneries, hide curers and other noxious industries;

2. stock yards to NE. with former rail siding from near Watson St.;
3. open-sided low-pitched king-post truss roofed sheds to the north;
4. one shed with bow truss roof and curved ridge ventilator;
5. east of works is former quarry overgrown with boxthorn, working face visible;
6. office/amenities building at the north end of the western (Kyle Road) frontage with
steel hopper sash windows cream face brick walls in stretcher bond and contrasting
manganese brick details to windows and string courses;
7. two storey process range of buildings behind the office/amenities building
complements the amenities blocks, although in a simpler and more utilitarian form;
and
8. prominent brick and concrete modernist block houses the Don retail outlet, on the
Blackshaw’s Road frontage.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
On flat land bounded by main roads and railway routes.
Meat processing works have a long history in the region and were once more common but have gradually
disappeared over time, such as Borthwick and Sons, or amalgamated. Other meat processing works lie outside
of the City at Brooklyn.
History and themes
History
Meat/ Meat By-products/ Wool

Much of Melbourne's western region became associated with meat and meat- by-
products in the mid to late nineteenth century and some of these industries were
located within the current City of Hobsons Bay. Joseph Raleigh, whose name was
later associated with meat works at Maribyrnong, had a very early meat salting
establishment on the river at Yarraville, where the Mobil Oil Depot is now situated.
Raleigh's salting works, along with a wharf, is shown on a map dated 1844, though it
did not remain at this site for very long.
Victoria's first successful meat freezing works, the Australian Frozen Meat Export
Co. located its slaughtering and freezing plant on a thirty acre site at Newport in
1882. Later this firm became the Newport Freezing Works and Sims Cooper. Its
location, near the docks and the railway was ideal.

In 1889 the Victorian Export Canning Works was established by E.A. Clark and
Sons east of the railway line at Spotswood (then called Spottiswoode). Not only did
this firm manufacture margarine, claiming to be the only manufacturer of it in the
state) but also tinned a variety of meat, including rabbit, fish, poultry and game for
export to Great Britain.
Many later huge abattoirs or freezing works were located just outside the study area,
such as at Brooklyn. Within the study area at Brooklyn, Thomas Borthwick and Sons
were located in Francis Street for many years. Gilbertson's butchers who had begun
with a single butcher shop in Essendon in 1901, built their own abattoir and meat
processing plant at Altona in 1951' { Barnard, 1999}
Specific history
In 1948, a most successful meat firm, RJ Gilbertson Pty. Ltd., originally butchers in
Essendon and Moonee Ponds, had bought a thirty-five acre site in the north-eastern
corner of the riding. Two years later, it sought permission to build a complete
noxious trades complex. This brought opposition from Footscray, Sunshine and
Williamstown, since the site was near all their borders and memories of the smells
from old-style abattoirs, fat rendering, blood and bone and tripe cooking did not
easily fade. After an enquiry which confirmed that the most modern techniques
would be employed, particularly for disposal of effluent, the Gilbertson permit was
granted. In 1951, its smallgoods section began on a former quarry site in Kyle Road,
running north from Blackshaws Road. Smallgoods then meant a limited range of
luncheon sausage and frankfurters, which Gilbertsons sold under the brand name,
The Don, recalling that epitome of Australian excellence, cricketer Don Bradman.
Then in 1956, the company bought Lyons Continental Smallgoods, which was to
have an enormous impact on its new Don subsidiary. This is acknowledged in the
company's jubilee history, written by family board members. The staff came mostly
from Europe and with their expertise and experience guided the Company's thinking
into various avenues and types of production that were previously unthought of.'
During the 1960s, Gilbertsons transferred the whole of its operations, from stock
yards to freezers, to the Kyle Road site. Head office moved there in 1964, and the
smallgoods section diversified to occupy five buildings. In 1969-70, a huge new
specialised plant for these products was built close by in Blackshaws Road, and Dan
Smallgoods achieved Australia-wide distribution in 1971. Liverwurst, salami,
cabana, and more, spread to dinner tables, lunch boxes and back-yard barbecues.' {
Priestley:229 }. The slogan Is Don is good!' is still remembered in the community as
an interesting combination of Australian folklore (The Don) and its reinterpretation
by immigrants.
Associations: RJ Gilbertson Pty. Ltd.


Feeding people
PAHT Subtheme: Feeding people

Other Subtheme:
Significance

D.2 Good example of type
Gilbertsons meat processing complex is significant to the City:
- as one of the few remaining meat processing plants in the City, an industry which
was once prolific in the area but was later shunned by local government ( (criterion
A4);
- as a complete meat processing plant with intact elements illustrating in the process,
such as the stock yards, skin drying sheds and processing plant (criterion D2) ; and
- remembered by many in the community as a working place for unskilled labour,
particularly immigrants (Criterion G1).
Documentation
References
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 229
G Vines pers. com., 1999;
Melbourne's Living Museum of the West, Gary Vines and Andrew Ward and Associates (1989),
Western Region Industrial Heritage Study (WRIHS);
Vines, Gary 1993. `Meat and By-Products, The Meat Industry and Animal By- Product Works of
Melbourne's West', Melbourne's Living Museum of the West;
Municipal Rate Books (RB);
Heritage Study
Last edit: 30/04/2000 Consultant(s): Gary Vines
Recommendations

Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Prohibited Uses may be Permitted? yes
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1951, 1969-70
development phases:
the place where elements include buildings, objects, yarding, paving, landscape, and
where enhancement includes reinstatement of known missing original elements;
the place;
- To conserve and enhance the viability of the place to aid in its heritage
conservation;
and
oral sources, reassess the heritage significance of the place and prepare an
incorporated plan in the heritage overlay as required.

Name of place: Riveted Oil Storage Tanks (2) part former

Commonwealth Oil Refinery Complex (COR)
Other Names British Petroleum (BP) tank farm
Address off Burleigh St Cultural Significance: Regional
Spotswood Creation date(s): 1922
Site Type Oil store Map (Melway) 56A2

Riveted oil storage tanks (2 - one small and one large, numbered NP7 & NP6) and land within the title.
Description
Two early riveted circular oil storage tanks, one small tank to the south of the site and
one large one to the north (numbered NP7 - 12.2m diam. & NP6 - 35.4m diam), set
among 9 later welded examples on a site bounded by Drake St, Burleigh St and the
former railway siding. A small group of altered buildings in the south-west corner of
the site include a brick office, fitters workshop, pump house, and store.
The physical state and history of the tanks has been recorded by BP:
- NP6 was built by contractors Poole & Steel at 116 feet diameter (35.4m) and a
height of 40 feet, with a capacity of 10,000 tons, filling capacity of 2,589, 238 gallons,

placed on a concrete ring and sand pit base with spiral and 3 straight flights stair
access; it was reroofed in 1934 and general cleaning since;
- NP7 was built by contractors Poole & Steel at 40 feet diameter (12.2m) and a height
of 30 feet, with a capacity of 900 tons, filling capacity of 229,765 gallons, placed on a
concrete ring and sand pit base with spiral and 2 straight flights stair access; it was
cleaned 1953, reroofed in 1965, and general cleaning since.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions, minor changes, both tanks reroofed.
Context:
On flat land near the bay, bounded by main roads and railway routes, contributory part of Spotswood Industrial
Precinct. These tanks are across the road from the early Shell and Alba tank farms and west of the oil berths on
the river.
The nearby Shell and Francis Street Vacuum depot have riveted tanks but also have stores for packaged
product. Otherwise riveted tanks from this era are rare within the State.
History and themes
History
At the beginning of the twentieth century fuels such as kerosene and oil became
increasingly important for domestic and industrial uses. As motor transport was
introduced, oil and petrol became essential. There was no petrol refining carried out
locally until the 1920s, so these products were imported in a refined state and
distributed from local depots, initially in cans{ Barnard, 1999}. As an example of the
changes in distribution in the industry …in 1901 the Shell Company established a
bulk handling facility for imported fuel oil, kerosene and petrol at the old Langhorne
wool store in Nelson Place, Williamstown ( later demolished by the Housing
Commission of Victoria) At this time, these products were distributed in cans and
the company also set up a factory to manufacture tins and drums for packaging the
fuel. As the use of fuel expanded in Australia in the first decades of the twentieth
century, Shell expanded into a new bulk handling facility when the company
purchased 15 acres at Newport, where the Port Of Melbourne Authority constructed
a wharf and railway sidings
Specific History
In 1922 Australia's first oil refinery, Commonwealth Oil Refineries, was established
jointly by the Australian Commonwealth Government and the Anglo-Persian Oil
Company. It was located beside Kororoit Creek, north of Kororoit Creek Road. The
refinery was connected by pipeline to a wharf at Newport (the former liquid berth
replaced in 1971 by Holden Oil Dock) where oil tankers unloaded crude oil into

storage tanks, from which it was piped to the refinery. Two oil storage tanks (SP 7,
SP6) were constructed by contractors Poole & Steel in 1922 for COR (client was
Anglo-Persian Oil Company) and were located at Newport on the south side of
Burleigh Street. The two tanks are now known as BP tanks NP 6 and NP 7 (BP
1999: 3-). Effluent from the refinery travelled by pipeline beside the creek and was
released eighteen yards into the Bay, near the Williamstown Racecourse. The
refinery is said to have pioneered welded, rather than riveted storage tanks, possibly
the first of their kind in the world.
Early MMBW detail plans show these two tanks within a fenced area east of the
large Shell complex. A group of small structures was located in the south-west
corner of the site, just north of the railway siding which curved its way to the oil
berths 3 & 4 and the power station. An aerial view in 1925 shows the two tanks in a
flat open expanse next to the river, with old quarry holes visible to the east and north
of the site { State Library of Victoria}. Another aerial view of c1948 shows all of the
existing tanks, with the letters C.O.R. applied to the side of one on the east of the
group. The Alba group is in the foreground { State Library of Victoria}.
The Commonwealth sold its shares in COR in 1952. Three years later the refinery
closed when the owners, now BP Australia Ltd, opened a new refinery in Western
Australia. Having traded for 37 years as the Commonwealth Oil Refineries Ltd, the
name was changed to BP Australia Ltd. as a member of the international BP Group
of companies, on 1st November 1957. BP Australia's Altona Terminal was
converted to a storage depot and rail loading terminal. It has recently been vacated
and redeveloped for light industrial uses although some of the original tanks and
office buildings remain. BP Altona was closed 1996.
The Newport tank farm continued as a complex for pumping product via pipeline on
to BP’s Port Melbourne terminal and received product via pipeline from Shell’s
Geelong refinery, from Mobil’s Altona refinery and via ship from Holden Oil dock.
It was progressively expanded to accommodate ten large and several smaller tanks
with pump house and amenities buildings, but was closed down and mothballed in
1987, apart from use on a casual basis for storage of product for the lubricating oil
plant at Douglas Parade.
Associations: Commonwealth Oil BP Australia Ltd
Refineries

Utilising mineral resources
PAHT Subtheme: Extracting oil & gas

Other Subtheme:

Significance

B.2 Rarity
Riveted Oil Storage Tanks (2) part former Commonwealth Oil Refinery Complex
(COR) later part BP complex is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- as one of the first fuel depots in Melbourne established in 1923 for the
Commonwealth Oil Refinery Co. (criterion A4);
- as one of the few surviving parts of Australia's earliest commercial oil refining
complex which included a wharf on the Yarra River used to unload crude oil from
Persia by the Anglo Persian Oil Co. these crude oil storage tanks, and the pipeline to
the COR refinery at Altona North (criterion B2);
- for its recognition by a community group as significant to the heritage of the
Western Region (criterion G1) ;and
- as riveted construction, a now rare early oil storage tank construction method
(criterion B2) .
Documentation
References
Heritage Study, (Melbourne's Living Museum of the West): site 372;
City of Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme;
MMBW Detail Plan 87 half-plate updated copy, pre WW2;
State Library of Victoria picture collection
Heritage Study;
The Shell Company of Australia Limited 1996. Èighty years at Newport 1916-1996' (Shell);
Allom Lovell 1999BP Amoco web site (www.bpamoco.com);
Allom Lovell & Associates, 1999, Submission on the Proposed inclusion of Two Fuel Storage Tanks
(NP6 and NP7) at BP Australia’s Spotswood Facility, Burleigh Street Spotswood..., report to WBCM
P.L. on behalf of BP Australia, December 1999;
BP Australia Ltd 1999, Engineering submission for L14 panel Dec 22 1999 by B Clearwater.
Recommendations

Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Planning Scheme Protection: Yes
Prohibited Uses may be Permitted? Yes
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1920-30
development phase:
the place where elements include buildings, objects, storage tanks, plant, paving,
original elements;
the place;
conservation;
and
oral sources and then reassess the heritage significance of the place with potential to
create an incorporated plan to qualify application of the heritage overlay.

Name of place: Shell Oil complex including riveted oil storage

tanks & packing sheds
Other Names
Address off Burleigh St Cultural Significance: State
Spotswood Creation date(s): 1914c-
Site Type Oil store Map (Melway) 56A2

Title land, 13 riveted tanks, two gabled packing sheds, railway spur line reserve, with emphasis on fabric from the period c1914-30.
Description
This is a collection of 13 (assumed steel) circular riveted tanks, within a group which
includes later welded examples. The tanks are made up from curved steel sheets fixed
at the edges by steel rivets and are sited in containment levees. The tanks built in 1920
(5-7) are similar in size but tank 12 which was erected in 1930 is much larger has a
different floating roof construction which has been replaced in a matching form. Of
these tanks, numbers 4 & 6 have original riveted roofs, the riveted sheet roof on tank
7 has been patched, and tanks 5-7 have original steel pipe handrails around the top of
each. Tank 9 (built 1925) has a riveted steel roof which is thought to have been
modified. Most of the tanks have been altered in detail, with new stair access in each

case.
The gabled packing sheds opposite, to the north, have a metal frame only from the
original construction and have been reclad with corrugated iron, as original. The
railway spur line reserve, located between the stores and the tanks, has served the
tank farm and the stores en-route to the wharf. The riveted tanks indicate an early
form of tank construction and is now rare for oil storage tanks on a national basis.
The Shell tanks, on the site bounded by Burleigh, Hall, High and Drake Streets,
include 10 large riveted tanks and three smaller ones. They were built in the period
1916 to 1937, with 7 constructed by 1925. Associated with the tanks are some
structures contemporary with the early development of the site, including a valve
house, and boiler house. Red brick retaining walls form part of the containment
bunds, and some pipe work may also be contemporary.
The case and loading stores to the north have been substantially reduced in recent
years. The surviving large double gabled store has been reclad, on the north and west
sides, but retains its riveted steel frame and trusses using an angle iron top cord and
compression members, and flat iron tension members and bottom cord. The main
uprights are rolled steel joists manufactured by Dorman Long in England. The floor is
generally steel tiles made by the Steel Company of Australia - stamped `Stel Con,
Australia’. Other corrugated iron clad buildings extend to the north east, with some
surviving features including timber gable louvres and original ogee pattern guttering.
However, they have generally been altered.
A small brick house on High Street is evidently also related to the tank farm, possibly
having been the on-site caretaker’s or gate house.
Context
Historical structures related to the early oil industry in Melbourne are concentrated in
Newport and Spotswood. Of the various structures, it is the tanks which are the most
distinctive and dominant features. Most of the surviving Shell storage tanks are of
riveted iron and are part of the first installations.
Other riveted tanks were built by Vacuum Oil (now Mobil, Francis St,) and
Commonwealth Oil Refiners (east of Drake St. However, most of the other tank farms
in the area, are predominantly of welded steel tanks, including COR (now BP), Alba
Petroleum (now AMPOL) and Triton.
One large tank on the COR site (BP) is riveted, and there is a small one at the south
end of Drake St. near a boiler house. One large riveted tank at Vacuum Oil (Mobil) is
now used for water storage.

The remains of the Newport oil wharves are still evident, and extend for some
distance north from the Newport Power Station.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Tanks:
all tanks have new stair access;
tank 5 has a new roof, and the roof of 7 has been patched ;
Context:
On flat land near the bay, bounded by main roads and railway routes, contributory part of Spotswood Industrial
Precinct.
The Francis Street Vacuum depot has one riveted tank and stores for packaged product; the nearby BP tank
farm also has riveted tanks. Otherwise riveted tanks from this era are rare within the State.
History and themes
History
In 1901 the Shell Company established a bulk handling facility for imported fuel oil,
kerosene and petrol at the old Langhorne wool store in Nelson Place, Williamstown (
later demolished by the Housing Commission of Victoria) At this time, these
products were distributed in cans and the company also set up a factory to
manufacture tins and drums for packaging the fuel. As the use of fuel expanded in
Australia in the first decades of the twentieth century, Shell expanded into a new
bulk handling facility when the company purchased 15 acres at Newport, where the
Port of Melbourne Authority constructed a wharf and railway sidings. The company
purchased the land in 1914. The first three storage tanks were built here by 1916.
Tankers berthed at nearby wharves and the products were pumped to the storage
tanks. Four gallon tins and the cases to pack them in were manufactured here and the
products were distributed by horse-drawn tankers from the facility. The site was
expanded over the years. For instance, a laboratory was built in 1920, a Lube Oil
Blend Plant in 1928 and a Resin Plant in 1929. A subsidiary company,
manufacturing cold-mix bitumen was established within the complex in 1926. When
Shell built a new refinery at Geelong in the 1950s, the need for overseas tankers
delivering fuel to Newport was reduced, as a pipeline delivered products from
Geelong to the Newport Depot. Many other new facilities were built at the Newport
Depot during the expansionist years of the 1950s. Further expansion of facilities in
the 1970s saw the demolition of other old buildings on the site{ Barnard, 1999}.
The immediate post-World War 1 years ushered in an unprecedented era of national

growth and development in Australia. Cities expanded rapidly as new suburbs were
formed and road and rail links were built to service them. In country areas vast tracts
of land were opened up and huge irrigation schemes made previously arid regions fit
for ambitious new agricultural projects. { Shell, 1996}.
The boom was reflected in a marked increase in demand for petroleum products and,
in keeping with the national trend, operations at Newport Terminal grew swiftly to
meet the challenge of supplying the new urban and rural markets. A depot opened in
Fitzroy became a staging point where product delivered from Newport was loaded
onto vehicles for distribution further a field. At the same time, ensuring product
quality became an important task and in 1920 the company established a laboratory
on site. Three chemists were employed, spending most of their time testing motor
spirit and Kerosene, but also checking the small range of lubricating oils handled at
the Terminal. { ibid. }
The manufacture of tin plate containers was another vital part of the operation during
this period and by 1923 the Terminal's tin factory employed more than 150 men. The
tin plate came in as individual cut squares that were then manually soldered together
around the top, bottom and sides while the sections moved along the production line.
The finished articles were leak tested in a water trough before being wiped dry, filled
with product and sealed by soldering a tin plug into the bung hole. Another 40 men
worked in the adjoining carpentry section where they cut and fitted imported pine
boards to a set box size which snugly encased two of the four-gallon tins. They and
most of the other Newport employees lived locally and travelled to work each day on
foot, by bike, and on the train. Few could afford to own motor cars. { ibid. }
The Newport stables held between 40 and 50 horses during the early 1920s to cater
for what turned out to be the final period of horse -powered transport. As the decade
wore on., bulb deliveries gradually increased and motor vehicles replaced horses as
the delivery means. The Company's fast motorised road tanker - a solid tyre chain-
driven Albion - travelled the route between the Newport Terminal and the Fitzroy
Depot. By 1923 another Albion and a Thornycroft had been added to the motorised
section, and before the end of the decade the Newport motor fleet numbered 23
trucks. Post-war Australia literally took to the road' as more and more people bought
motor cars. In Victoria alone there were 100,000 vehicles by the mid 1920s, a tern
fold increase in as many years. Thus demand for petrol rise steeply and the rivalry
between oil companies scrambling for shares in the burgeoning retail market grew in
tease, particularly between the two majors, Vacuum Oil Company (a forerunner of
Mobil) and Shell. In 1926 Shell increased its market share when it bought out The
Australian-owned Neptune Oil Company, although it allowed Neptune to continue
trading as an independent company for quite some time. The following year British
Imperial Oil, the local Shell subsidiary which had been in operation since 1900,
changed its name to The Shell Company of Australia Ltd. Motorists became aware

of this competition when company-owned kerbside pumps began to appear in 1924.

Previously the proprietors of retail outlets (still mainly blacksmiths and storekeepers
with car-handling facilities) sold petrol from unmarked pumps. However the new
units were supplied by the oil companies exclusively for the sale of their products.
Thus the motorist of the mid 1920s was suddenly offered `multi-brand' outlets
consisting of an array of pumps on the kerbside, each dispensing different brand of
fuel.' { ibid. }
Specific History
The evolution of this complex is shown on MMBW detail plans, with 8 large and
two small oil storage tanks on the site bounded by High, Drake, Daniel and the
railway spur line. Between Hall and Daniel St was a collection of houses, industrial
buildings (Asphalt Cold Mix complex) and a large quarry at the High and Hall
Streets corner.
North of the spur line were the stores. This site had three large timber framed
structures fronting onto the spur line with another set behind the western-most of the
three. Next to Drake Street was another short spur line which headed north. One
either side of this line were more timber framed structures, some of which survive
today. Smaller timber framed and brick buildings fronted Burleigh St. In the north-
west corner of this site was a brick residence or staff amenities and attached tennis
court. Another residence was in the south-west corner.
A 1925 aerial view shows 7 large riveted tanks and 2 minor tanks on the Shell site,
the three blocks of double-gabled stores facing the spur line and a large saw-tooth
roof block to the north of them. The word SHELL is painted on one of the store's
roofs for aerial viewing. North-west of the sawtooth block is another double gabled
building while lesser gabled structures abut Burleigh and Drake streets. An aerial
view taken by Charles Daniel Pratt pre c1930 shows 9 large riveted tanks. Another
c1927 shows the same, with the oil berths 3 & 4 aligned with the shoreline south of
the spur railway termination. Elsum's Williamstown history of 1934 shows an
oblique view of the complex with 10 large tanks, three small tanks and one
intermediate size tank. The stores are shown as three wings, two double-gabled and
one triple gabled and the other buildings much as they were in 1925.
The Allom Lovell December 1999 report which used Shell company records gives
the dates of tank construction as:
Tanks 4-7 1920 (similar construction, tank 4 and 6 have original pitched roof);
Tank 9 1925;
Tank 12 1930 (larger diameter, new floating roof);
Associations: Shell Company of
Australia



Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
C.2 Research potential
Shell Oil complex including riveted oil storage tanks & packing sheds is significant
to Victoria:
- as the earliest structures in Australia associated with Shell's development (criterion
A4);
- as an illustration of the two major ways of dealing with refined petroleum, tank
storage for oil and shed storage for tinned petroleum product (criterion C2) ;
- as examples of early riveted tank construction which is now rare for oil storage
(criterion B2).
Documentation
References
Heritage Study, (Melbourne's Living Museum of the West): site 445;
City of Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme;
`The Shell Company of Australia, Eighty Years at Newport 1916-1996', 1996;
Heritage Study
Last edit: 19/05/2000 Consultant(s): Graeme Butler, G Vi
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Heritage Victoria Register: recommended

Planning Scheme
Recommendations
development phase:
the place where elements include buildings, objects, storage tanks, plant, paving,
original elements;
the place;
conservation;
and

Name of place: Housing Commission of Victoria Champion

Road Estate Precinct
Other Names
Address Cerberus, Edina & Gem Streets Cultural Significance: City
Williamstown North Creation date(s): 1941c
Site Type housing estate Map (Melway) 55J7

Land and houses in allotments facing the reserve bounded by Gem and Edina Streets and Cerberus Cr plus all public land, landscape and
paving - with emphasis on fabric from the 1940s.
Description
This precinct centres on a reserve bounded by Gem and Edina Streets and Cerberus
Cr, all maritime names. The house are typically attached pairs, one storey, with either
red and clinker brick (Gem St & Cerberus Cr) or stuccoed concrete walls (Edina St),
with terra-cotta variegated Marseilles pattern roofing tiles. The roads are concrete
paved and the kerbs are basalt. Ash trees are planted in the reserve. Privet hedges,
some trees (Italian cypress) and low front fences extend the landscape into each
allotment. The estate has a high degree of visual homogeneity.
External Condition:


External Integrity:
Context:
Set on flat land bounded by other suburban development and the massive Newport railway workshops.
The curved street form, pattern housing, concrete roads and internal parklands are seen in the Commonwealth
Explosives Factory worker housing in Maidstone and in the HCV estate at West Newport.
History and themes
History
Much of the residential development of the study area, apart from that at
Williamstown, has taken place in the twentieth century and, indeed, in the post-
Second World War years. Nevertheless some development took place within the
study area in the 1920s, when, for example, many war service homes were
constructed at Spotswood. Other developments at this time were on private
subdivisions, such as at Altona where, in 1915, those areas of the Altona Bay estate
that had not been sold still belonged to W.H. Croker, who had tried to develop coal-
mining there. He sold his remaining interests in the estate at this time to the Altona
Beach Estates Limited, a consortium of Sydney businessmen who planned to turn the
old Altona estate into a 'model garden suburb'. The new syndicate planned 674
house lots in the old 1880s subdivision, 2,875 lots in the new one and 58 blocks
reserved for public institutions. The company named the area east of Millers Road,
Seaholme. By 1930 there was one shop and 29 dwellings on the Seaholme Estate.
The first auctions were held in 1918, with 108 lots being sold. Some new residents
took up homes on this estate in the 1920s, when the number of dwellings in Altona
went from 114 in 1921 to 408 in 1933. The company managed the sale of land in
central Altona for the next thirty years, until 1953. Six other private subdivisions
were all offered for sale in Altona North and Altona East in the 1920s.
Hobsons Bay.
At around the same time another private subdivision bounded by Millers Road and
Ross Road, prompted the developers to help pay for the construction of Paisley
Station on the Geelong Railway line.

The Western Beach Estate, also subdivided in the 1920s, was between Maidstone
Street, the (present) Kooringal Golf Club, and the Melbourne Water Drainage Basin.
The golf course was developed along with the estate, on which
a number of weatherboard houses were constructed and offered for sale in 1927. This
estate was developed by Hector Bell, an associate of John Wren's.'
It was not really until the post- Second World War era that residential housing began
to fill up Altona, Altona North, Laverton, Brooklyn and much of Spotswood and
Kingsville South. Much of this was public housing provided by the Housing
Commission, the Defence Department and other bodies. (see below) The impact of
post-war migration and the development of major industry, coupled with the
formation and aggressive marketing of the City of Altona helped to promote this
housing boom{ Barnard, 1999}.
By the 1940s the Housing Commission of Victoria had begun work within Hobsons
Bay, building the Champion Road Estate in 1941 and the West Newport Estate after
1945. After the war, houses were also built at Spotswood and, for a time, an
emergency accommodation camp for evicted families operated at Williamstown. In
the late 1950s the Housing Commission earmarked some parts of Williamstown for
slum reclamation. While much of the Commission's work till then had been
concerned with building estates on vacant land in order to cope with Victoria's acute
housing shortage, it now returned to what it saw as its primary aim, to clear slums
and replace them with adequate housing. In 1958 the Commission began preliminary
work towards slum reclamation in The Strand at Williamstown. One solution to the
problem of providing adequate housing density in such areas were high rise flats and
Williamstown's high rise flats, in Nelson Heights, were completed in 1967.(The old
Langhorne bluestone wool store was among the structures demolished to make way
for these flats.)' { ibid. }
Specific history
The Housing Commission of Victoria was criticised locally for slum reclamation
which involved shifting Williamstown residents out of the area. Williamstown
council offered the old Pound Reserve to the commission to develop, with one
councillor pointing out that so much of the City was not rated (government owned)
that new housing would benefit the rate base. The Housing Commission of Victoria
had built 39 maisonettes on the reserve by the end of 1941. The occupancy figures
for the Champion Road estate indicated that over half of the houses built were
occupied by Williamstown residents and a further six were employed in the town {
Strahan: 368}.
By the early 1950s four houses had been built in Gem St, 22 in Edina St and 19 in
Cerberus Cr. Twenty years later the occupants of Cerberus Cr and Gem St had

changed little while those in Edina St had almost totally changed.

Associations: Housing Commission of
Victoria

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

F.1 Design or technological achievement
Housing Commission of Victoria Champion Road Estate Precinct is significant to the
City of Hobsons Bay:
- as one of the best preserved early Housing Commission of Victoria estates in the
City (criterion D2);
- for its overall planning, using curving streets around a central park off a main road
(criterion F1) ;
- for the strong visual homogeneity of the place, and hence an evocation of the
construction period, which is enhanced by the central park (criterion F1) ;
- as an estate which showed the Housing Commission of Victoria reaction to local
criticism by erection of substantial brick houses with parkland attached (criterion
A4) ;
Documentation
References
Strahan: 368, 370 -82, 456;
Heritage Study

Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1940s
development phase:
the place where elements include buildings, objects, paving, landscape, and where
- To conserve and enhance the visual relationship between contributory elements in
the precinct;
and
- To carry out an oral history investigation of the place and then reassess its heritage
significance.

Housing Commission of Victoria Champion Rd Precinct
Graeme Butler & Associates, 2000: Appendix 10:precinct map

Name of place: Quarryman's house

Other Names
Address 13 Champion Road Cultural Significance: City
Williamstown North Creation date(s): 1881

House and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being the 1880s.
Description
This is a weatherboard gabled roof house with rear skillion and cast-iron verandah
frieze to timber posts. The verandah is hipped convex form. The scale of the house
and its early form are distinctive for the location which is opposite the Newport
Railway Workshops and adjoining later but related housing.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Set on flat land bounded by other later suburban development and near the massive Newport railway
workshops.
Other quarrymen's houses are at Elizabeth Street and in Blackshaws Road (q.v.).
History and themes
History
heavy industry.
journey to Britain.
be seen.

This house was first listed in rate books in 1881, the property of WE White,
quarryman. It was occupied initially by Henry J Elsum, a quarryman, but reverted to
White by c1885. The house occupied lots 80-81 on Cemetery Road. The
Williamstown historian William Elsum was Henry's son. Other owners and
occupiers included Clifton J Elliott, fishmonger, Charles Blaker, clerk, and John
McLeod, gentleman/engineer.
Associations: WE White Henry J Elsum Clifton J Elliott

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

This Quarryman's house is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- for its early form and date, combined with its location outside of the main early
residential precincts of Williamstown (criterion A4);
- for its link with quarrying, an important early industry for the region and the city
(criterion A4); and
- for its link with the locally prominent Elsum family (criterion H1) .
Documentation
References

`City of Williamstown Conservation Study' 1993 (WCS);

Heritage Study
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the Victorian-era and
the Elsum tenure:
the place;

Name of place: Assistant Manager's residence, Newport

Railway Workshops (former )
Other Names Manager's residence
Address 57 Champion Road Cultural Significance: State

House and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being pre 1920.
Description
`The two matching Federation style, single-storey brick houses with tiled roofs are set
on large blocks of land on the south side of Champion Road, opposite the Newport
Railway Workshops. The refined design displays Californian and Craftsman
Bungalow influences, as well as remnants of Melbourne's Queen Anne. It shows
treatments of planning and circulation, dominant ridge and gable with projecting
secondary gables, and relation of roofs to the plan, which are typical of the Bungalow
of this period. Other typical features are window bays with lead-lights, red brick,
Marseilles tile, expressed structural timber-work, roughcast and shingles in the gables,
and abstracted brackets to the eaves, porches and verandahs.' { Heritage Victoria }

External Condition:
excellent (undisturbed, well-preserved)
External Integrity:
intact/minimal intrusions
Context:
workshops.
This house stands out among other Edwardian-era houses in the City and Region, with only a few examples in
Williamstown being similarly ornamented.
History and themes
History
As early as 1860, plans were made to locate new workshops at Newport (in place of
those at Williamstown at Gellibrand Point). Nothing came of this plan until 1880
when Victorian railways purchased annexes used for the 1880 Melbourne Exhibition
and located one of them at Newport, calling it the Newport Carriage Workshops. It
began operation in 1882. Construction of the permanent workshops at Newport
began in 1884 and were completed in 1889. At the time the workshops were the
largest industrial concern in Victoria. Although the earlier carriage workshop closed
at this time, it reopened in 1895 to manufacture signal equipment. Initially the
Newport workshops manufactured and repaired only carriages and wagons, with
locomotives manufactured by a private firm in Ballarat. From 1905 the workshops
also manufactured their own engines. On an area of 130 acres, the workshops, by
1905, were a labyrinth of railway lines, workshops and stores. There was even a
cricket ground. Major extensions to workshops were added in 1927 and 1930. A
myriad of trades and occupations were covered by the up to 3,000 men employed at
the workshops by the 1960s. It was at the Newport Workshops in the 1920s that the
game of Trugo is said to have been invented by workers on their lunch hour{
Barnard, 1999}.
The houses at 57 and 59 Champion Road were built c.1915 as residences for the
Manager and the Deputy Manager of the Newport Railway Workshops. They were
built by A. J. Maddock under Victorian Railways Contract 29407, signed 29
September 1915. They replaced two timber double-storey houses built c.1889 at the
eastern end of the main Workshops site… The houses have been privately owned
since c.1982.' { Heritage Victoria }
Rate book research shows that the house was first listed in 1916 as of brick and 8
rooms, occupied by Edward William Arthur, assistant workshop manager. Arthur
was listed in the `Victoria Government Gazette' for 1914 as having been born in June
1872 and in receipt of £475 per annum. He was there into the 1930s when he was

listed as manager, being replaced by Edward H Brownhill and Richard Roach in the
1940s. Brownhill later became Chief Commissioner of Railways { Curtain, 2000}.
Associations: Edward William Arthur

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

The residence at 57 Champion Road is of historical and architectural significance to
the state of Victoria.
The residence at 57 Champion Road is of historical significance for its strong
associations with the Newport Railway Workshops, one of the most important
surviving 19th century railway workshops in the world. They were the main
workshops of the Victorian Railways for over a century and were one of Victoria's
largest and best equipped engineering establishments. The workshops were so
important to the Railways and to the Victorian economy that it was considered
necessary to provide official railway residences near the complex (Criterion A4) .
The residence at 57 Champion Road is of architectural importance as an intact
example of a Bungalow style suburban villa of the late Federation/Edwardian period
(Criterion D2) .
The hierarchy of spaces and related hierarchy of finishes and materials are
demonstrative of the type of lifestyle considered appropriate for an occupant of the
status of the railway yards manager. At the same time, the plan and form are well
adapted to the orientation of the site (Criterion F1). { Heritage Victoria }
Documentation
References


City of Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme HO 104 L14;
MMBW PSP 742743 only plan 1984
Heritage Victoria citation;
Heritage Study;
C Curtain, 2000, verbal;
`Victoria Government Gazette' 4/8/1914
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Heritage Victoria Register: Yes H1839
Register of the National Estate: Recommended
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the construction period
and use as a railway manager's residence:
the place;

Name of place: Manager's residence, Newport Railway

Workshops (former )
Other Names Assistant Manager's residence
Address 59 Champion Road Cultural Significance: State
Site Type house, urban Map (Melway) 55H6

Description
`The two matching Federation style, single-storey brick houses with tiled roofs are set
on large blocks of land on the south side of Champion Road, opposite the Newport
Railway Workshops. The refined design displays Californian and Craftsman
Bungalow influences, as well as remnants of Melbourne's Queen Anne. It shows
treatments of planning and circulation, dominant ridge and gable with projecting
secondary gables, and relation of roofs to the plan, which are typical of the Bungalow
of this period. Other typical features are window bays with lead-lights, red brick,
Marseilles tile, expressed structural timber-work, roughcast and shingles in the gables,
and abstracted brackets to the eaves, porches and verandahs.' { Heritage Victoria }

External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
workshops.
This house stands out among other Edwardian-era houses in the City and Region, with only a few examples in
Williamstown being similarly ornamented.
History and themes
History
Barnard, 1999}.
The houses at 57 and 59 Champion Road were built c.1915 as residences for the
Manager and the Deputy Manager of the Newport Railway Workshops. They were
built by A. J. Maddock under Victorian Railways Contract 29407, signed 29
September 1915. They replaced two timber double-storey houses built c.1889 at the
eastern end of the main Workshops site… The houses have been privately owned
since c.1982.' { Heritage Victoria }
Rate book research shows that this house was first listed in 1916 as of brick and 9
rooms, occupied by Robert James Ferguson, manager. The `Victoria Government
Gazette' of 1914 listed his birth date as December 7 1861, the date of his joining the
railways as 1877 and his annual wage as £650. He was there into the 1920s when he

was replaced by the former occupant of 57, Edward Arthur, assistant manager,
James Taylor and Fred McAuley in the 1930s-40s.
Associations: Victorian Government Victorian Railways

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

`The residence at 59 Champion Road is of historical and architectural significance to
the state of Victoria.
The residence at 59 Champion Road is of historical significance for its strong
associations with the Newport Railway Workshops, one of the most important
surviving 19th century railway workshops in the world. They were the main
workshops of the Victorian Railways for over a century and were one of Victoria's
largest and best equipped engineering establishments. The workshops were so
important to the Railways and to the Victorian economy that it was considered
necessary to provide official railway residences near the complex (Criterion A4) .
The residence at 57 Champion Road is of architectural importance as an intact
example of a Bungalow style suburban villa of the late Federation/Edwardian period
(Criterion D2) .
The hierarchy of spaces and related hierarchy of finishes and materials are
demonstrative of the type of lifestyle considered appropriate for an occupant of the
status of the railway yards manager. At the same time, the plan and form are well
adapted to the orientation of the site (Criterion F1)'. { Heritage Victoria }
Documentation
References


MMBW PSP 742743 1984 plan only -shows cowshed at rear
Heritage Study;
Heritage Victoria citation- note differing status;
`Victoria Government Gazette' 4/8/1914.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Heritage Victoria Register: Yes H1840
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
and use as a railway manager's residence:
the place;

Name of place: Railway bridge site, part Melbourne - Geelong

Railway
Other Names
Address over Cherry Creek Cultural Significance: Typical (former Regional)
Altona Creation date(s): 1857, rebuilt
Site Type Bridge, rail Map (Melway) 54F6

Bridge replaced.
Description
This bridge was formerly had bluestone and brick supporting masonry with later
concrete girders carrying the tracks. A new standard gauge bridge ran beside it. This
type of construction paralleled with the description of the original Kororoit Creek
bridge on the line which was timber on stone abutments.
Since it was initially identified in the Western Region industrial heritage study, the
bridge has been rebuilt in reinforced concrete and is no long contributory to the
historic nature of the line.
External Condition:

demolished
External Integrity:
Demolished
Context:
In open flat country, near industrial development.
Bridge replaced.
History and themes
History
Historical context
Two of Victoria's earliest railway lines were begun (in the City of Hobsons Bay ) by
private companies in the 1850s, though both were soon taken over by the
government. Private railways figured again later when the spur to Williamstown
racecourse was extended to Altona by the company developing an estate here.
The Geelong and Williamstown Railway Lines
The first two railway lines through the ( the City of Hobsons Bay) were proposed by
private companies in 1852. The Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company
proposed connecting Geelong and Melbourne with a line that joined the proposed
Melbourne to Williamstown line at Greenwich (later Newport). Work began on the
Geelong-Melbourne line in 1853 but, with the Williamstown line not completed, a
temporary spur line was constructed from the proposed railway junction at
Greenwich to a specially-constructed jetty, Greenwich Pier. Initially this spur line
was built solely to carry material needed for the construction of the railway. When
the Geelong line was completed in 1857, however, the Government gave permission
for the line between the proposed Williamstown railway and the pier to be used for
passenger traffic. The train connected with a steamer to carry passengers from
Greenwich Pier to Melbourne. The Geelong -Melbourne line, which crossed the
pastoral and farming country of North Altona and Newport, was opened in June
1857. A wooden bridge with rubble stone piles and abutments carried the line over
Kororoit Creek. Local landowners were not happy with this arrangement so it was
not long before the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company was forced to
terminate the rail journey from Geelong at "new Platform', which is thought to have
been the location of the present Newport Station. Passengers had to walk from the
station to the pier to catch the steamer. The pier and the spur line were removed and
by October 1857 the Geelong -Melbourne line began running through to a temporary
station at Williamstown Pier on the newly-constructed Williamstown-Melbourne
line. The Geelong Railway Line was sold to the Government in 1860. { Barnard,
1999}
Although a Melbourne and Williamstown Company had first been formed to build a
railway connecting the two in 1852, it was the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and
Murray River Railway Company which began building a line from Spencer Street,
across the Maribyrnong River to Footscray and then parallel to the Yarra to
Williamstown. When this company ran out of funds in 1856 the Victorian
Government formed the Victorian Railways Department and the Williamstown line
became the first completed by the Railways Department. It included a railway bridge
over Stony Creek at Spotswood. The line opened in January 1859. It was the first
railway line completed by the Victorian Railways. Once the Melbourne to
Williamstown Rail link was completed, the Geelong trains utilised the new line to
run their trains through Newport (then known as Geelong Junction) and straight on
to Melbourne.
In conjunction with the completion of the railway line to Williamstown, much

railway infrastructure was completed at Williamstown in what was then called the
Railway Reserve and is now the Point Gellibrand Coastal Heritage Park. In the 1850
workshops were set up at Gellibrand Point to assemble railway rolling stock
imported from England. Two piers, Railway Pier (now Gellibrand Pier) and
Breakwater Pier and goods sheds, even a pier master's house, were constructed here
in the 1850s. By the turn of the century a network of goods sheds and rail lines
covered the area between Williamstown station and Railway and Breakwater Piers.
(In the 1950s and 1960s these piers were converted for oil tanker berthage)
as Edom in 1878, became Spottiswoode in 1881 and Spotswood in 1905.
Williamstown Beach Station, initially, called Beach, opened in 1889' { Barnard
(1999)}.
Associations: Geelong and Melbourne Victorian Colonial
Railway Company Government

PAHT Subtheme:
Other Subtheme:
Significance


B.2 Rarity
Railway bridge, (part Melbourne - Geelong Railway) is no longer significant to the
- as a once contributory part of an important and early railway in the State (below
threshold for Criterion A4); or
- as a former exemplar of early basalt construction (below threshold for Criterion B2)
.
Documentation
References
Vines, G. 1999 from Stage One of the Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts Heritage Study 1999;
`Victorian Government Gazette', 1859, p.695- a contract to begin this bridge was let in 1857 and
another, to complete the abutments, was accepted in 1859;
Heritage Study;
Leo Harrigan, `Victorian Railways to '62', nd. p.17
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Planning Scheme Protection: No

Recommendations
- Research record of original state.

Name of place: House & garden

Other Names
Address 176 Civic Parade Cultural Significance: City
Altona Creation date(s): 1935-9c
Site Type House & garden, urban Map (Melway) 54H10

House and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being inter-war.
Description
This Moderne style stuccoed house is distinguished by its rounded form and corner
steel framed windows. As an added stylistic flavour (Mexican?) there is the string
course of terra-cotta which is placed just below the parapet. Shaped rain water heads
are used on feature downpipes near the austere porch entry. The house is
complemented by a columnar cypress near the entry, providing a southern European
note, a jacaranda, and a brush box street tree.
External Condition:
Good.
External Integrity:
Good.

Context:
Set on a flat site north of the main Altona residential development and south of Cherry Lake.
Moderne style houses such as this are rare in the city, with some larger examples in the City of Maribyrnong
along Geelong Road, judges within the region.
History and themes
History
Much of the residential development of the study area, apart from that at
Williamstown, has taken place in the twentieth century and, indeed, in the post-
Second World War years. Nevertheless some development took place within the
study area in the 1920s, when, for example, many war service homes were
constructed at Spotswood. Other developments at this time were on private
subdivisions, such as at Altona where, in 1915, those areas of the Altona Bay estate
that had not been sold still belonged to W.H. Croker, who had tried to develop coal-
mining there. He sold his remaining interests in the estate at this time to the Altona
Beach Estates Limited, a consortium of Sydney businessmen who planned to turn the
old Altona estate into a 'model garden suburb'. The new syndicate planned 674
house lots in the old 1880s subdivision, 2,875 lots in the new one and 58 blocks
reserved for public institutions. The company named the area east of Millers Road,
Seaholme. By 1930 there was one shop and 29 dwellings on the Seaholme Estate.
The first auctions were held in 1918, with 108 lots being sold. Some new residents
took up homes on this estate in the 1920s, when the number of dwellings in Altona
went from 114 in 1921 to 408 in 1933. The company managed the sale of land in
central Altona for the next thirty years, until 1953. Six other private subdivisions
were all offered for sale in Altona North and Altona East in the 1920s.
Hobsons Bay.
At around the same time another private subdivision bounded by Millers Road and
Ross Road, prompted the developers to help pay for the construction of Paisley
Station on the Geelong Railway line.
The Western Beach Estate, also subdivided in the 1920s, was between Maidstone
Street, the (present) Kooringal Golf Club, and the Melbourne Water Drainage Basin.

The golf course was developed along with the estate, on which
a number of weatherboard houses were constructed and offered for sale in 1927. This
estate was developed by Hector Bell, an associate of John Wren's.'{ Barnard, 1999}
Specific history
F.W. (Francis William?) Johns lived here in the period from the late 1930s-1970s
{D1935, 1940, 1952, 1973}.
Of the Johns family in the area: a Glenys A Johns died at Altona in 1950, aged 37
and the daughter of Leslie H Cooke. Another Johns was Francis William whose
daughter Sarah died at Williamstown in 1971 aged 86 { Death Index 1921-85}. A
HA Johns was a Williamstown councillor 1915-1917 { Elsum}.
Associations: F.W. Johns

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
This House & garden are significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- for the unusual styling for housing this part of the City from the inter-war era,
complete with related garden elements (criterion B2);
- as an evocation of the small number of inter-war houses built in the Altona area
after full railway services were extended there and old housing estates revived
(criterion A4).
Documentation
References

Heritage Study;
Municipal Rate Books or Cards (RB)
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the inter-war era:
the place;

Name of place: Altona City Council Civic Centre (domed council

chamber)
Other Names
Address off Civic Parade Cultural Significance: City
Altona Creation date(s): 1963-
Site Type Municipal offices Map (Melway) 54H10

Domed Council Chamber and land within nominally 5m of its perimeter, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period,
being the 1960s.
Description
The opening of the civic centre was the subject of a commemorative publication
showing the new building distributed around a visual hub formed by the spherical
segment in which the council met. A series of rectangular forms, one with an arcaded
entry shelter, extended either side of the council chambers with the tall clock tower on
its south-eastern side. The complex sat in grass paddocks.
A plan of the building revealed the president and committee rooms north of the
chamber, a civic hall and kitchen to the north of them, all facing into a courtyard
which separated the council and civic area from the offices. The staff lunch room was

the closest area followed by the rates and accountants offices facing each other across
a corridor, with engineers in the far east wing and health on the north.
The elevated copper covered dome, with its concrete masonry base walls, is
distinctive although apparently derived from earlier examples such as Grounds
Romberg & Boyd's Academy of Science building, Canberra, ACT 1959. This in turn
paralleled with a new fascination of designers with engineering solutions as design
itself, with some such as Le Corbusier, Saarinen and Nervi using concrete shell
construction to provide distinctive geometric and plastic forms. Another example of
this is Utzon's Sydney Opera House, 1959-. An earlier parallel to this movement
included the reinforced concrete domes built in Melbourne during the Edwardian-era,
including the State Library of Victoria reading room dome and the Mission to
Seaman, Flinders St extension.
Inside the domed ceiling presents interesting acoustics but the central cluster light
fitting, complemented by contemporary wall up-lighting brackets provides the visual
focus. Round air diffusers in the ceiling follow the circle theme while timber wall
panels provide feature walls.
The forecourt has become the repository for a number of district memorials.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Major revision of the original plan has been carried out in the last decade with only the dome as the
obvious early section. The clock tower has been moved from the position shown in the original concept.
Context:
Set on an open flat site north of the Altona residential development and south of Cherry Lake.
Local government offices from this period (1960s) are uncommon in the State (see Brighton, Nunawading)
and this domed council chamber is similarly rare.
History and themes
History
Altona and Laverton lay within the Roads District and later Shire of Wyndham
(renamed Werribee 1869) from the formation of that Shire in 1864. In the twentieth
century local discussion sometimes centred on annexation of the Altona area into the
City of Williamstown. It was not until 1957 that the Shire of Altona was proclaimed,
with Altona Homestead serving as Council headquarters. In 1963 the striking,
modern Shire Offices were opened in Civic Parade, a testament to the confidence the
shire seemed to have in a progressive future. Altona was declared a city in 1968. {
Barnard, 1999}
Then Altona was then on the perimeter of the metropolitan area, …seaside
municipality … 10 miles distant from the GPO'. The population at 1963 was
estimated at 20,100 residing in 4995 homes.
Changes to all of Melbourne's municipal boundaries in 1994 led to the formation of

the City of Hobsons Bay, encompassing the former cities of Williamstown and
Altona and small parts of the former cities of Footscray, Sunshine and Werribee
(Laverton and Laverton South){ Barnard, 1999}.
Specific history
The first sod was turned for this building by Cr RJ Cooper, Shire President, in July
1962; the frame was up by November and the dome was being roofed in August of
the following year. Local parliamentary representative, Hon. Arthur A Caldwell
officially opened the complex on a Saturday afternoon in December 1963, following
the Special Commemorative Council Meeting presided over by Shire President, Cr G
den Dulk. JW Waters who was the Shire Secretary read a prayer as part of the
proceedings.
Local newspapers reported the opening, noting the last Council meetings had been
held in the Elderly Citizens Clubrooms.
The roof of the chamber follows the line of the outside dome, and from the lofty
centre is suspended a very modern light arrangement. The carpet is blue with the
council emblem woven in at regular intervals. The ceiling has a rough cement
textured finish and certain section of the walls are lined with very narrow vertical
boards. The very comfortable chairs are covered in a yellow leather- hence featuring
the colours of the Shire blue carpet and yellow chairs.
`Chairs for the gallery are very modern style in dark stained timber. These are raised
in tiers to enable all visitors to have a clear view of proceedings when attending
council meetings.' { Àltona Star' 12/12/63}
The following account is from John Roan's `Proposed National Trust Listing Altona
Civic Offices..' 1997:
`The new council of Altona continued to attract a number of specialised industries,
considered to be at the leading edge of technology including the continued
investment in the petroleum refinery and the off shoot industry of the petrochemical
complex. However problems of air pollution dogged the Council through the 60's
and into the 70's calling far a two pronged approach to firstly deal with regulating the
emissions and secondly to promote city's image.
"In April 1968, real estate reporter Rick Campbell described the jauntiness of
Altona's image, it's pep, zinc and zest. Strung across the northern approach on
Millers Road was a neon sign welcoming travellers `like a slap in the eye' with the
boast 'Altona, Victoria's mast progressive community. Then

"a few minutes further on past schools, rows of cream brick veneers and the hugh
(sic) pastel green, pink and blue PRA refinery complex is the space age Altona Shire
Council (Building). It's cinnamon Dame sits on the ground like a flying saucer come
to rest .... For a shire that came into existence only eleven years ago (Altona) has
remarkable momentum." (quoted from Priestley 1988:265)
`The council was considered to be progressive in its policies with facts such as the
seven free kindergartens for ratepayers and the provision of grants to infant welfare,
senior citizens and youth clubs all contributing to a sense of pride and identity in the
City of Altona. This identity was reinforced by the construction of the distinctive
Council offices opened on 7 December 1963 by Arthur Caldwell, the unsuccessful
labour (sic) candidate for the Prime Ministers Office.
"the location of the civic buildings on the north side of old Nellie Street prompted it's
change of name to Civic Parade. The low-slung design of the offices, with a
distinctive dome over the council chamber, was the work of architect Robert Warren.
Highlighting the complex like an exclamation mark was a free standing, three sided
clock tower with faces looking down pier street to the beach and to the football
ground and the bowling green on either side. Warren had produced similar towers for
the Ford Motor Company at Geelong and Broadmeadows." (quoted from Priestley
1988:266)
`The planning for the design and construction of the Altona Civic Offices was the
product of the Municipal Sites Committee who first recommended to the Council to
have Grant Reserve the home of the new offices in February 1961. This was a
prominent site at the northern end of Pier Street. The location was a key factor in
setting the scene for the landmark building.
`The Council considered 15 tender bids for the construction of the Civic Office at a
Council meeting on 12 June 1962, with the tenders ranging between £114,995 and
£137,610/8/-. The lowest tender was accepted but at the next Council meeting the
successful tenderer informed the Council that a misinterpretation in the brickwork
meant that the figure should have actually been £118,445. The Council promptly
released the local builder from the contract and appointed the original second lowest
bid of £116,000 from Clements Langford Pty Ltd of 230 Church Street, Richmond.
`The building due to its innovative construction required a collaboration between a

team of professionals. Mr R Warren was the Architect, Mr W L Meinhardt was the
Consulting Engineer, and Mr Lobley Triedel was the Mechanical Consultant.
`The Council of the day was heavily involved in the design of the municipal offices
and was prescriptive in its requirements. From Council minutes a number of

prerequisites for the building were given including:
1 That the Council Chamber be designed with a spherical shaped metal clad roof
2 That oil fired hot water systems be installed for heating purposes
3 That PABX telephone systems be installed by Messrs. Ericsson Telephones
Limited
4. That amended layout plan in accordance with the model be adopted
5. That the name of the project in future be Altona Civic Offices"
{Shire of Altona Council Minutes 4/12/61}
(and)
1 That a triangular shaped clock tower be planned to stand in front of the building
focused down pier street"
Shire of Altona Council Minutes 27/11/61}'
The building was enlarged a number of times: 1983 (more offices), 1987 (theatre
and function hall), foyer extension and mayoral suite 1993 and in 1999-2000
extensive new office space and an office foyer. This last stage covered most of the
original office wing.
Associations: Shire of Altona City of Altona City of Hobsons Bay

Governing
PAHT Subtheme: Developing local government authorities

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
Altona City Council Civic Centre (domed Council meeting room) is significant to the
- as the first (and only) purpose built meeting room for the Altona municipal council
(criteria A4, G1);
- for it distinctive domed form which followed the latest trends in concrete shell
design (criterion F1) ,
- as one of a small group of segment-domed public spaces in the country (criterion
B2) .
Documentation
References
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 265, 272-3, 297, 305-7;
F.St;
Heritage Study
Roan, J 1998. RMIT thesis on building;
Àltona Civic Centre' opening ceremony pamphlet 1963
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Internal Alteration Controls Apply? Yes
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1960s construction
period as identified:
Inspect the place and encourage conservation and enhancement of any identified
contributory element remaining associated with the former hostel development;
further research the place using oral sources and provide further interpretive public
information.

Name of place: Grindley's Estate Precinct (part)

Other Names
Address 2- Collingwood Road, Tait St Cultural Significance: City
52, 2- 1885-
40
Newport Creation date(s):
Site Type housing estate Map (Melway) 55K4,56A4

Collingwood Road 2-52 and Tait St 2-40 (north sides), with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, pre c1939.
Description
This precinct is formed around the 1888 estate boundaries and is bordered by
Collingwood and Tait St and North Road.
Contributory elements
Collingwood Road, north side, numbers 2-52

Edwardian & Bungalow era (i.e.. 4--8) weatherboard houses, north side only assessed,
24% non-contributory, others altered in detail.
Non-contributory places (outside the Bungalow & Edwardian-era period, vacant site,

or defaced) include: 10, 12, 14, 18A, 18B, 51.

External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
Set between the railway and the coast on a flat site, with associated railway station as the focus of the initial
settlement pattern and commercial areas along Melbourne Road, Hall Street and Mason Street.
Parts of Williamstown provide a similar period expression and weatherboard character which continues south
from this precinct and the estate as part of the existing heritage overlay.
History and themes
History
Newport began to attract suburban dwellers in the 1880s when the railway
workshops, with their promise of employment, were being constructed. The Newport
Estate, to the west of the railway workshops, was marketed in 1885, as was Hall's
Farm. Grindley's Estate at Newport was marketed in 1888. It was within walking
distance of the Newport Station, on what had been known as Griffiths Paddock (and
now lies between North and Collingwood Roads.) Two other estates offered for sale
in the 1880s were the Epsom Estate, near the Williamstown racecourse, and the
South Newport Estate, between Kororoit Creek Road, the Geelong Railway line ,
Maddox and Fink Streets, although very few houses were built on these estates in the
1880s. Most of the housing that did go up at the time was in close proximity to the
railway station. ' { Barnard, 1999}
Specific history
This estate, like the Halls farm estate, was lodged by Spotswood house and land
agent D McPherson in December 1885 as part of Crown Portion 12 Parish Cut Paw
Paw. The surveyor, Thomas Braim (Bruford & Braim) was the designer of the estate,
signing the plan in November 1885. As with other lots in the area, the frontages were
50 feet along Collingwood Road and 40-46 feet along Douglas Pde { VTO LP952}.
Associations: D McPherson Thomas Braim (Bruford

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:

Significance

Grindley's Estate Precinct (part) is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- as indicative of the first and second waves of residential development in the area,
grouping along major transport links such as the railway (criterion A4).
Documentation
References
Heritage Study 1999
Victorian Titles Office (VTO) LP952
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations

development phase:
the precinct;
and
carry out an oral history investigation of the place and then reassess its heritage
significance.

Hall’s Farm & Grindley’s Estates Precinct
Graeme Butler & Associates, 2000: Appendix 10: map

Name of place: Memorial Park Crematorium & Floral Lawn

Other Names
Address off Dohertys Road Cultural Significance: City
Altona North Creation date(s): 1961-
Site Type Cemetery Map (Melway) 40F12

Memorial Park Crematorium & Floral Lawn Cemetery land in existing title(s).
Description
Although opened in 1961, the park-like landscape development is notable and still
developing, with mature exotic and native trees, custom designed memorials, lilly
pilly hedges and the former Eastern Market wrought iron gates relocated to the entry
within a 1960s masonry gateway. The buildings are contributory to the period of
development although unremarkable architecturally.
There are tree groupings and hedges in a variety of geometric forms, circular,
polygonal, with pathways following curves or geometrical shapes and centred
fountains. The courts formed by planting and pavement include: the Courts of
Memories, Tranquillity, Hours, Gospel. There are the Chapel Gardens, associated rose

beds, Chapel of repose, Chapel of Peace, and Crematorium, an Armillary Sun Dial
Garden, and the offices. There are also a number of thematic lawns such as the
Willow and Eucalyptus lawns.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
On flat site, facing industrial and commercial development but also close to other parklands.
There is no equivalent place in the region or the City, except for more traditional cemeteries at Williamstown,
Keilor and Footscray, among others.
History and themes
History
The twentieth century trend towards cremation rather than burial, and the increasing
lack of space at Williamstown Cemetery led the Trustees of the Williamstown
cemetery to move towards establishing Memorial Park at Altona North in the post-
war years. Although the Trust took out an option on this land in 1947, the new
Cemetery did not open until 1961. The lawns, gardens and inlaid headstones at
Memorial Park Crematorium and Lawn Cemetery are a sharp contrast to the
nineteenth century layout, design and memorials of the Williamstown Cemetery{
Barnard, 1999}.
Not un like many cemeteries across the State, the Williamstown cemetery was in a
state of neglect by the end of WW2. The trustees were also faltering, many having
retired. The renewal of the cemetery was firmly linked to a renewal of the trustees
although the trustee income did not match the cost of maintenance and grave
digging, particularly given the large amount of stone in the ground. A crematorium
would solve many of these problems.
The Williamstown Cemetery trustees had at first investigated placing a crematorium

in the cemetery in 1947 but their consulting architect, A Love, urged them to instead
acquire a larger site on Geelong Rd, to think ahead and plan for 100 years hence.
They took three options on the land, the last materialising mid 1948 into an
acquisition of the new site for £20,000, much of the money being provided in the
form of a government loan. Love suggested the North American Forest Lawn
memorial park as an example to be emulated in a presentation to the trustees in
1950. The style of burial favoured here was also adopted in the old Williamstown
cemetery where vertical memorials were discarded for slabs set into the ground.
During preparation for the opening of the memorial park, in 1960, the new curator

appointed for the site was also given the charge of the Williamstown Cemetery {
Lemon: 75-}.
Associations: Williamstown Cemetery
Trustees

Marking the phases of life
PAHT Subtheme: Disposing of dead bodies

Significance

Memorial Park Crematorium & Floral Lawn Cemetery, landscape & memorials are
significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- as a designed landscape which differs from any other in the City in terms of a highly
articulated and varied content (criterion F.1) ;
- as the repository of recent family history from within the city (criterion A4) ;
- as a place known and valued by the local community (criterion G1) .
Documentation
References
Heritage Study: Memorial park opened 1961 (though planned from 1948);
Lemon & Morgan 1990. `Buried by the Sea'
Recommendations
Heritage Registers

Planning Scheme
Recommendations
Management Objectives: :
(1960s- ) and following.
- To identify, conserve and enhance the contributory and individually significant
elements of the place where elements include paving, landscape, shrubberies, trees;
the place;
contributory elements as viewed from public areas.
Planning protection is not recommended as the appropriate tool for conservation of

this place at this time. The managing trust should be encouraged by Council to
achieve the above objectives and involve Council in the preparation of a
management plan which encompasses heritage aspects. The trust should also be
encouraged to provide or maintain free public access to burial registers.

Name of place: Eastern Market gates, former, at Memorial Park

Crematorium & Floral Lawn Cemetery
Other Names
Address off Dohertys Road Cultural Significance: Regional
Altona North Creation date(s): 1880
Site Type Market, produce Map (Melway) 40F12

Gate pair and land within nominally 5m within the title.
Description
This is a pair of large wrought iron gates relocated from the Eastern Market and set in
a concrete masonry portal typical of the 1960s. There is a nearby information plaque.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
On the perimeter of the park, facing industrial and commercial development but also close to other parklands.

No other remnants of the gates at the former markets survive; comparable gates might be the existing
Williamstown Botanic Gardens gates.
History and themes
History
The twentieth century trend towards cremation rather than burial, and the increasing
lack of space at Williamstown Cemetery led the Trustees of the Williamstown
cemetery to move towards establishing Memorial Park at Altona North in the post-
war years. Although the Trust took out an option on this land in 1947, the new
Cemetery did not open until 1961. The lawns, gardens and inlaid headstones at
Memorial Park Crematorium and Lawn Cemetery are a sharp contrast to the
nineteenth century layout, design and memorials of the Williamstown Cemetery{
Barnard, 1999}.
The plaque states:

In 1847 a Hay & Corn Market was established on the south west corner of
Exhibition and Bourke Street (also known as the Eastern Market), Melbourne.
Within a few months stalls were erected for fruit and vegetables and it became
known as the Eastern Market. Due to the effect of the gold rush the market
degenerated into a miserable row of shanties which were destroyed by fire in 1855.
A temporary building was erected elsewhere for the h
Hay and Corn Market and in 1877 rebuilding of the Eastern Market commenced and
was officially opened in 1880 (sic). By 1956 the market had gradually given way to
the Queen Victoria market and in its later days it was used as a garage and taxi depot
with only a few businesses remaining. The Eastern Market was demolished to make
way for the Southern Cross Hotel and the lower portion of the entrance gates to the
Eastern Market were removed and later erected here by the Trustees of the Altona
memorial Park in 1968.'
The new three and two-storey Easton Market, with its lanterns, domes and arcades,
was designed by the noted architects Reed & Barnes whose design was selected by
the Melbourne City Council in January 1877. The appointed builders were James
Nation & Company { Cole: 43-}. The design was in a stuccoed renaissance revival
style typical of commercial buildings of the era. The stall holders in the former
market buildings were then moved to the new Queen Victoria Market while
construction was underway. It was opened with a great deal of publicity by the Lord
Mayor December 1879. After a period of use as an exhibition space associated with
the 1880 Great Melbourne International exhibition, the new market opened on 1 May
1880 { ibid. }. The market prospered during the boom era of the late 19th century No
evening promenade would be complete without a visit to the Eastern Market' stated
Victoria & Its Metropolis' in 1887.

Associations: Williamstown Cemetery

Trust

Marketing & Retailing
Marking the phases of life
PAHT Subtheme: Marketing of produce

Other Subtheme: Disposing of dead bodies
Significance

B.2 Rarity
The former Eastern Market gates at the Memorial Park Crematorium & Floral Lawn
Cemetery are significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- for their age and association with the famous Eastern Market of Melbourne as the
only publicly displayed remnant of this once much vaunted structure (criterion A4,
B2).
Documentation
References
Plaque on site;
Heritage Study;
Cole, Colin. (ed) `Melbourne Markets 1841-1979', 1980;
EG Robertson, Òrnamental cast-iron in Melbourne' see section on eastern market
Recommendations
Heritage Registers

Planning Scheme
Recommendations
identified:
significant elements of the gates and where enhancement includes reinstatement of
known missing original elements;
further research the gates to find the Melbourne City Council construction drawings
and provide further interpretive information and restore colours and missing
elements as evidence allows.

Name of place: Squadron Leader Cottee's House, formerly

RAAF base
Other Names Àround Laverton' newspaper offices
Address 6 Donald St Cultural Significance: City
Laverton Creation date(s): 1920s?
Site Type Barracks Map (Melway) 53D10

The building and land within nominally 5m of its perimeter with emphasis on fabric from the inter-war period.
Description
This is a gabled weatherboard and fibre cement sheet house with a corrugated iron
roof and rear skillion. Simply designed, with a central door and three-light windows
either side, the house is typical of Commonwealth government built housing of the
inter-war period. It has a red brick chimney and shingled gable ends.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions- but on new site and now devoid of historical context.

Context:
Set in a reserve with other community buildings and facing generally later residential development.
Other more anonymous wartime structures in the City include Nissen huts at Pier St, Altona, at the former
Wiltona site and at the Brooklyn migrant camp; with military huts at the Newport bowling club and near this
site, next to the railway.
History and themes
History
Australia's first and second RAAF bases were located just outside of Hobsons Bay at
Point Cook and Laverton. Point Cook RAAF Base began as a Flying School in 1914.
Laverton's Base began as a RAAF Depot in 1926. Their presence ensured that many
defence personnel were (and still are) housed within the study area at Laverton and
Laverton South. One site within the City of Hobsons Bay that has direct links with
the RAAF Base at Point Cook is the current Senior Citizens Club (Golden Age) Club
on the corner of Railway Avenue and Donald Street. This building is the former
Cadet Officers' Mess from Point Cook, which The RAAF gave to Werribee Shire
Council rather than demolish. The building has been altered to suit the needs of its
new clientele.' { Barnard (1999)}
Specific history
This place may have been removed from the Laverton RAAF Base and has a much
higher integrity than the former Point Cook Cadet Officers' Mess. It was reputedly
the home of Squadron Leader Cottee towards the end of its history.
The RAAF Point Cook Heritage Study (1984) summary findings do not specifically
include the mess structure but it does cite:
the Officers Mess/new officers mess Williams Road, 1937 as significant (on a scale
of contributory, significant, very significant, most significant) ; and
two squadron leader's residences in Dalzell Road both 1937 and both significant-
they were identified as part of conservation precinct in the study. The siting of the
residences followed the 1917 master plan of the base which separated the officers'
residences from the other ranks, as one of its concepts. The Commanding Officer's
residence of 1927 was the first of this group { Span: V1: 40}. By 1939 the officer's
precinct was near complete.
Compared with the Cottee residence the Dalzell Road examples are much grander
and of a later stylistic idiom. Other officer's residence identified at Point Cook are
even more pretentious, marking the Cottee house as on a very modest scale and
much earlier stylistically.
Associations: RAAF Squadron Leader Cottee


Providing for the common defence
PAHT Subtheme: Preparing to face invasion

Other Subtheme:
Significance

Although removed from its historical context, Squadron Leader Cottee's House,
formerly RAAF base officer's residence, is significant historically to the City of
Hobsons Bay:
- as symbolic of the first RAAF bases established in Australia (criterion A4); and
- symbolic of the major role the RAAF bases have played in the area's history
(criterion A4).
Documentation
References
Kevin Skehan, Laverton Historical Society, 159a Railway Ave, LAVERTON VIC 3028;
Secretary, Laverton Historical Society, 15 Jennings St, LAVERTON VIC 3028;
cited as from former Laverton RAAF base;
Heritage Study;
Span & Neale, RAAF Point Cook Heritage Study, 1984 typescript.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
(inter-war era ).
the place;
the place;
contributory elements as viewed from public areas; and
- To further document the origins of this house and its place on the RAAF base and
illustrate this on a panel at the site.

Name of place: Newport Power Station site, trees & cooling

water outlet (Warmies)
Other Names Newport Park
Address Douglas Parade Cultural Significance: Regional
Newport Creation date(s): 1918c-
Site Type Power station - coal fired Map (Melway) 56B3

Gatehouse, associated railway sidings and coal wharves, the stone lined channel curving to the south east into Hobsons Bay, and the
Canary Island palms with land nominally 5m from each element or 1m from the root ball of the trees whichever is the greater, with
emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being c1918-.
Description
A neo-Baroque or Edwardian Baroque styled stuccoed masonry gate house, with
arched entry, fronts The Strand and Yarra River at the north east edge of a park
formed from the former power station site. The new power station lies to the north.
Twin Canary Island Palms mark former the coal depot on the west side of the site,
railway sidings and coal and former oil wharves are north of the new power station. A
stone lined channel curving to the south east into Hobsons Bay was the cooling water
outlet for the original station.

Various plaques are located in the park including:

one from 1991 dedicated to the opening of the park by the Williamstown Mayor Cr
Kingshott,
the commemoration of the gift of the park from the Premier Joan Kirner in December
1990, and
a marker to a large basalt outcrop which was uncovered during the making of the park
in 1990,
There are also some Monterey cypress remnants from the previous use.
External Condition:
Major parts almost totally destroyed or removed; the gate house is in good condition.
External Integrity:
The integrity of the place has been grossly modified
Context:
Contributory part of an industrial precinct, facing bay on a flat site abutting a busy road, parkland and the
former oil berths and ferry landing.
No other government metropolitan power station (or part thereof) from pre WW2 exists.
History and themes
History
Extending the relationship between Newport and the Victorian Railways, the
Newport A Power station was built at the mouth of the Yarra at Newport between
1913 and 1918. It was constructed to supply energy for the electrification of the
suburban rail system, but also supplied bulk electricity to the Melbourne City
Council and Melbourne Electric Supply Company until the SEC commenced output
in 1924. At the same time as this first power station was built, several sub-stations
were constructed by the railway, including the monumental one at Newport, which is
still standing. When the State Electricity Commission was formed after World War
One, it built another power station, Newport B, alongside the Newport A Power
Station. The new power station was intended only as a back-up to the power station
constructed at the same time at Yallourn. Both Newport Power Stations effectively
operated as one, particularly after the Railway's Power Station was formally
transferred to the SEC in 1951. An outpost to the station was added at Paisley in
1949 when the SEC opened a Fuel Supply Depot on former swampland, effectively a
huge briquette (coal) dump to supply the power station and other customers. The
SEC stopped using the dump in the early 1970s.
In 1971 the SEC announced its intention to build a new power station, fuelled by
natural gas, at Newport, demolishing the old one. The announcement provoked
immense protest from local residents, backed by environmental groups and trade

unions. Despite the protracted process of Environmental Effects Studies and union
black bans, the new power station, with its enormous landmark chimney, began
operating in 1980. The land that had been occupied by the old power station became
recreational land{ Barnard, 1999}.
Associations: Victorian Government State Electricity
Commission

Providing services
PAHT Subtheme: Providing electricity

Significance

The remaining indicators of the former Newport Power Station site, including the
gate house and trees, are significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- as markers of the site of the major electricity source for the Melbourne Metropolitan
area (criterion A4);
associated with the creation of the new Melbourne electrified railway system which
was among the most extensive in the world (criterion A4);
- as of architectural (gate house) and botanical interest. (palms) to the City as good
examples of Edwardian-era architecture and planting (criterion F1) .
Documentation
References
G Vines, 1999 pers com;
Heritage Study;
Melbourne's Living Museum of the West, Gary Vines and Andrew Ward and Associates 1989,
Western Region Industrial Heritage Study ( WRIHS) site 266 no value
Last edit: 16/12/2000 Consultant(s): Francine Gilfedder, Graeme Butler, Gary Vines

Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the early 20th century
construction period as identified:
the gate house and palms and land within nominally 5m of their perimeter;
- Further research the place using oral and documentary sources and provide further
interpretive public information at the site; and
- prepare a conservation management plan for the place as the basis for an
incorporated plan in the heritage overlay.

Name of place: BP Australia oil mixing tower, warehouse &

office complex and Canary Island palm
Other Names
Address 431 Douglas Parade Cultural Significance: Regional
Site Type Oil refinery Map (Melway) 56B2

Title land, buildings, plant and trees, including 10 small tanks and a brick-veneer pump and valve house, mixing tower complex, office,
warehouses, and the Canary Island palm - with emphasis on fabric from the 1920s and 1950s development periods.
Description
This complex includes a multi-level oil mixing tower with aluminium-framed curtain
wall fenestration on the fully glazed east wall. At the rear is a projecting wing with
horizontal glazing strips at each level. Next to the blending tower, on the north and
south are the cream brick warehouses. Further to the north, on the road frontage, is a
two storey cream brick office building with an aluminium-framed curtain wall facade
at the upper level and part of the ground level, facing on to Douglas Parade. Square
window openings punctuate the rest of the masonry wall. There is also a Canary
Island palm in the grounds on the north edge of the site which presumably dates from
the COR period.

The south-facing, saw-tooth roof, single-storey warehousing extends north and south
of the central multi-storey complex, with a loading bays and canopies on the north and
south sides. The low pitched sawtooth has the unusual feature of a splayed end on the
east facade which precludes the need to extend the front wall up to the roof pitch, and
so matches the rectangular lines of the blending tower.
Large cantilevered verandah canopies shelter loading bays at the frontage and there is
a smaller cantilevered veranda over another loading bay on the south wall. An
extension of four additional identical bays has been added to the north side, as
indicated by the corrugated iron cladding, as opposed to fibre cement sheeting for the
earlier section. The boiler house is located on the south side of the blending tower,
between it and the storage tanks, with steam and hot water pipes crossing the roadway
overhead. This is of brick with a low pitched fibre cement sheet roof, similar to the
pump house.
The complex appears architect designed ( the drawings were prepared by BP ) and
follows in the tradition of other glass-sided Modernist boiler or mixing towers such as
APM in Chandler Highway Alphington and the General Motors boiler house at Port
Melbourne. These towers were the envy of architects who desired the transparent
facade but could not get around the provision of masonry spandrel walls to achieve
the fire separation requirement floor to floor in the Uniform Building Regulations.
West of the tower and warehouse building is a tank farm of one large and ten smaller
oil tanks, with another group of 10 small tanks and a brick-veneer pump and valve
house between. Earth bund walls surround the tanks to contain any spills. The tanks
are linked to the blending tower by above ground steel pipelines, and the complex is
also linked by pipeline to the nearby BP tank farm and oil wharves. A steel lattice
overhead pipe bridge takes the oil pipe lines over Douglas Parade at the southern edge
of the site.
In operation the plant took bulk stock by pipeline or tanker delivery, and elevated it
into the top floor where additives were prepared and fed into the oil. They then ran by
gravity to the clarifying floor, and then down to the main blending floor where
additional additives are included. Below this is the testing floor, and on the ground
level the packing floor where drums are filled, or the mixed oils are pumped into
tankers for bulk transport. The southern part of the complex was used as a store for
empty barrels while filled barrels and drums were stored in the northern part.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Contributory part of an industrial precinct, facing bay on a flat site abutting a busy road.
This is one of the two post WW2 industrial complexes in the petro-chemical field in the region, comparing
with the Standard Vacuum petroleum complex in Kororoit Creek Rd, as a designed rather than evolutionary
complex.
History and themes
History
The history of BP is summarised in the following extract from a BP historical
summary: BP's origins go back to May 1901, when a wealthy Englishman, William
Knox D'Arcy, obtained a concession from the Shah of Persia to explore for and
exploit the oil resources of the country, excluding the five northern provinces which
bordered Russia. Having been granted the concession, D'Arcy employed an engineer,
George Reynolds, to undertake the task of exploring for oil in Persia….
`… costs mounted, stretching D'Arcy's resources to the point where he sought

outside financial assistance. This came in 1905 from the Burmah Oil Company,
which provided new funds for his venture. More exploration in Persia followed
without success, until eventually, in May 1908, Reynolds and his helpers struck oil
in commercial quantities at Masjid-i-Suleiman in southwest Persia. It was the first
commercial oil discovery in the Middle East, signalling the emergence of that region
as an oil producing area.
Àfter the discovery had been made, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (as BP was
first known) was formed in 1909 to develop the oilfield and work the concession. At
the time of Anglo-Persian's formation, 97% of its ordinary shares were owned by the
Burmah Oil Company. The rest were owned by Lord Strathcona, the company's first
chairman.
Àlthough D'Arcy was appointed a director and remained on the board until his death
in 1917, he was not to play a major part in the new company's affairs. His role as the
initial risk-taking investor was past and the daunting task of developing the oil
discovery into a commercial enterprise shifted to others, amongst whom one stands
out: Charles (later Sir Charles, then Lord) Greenway. Greenway was one of Anglo-
Persian's founder-directors, becoming managing director in 1910 and chairman, after
Strathcona, in 1914.
`Greenway, anxious to avoid falling under the domination of Royal Dutch-Shell, also
turned to another potential source of revenue and capital: the British government.
The basis of an agreement to mutual advantage lay in Greenway's desire to find new
capital and an outlet for Anglo-Persian's fuel oil; and, on the government's part, in
the desire by the Admiralty (then headed by Winston Churchill as First Lord) to
obtain secure supplies of fuel oil, which had advantages over coal as a fuel, for the
ships of the Royal Navy. After lengthy negotiations, agreement was reached in 1914
shortly before the outbreak of World War I. Anglo-Persian contracted to supply the
Admiralty with fuel oil and the government injected £2 million of new capital into
the company, receiving in return a majority shareholding and the right to appoint two
directors to Anglo-Persian's board. Although the government undertook not to
interfere in Anglo-Persian's normal commercial operations, its shareholding
introduced an unusual political dimension to the company's affairs. In later years, the
government shareholding was reduced and -- apart from a tiny residual holding --
ended in 1987.
`Further expansion followed in the decade after World War I. New marketing
methods were introduced, with curb side pumps replacing two-gallon tins for the
distribution of motor spirit (or, gasoline). Anglo-Persian also marketed its products
in Iran and Iraq; it established an international chain of marine bunkering stations,
and in 1926 began to market aviation spirit. New refineries, much smaller than the
plant at Abadan, also came on stream -- at Llandarcy in South Wales in 1921 and at
Grangemouth in Scotland in 1924. Moreover, the company's majority-owned French
associate had a refinery at Courchelettes, near Douai. On the other side of the world,
in Australia, a new refinery at Laverton, near Melbourne, was commissioned in 1924.
`By the time Greenway retired as chairman in March 1927, he had realised his main
strategic goal of establishing Anglo-Persian as one of the world's largest oil
companies, with a substantial presence in all phases of the industry. In 1935, the
company was renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
`During the post-war reconstruction of Europe, the high demand for oil enabled
Anglo-Iranian to expand its business greatly. The company's sales, profits, capital
expenditure and employment all rose to record levels in the late 1940s.
`The refinery at Abadan was by this time the largest in the world. Moreover, crude
oil production from the company's Iranian oilfields kept Iran at the top of the league
of Middle East oil producing countries.
`Meanwhile, Anglo-Iranian entered the field of petrochemicals. An agreement with

the Distillers Company in 1947 resulted in the formation of a joint company, later to
become known as British Hydrocarbon Chemicals, which produced basic materials
from naphtha at Grangemouth. A second petrochemicals complex was built at
Baglan Bay in South Wales in 1961.
`While the company was expanding its operations in the late 1940s, it was also
engaged in talks with the Iranian government about the terms of its oil concession.

Long and complex negotiations failed to produce an agreement, and in 1951 the
Iranian government passed legislation nationalising the company's assets in Iran,
then Britain's largest single overseas investment. The nationalisation precipitated a
major international crisis in which the British and US governments became deeply
involved. The company's operations in Iran were brought to a halt.
Ònly after three years of intensive negotiations was the crisis resolved by the
formation of a consortium of oil companies, which, by agreement with the Iranian
government, re-started the Iranian oil industry in 1954. Anglo-Iranian - which was
renamed The British Petroleum Company in 1954 -- held a 40% share in the
consortium.
Òne of the effects of the Iranian nationalisation crisis was that the company was
forced to broaden its operations to make good the loss of oil supplies from Iran, on
which it had depended. Crude oil production in other countries, notably Kuwait and
Iraq, was greatly increased; and new refineries were built in Europe, Australia and
Aden.
Ìn another development, in 1952, the company commissioned its first lubricating
oils plant at Dunkirk. Two years later, it began marketing BP Visco-Static, Europe's
first multigrade oil.
Specific history
jointly by the Commonwealth Government and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. It
was located beside Kororoit Creek, north of Kororoit Creek Road. The refinery was
connected by pipeline to a wharf at Newport (the former liquid berth replaced in
1971 by Holden Oil Dock) where oil tankers unloaded crude oil into storage tanks,
from which it was piped to the refinery. The storage tanks were constructed from
1922 by the COR and were located at Newport on the south side of Burleigh Street
(the two original tanks now known as BP tanks NP 6 and NP 7). (Allom Lovell
1999: 3). Effluent from the refinery travelled by pipeline beside the creek and was
released eighteen yards into the Bay, near the Williamstown Racecourse. The
refinery is said to have pioneered welded, rather than riveted storage tanks, possibly
the first of their kind in the world.
The Commonwealth sold its shares in COR in 1952. Three years later the refinery
closed when the owners, now BP Australia Ltd, opened a new refinery in Western
Australia. Having traded for 37 years as the Commonwealth Oil Refineries Ltd, the
name was changed to BP Australia Ltd. as a member of the international BP Group
of companies, on 1st November 1957. BP Australia's Altona Terminal was
converted to a storage depot and rail loading terminal. It has recently been vacated

and redeveloped for light industrial uses although some of the original tanks and
office buildings remain. The Newport tank farm continued as a complex for pumping
product via pipeline on to BP’s Port Melbourne terminal and received product via
pipeline from Shell’s Geelong refinery, from Mobil’s Altona refinery and via ship
from Holden Oil dock. It was progressively expanded to accommodate ten large and
several smaller tanks with pump house and amenities buildings, but was closed
down and mothballed in 1987, apart from use on a casual basis for storage of product
for the lubricating oil plant at Douglas Parade.
The Spotswood Lubricants Plant commenced construction around 1959 on what was
previously vacant Crown Land, and partly the Victorian Ammonia Company,
fronting Douglas Parade, and immediately north of the then Bulk Liquids Wharf
(Allom Lovell: 5). The design of the complex reflects the appropriately the modern
aspirations of the company and the architectural style which was the firm
demonstrated in its later headquarters building on St Kilda Road. The new buildings
on the site were built as the Lube Oil Plant, Blending Tower and Container Store in
c1959, the drawings being prepared 1958 by BP Australia Limited.
Associations: Commonwealth Oil BP Australia Ltd.
Refineries (British Petroleum Aust)


Other Subtheme:
Significance

BP Australia oil mixing tower, warehouse & office complex is significant to the City
of Hobsons Bay:
- for the architectural qualities of the mixing tower, in combination with the offices,
presenting an interesting industrial example of the then highly prized glass curtain

wall, in this case with no spandrels (criterion F1) ;

- for their symbolism of a new BP presence at Newport, replacing COR, as one of the
major players in the Australian oil industry (criterion A4) ; also
- as symbolic of the international expansion of BP, as one result of the Iranian oil
crisis (criterion A4).
Documentation
References
Western Region Industrial Heritage Study;
Heritage Study 1999;
BP Amoco web site (www.bpamoco.com);
Allom Lovell & Associates, 1999, Submission on the Proposed inclusion of Two Fuel Storage Tanks
(NP6 and NP7) at BP Australia’s Spotswood Facility, Burleigh Street Spotswood..., report to WBCM
P.L. on behalf of BP Australia, December 1999;
BP Lubricants Plan, Spotswood Victoria - promotional brochure c1974;
Construction drawings reduced copies (poor) for buildings, supplied by BP to City of Hobsons Bay.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1920s, 1950s
development periods as identified:
the place where elements include buildings (warehouses, offices, tower), 10 small

tanks and a brick clad pump and valve house, objects, plant, paving, steel lattice
overhead pipe bridge, the Canary Island palm, and landscape plus land within
nominally 10m of the warehouse and mixing tower's external walls;
- inspect the site and identify any further contributory or significant elements;
- encourage preparation of a conservation management plan for the place to provide
the basis of an incorporated plan in the planning scheme heritage overlay;
- research the place using oral and documentary sources and provide further
interpretive public information.


Other Names Willis house
Address 15 Elizabeth Street Cultural Significance: City
Newport Creation date(s): 1916
Site Type House, urban Map (Melway) 55J3

Description
This is a double fronted bluestone (coursed rubble) house, with double-hung timber
sash windows either side of a 4 panel door. The hipped roof has been tiled recently
but the red brick corbelled chimney concurs with the character of the house. The
timber picket fence in the front of the house is related to the construction period.
The house pair, built by the two brothers, complement each other and are highly
expressive of the period and nature of their work.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

substantially intact/some intrusions such as the roof cladding.

Context:
Set in an Edwardian-era and inter-war residential precinct, Newport Residential Precinct, the stone
construction contrasting with other houses.
Other quarrymen's houses are at Champion Rd, next door to this house and in Blackshaws Road (q.v.).
History and themes
History
Contextual history
heavy industry.
journey to Britain.
be seen.

Specific history
This house was not shown on the MMBW Record Plan of 1894 although several
quarry holes in the area were. It was erected in 1916 by Stephen S Willis, contractor
and quarryman on land (lots 15-17) previously jointly owned by Stephen & George
Willis. The Willis brothers built the first 24 targets on the Williamstown rifle range
in 1877-8 { Elsum: 128}. Stephen Sims Willis died in 1963 aged 86. He was the son
of Josiah and Fanny. George died in 1948 aged 75. Oddly enough the rate
description which initially was 5 rooms and stone was described as wood in rate
books of the 1930s-50s.
Associations: Stephen Willis George Willis

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
- for its recognisably early form, uncommon stone construction and date, combined
with its location near former quarries thus indicating a special use (criteria B2);
(criterion A4); and
- for its link with the locally prominent Willis contracting firm (criterion H1) .
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Cliff Gibson, pers. com 10/4/00 as a builder, Cliff extended one of these houses (Alan Bold, owner)
at the rear.
Alan Bold - number is 9391 9505
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the Edwardian-era and
the Willis tenure:
the place;



Other Names Willis house
Address 17 Elizabeth Street Cultural Significance: City

Description
This is a double fronted bluestone (coursed rubble) house, with double-hung timber
sash windows either side of a 4 panel door. The hipped roof is clad with corrugated
iron and the timber picket fence in the front of the house is related to the construction
period.
The house pair, built by the two brothers, complement each other and are highly
expressive of the period and nature of their work.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

substantially intact/some intrusions such as the shutters and window head details.
Context:
Set in an Edwardian-era and inter-war residential precinct, Newport Residential Precinct, the stone
construction contrasting with other houses.
Other quarrymen's houses are at Champion Rd, next door to this house and in Blackshaws Road (q.v.).
History and themes
History
heavy industry.
Convict labour was used to quarry bluestone at Gellibrand Point in the 1850s, for use
in the construction of significant early government structures. Bluestone from the
journey to Britain.
be seen.

Specific History
This house was not shown on the MMBW Record Plan of 1894 although several
quarry holes in the area were. It was erected in 1916 by George Willis, contractor
and quarryman on land (lots 15-17) previously jointly owned by Stephen & George
Willis, Stephen having built the house at 15 Elizabeth St. The Willis brothers built
the first 24 targets on the Williamstown rifle range in 1877-8 { Elsum: 128}.
Stephen Sims Willis died in 1963 aged 86. George died in 1948 aged 75. He was the
son of Josiah and Fanny. Oddly enough the rate description which initially was 5
rooms and stone was described as wood in rate books of the 1930s-50s.
Associations: George Willis

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
- for its recognisably early form, uncommon stone construction and date, combined
with its location near former quarries thus indicating a special use (criteria B2);
(criterion A4); and
- for its link with the locally prominent Willis contracting firm (criterion H1) .
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Cliff Gibson, pers. com 10/4/00 as a builder, Cliff extended one of these houses (Alan Bold, owner)
at the rear.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
the Willis tenure:
the place;

Name of place: Halls Farm Residential Precinct

Other Names Newport residential area
Address Elphin, Farm, High, Hobson , and Cultural Significance: City
River Streets, Douglas Pde, Home
Rd
Newport Creation date(s): 1885-1930c
Site Type Housing estate Map (Melway) 55K4,56A4

Houses and title land within:
Douglas Pde 313-353 (c1910-), Melway 55K4
Elphin Street numbers 2-94, 1-91 (1910c-1930c) , Melway 55K4
Farm Street 1-85, 2-116, (1910c-) , Melway 55K3
Hall Street 23-117 (c1890-), Melway 55K3
High Street 69-101 (1890c-) , Melway 55K3
Hobson Street 1-107. 72-102, (1920s ), Melway 55K3
Home Road 2-66, 3-81 (1925c) 56A4
River Street, 1-113, 2-110, Melway 55K3
with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, pre c1939.
Description
Mainly Edwardian-era, some Californian Bungalow style weatherboard single storey
detached houses.

Houses, Douglas Parade

Mixed street with low contribution to precinct but forms the eastern border, with
Edwardian-era (305) and inter-war (313) plus a well preserved Californian Bungalow
at 341.
Non-contributory places (outside the inter-war & Edwardian-era period, vacant, or
defaced) include:
Douglas Pde Motors 363, 357, 355, 353, 345, 343, 339, 333, 331, 329, 327, 325,
323a, 321, 317, 315, 303
Houses 2-94, 1-91 Elphin Street 1910c-1930c , Melway 55K4

Edwardian & Bungalow era, some Victorian, west end strong with closer subdivision,
fair consistency-some new
intrusive development: 26% non-contributory.
Non-contributory places (outside the Bungalow & Edwardian-era period, vacant, or
defaced) include:
88, 84, 82, 80, 78, 79, 76, 75, 47, 45, 41, 39, 42, 34, 36, 23, 18, 20, 13, 8, 5, 7, 4, 2
Houses 1-85, 2-116, Farm Street 1910c- , Melway 55K3

Bungalow & Edwardian era plus new intrusions, dense subdivision and resulting
strong Edwardian-era character at
the west end, linking with a similar Hall St strip (Victorian-era also) running south on
the east side. 22% of the houses
are non-contributory.
defaced) include:
2, 3, 4, 9, 15, 19, 23, 27, 31, 33 (painted basalt but defaced), 49, 57, 59, 63, 66, 68, 70,
75, 76,104, 106, 108.
Hall Street 23-117 (c1890-) - Melway 55K3

Mainly Edwardian-era, some Victorian-era weatherboard houses with one section of
Californian Bungalow style weatherboard houses at the north end
defaced) include:
50, 78, 82, 86, 88-90, 100-104.
Houses 69-101 High Street 1890c- , Melway 55K3

Victorian era group 95-99 plus Bungalows, all weatherboard, patchy (south side only)
faces unrelated tank farm
which has a negative effect on period expression: 38% non-contributory and is thus
less much than the rest of the
precinct.
Non-contributory places:
101, 93, 89, 81, 77, 75

Houses 1-107. 72-102, Hobson Street 1920s , Melway 55K3

Good Bungalow era expression west end, alterations, faces reserve on north side
which does not reinforce the
character.
Non-contributory places (vacant sites, not in significant period, defaced) include:
19, 65, 69, 78, 79, 81, 83, 87
Houses 2-66, 3-81 Home Road 1925c 56A4

Edwardian-era and Bungalow-era houses, weatherboard, some good groups, some
good individual places: 17%
non-contributory places.
defaced) include:
1,3,9, 13,15, 29, 31, 33, 49, 59, 61
Houses 1-113, 2-110, River Street , Melway 55K3

Bungalow & late Edwardian-era character, many alterations, timber (see 86) strong
east end: 19% non-contributory.
defaced) include:
96, 94, 84, 82, 79, 78, 64, 61, 58, 56, 53, 47, 35, 37, 32, 20, 14A, 10, 8, 6, 1A.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
A mainly Edwardian-era and inter-war residential precinct, grouped around early transport routes.
Other housing groups from the Edwardian-era and inter-war period are at the Spotswood station, near the
Williamstown North station and west of the Newport station: this is the most cohesive of these groups.
History and themes
History

railway station{ Barnard, 1999}.
him.' { ibid. }
Specific history
This subdivision plan was titled Subdivision of Part of Crown Portion 13 Cut Paw
Paw Known as Hall's Farm' and set out by the prolific surveyors, Bruford & Braim,
of Chancery Lane, Melbourne. It was lodged for approval in three parts by
Spotswood Land and House Agent D McPherson and stamped at the Office of Titles
in May and December 1885 { VTO LPs946, 773, 783}. By the late 1920s it had been
covered with timber houses { D1928}.
The extent of the estate was from a Government Road' on the north (High St) to
Elphin St on the south. Hall St on the west to The Strand on the east where it was
noted on the plan that `This boundary is marked on the land by a stone wall' and that
The Strand surface was Macadamised. This part of the estate was eventually taken
up for the Newport Power Station. Rear right-of-ways were part of the first stages
but these were absorbed in later sections east of Home Road. One difference in the
layout was the provision of a `Reserve for Public Buildings Given by Proprietors' in
Home Road between Farm and River St, east side. This is where the Home Road
kindergarten now is.
Associations: D McPherson William Hall Bruford & Braim

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance


Halls Farm Residential Precinct is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- as a good representation of the rapid residential growth which occurred in the City
around World War One (criterion A4);
- as an indication of the effects of the Great Depression of the 1890s where many
speculative residential estates were created near railway lines and left vacant for a
generation (criterion A4) .
Documentation
References
Victorian Titles Office (VTO) LP946
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 19th century until
c1930 development phase:


the precinct;
and
significance.

Hall’s Farm & Grindley’s Estates Precinct
Graeme Butler & Associates, 2000: Appendix 10: map

Name of place: Norfolk Island pine row

Other Names Àraucaria heterophylla'
Address Esplanade Cultural Significance: Local
Altona Creation date(s): 1950s?
Site Type Trees, street Map (Melway) 54FH12

Norfolk Island pines planted along the Esplanade water front, starting east of Mount St, and restarting at McBain St
Description
These trees have been planted along the water front, starting east of Mount St, and
restarting at McBain St, with tamarisk alternating in part. The largely immature tree
row complements the more mature Norfolk Island pine examples in the Logan
Reserve.
External Condition:
Good.
External Integrity:
Fair, some missing in row.

Context:
Part of the Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct, adjoining Altona Beach and the old Laverton homestead
and grounds.
Norfolk Island pine rows and avenues are typically associated with seaside and properties towns such as Port
Fairy, Warrnambool, Portland, Churchill Island and Queenscliff where the specimens are very mature and
highly significant. There are no other Norfolk Island pine rows in the City in these numbers.
History and themes
History
Susan Priestley wrote of recollections from the 1890s of ...the mix of pines and
natives which extended from the coastal scrub north along the lines of Davies and
Rose Streets to link up with a line south of the Altona Railway'. She noted that the
tamarisk shrub had replaced the native sheoak and honeysuckle near the homestead.
...at Altona where, in 1915, those areas of the Altona Bay estate that had not been
sold still belonged to W.H. Croker, who had tried to develop coal-mining there. He
sold his remaining interests in the estate at this time to the Altona Beach Estates
Limited, a consortium of Sydney businessmen who planned to turn the old Altona
estate into a 'model garden suburb'. The new syndicate planned 674 house lots in the
old 1880s subdivision, 2,875 lots in the new one and 58 blocks reserved for public
institutions. The company named the area east of Millers Road, Seaholme{ Barnard,
1999}.
The Altona Progress Association were also active along the foreshore in the period
after World War One: planting trees, building a band rotunda and a playground. The
Shire subsidised the public toilets erected for the association. This was soon after the
first auction of the Altona estate company of suburban lots in 1918 and the railway
upgrade. A photograph of the Esplanade at Pier St, dated as the late 1920s, shows the
rotunda and a semi mature Norfolk Island pine near the pier entrance { Priestley:
149}.
An aerial view of 1945 shows mature trees between Pier & Bent Streets, with lesser
trees on both sides of the Esplanade to the west for two blocks. Trees in other streets
were sparse except for Davies St. A photo taken in 1957 show semi mature pines
along the Esplanade near Pier St.
It is probable that the present trees were planted after World War One.
Associations: Shire of Werribee Shire of Altona


PAHT Subtheme: Creating public landscape

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
The Norfolk Island pine row along the foreshore is of local interest, historically and
aesthetically:
- as a comparatively major landscape element symbolic or planting regimes carried
out along the Altona foreshore during the 20th century (Criterion A4);
- as semi-mature examples of a tree species which is uncommon elsewhere in the
City (Criterion B2) ; and
- as complementary planting to the significant Logan Reserve trees (Criterion A4).
The row is not recommended for planning scheme heritage overlay controls, being
below the study threshold using the above criteria.
Documentation
References
Priestley, S 1988. Àltona - A Long View': 247 photo 1957, 58, 139, 193, 295
Land Victoria aerial of Altona centre 1945;
Heritage Study.
Last edit: 20/05/2000 Consultant(s): Francine Gilfedder
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
the trees are contributory elements:
- To conserve and enhance the trees and surrounding open land within nominally 5m
of each tree trunk or the root ball, whichever is larger, with enhancement including
properly maintaining the trees with arborist work and physical protection;
- Further research the planting of the trees using oral and documentary sources and
provide further interpretive public information.
The row is not recommended for planning scheme heritage overlay controls but
Council should adopt the above objectives in their management of the foreshore.

Name of place: Altona pier

Other Names
Address Esplanade Cultural Significance: Regional
Altona Creation date(s): 1888c-
Site Type Pier/Jetty Map (Melway) 54H12

Pier and land within nominally 5m of its perimeter within the foreshore reserve, with emphasis on fabric from the 19th century or
related in form and materials to the19th century fabric.
Description
This timber trestle pier, using round-section timbers piles and sawn decking and
balustrading, with attached landings has been renewed over time but using similar
construction to the original.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
partially intact- most timbering has been renewed in matching or similar form.
Context:
Part of the Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct, adjoining Altona Beach and the old Laverton homestead

and grounds, the focus of the commercial area on Pier St.

Other early piers survive at Williamstown within the former naval dockyard (new and old railway piers) and at
the former customs house, Gem Pier (which dates in location if not fabric from the 1850s or earlier) having
also received the steamer trade; few comparable piers survive elsewhere in the metropolitan area.
History and themes
History
Altona's beach was billed as a major attraction to prospective buyers of land in the
1880s. The pier (specially erected) was the destination of Bay Pleasure Steamers on
sale days (Altona Bay Estate Company). Although very few buyers snapped up
permanent sites for seaside residences, Altona too began to be popular with picnic
parties toward the end of the century, particularly with Sunday Schools and trades
associations from nearby Newport and Williamstown. They were allowed to use the
grounds of Altona Homestead, which was owned by the estate company.
In the early twentieth century Altona foreshore attracted its share of summer campers
and, by 1912 there were enough of them for Wyndham Council to erect public
latrines here. The Altona Progress Association was formed in 1917 and set about
making improvements to the foreshore. In 1919 a band rotunda was built on the
Esplanade (this was moved off the road and onto the beach in 1927) and work was
done during winter to remove seaweed and rubbish. By then, a number of dwellings
at Altona were being used as holiday houses, rather than permanent homes. In the
1920s private businesses to cater for campers and visitors began to develop, such as
Davey's ABC Cafe on the corner of Pier Street and the Esplanade, from which one
could hire boats, as well as use small changing sheds. A number of sporting clubs,
including the Altona Life Saving Club, joined to organise an annual beach front
carnival at Altona in the 1920s. The Altona Life Saving Club was formed in 1926,
though it later went into decline. It was reformed in 1951. The clubhouse and
training centre were built in 1957{ Barnard, 1999}.
The pier has been used by pleasure boats, swimmers, promenaders and fishermen
since its construction. It was again used for sales promotion in the 1918 poster for
the Altona Beach Estate. The local progress association financed or promoted a
number of connected structures including a kiosk on the Esplanade at the end of the
pier. The pier was also a subject for unemployment relief in a 1933 project, co-
financed by the Altona Progress association and the government. The planking was
again repaired in 1940 after a resident fell through a gap { Priestley: 179-80, 208}.
Then it would have cost £4000 to rebuild but only £150 was available from local
sources.
Associations: Altona Bay Estate Victorian Government
Company?


PAHT Subtheme: Moving goods and people to and from Australian

ports
Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
Altona pier is significant to the Western Region:
- for its use by pleasure boats, swimmers, promenaders and fishermen over a long
period as a social focus of seaside recreation and a facility for industry in both the
19th and 20th centuries (criteria A4, G1) ;
- for its role in providing unemployment relief in the Altona district (Criterion A4) ;
and
- for its early construction date, making it one of the small group of metropolitan
beside structures from the 19th century (Criterion B2).
Documentation
References
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 89, 128, end paper, 116, 149;
Western Region Industrial Heritage Study (WRIHS): site 110, Statement of Significance adequate;
City of Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme HO 102, L14;
Heritage Study.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers

Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 19th century
construction period as identified:
the bridge and land within nominally 10m of its perimeter;
- Further research the place using oral and documentary sources and provide further
interpretive public information.

Name of place: Row Houses

Other Names
Address 6-8 Florence Street Cultural Significance: City

Houses and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being pre c1920.
Description
This is a picturesque Federation Bungalow style weatherboard house pair with some
old colours, Number 8 has a distinctive palm (6) row `Washingtonia sp.' on its
western side Each house has a hipped roof side verandah, hipped main roof, tapered
rough-cast chimneys and multi-pane and doubler-hung window groups.
External Condition:
Externally excellent (undisturbed, well-preserved)
External Integrity:
Externally intact/minimal intrusions

Context:
Facing the former rifle range and a major road, part of Edwardian-era and later housing strip.
Edwardian-era row houses in weatherboard are uncommon, the municipal building by laws having typically
outlawed them in the inner suburbs by this time.
History and themes
History
This pair of 7 room weatherboard houses was erected for George Higham in 1916
and initially occupied by Martin Fabian and Hugh Stanley, labourers (6) and John
Perry, a seaman (8). A later occupier of 8 was William Smith (blacksmith) who
eventually purchased the house in the 1920s. Number 6 was occupied by a gas fitter
called Reid but was purchased by engine driver, William T Clark in the 1920s. Clark
remained there for many years. Presumably these men worked at the nearby railways
workshops.
In that era, George Higham who was a butcher, lived with his wife Mary Jane at 87
Cole St, Williamstown. Frank Higham, also a butcher, lived in Illawarra St { ER
1903: Melbourne Ports: 10}. The Higham family conducted a long-term butchers
business in Williamstown. Higham died in 1941 aged 73; he had been born the son
of Henry & Adelaide. William Clark died in 1960 aged 80: he was the son of John
Clark and Isabella (nee Kane).
Associations: George Higham William Clark William Smith

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity

These row houses are significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:

- for the picturesque design and landscape combination (criterion F1);
- for the unusual combination of timber and the row house from for an Edwardian-era
house pair (criterion B2); and
- as the residence of railways workers in the prime period of operation of the Newport
workshops and as the investment of one of Williamstown's prosperous local traders
(criterion A4) .
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Commonwealth Electoral Rolls (ER)
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the Edwardian-era:
the place;



Name of place: Washington palm row (6)

Other Names `Washingtonia robusta', Mexican palm
Address 8 Florence Street Cultural Significance: Regional
Williamstown North Creation date(s): 1916-20c
Site Type Tree avenues Map (Melway) 55H7

Palm row (6) and land within nominally 5m from the centre of the tree or the extent of the root ball whichever is the greater.
Description
Six tall Washington palms (`Washingtonia robusta') in a row along the west
boundary of 8 Florence Street. These palms are not far from another fine group of
similar palms at the Williamstown cemetery and botanical gardens. There is another
example off Champion Road at the back of this site.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Among mainly Edwardian-era and inter-war detached house development.
Similar palms at the Williamstown cemetery and botanical gardens. The Washington palm is uncommon in the
city and the region, with the Canary Island palm being more common in the region.
Other identified examples in the State include:

Memorial Gardens, High Street, Yackandandah
Front garden of 4 Ardoch Street, Essendon
Alexandra Parade between Cox & Lonsdale Streets, near the Uniting Church, Hamilton
History and themes
History
This pair of 7 room weatherboard houses was erected for George Higham in 1916
and initially occupied by Martin Fabian and Hugh Stanley, labourers (6) and John
Perry, a seaman (8). A later occupier of 8 was William Smith (blacksmith) who
eventually purchased the house in the 1920s. Number 6 was occupied by a gas fitter
called Reid but was purchased by engine driver, William T Clark in the 1920s. Clark
remained there for many years. Presumably these men worked at the nearby railways
workshops.
In that era, George Higham who was a butcher, lived with his wife Mary Jane at 87
Cole St, Williamstown. Frank Higham, also a butcher, lived in Illawarra St { ER
1903:10}. The Higham family conducted a long-term butchers business in
Williamstown. Higham died in 1941 aged 73; he had been born the son of Henry &
Adelaide. William Clark died in 1960 aged 80: he was the son of John Clark and
Isabella (nee Kane).
The palms were presumably planted soon after construction of 8, possibly by Smith.
Associations: George Higham? William Smith?

PAHT Subtheme: Creating private landscape

Other Subtheme:
Significance


B.2 Rarity
This Washington palm row (6) is significant to the Western Region:
- for its maturity and uncommon type (criterion B2);
- for the successful combination of landscape and architectural design (criterion F1)
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Commonwealth Electoral Rolls, Melbourne Ports (ER)
National Trust of Australia significant trees register
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
or as identified:
- To conserve and enhance any identified contributory and individually significant

elements - being the palm row and land within nominally 5m of the root bowl; and
further research the trees using oral and documentary sources and reassess.

Name of place: Housing Commission of Victoria West Newport

Estate precinct, part
Other Names
Address parts Fowler Crescent, Champion Road, Cultural Significance: City
Market St, Challis St, Crocker St,
Melrose St
Newport Creation date(s): 1940s
Site Type Housing estate Map (Melway) 55G5

Land, reserve and houses in allotments fronting Fowler Crescent (2-28), Champion Road (103-117, 102-104, 124), Challis St (16-32),
Market St (134-154), Melrose St (7-23) and Crocker St (11-29) plus all public land, landscape and paving - with emphasis on fabric
from the 1940s.
Description
This Housing Commission of Victoria estate, on a wedge-shape subdivision fronting
Fowler Crescent (2-28), Champion Road (103-117, 102-104, 124), Challis St (16-32),
Market St (134-154), Melrose St (7-23) and Crocker St (11-29) is set out on a crescent
street form, with concrete paved roads, concrete house construction. This section is
the best part of the surrounding estate, with most houses well preserved with some
gardens, and each provided with the visual focus of the adjoining park.

The following are among those houses which have been altered: 22, 16, 10, 12 Fowler
Cr. Number 6 Fowler Cr is not directly contributory to the creation date of the estate
although still built for the Housing Commission of Victoria. Most of the houses along
Melrose St are also of a different form.
The curving street layout and central parkland followed principles demonstrated by
such designers as Walter B Griffin in the Edwardian-era at Mt Eagle but were seldom
practised by others with the exception of well known surveyors such as Saxil Tuxen.
There were also the ideas for suburban layout published by the Town Planning
Commission. The Champion Rd HCV estate has similar attributes as does the
Commonwealth munitions Workers housing in Maidstone, all of a similar era.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
The curved street form, pattern housing, concrete roads and internal parklands are seen in the Commonwealth
Explosives Factory worker housing in Maidstone and in the HCV estate at Champion Rd, North Williamstown.
History and themes
History
Ìt was not really until the post- Second World War era that residential housing
began to fill up Altona, Altona North, Laverton, Brooklyn and much of Spotswood
and Kingsville South. Much of this was public housing provided by the Housing
Commission, the Defence Department and other bodies. (see below) The impact of
post-war migration and the development of major industry, coupled with the
formation and aggressive marketing of the City of Altona helped to promote this
housing boom.' { Barnard, 1999}.
`By the 1940s the Housing Commission of Victoria had begun work within Hobsons
Bay, building the Champion Road Estate in 1941 and the West Newport Estate after
1945. After the war, houses were also built at Spotswood and, for a time, an
emergency accommodation camp for evicted families operated at Williamstown. In
the late 1950s the Housing Commission earmarked some parts of Williamstown for
slum reclamation. While much of the Commission's work till then had been
concerned with building estates on vacant land in order to cope with Victoria's acute
housing shortage, it now returned to what it saw as its primary aim, to clear slums

and replace them with adequate housing. In 1958 the Commission began preliminary
work towards slum reclamation in The Strand at Williamstown. One solution to the
problem of providing adequate housing density in such areas were high rise flats and
Williamstown's high rise flats, in Nelson Heights, were completed in 1967.(The old
Langhorne bluestone wool store was among the structures demolished to make way
for these flats.)' { Barnard, 1999}.
Specific history
Families who stayed in this part of the West Newport Estate over a long period
included: McGowan, Appleby, Campbell, Billing, Mackinlay, Mustard, Fox, Lewis,
and Medley { D1952, D1973}.
Associations: Housing Commission of
Victoria

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

Housing Commission of Victoria West Newport Estate is significant to the City of
Hobsons Bay:
- as one of the best preserved early Housing Commission of Victoria estates in the
City (criterion D2);
- for its overall planning, using curving streets around a central park off a main road
(criterion F1) ;
- for the strong visual homogeneity of the place, and hence an evocation of the
construction period, which is enhanced by the central park (criterion F1) ;
- as an estate which showed the Housing Commission of Victoria reaction to local
criticism over the Champion Rd estate by erection of substantial brick houses with

parkland attached (criterion A4).

Documentation
References
`City of Williamstown Conservation Study' 1993 (WCS)R;
Heritage Study;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Are there Outbuildings or Fences not Exempt? Yes
Recommendations
Management Objectives
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1940s
development phase:
To conserve and enhance the contributory and individually significant elements of
the place where elements include buildings, objects, paving, landscape, and land;
To conserve and enhance the visual relationship between contributory elements of
the precinct;
To conserve and enhance the public view of these contributory elements;
To conserve and enhance the amenity of the place to aid in its heritage conservation;
To ensure that new elements at the place are recessive and related to the place's
and
significance.

Fowler Cr
Champion Rd
Housing Commission of Victoria West Newport Precinct

Name of place: Brooklyn Migrant Hostel site, former

Other Names Brooklyn Estate (industrial estate)
Address 431 Francis St Cultural Significance: City
Brooklyn Creation date(s): 1949-1970
Site Type Migrant hostel Map (Melway) 41B10

Nissen hut (via 431 Francis St, gate 1) and two early wool stores (84, 85) and land within nominally 5m of their perimeters.
Description
Three rows of wool stores (17 total) and Nissen or Quonset huts, and possibly army
'N' or 'P' huts were used by the migrant hostel. The book, `Ten Quid Tourists' has
pictures of these and there are oral histories which may also mention the building
types. The Nissen huts appear to have been erected after 1951, and were all but gone,
along with all the other army huts by 1982 (Aerial Photo). The huts in the 1951 Aerial
may be "P" and "N" huts, similar to the standard Army Barrack huts - or the oral
recollections in the book are wrong. The 1954 aerial seems to show both Nissen and P
or N-type huts.
One Nissen hut (clad with corrugated iron) survives in the north east part of the site as

part of the Brooklyn Estate (431 Francis St, gate 1). It can also be viewed through
Gate 2 of the estate in Millers Rd. Another of these Nissen huts is said to have been
moved to Pier St Altona for use by the Olympic tyre business.
Most of the timber framed wool stores had been demolished by the mid 1990s (
Vines, 2000). In their place are clear-span stores, dominating the Millers Road
frontage, but two of the old gabled stores on the east end of the two northern rows
(numbers 85, 84) have survived (shown in 1998 aerial views) reclad with cement
sheet (Brooklyn Estate 431 Francis St). The contemporary photographs of the 1950s
show similar scaled buildings generally clad in timber boards with corrugated iron
roofs.
The environment once created by these structures has been largely dissipated, with
extensive new structures in their place as part of the industrial estate. Other sites in the
City which relate to immigration include the Wiltona complex which has also been
largely renewed since its inception, although for the purpose of more immigrant
housing.
External Condition:
Mostly demolished.
External Integrity:
Mostly demolished.
Context:
Set in an industrial area next to major roads.
The migrant hostel off Kororoit Creek Road (now Techno Park) represents the later period of migrant housing
(1970s) with the exception of one Nissen hut still in the complex. The building types at Brooklyn (Nissen and
wool store) have a larger field of comparison as individual structures but are still on the associated site.
History and themes
History
Brooklyn Hostel, which was also opened in 1949... It was said to have covered such
a large area that it eventually stretched from where the Half-Moon Caravan Park is
down to the Brooklyn Pumping Station. The hostel began in 14 wool stores , which
were divided into flats comprised of small rooms, about 1300 in all. Walls were of
thin plywood and there was little privacy. Bathrooms were shared and the wool
stores were freezing in winter and hot in summer. Families were allotted a few
rooms each. Later about eight Nissen huts, divided into three or four flats, were
added to the site. Although there was a crèche and recreational facilities, a major
complaint at Brooklyn Hostel concerned the food served in the communal cafeteria.
Several newspaper articles in the 1950s highlighted the disillusionment many British
migrants felt about the hostel accommodation and their sense of hopelessness about
ever finding their own homes. Ironically, when it was announced that this hostel
would close early in 1970, many expressed a desire to remain in the area, rather than
move to hostels in other parts of Melbourne'. { Barnard, 1999} The food concerns
apparently inspired riots within the camp, requiring the premier, Henry Bolte, to visit
the camp to hear the residents complaints. The police were called in to quell the
unrest.
An aerial view in 1951 shows 17 large (timber framed) store buildings in a group
east of Millers Rd just north of the pumping station site and another group of 8 at the
north west corner of Export Dr and Francis St. A group of smaller buildings is
located on a short drive off Francis St where the Half Moon caravan park is today.
Associations: Victorian Government

Peopling the continent
Manufacturing and Processing
PAHT Subtheme: Migrating

Other Subtheme: Manufacturing and Processing
Significance

The former Brooklyn Migrant Hostel site (with three remaining buildings from that
era) is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- for its strong association with immigration in the post WW2 era which was the
foundation of a population surge in the Altona area ( Criterion A4);
- for the memory held by local people of the place and its function as celebrated in
the publication `The Ten quid tourists' (Criterion G1) .
The site as a whole is below the study threshold for criteria A4 and G1 because of
lack of indicative fabric but the individual buildings, the Nissen hut and the two wool
stores could be considered for the planning scheme.
Documentation

References
Vines, G. 1999 from Stage One of the Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts Heritage Study 1999,
personal recollection
G. Vines, 2000 personal recollection
Land Victoria aerial photo run 17, film 1417 photo 106 Melbourne & Metropolitan project No. 2 (Jan
1951)
Bronwen Gray (ed) & [photography by] Alan Young. `The Ten quid tourists' c1989: see p.46 1954
aerial view, pps. 15 18, 40 photos, p50;
Heritage Study.
Last edit: 19/08/2000 Consultant(s): Gary Vines, Graeme Butler
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1940s-50s hostel
period identified:
- encourage conservation and/or recording of the identified contributory elements
associated with the former hostel development which include two former wool stores
and one Nissen hut;
- further research the hostel using oral sources and provide further interpretive public
information.

Name of place: Vacuum Oil Company Ltd depot, former

Other Names Mobil Terminal
Address off Francis Street Cultural Significance: Regional
Yarraville Creation date(s): 1920s
Site Type Oil store Map (Melway) 42D10

Title land and one riveted tank (near the Hyde Street corner), three early warehouses or filling buildings, two similar long and red brick,
gable-roofed stores (parallel with the Yarra River from Francis Street), with associated loading platforms on one side, with emphasis on
fabric from the inter-war period.
Description
This complex had its genesis as a distribution depot for packaged fuel and oil.
However the site soon developed for bulk handling and distribution. The most visible
features are the oil tanks, although the bulk of these are relatively modern. The site
includes workshops and storage buildings, oil storage tanks and the filling station.
Original warehouses survive (inspection 1n 1994), one with its original wood block
floor. Also the old pump house used to pump crude oil from ships to storage tanks and
to filling sheds and tankers remains although it is no longer used for pumping.
Most of the original tanks have been replaced. The filling buildings are of red brick

with reinforced concrete wall framing in some instances, while other have timber roof
framing. Generally roofs are of fibro cement. The buildings from the early period of
operation reflect the simplicity of the technology at the time where oils were stored,
mixed and dispatched from storage tanks.
A single riveted tank near the Hyde Street corner is now used as a water storage.
Three warehouse or filling buildings remain from the early period of the operation.
Two similar long and red brick, gable-roofed stores run parallel with the Yarra River
from Francis Street. These have loading platforms on one side and are partly open
sided. The red brick and concrete filling building is located parallel to Francis street
roughly opposite the Whitehall Street entrance. This has been more extensively
modified to allow drive through operation and with each modernisation of plant and
equipment.
The site developed progressively over the last 75 years. Developments included the
following
1925 original plant - tanks 1-8, garage, fill stand, pump house, etc.
1926 warehouses, refined oil building
1953 Number 1 pump house
1955 Tanks 34, 35, 36
1958 enlargement of grease plant
1959 construction of tanks 29, 30, 31
1964 construction of used oil reconditioning plant
1970 construction of Holden Oil Dock
1972 completion of new office building
1975 Tank replacement program commenced
1977 rebuild tank truck fill stand
1979 fire water and foam system
1982 reconstruction of bund walls
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Changes in fittings, equipment and building structure to accommodate modern operating techniques
have impacted on the buildings’ integrity.
Context:
Part of a dense industrial precinct lining the river ports and near major rail routes, contributory to the
Spotswood Industrial Precinct.
Vacuum oil is one of the few surviving early 20th century oil terminals and depots. It compares with the Shell
facility in Newport, which is somewhat earlier and features several riveted storage tanks. However the brick
store and loading buildings are unique at Vacuum. The building forms are less distinctive, being general

industrial forms, apart from the arrangement of loading bays almost along their fill length. At least one riveted
storage tank compares with the more extensive and numerous tank farm at the Newport Shell Terminal.
History and themes
History
Vacuum Oil was established in 1895 in Australia by its American parent and
operated the first oil depot in Melbourne, marketing lubricating oils, then kerosene
and from about 1906 its motor oil. In July 1908 the Vacuum Oil company Pty Ltd
amalgamated with the Colonial Oil Company and began marketing their kerosene
and benzine products. By 1916 the company added its own brands of motor spirits
and kerosene, refined to the company’s specification and sold under several brand
names including ‘Plume’ motor spirit and `Laurel’ kerosene. A few years later Voco
Power Kerosene, a tractor fuel, was introduced.
The Vacuum Oil Company Ltd established a new depot in 1924, on a site which
provided shipping access beside the Maribyrnong River. The riverside site had
previously been the location of Raleigh’s boiling down works of the 1840s and the
Victorian Meat Preserving Co. was located on this site in the 1870s. The W.G. Baille
Glass and Bottle Company was also located on the north side of Stony Creek
Backwash in 1871 (Crown Allotment Plan C345c, 1871, CPO). An ‘oil refinery’ is
depicted on the MMBW sewer plan (Plan No 6 of 1896), although it is not believed
this had a connection to Vacuum.
The original pumping and storage plant was constructed in 1925 comprising tanks
1 - 8, a garage, filling station, pump house etc. and underwent periods of expansion
in 1926, the 1950s and the 1970s. The Holden oil dock was constructed 1970,
although shipping access was available from the old oil dock down stream of here
from the 1920s. Vacuum Oil was a major importer of Kerosene in the 1920s,
competing with Esso & Shell which were in the vicinity and using the COR refinery
in Altona. The riverside location was important for import & export.
At the beginning of the twentieth century fuels such as kerosene and lubricating and
fuel oil became increasingly important for domestic and industrial uses. As motor
transport was introduced, oil and petrol became essential. There was no petrol
refining carried out locally until the 1920s, so these products were imported in a
refined state and distributed from local depots, initially in 4 gallon tins. Vacuum
dealt with the inherent inefficiencies of such a system by developing a series of bulk
installations at the chief Australian ports.
jointly by the Commonwealth Government and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. It
was located on Kororoit Creek, north of Kororoit Creek Road. (Priestly p. 163)

By the 1930s the Australian subsidiary of Vacuum Oil had a paid up capital of
£7,500,000 and had expended over £5,000,000 in plant and equipment, including
five bulk tankers, 16 main port terminals, 5 manufacturing plants and a fleet of road
and rail tankers delivering to 172 bulk installations and 597 country depots. By the
1940s capital investment had risen to £10,000,000 and the company conducted the
largest lubricating, manufacturing, and blending operations in Australia (Forging
Ahead).
At Newport, scientific testing laboratories were established to ensure the quality of

the product, with one example of the results of this laboratory being the `Co-
operative Fuel Research Testing Engine ‘ developed as the standard throughout the
world for measuring knock rating in engines (National Handbook: 295-8).
In 1949 Vacuum Oil brought its new petroleum blending plant on stream at Altona,
connected by pipeline to the Yarraville terminal and oil dock. Soon after, the
company decided to enlarge this facility. A new company, Standard-Vacuum
Refining Company (Australia) Pty Ltd was formed and work began on a new and
enlarged refinery. After 1960 the refinery became known as PRA (Petrol Refineries
Australia) but is now referred to as the Mobil Refinery. In the 1980s some Mobil
operations and plant were moved to a new site in Broadmeadows.
Associations: Vacuum Oil Company Standard-Vacuum Mobil
Ltd Refining Company


Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity

Vacuum Oil is of historical and architectural significance to the Western Region:

- as one of the earliest oil terminals in Melbourne, relating to a firm which was a
pioneer of the oil industry in Australia, the surviving brick buildings and at least one
riveted storage tank reflecting the beginnings of the bulk storage and integrated oil
and fuel distribution system which Vacuum Oil developed in the 1920s ( Criterion
A4, B2);
- as purpose designed building forms to meet the needs of first packaged oil and fuel
products, and then bulk filling and distribution ( Criterion A4).
Documentation
References
Àltona C.C.':16,
Jiricek Western Melbourne Region Zoning - 4 reports n.d. (vol 2:2),
Priestly 163-167;
Heritage Study;
`National Handbook of Australia’s Industries': 295-8
Company collection of Photographs, `Mobil News';
Living Museum of the West Industrial Heritage Study site no: 0394
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1920s:
the place where elements include buildings, riveted storage tanks, and associated

plant, paving, landscape, and where enhancement includes reinstatement of known

missing original elements;
the place;
conservation;
and
oral sources and then reassess the heritage significance of the place, with an option
to prepare an incorporated plan in the heritage overlay to minimise heritage
management.

Name of place: Melbourne - Geelong Road Precinct

Other Names Princes Freeway, Geelong Road, Old Geelong Road
Address Geelong Road Cultural Significance: Regional
Altona North Creation date(s): 1840s-
Site Type Road Map (Melway) 40G11

Land and early roadworks within the original Geelong- Melbourne roadway reserve, together with the identified bridge, town and
cemetery reserve at Brooklyn, with emphasis on fabric from the 19th century.
Description
The first dray tracks to Geelong started at Footscray, crossing the Maribyrnong River
at the old village in a punt near the Grimes Reserve and then following today's
Buckley St to the present line of Geelong Rd. Hoddle's 1840 plan showed a simple
reserve at Footscray and a `Village reserve' of 202 acres at Brooklyn. The Geelong
Road of today (60m wide reserve; 55mwest of the Footscray cemetery; 65m at the old
Brooklyn village) forks off the road to Ballarat which in Hoddle's map was also
served by a punt for the Maribyrnong crossing but did not connect with the Geelong
Rd. The road continues south-west from Buckley St much as it always has but with a
wider paved area, a straighter path (instead of the traditional deviations at creek
crossings) and some diversions and overpasses.

The first change is at Footscray West where the Bendigo railway overpass also flies
over the old Rising Sun Hotel which would have faced the road directly to court
travellers. At Somerville Road where there was once a Stony Creek crossing there is
a wide intersection. The Spotswood connection to the Bendigo Railway is another
overpass crossing and then the old village of Brooklyn at the Kororoit Creek
crossing. There the elegant stone bridge from the 1860s survives in a small part of the
old road in a `rest area' as termed by Melway. This is legally part `Plantation Reserve'
and part `Cemetery Reserve' but is now a security-fenced Vic Roads dumping area {
CMS 2000}. This road section is matched by another sharp turn on what is now
known as the Old Geelong Road (40m reserve width, narrowing to 20 at creek bank)
to the north (Melway 40 G10). This last section of road had been straightened by the
1930s. Both sections of road have now been bypassed by the highway. The nearby
Guiding Star Hotel has also been rebuilt.
The kink in the Geelong Road to negotiate the Kororoit Creek crossing can be traced
on the north and south of the current road. Approaches to the bluestone bridge retain
`Telford’ road paving of large bluestone blocks set in the basal clay, cambered from a
raised centre. The largest blocks are used to stabilise the edges, and sometimes a
central row. Originally these were covered with a layer of crushed rock and/or gravel
to form the road surface, but this is usually eroded away in the case of unmaintained
roads, or covered in layers of bitumen, in the case of roads improved for motor
vehicle traffic in the early 20th century. Both results can be seen near Kororoit Creek.
The section of road parallel with the east bank of the creek, north of the present road,
also retains a short section of the hand laid embankment and hand dug cut, where it
descends along the slope to the old bridge level.
From here the old road followed what is now marked as the Council boundary on the
Melway map (40 E12). The former works camp at the intersection of Kororoit Creek
Road, Fitzgerald’s Road and the Princess Freeway (Melway 53 G4), preserves a
section of the former two lane Geelong Road within the treed reserve which was
possibly used from the 1930s-1970s as a Country Roads Board depot. In the 1970s, it
was also a rest area complete with concrete CRB-pattern picnic tables. Trees include a
number of mature cypress, ash and pines. As a marked contrast to this landscaped
reserve, is the indigenous grasslands east of Geelong Rd and north of Kororoit Creek
Road which provide an insight into the environs of the road when it was first surveyed
and formed (Melway 53 J4).
Merton Street crosses the Geelong Rd (Melway 53 G5) as the continuation of

Fitzgerald Road (in City of Wyndham), with remnants of Telford paving in the
discontinued section (part of this road is currently proposed for a land swap and
possible redevelopment). Similar road surfaces probably dating to the second half of
the nineteenth century are likely to survive in the discontinued sections of the Geelong

Road.
At Laverton there was another bump in the road's direction which is now reflected in
the Old Geelong Road (60m reserve) which disappears at the Laverton RAAF base
and comes out the other end as the Old Geelong Road (Melway 203 F11 Wyndham
local government area).
The cultural significance of this site is limited by the fabric which remains to express
the full breadth of its history.
Contributory elements:
Brooklyn cemetery reserve Melbourne - Geelong Road Precinct Geelong
Road off Brooklyn 1840c? Melway 40 F11
Kororoit Creek Bridge, part Melbourne - Geelong Road Melbourne - Geelong Road
Precinct Geelong Road off Brooklyn 1860s Melway 40G11
Brooklyn Village reserve Melbourne - Geelong Road Precinct Paw Paw, Clelland
& Buchanan Roads Brooklyn 1840c Melway 40 H10
External Condition:
The road reserve is good (partially disturbed, well preserved)
External Integrity:
The road reserve is partly changed but remains; the road construction of preceding era is substantially
changed with major intrusions.
Context:
Once a road which traversed the open plains between Geelong and Melbourne towns, now set within suburban
and industrial development.
Major road and rail routes were set out across the Colony in the gold rush era, linking ports to gold mining
areas in central Victoria. Generally later than this 1840 survey, many of these transport rotes (roads, like the
Hume Highway or freeway, and railways, like the Melbourne to Murray Valley railway) have surviving fabric
from this period or immediately after, including stone bridges, culverts and early road formations and paving.
History and themes
History
With settlement in the Port Phillip District officially sanctioned after 1836 surveyor
Hoddle and his staff set out to survey the District into Parishes. Cut Paw Paw and
Truganina parishes, were both surveyed by 1838. Surveyors were required to mark
village reserves, as well as record the lines of water courses in their surveys and
W.W. Darke, when surveying the Parish of Truganina, selected a site on the Kororoit
Creek on the road from Geelong to Melbourne for a Village Reserve of 202 acres.
This was not named at the time, nor allotments divided up, but by the 1880s it was
known as Brooklyn ( the area of the village reserve is now called Altona North) The
Guiding Star Hotel stood outside the village reserve, on the Geelong Road from the

late 1850s (1858). The street pattern still evident at Altona North between Grieve
Parade, Blackshaws Road, Millers Road and Geelong Road was shown on maps by
the 1930s{ Barnard, 1999}.
In early years, the West Melbourne swamp lay between, making road transport
difficult. By 1840, however, a sketch map signed by Robert Hoddle showed the
road from Melbourne to Geelong leading from a punt on the Maribyrnong River at
Footscray and crossing Kororoit Creek at Brooklyn before heading in a south-
westerly direction to Geelong. Although another Hoddle plan, dated a year later,
suggested a route to Geelong that crossed from Williamstown and ran closer to the
coast at Altona and Laverton, it appears to have been the already established route
that became the main Geelong Road. This was not, however, declared a main road
until the 1850s, when a ford was constructed over Kororoit Creek at Brooklyn. The
ford was later damaged by floodwaters and a new ford was constructed in 1861.
When the Geelong Railway line was taken over by the Government, the road's main
road status was repealed, and it was left to Local Roads Boards, such as Wyndham,
Footscray and Braybrook to try and maintain this road and its bridges.' { ibid. }
The Brooklyn Reserve is one focus along the path of today's Geelong Road because
of the old stone bridge which survives on the edge of the reserve. As noted above the
street pattern still evokes that of the old plan. The perimeter of the village is marked
by Blackshaws Road, Grieve Prde, the Geelong Road and Freemans Road on the
east. Inside the grid are streets such as Paw Paw Road which formed the proposed
main commercial strip along with Clelland and Buchanan Streets as secondary
roadways. These narrow commercial frontages were purchased by persons such as
Cherry, Ferguson, Snowden, Vale, Holt, Banks and others. Around the grid, Cherry,
Langhorne, Lyall and Chirnside held allotments. The area was marked as stony
plains'. As late as the 1870s the area was drawn, this time by Callanan, with the
Geelong Road passing the village reserve but no bridge is shown, just a dotted
crossing { Cut Paw Paw C 349F}.
Work on the (MMBW) sewer and the search for work itself generated a temporary
village at Brooklyn in the 1890s. In 1893, as a bridge was built to carry the sewer
across Kororoit Creek and work progressed on the drains on either side of the creek,
a 'temporary police headquarters' was positioned in 'the future township of Brooklyn'
[presumably the village reserve] near the Guiding Star Hotel. Men living in 'tents.
cornsack dwellings and other human habitations...gave the place the appearance of a
gold-fields rush in the early days and descended] almost to the creek'. The Guiding
Star was doing a roaring trade{ Barnard, 1999}.
Associations: New South Wales Victorian Colonial Victorian Government
Colonial Government Government



Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
The Melbourne - Geelong Road Precinct (road reserve and identified related sites and
structures) in the City of Hobsons Bay is significant to the Western Region:
- as one of the earliest roads marked through the region by Hoddle in 1840, broadly
following road reserves which still exist (criteria A4, B2) ;
- as a determining factor for subsequent subdivision and road works in the form of
bridges, highways, overpasses and freeways (criterion A4); and
- for its broad social value as a line of travel used by generations of travellers
(criterion G1) .
Documentation
References
parish plan put-aways, Historic Plans Collection new roads plans (extent of Princes Highway in LGA);
`Melbourne' topo plan 1933 (Land and Survey Information Centre);
Hoddle, 1840 'Sydney C10' , map (Land and Survey Information Centre);
Heritage Study;
Cadastral map System (CMS), Land Victoria
Last edit: 20/08/2000 Consultant(s): Graeme Butler. Gary Vines
Recommendations
Heritage Registers

Planning Scheme
Recommendations
identified:
- To conserve and enhance any identified contributory elements of the roadway or
reserve, including early road paving, culverts, embankments, and the bridge, town
reserve and cemetery reserve at Brooklyn, while maintaining the land within the
original road reserve, open to the sky, and where enhancement might include
identification on the site of the associated heritage places, encouraging revegetation
of indigenous species and creation of a pedestrian trail; and
- further research the route using oral and documentary sources and reassess
(particularly the cemetery site), then provide further interpretive public information
at the site of these elements.
Planning scheme heritage overlay control may not be appropriate for a place where
demolition control may not be the major aim. If a heritage overlay is considered, an
incorporated plan specifying precise controls would be required before the control
was active. A design and development overlay with the above objectives may be one
optional tool.

Name of place: Kororoit Creek Bridge, part Melbourne -

Geelong Road
Other Names Bluestone Bridge
Address off Geelong Road Cultural Significance: Regional
Brooklyn Creation date(s): 1860s
Site Type Bridge, road Map (Melway) 40G11

The bridge and surviving road reserve including land within nominally 5m of the bridge perimeter with emphasis on fabric from the
19th century.
Description
The bridge is just west of the old village of Brooklyn at the Kororoit Creek crossing.
There this elegant three-span stone bridge from the 1860s survives in a small part of
the old road in a `rest area' as termed by Melway. This is legally part `Plantation
Reserve' and part `Cemetery Reserve' but is now a security-fenced Vic Roads
dumping area { CMS 2000}. This road section is matched by another sharp turn on
what is now known as the Old Geelong Road (40m reserve width, narrowing to 20 at
creek bank) to the north (Melway 40 G10). This last section of road had been
straightened by the 1930s. Both sections of road have now been bypassed by the
highway. The nearby Guiding Star Hotel has also been rebuilt.

The kink in the Geelong Road to negotiate the Kororoit Creek crossing can be traced
on the north and south of the current road. Approaches to the bluestone bridge retain
‘Telford’ road paving of large bluestone blocks set in the basal clay, cambered from a
raised centre. The largest blocks are used to stabilise the edges, and sometimes a
central row. Originally these were covered with a layer of crushed rock and/or gravel
to form the road surface, but this is usually eroded away in the case of unmaintained
roads, or covered in layers of bitumen, in the case of roads improved for motor
vehicle traffic in the early 20th century. Both results can be seen near Kororoit Creek.
The section of road parallel with the east bank of the creek, north of the present road,
also retains a short section of the hand laid embankment and hand dug cut, where it
descends along the slope to the old bridge level.
The bridge is of coursed basalt squared blocks, with three segment arches set on
capped piers, each pier with a curved profile to divert the current. The steel pipe and
concrete post balustrade has replaced what may have been a wrought-iron balustrade
(see Merri Creek bridge, Heidelberg Road ) which may have also led to changes to the
connecting capped stone balustrade walls at the creek bank. These balustrade and the
walls beneath them curve elegantly with the curve of the road.
Stone arched bridges from the 1860s are numerous in the goldfield areas, such as
Woodend, Harcourt, Malmsbury and Carlsruhe. Within the metropolitan area there is
the Merri Creek bridge, Coburg (1865) and Broadmeadows (c1870) {.O'Connor}.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions (balustrade)
Context:
Set in an off-road deviation, with part of the former road surface evident but mainly unmaintained grassland
and VicRoads dumping areas surrounding.
Most other basalt bridges in the City are on or over railway lines: there are the two stone road bridges over the
Williamstown line in Williamstown, Cole and Thompson Streets.
History and themes
History
Part of the necessity for early and continued use of ferry services between the study
area and Melbourne was the difficulty of making the connection by road. In early
years, the West Melbourne swamp lay between, making road transport difficult. By
1840, however, a sketch map signed by Robert Hoddle showed the road from
Melbourne to Geelong leading from a punt on the Maribyrnong River at Footscray
and crossing Kororoit Creek at Brooklyn before heading in a south-westerly
direction to Geelong. Although another Hoddle plan, dated a year later, suggested a
route to Geelong that crossed from Williamstown and ran closer to the coast at
Altona and Laverton, it appears to have been the already established route that
became the main Geelong Road. This was not, however, declared a main road until
the 1850s, when a ford was constructed over Kororoit Creek at Brooklyn. The ford
was later damaged by floodwaters and a new ford was constructed in 1861.
Sometime after this the historic bluestone bridge that still stands at the creek was
constructed.
When the Geelong Railway line was taken over by the Government, the road's main
road status was repealed, and it was left to Local Roads Boards, such as Wyndham,
Footscray and Braybrook to try and maintain this road and its bridges. In the mid-
1950s, the Country Roads Board began the work of duplicating major highways in
Victoria. The first road to be duplicated was the Princes Highway , both at Oakleigh,
and between Brooklyn and Norlane, Geelong. The first section completed was near
Brooklyn, where two new bridges made the old Brooklyn Bridge obsolete in 1957.
The later construction of the Princes and Westgate Freeways changed the route of the
Geelong Road even further { Barnard, 1999}.
Associations: Victorian Colonial
Government


Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
Bluestone Bridge or Kororoit Creek Bridge (part Melbourne - Geelong Road) is
significant to Victoria:
- as one of the few stone bridges from this era which survive on a major roadway
reserve in the metropolitan area (criterion B2);

- as an elegant series of segment arches reminiscent of early colonial bridges in New

South Wales and Tasmania (criterion F1) ; and
- as an early contributory place along the Geelong Road reserve, one of the first to be
surveyed in the Colony (Hoddle, pre 1840) (criterion A4).
Documentation
References
Vines WRIHS;
Cadastral Plan, 2000
Heritage Study;
Further work:
Heritage Victoria file
Last edit: 24/11/2000 Consultant(s): Graeme Butler, Gary Vines
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
(1860s ) and existing road pavement area to provide a context.
the place where elements include bridge structure, former road reserve and where
the place;


Name of place: Spotswood Signal Box, part Melbourne -

Other Names
Address off Hall St Cultural Significance: City
Site Type Railway signal box Map (Melway) 55K1

Building and land within nominally 5m of its perimeter within the railway reserve, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction
period, being the Edwardian-era.
Description
A quaint weatherboard and gabled signal box with gabled entry porch, elevated to a
two storey equivalent height, with window strips on the upper level. The roof gables
have decorative trusses and tall finials (restored?) and the roof is clad with corrugated
iron. It is sited at the Hudson Road crossing.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
On flat site, north of the station, near the Spottiswoode Hotel and the Spotswood commercial centre.
No other similarly sized signal boxes are on this section of the line, indicating the special nature of this station
and associated sidings. Another example is at the Yarraville Railway Station where similar industrial siding
activity took place.
History and themes
History
Background History
to Melbourne.

Williamstown Beach Station, initially, called Beach, opened in 1889 { Barnard,
1999}.
Specific History
This signal box is assumed to have been constructed as part of FE Shillabeer's

contract 22887 signed in April 1912 for the construction of Station Buildings at
Spotswood. The requirement for a signal box at this point of the line, was influenced
primarily by the multitude of industrial rail users in the Spotswood area, not the least
of which was the Spotswood Sewerage Pumping Station, for which hundreds of
trucks of coal would be delivered each month to the banks of boilers. Other busy
sidings north of the station gave direct rail access to the agricultural implement
makers Robinson & Co (sadly demolished in 1992-3) Hugh Lennon (remnants only
survive) and International Harvesters (possibly a surviving saw-tooth roof shed), the
Melbourne Glass Bottle Works (now ACI) and the Esso oil terminal. Several smaller
works availed themselves of the public siding running parallel with Hall Street.
South of the station, with the initial branch running off at Burleigh Street, more
sidings served the Shell, BP, Ampol, and other oil terminals between Hall Street and
Douglas Parade, while a circuitous line looped round along the Yarra Bank to the
Vacuum Oil terminal (now Mobil). The second great coal user was the Newport
Power Station, which had its own coal depot served by river wharf and rail siding.
The Spotswood box was originally a 14 lever, lever and tappet box which was also
responsible for the operation of the level crossing gates at Hudson’s Road. The main
line gates were wheel operated, but an additional set of gates were on the siding as
this ran off the main line just south of Hudsons Road to provide the greatest length
of road in the limited space before the private sidings branched off. The gates were
of massive timber construction with wrought iron bracing and some cast brackets,
supported on cast iron columns. They were manufactured locally by McKenzie &
Holland. One set at a tile yard on Ballarat Road, Ardeer, may have come from
Spotswood. Local resident, Craig Jackson, recalls that these gates were in use and
being manually opened and shut until the late 1980s.
Spotswood was probably one of the busiest rail freight centres in Melbourne (apart
from the West Melbourne freight terminal) and required a complex system of
shunting and safe-working arrangements because of the irregular timetable of goods
movement which had to accommodate the normal suburban and Geelong country
services as well. The sidings were constructed between 1880 and about 1930, the
peak period of use being from the 1920s to World War II with a gradual decline
following. Most of these sidings are closed and the tracks removed. The timber level
crossing gates have been replaced with automatic booms.


PAHT Subtheme: Moving goods and people by rail

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
C.2 Research potential
Spotswood Signal Box, (part Melbourne - Williamstown Railway) is significant to
the City of Hobsons Bay
- as the only early signal box remaining on this section of line (criterion B2);
- for its contribution to the knowledge of how the railway system functioned when it
was rebuilt early this century during a period of great industrial expansion in the
region (criterion C2);
- as a contributory place within the important Melbourne - Williamstown railway
precinct providing evidence of a significant upgrade in the Edwardian-era which
parallels with industrial, residential and commercial development nearby (criterion
A4) .
Documentation
References
City of Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme - HO 120;
Heritage Study;
Operational and Defunct Private Sidings Registers, Sidings Administration Section, V/Line;
T. Robinson & Company history commissioned by Ampol, 1992 (copy held at Living Museum of the
West);
National Trust of Australia (Vic) Classification Report `The Melbourne to Williamstown Railway
Line'
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
National Trust Register: Yes

Planning Scheme
Recommendations
development period as identified:
elements of the complex and land within nominally 10 m of the perimeter of each
element;
the place;
conservation;
and
further research the place using oral and documentary sources and provide further
interpretive public information at the site.

Name of place: Newport Commercial Bank, former

Other Names Newport Post Office
Address 1 Hall Street Cultural Significance: Regional
Site Type Bank Map (Melway) 55K4

Building and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being the 1880s.
Description
A study of banks in Victoria carried out in 1976 by Trethowan placed this bank in the
`Boom Classicism' style group and on the Supplementary List of architectural value.
He concluded that the installation of post boxes and telephones `have destroyed the
architectural concept of the building'. He referred to the ground level only where the
damage cited has now been largely reversed.
The design is a two storey cemented façade derived from the Italian Renaissance and
commonly used for commercial 19th century buildings. The corner siting however is
distinctive, as is the corner pedimented porch entry with urns. The ground level is
rusticated while the upper level is ruled as stone with segment and flat arched

pediments over each window. Each of these windows has a balustraded base and the
parapet has a typical moulded cornice with entablature.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
Contributory part of Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct, in commercial strip facing railway and now
obscured by road overpass.
Two corner Banks in Nelson Place, Williamstown compare with this example, although typically earlier and
therefore more conservative.
History and themes
History
railway station. { Barnard, 1999}
At Newport, the shopping centre clustered around the railway station, developing as
the residential areas of the district did. At Spotswood, Hudson Road appeared early
to be the commercial centre, also being located close to the railway station. ' {
Barnard, 1999}
Specific history
The bank was erected on a commercial lot in the new Grindlay Estate created at
Newport (cited as late Greenwich) in 1886; the estate was declared at the Titles
Office by JT Jenkins. It was the Newport branch of the Commercial Bank of
Australasia when it was built by 1887 and rated as bank premises of brick with 10
rooms. Then it had a Melbourne Road address. The builder was C Hoskings and the
contract signed in February 1886 { Trethowan}. Other branches erected at the time
included those at Newmarket, Northcote, Ballan, Brunswick, Yarrawonga, Charlton,
Gisborne, Sale, Nathalia, Coburg and Romsey. Most were designed by Peter
Matthews who designed this building { ibid.}.
Early managers were WH Thomas, George A Power, and James Maynard. Just after
the time of Federation, the bank became the Newport Post office, owned the
Commonwealth of Australia.
Associations: Commercial Bank of WH Thomas Commonwealth Peter Matthews
Australasia Government

Financing Australia
PAHT Subtheme: Financing Australia

Other Subtheme:
Significance

Newport Commercial Bank, later the Newport Post Office is significant to the
Western Region:
- as a superior 19th century bank design, judged within the region, in the commercial
Renaissance Revival manner and sited prominently at a corner (criterion F1);
- having been identified in a State-wide study of bank architecture (criterion E1) ;
- having existed on this site in this form throughout a major part of the Hall Street
commercial precinct's history, dating from its beginning (criterion A4); and
- as a long-term public building in the region, having acquired public recognition for
its role in the community (criterion G1)
Documentation
References
National Trust of Australia file? No listing on WWW;
Joy McLeod, pers. com. 1998 was Commercial Bank (owner 1998 )


Heritage Study;
Trethowan, B. Banks of Victoria,1976: cites original drawing in Latrobe Collection State Library of
Victoria
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
development phase and its tenure as a post office:
the place;
conservation;
and

Name of place: Junction Hotel

Other Names
Address 15 Hall Street Cultural Significance: City
Newport Creation date(s): 1924, 1938
Site Type Hotel Map (Melway) 55K4

Building and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being inter-war.
Description
This Moderne style two storey bank is located on a corner, has a cemented and
parapeted façade and may be a renovation of an earlier building. Typical for the style
the façade corners are emphasised by a series of vertical fins which provide massing
over main entry points. Between these there is a horizontal emphasis created by
farmed horizontal window groupings and the parapet capping. On the side frontage
the treatment is simpler. The building relates in height and fenestration to the
adjoining generally earlier commercial streetscape.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

substantially intact/some intrusions such as added air units, signs, and refitting of doorways.
Context:
Contributory part of Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct, in commercial strip facing railway and now
obscured by road overpass.
Moderne hotel design is rare in the City, most hotels being from the late 19th century. The Rifle Club Hotel is
the only other inter-war example but of an earlier style.
History and themes
History
Carlton & United Breweries owned two shops here in the 1920s. They stood on a
commercial lot in the new Grindlay Estate created at Newport (cited as late
Greenwich) in 1886; the estate was declared at the Titles Office by JT Jenkins. By
1923 the owner occupier was Fox and by 1924-5 he was rated for a new hotel of 17
rooms and brick. Evangeline Fowler owned and occupied the new hotel in the
following year. The annual valuation was £322. Stanley Joseph Fowler was the next
hotelier although the premises was still in the name of Evangeline. He was there well
into the 1930s until Henry Medlicoft took over, with the Fowler estate as owners.
The hotel rate description included 24 rooms by 1939-40 and the annual valuation
had risen to £800. The value had risen steadily in the late 1920s to £702 in 1930.
Based on this and the Moderne styling, it is likely that the external elevation was
created c1938-9 under the ownership of Stanley & Henry Fowler and fairly new
tenancy of Medlicoft.
Associations: Fox Fowler, Stanley & Henry

Lodging people

PAHT Subtheme: Lodging people

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
Junction Hotel is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a good example of the relatively uncommon Moderne style as applied to
commercial building in the City (criterion B2, F1);
- as a public building over a long period in the Hall St precinct (criterion G1)
Documentation
References
`Williamstown Illustrated' 1902 end papers;
Heritage Study;
MMBW Property Service File, City West Water PSP 785561 only plan 1986- no result
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
the place;

Name of place: W. Goetz Sons Ltd offices & factory complex,

former
Other Names
Address 140 Hall Street Cultural Significance: City
Site Type Factory Map (Melway) 55K2

Buildings and land with emphasis on fabric from the immediate pre WW2 era, including the factory, offices and caretaker's house, and
secondary emphasis on added fabric in the Goetz tenure.
Description
Located at the corner of Hall and Burleigh Streets, this complex includes a cream and
manganese parapeted brick office block, at the Burleigh St corner, and a corrugated
iron clad, timber-framed factory block at the rear. The lower office walls are in the
manganese brown coloured brick, the cream brick upper walls have dog toothed
corbels to the parapet, and there is a concrete string course or lintel above the window
line. The office entry is highlighted by a series of vertical elements with a tripartite
motif in the parapet, typical of the Moderne style. The large saw-tooth roof factory
behind has steel framed multi-paned window glazing similar to those in the office
block. There is no original plant inside. What appears to be a caretakers timber

bungalow adjoins the complex at the north-west corner of the site and an early panel
identification sign is above the office block parapet.
The use of the Moderne/ Modern styling in industrial architecture can also be seen
along Geelong Road, with another example in Ballarat Road, highlighting the
industrial growth inspired by overseas supply shortages due to the approaching war.
External Condition:
Generally good (partially disturbed, well preserved)
External Integrity:
Externally intact with minimal intrusions, except for new roller shutter doors. There are currently
proposed changes to the complex.
Context:
Contributory to the Spotswood Industrial Precinct on flat land facing railway.
Modernist influenced industrial designs are few in the City from the immediate pre and post WW2 era,
including the Vacuum amenity part of the refinery complex in Millers Rd, Altona and the Red Robin socks
factory in Pier St. This Modern or Modernistic design is paralleled more closely by the large factory offices in
Geelong and Ballarat Roads, City of Maribyrnong.
History and themes
History
The rail and port infrastructure and availability of abundant vacant land between the
railway and the Yarra River were influences that helped to attract several major
industries to the study area, and particularly to Newport and Spotswood in the
flourishing Victorian economy of the 1870s and 1880s. Many of these industries
were already established firms seeking to expand, which relocated from other parts
of Melbourne or Victoria. Engineering and agricultural implement makers were
particularly well-represented, while other major concerns reflected the earlier
connections between Williamstown's port and its rail connections to western
Victoria. In 1878 Edwin and Walter Gaunt opened the Alfred Woollen Mill in
Osborne Street, Williamstown. This mill carried out the first wool-combing
operation in Victoria , as well as manufacturing worsted yarn for serges. In the
1890s the Mills began producing flannels and blankets, 'exporting' them to other
Victorian colonies. In the 1930s H.B. Smith took over the old bluestone mill to begin
a wool scouring and carbonising works. H.B. Smith still occupied the premises in the
1990s and the original Alfred mill building remained within the complex.
Lennon's Agricultural Implements Works was established in 1887 as the Newport

Iron Works by Mephan Ferguson. Hugh Lennon took over the site in the 1890s The
firm claimed to have 'manufactured the first plough made in Australia' and, by the

early nineteenth century was producing ploughs, harvesters, and wool presses. The
company made use of a railway spur from Spotswood station which was also used by
the Glass Bottle Works and straddled the railway line at Spotswood. International
Harvester Co, took over the site in the 1920s and the original site, together with at
least one 1890s building, is now contained within AGM's complex at Spotswood.
Another agricultural implement maker was T. Robinson and Co., which had been
established in West Melbourne in the 1850s and been situated in North Melbourne
before it was moved to Spotswood in 1891. Like Lennon's works, Robinson's also
made use of the railway line at Spotswood. The site, with surviving buildings, has
been absorbed by AGM.
In 1890 the Melbourne Glass Bottle Works also moved to Spotswood from the
premises it had occupied in South Melbourne since 1873. Initially twelve and a half
acres of land were purchased between the railway line and the river, and in the first
decade of production at the new site, the company expanded till it occupied 'five or
six acres of buildings' and employed up to 500 men making bottles of all sizes,
shapes and colours. Now called Australian Glass Manufacturers, the company is
still situated at Spotswood, its site having expanded to encompass other former
establishment, such as Lennons and Robinson's. Together with the Spotswood
Pumping Station (see below) it represents a vast industrial area that was established
over a hundred years ago.
Another highly evocative site near the Newport Railway station are the Defiance
Flour Mills, placed conveniently near to the railway line and the port at
Williamstown. The mills were established by W.C. Thomas, who had begun as a
flour miller at Beaufort and in the Wimmera in the 1860s and then expanded to
include mills at Ballarat before building the Newport mills in 1902. By 1904 W.C.
Thomas was the leading exporter of milled flour in Victoria. Later the mill was
operated by the Victorian Oatgrowers Pool for oat crushing, before Defiance Milling
Co. took it over and returned it to flour milling in 1986{ Barnard, 1999}.
Specific History
This corrugated iron clad timber-framed factory and brick office block was built on a
3 acre site in 1939 for the engineering firm, WG Goetz & Sons Ltd, care of their
head offices at Salmon St, Port Melbourne. The builders of the new complex were
JG Shillitow of St Kilda, who had been closely involved with the nearby railway
upgrade during the Edwardian-era. An aerial view taken by Pratt in c1933 shows this
as vacant land next to the Nobel complex on the north.
Previously the site had been owned by the explosives makers, Nobels Australia P/L
but the property (then 3 acres) was sold to WG Goetz & Sons Ltd then of Batman St
W Melbourne, being part of CA 50-1/7, Cut Paw Paw parish, on the 22 June 1939.
Goetz were the owners until 1999.

Goetz advertised their wares in newspapers, citing sheet metal working machinery,
food processing units, packing machines, canister and can making. Manufactured
items included dies, die-sets, jigs, and gauges among their products The firm was
established in 1875 and by the mid 20th century had works in all states and New
Zealand. More recent product lines were Bakelite moulds.
In the 1960s the company was under the direction of JH Moss (chairman), OT Goetz
(deputy chair), JS Moss, PS Moss, RJ Burns, and F Craddock who was also
company secretary. The authorised capital was £500,000 and the paid up capital
£234,000 { BWWOA, 1964: 172}.
Associations: WG Goetz & Sons Ltd

PAHT Subtheme: Manufacturing and Processing

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
W. Goetz Sons Ltd offices is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a superior example of the relatively uncommon Moderne style as applied to an
industrial building in the City (criterion F1, B2) ;
- as a later and well preserved example in the long chain of development within the
Spotswood industrial precinct, relating to other engineering workshops and
manufacturers in the area (criterion A4) .
Documentation
References
MMBW Property Service File for Nth east cnr Hall and Burleigh St, City West Water large complex,

corner building PSP 166660

Heritage Study;
`The Business Who's Who of Australia' (BWWOA) 1964
Pratt, Charles Daniel photographer.`Spotswood area, rail yards in foreground]' c1933, Airspy
collection of aerial photographs, State Library of Victoria picture collection.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the immediate pre
WW2 era and the Goetz tenure.
the place;
conservation;
and


Name of place: Spotswood Railway Station, part Melbourne -

Other Names
Address off Hall Street Cultural Significance: City
Site Type Railway platform / station Map (Melway) 55K1

Buildings, platform and station yard, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being the Edwardian-era.
Description
Twin red brick and stucco Edwardian-era station buildings face each other across the
tracks, fronting onto asphalt paved platforms. The Edwardian Baroque ox-bow motif
has been used as the main parapet form, set between parapet piers, and the
cantilevering canopies, supported on open web portal frames, have scalloped ripple
iron valences at each end. The same motif is used very successfully in the fenestration
grouping and parapet at the street elevations of each building, a treatment reminiscent
of the Yarraville SSB. The ramps and iron balustrading appear early.
External Condition:

External Integrity:
Context:
Related to the nearby signal box, some early housing development along Hope St and the old Spotswood
Hotel. The historical context of this complex has been reduced with the demolition of some of the early
industrial; complexes nearby.
Other stations on this line such as Newport and Williamstown North offer similar architectural stylism,
although each is subtly different, and help form a distinctive station character group within the region.
History and themes
History
to Melbourne.
Williamstown Beach Station, initially, called Beach, opened in 1889{ Barnard,
1999}.
Specific History
The Spotswood Railway Station complex was constructed as part of FE Shillabeer's
contract 22887 signed in April 1912 for the construction of Station Buildings at
Spotswood. The design was similar to other Edwardian-era station buildings such as
Newport and Williamstown North {NTA}. An extra room was added to the east side
station building, south end, to house shunters in the 1940s { Rae}. This was an extra
requirement to the standard design because of the many sidings operating in the area.

There was a multitude of industrial rail users in the Spotswood area, not the least of
which was the Spotswood Sewerage Pumping Station, for which hundreds of trucks
of coal would be delivered each month to the banks of boilers. Other busy sidings
north of the station gave direct rail access to the agricultural implement makers
Robinson & Co (sadly demolished in 1992-3) Hugh Lennon (remnants only survive)
and International Harvesters (possibly a surviving saw-tooth roof shed), the
Melbourne Glass Bottle Works (now ACI) and the Esso oil terminal. Several smaller
works availed themselves of the public siding running parallel with Hall Street.
South of the station, with the initial branch running off at Burleigh Street, more
sidings served the Shell, BP, Ampol, and other oil terminals between Hall Street and
Douglas Parade, while a circuitous line looped round along the Yarra Bank to the
Vacuum Oil terminal (now Mobil). The second great coal user was the Newport
Power Station, which had its own coal depot served by river wharf and rail siding.
Spotswood was probably one of the busiest rail freight centres in Melbourne (apart
from the West Melbourne freight terminal) and required a complex system of
shunting and safe-working arrangements because of the irregular timetable of goods
movement which had to accommodate the normal suburban and Geelong country
services as well. The sidings were constructed between 1880 and about 1930, the
peak period of use being from the 1920s to World War II with a gradual decline
following. Most of these sidings are closed and the tracks removed. The timber level
crossing gates have been replaced with automatic booms.


Other Subtheme:
Significance


Spotswood Railway Station (part Melbourne - Williamstown Railway) is significant
to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a good example of a well preserved architect designed Edwardian-Baroque style
station building on this line (criterion F1);
was rebuilt early this century (criterion C2);
- as a well preserved public building used over an extended period and thus a familiar
landmark to many in the community (criterion G1);
parallels with residential and commercial development nearby (criterion A4) .
Documentation
References
City of Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme HO 118;
Heritage Study;
Leo Harrigan, 1962, `Victorian Railways to '62': 17, 8
Line' (NTA);
I Rae, 4/4/2000, comments
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations

elements of the complex and land within nominally 10 m of the perimeter of each
element;
the place;
conservation;
and

Name of place: Newport Railway Station & trees, part

Other Names
Address off Hall Street & Melbourne Road Cultural Significance: City

Buildings, platform, and station yard, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being the Edwardian-era plus tree
rows (pepper trees and lilly pillys) and land within nominally 5m of each trunk or 1m outside the root ball whichever is the greater.
Description
As with Spotswood, twin red brick and stucco Edwardian-era station buildings face
each other across the tracks, fronting onto asphalt paved platforms. However the
Edwardian Baroque ox-bow motif seen at Spotswood is disbanded here in favour of
expressed gabled Marseilles pattern terra-cotta clad roofs. This provides a domestic
character to the complex. The cantilevering canopies are supported on pierced web
portal frames but do not have the scalloped pattern to the valences at each end.
There is a row of pepper trees on the west side, and a lilly pilly row on east (10): both
rows relating to the station building.

External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions such as the enclosing of the under verandah space on the west side
building.
Context:
b
One of three Edwardian-era station designs on this line. Other stations on this line such as Spotswood and
Williamstown North offer similar architectural stylism, although each is subtly different, and help form a
distinctive station character group within the region.
History and themes
History
to Melbourne.



1999}.
This complex was constructed as part of FE Shillabeer's contract 22575 signed in

January 1912 for the construction of Station Buildings at Spotswood.


Other Subtheme: Creating public landscape
Significance

Newport Railway Station (part Melbourne - Williamstown Railway) is significant to
the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a good example of a well preserved architect designed Edwardian-domestic style
Documentation
References
City of Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme HO 109 (trees to be added);

Leo Harrigan 1962, `Victorian Railways to '62' :17;

Heritage Study;
Gary Vines 1989. Western Region Industrial Heritage Study, Melbourne's Western Region Cultural
Heritage Study, (Melbourne's Living Museum of the West): site 126 graded D
Line'
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
elements of the complex, trees and land within nominally 10 m; - To conserve and
enhance the visual relationship between contributory elements at the place;
conservation;
and
further research the place using oral and documentary sources and reassess, then

Name of place: Seaholme Station Precinct

Other Names
Address High Street Cultural Significance: Local Interest
Seaholme Creation date(s): 1920s-40s
Site Type Shopping mall Map (Melway) 54K11

This precinct is below the study threshold for Criterion A4 and is not recommended for the planning scheme heritage overlay.
Description
This precinct is centred on the railway station and its landscaped reserve and the small
contemporary commercial group around its entry point.
Contributory elements:
Barbara's Hair Analysis High Street 1930s, Melway 54K11

early for area
Shop & Residence 15 High Street, 1940s-50s , Melway 54K11

two storey, cream brick, original shop fronts, Uncommon in area

Shop & Residence (General Store) 17 High Street 1920s , Melway 54K11
two storey, altered, old signs on side wall; near MUIOOF hall? Uncommon in area
Seaholme Railway Station & landscape off Station St 1921 , Melway 54K11
A distinctive grove of Canary Island palms surround a railway station complex
consisting of gabled weatherboard early 20th century station building with timber
verandah, timber platform edging, fig trees, flowering gums, and later native planting.
The palms are grouped mainly on the north side of the tracks but there are also
specimens to the south.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
Dominated by railway station complex, surrounded by inter-war and later housing.
Most of the railway stations in the City have some form of commercial development nearby, the Newport and
Spotswood examples being the more visually cohesive.
History and themes
History
The Altona line (from the Williamstown Racecourse station to Altona) remained in
private hands until the 1920s. For most of this time it was not operational, although
the Victorian Railways Department leased part of the line for shunting and storage of
racecourse trains for many years. In 1917, when renewed attempts were made to
market the Altona Beach estate, an agreement between the Altona Bay Estate
Company and Victorian Railways allowed a shuttle service to operate between
Newport and Altona (then still called Altona Beach). When, after several years, the
line continued to make a loss, Victorian Railways took over the (Williamstown
Racecourse to Altona) line. Electric trains ran from 1926. When a coal mine was
sunk in 1899 near present day Maidstone Street, a spur line was again extended to
the coal mine to enable heavy equipment to be carried there{ Barnard, 1999}.
Seaholme station was opened late in 1921, one year after the first auction was held
for the surrounding Seaholme Estate which grew to 29 houses and one shop by 1930
{ Priestley: 158}. Some of the businesses grouped around the station in the 1930s-
40s included RE Morrison grocer and Miss K Shields, confectioner; the 1950s saw
the Proberts' grocery, Watson's cakes and butchers shops; and more recently, GC &
D Tippet, grocer, M&R Bottomly, butchers and Angela's Beauty Salon.

Associations: Altona Bay Estate

Company

Developing local, regional and national economies
PAHT Subtheme: Marketing & retailing

Other Subtheme:
Significance

Seaholme Station Precinct is of historical interest to the Seaholme locality:
- as an evocation of the beginnings of the Seaholme community and the small
commercial centre which grew up around the main source of transport in the area, the
railway station (criterion A4).
This precinct is below the study threshold for Criterion A4 and is not recommended
for the planning scheme heritage overlay: the railway station and grounds is
recommended as a separate site.
Documentation
References
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View'
Recommendations
Heritage Registers

Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the inter-war
construction period.
significant elements of the precinct where elements include buildings, objects, trees,
yarding, paving, landscape, and where enhancement includes reinstatement of
known missing original elements;
- To encourage conservation and enhancement of the viability of the precinct to aid
in its heritage conservation;
- To encourage new elements proposed in the precinct to be recessive and related to
the precinct's contributory elements in roof and plan form, external materials, front
rear and side setbacks from property boundaries, and building bulk as viewed from
public areas.
This precinct is below the study threshold for Criterion A4 and is not recommended
for the planning scheme heritage overlay but Council should consider the above
objectives when assessing planning applications in the area.

Name of place: House

Other Names
Address 28 Home Road Cultural Significance: City
Site Type House, urban Map (Melway) 56A4

House and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being the Edwardian-era.
Description
This is a highly ornamented but typical Edwardian-era weatherboard house design
with an ornate cast-iron verandah frieze and sympathetic colours. The main roof is
hipped, with a bullnose profile verandah roof. The house has turned verandah posts,
paired windows to the front elevation and the eaves entablature is decorated with
brackets and ornamental panels.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Contributory part of Halls Farm Residential Precinct, being mainly Edwardian-era and inter-war housing.
This house stands out among other Edwardian-era weatherboard houses in the Spotswood and Newport area,
with only a few examples in Williamstown being similarly ornamented.
History and themes
History
This house was built for or by William Henry Treganowan, builder, in 1912. About
that time he and his wife Elizabeth lived in Johnston St, Newport { ER 1903}. He
leased the house to James Allison, John Hamblin (machinist) and finally sold it to
the engineer, Henry George Betts { RB}. Betts was there until his death in 1953,
aged 65 { DI}. He was the son of Julia and Benjamin.
Treganowan was mayor of Williamstown Council in 1907-8, when he and his wife
were feted in the `Weekly Times', and a Williamstown councillor from the 1880s {
Elsum}. He had a role in supporting the drainage of South Newport, noting that
diphtheria outbreaks such as the one which struck Newport State School in 1916
would not have occurred if the school had been sewered { Strahan: 260}. He died at
Heidelberg in 1941 aged 84, the son of William Henry and Nancy (nee Treloar).
Robert E Treganowan was the partner in the noted firm Ramsay & Treganowan: it is
not known if there is any connection.
Associations: William Henry Henry George Betts
Treganowan

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance


This Edwardian-era weatherboard house is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a highly ornamented and well preserved example of a typical house design
(criterion D2);
- as a key contributory place in the Home Road Edwardian-era residential streetscape
(criterion A4); and
- for its associations with its creator, Councillor and Williamstown Mayor, William
Henry Treganowan (criterion H1).
Documentation
References
`City of Williamstown Conservation Study' 1993 (WCS)
Heritage Study;
Elsum 73, 75;
Strahan: 260, 308, 435;
`Weekly Times' 14/9/1907: 26
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the Edwardian-era :


the place;

Name of place: Home Road Kindergarten

Other Names Newport Kindergarten
Address 48-50 Home Road Cultural Significance: City
Site Type Child care centre Map (Melway) 56A4

The building and land to the extent of the title with emphasis on fabric from the 1950s.
Description
This timber flat roofed kindergarten has a distinctive triangular plan, and timber
framed window walls. The triangular plan form parallels with contemporary
Modernist house designs, based on simple geometric plans such as triangles, circles or
a combination. These designs were carried out by noted architects of the era such as
Roy Grounds and Peter McIntyre. The design also reflects the reforming influence of
the earlier kindergartens created by Martin & Tribe.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Contributory part of Halls Farm Residential Precinct as a civic building of individual significance, the rest of
the precinct being mainly Edwardian-era and inter-war housing.
A number of later architect designed child care and kindergarten centres were built around the Altona area, but
adopting more conventional Modernist design. The trend setting child care Martin & Tribe design of 1940 at
the Lady Gowrie centre in Carlton North has been altered.
History and themes
History
While the provision of local hospitals was an important method of protecting
maternal and infant health ... in the early decades of the twentieth century there was a
growing Victorian awareness that child mortality rates would be decreased through
the provision of nursery schools and then infant welfare centres which could educate
working class mothers about proper infant care'. { Barnard, 1999}
Victoria's first public pre-school education group, the Free Kindergarten Union, was
established in 1908 when just four free kindergartens existed, the first free
kindergarten having been opened in Carlton in 1901, with others to follow in the
inner suburbs. After 60 years there were some 600 recognised kindergartens across
the State. In 1910 the State government started funding the Union and its work, with
Commonwealth funding in the late 1930s aiding in setting up model kindergartens in
each State. In Victoria, this was the Lady Gowrie centre in North Carlton, designed
by Martin & Tribe in a contemporary skillion roof form which differed markedly
from the previous designs of baby health centres and kindergartens. This style of
architecture for child health buildings was recognised and encouraged by the seminal
publication, Victorian Modern', by Robin Boyd. From1944 government money was
provided on a per-capita basis to church or municipal bodies and capital grants for
new construction began in 1948, increasing in 1950 {VYB 1973: 479-80}.
Specific history
Williamstown's first Infant Welfare Centre was opened by the Council, in
conjunction with the Society for Health of Women and Babies in the 1920s (not this
site). It was soon established that infant welfare centres were a municipal
responsibility and they were placed so that they were easily accessible to mothers in
all areas. The newly-established Altona Shire proudly proclaimed that it had four
infant welfare centres in 1965, as well as five free kindergartens, newly-built by the
Council{ Barnard, 1999}.
This kindergarten was built on a subdivision plan titled Subdivision of Part of Crown
Portion 13 Cut Paw Paw Known as Hall's Farm', set out by the prolific surveyors,
Bruford & Braim, of Chancery Lane, Melbourne. The subdivision was lodged for

approval in three parts by Spotswood Land and House Agent D McPherson and
stamped at the Office of Titles in May and December 1885 { VTO}. By the late
1920s it had been covered with timber houses { D1928}. The extent of the estate was
from a Government Road' on the north (High St) to Elphin St on the south. Hall St
on the west to The Strand on the east. One distinctive aspect of the layout was the
provision of a `Reserve for Public Buildings Given by Proprietors' in Home Road
between Farm and River St, east side. This is where the Home Road kindergarten
now is.
The Home Rd kindergarten was first listed in the `Victorian Directory' in 1958 which
presumably signals its construction date {D1958}. Prior to that, from 1950 at the
latest, this was a Williamstown Council reserve. Built for the Williamstown Council
when the Town Clerk was JE Morley, the Engineer was Harold Rose and the health
officer, Donald Coutts { MD 1958:498}. It is now owned by the City of Hobsons
Bay and still functions as a kindergarten.
Associations: City of Williamstown City of Hobsons Bay Bruford & Braim

Educating
PAHT Subtheme: Establishing child care

Other Subtheme:
Significance

Home Road Kindergarten is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- as a well preserved example of the new public infrastructure being built after WW2
in the City to match the growth in population and the number of children (criterion
A4);
- as an example of Modernist design where the latest architectural styles were
employed in the new public buildings as a reflection of reform (criterion A4);
- for the distinctive triangular plan which was a concept (non rectangular plan forms)
also used by Modernist designers like Grounds, Boyd and McIntyre (criterion F1) ;
and
- for its association with public life over a near 50 year period (criterion G1).
Documentation
References
MMBW Property Service File, City West Water PSP 283318
Heritage Study;
Council engineering drawing collection- no trace;
Victorian Titles Office (VTO) LPs946, 773, 783;
Municipal Directory (MD)
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
(1950s ) and the period of use as kindergarten.
land where enhancement includes reinstatement of known missing original elements;
the place;

conservation;
and
carry out an oral history and then reassess the heritage significance of the place.

Name of place: State Savings Bank (SSB) house

Other Names Stewart house
Address 56 Home Road Cultural Significance: Local
Site Type House, urban Map (Melway) 56A4

House and title land with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being the 1920s.
Description
This is a typical Californian Bungalow style weatherboard house which when
identified in the 1980s had early external colours { COWCS}. The side fence was
also then thought notable. Today the front fence is a wire fabric type typical of the era.
The design was probably drawn from the SSB pattern books which were prepared
under G B Leith, the bank's chief architect. The style's overlapping roof gables and
shingling are seen in many examples throughout the suburbs, the Edwardian-era front
door used in this example marking the often conservative choice of western suburban
house builders.
External Condition:


External Integrity:
Context:
Contributory part of Halls Farm Residential Precinct being mainly Edwardian-era and inter-war housing.
Many examples exist of this type of house and financing: this example represents the type well.
History and themes
History
This house was built for John Stewart, in 1923: it was a State Savings Bank financed
design, of 5 rooms and of wood. He soon sold to a clerk, Charles McLean Stephens
who remained there into the 1940s, followed by Lil & Albert Tepper. Stewart died
in 1950, aged 85. He was the son of Fergus and Janet.
State Savings Bank financed homes pioneered today's bank loans for home
ownership and meant the proliferation of this type of house after the housing
shortages caused by WW1 { Butler, 1992: 40}.
Associations: John Stewart Charles M Stephens State Savings Bank Leith, G B

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

This State Savings Bank (SSB) financed house is locally significant:
- as a well preserved example of a common type within the region although less
common in the City, as exemplified by its overlapping gables, wire fabric fence, and
shingle gable cladding (Criterion D2);
- as a representation of a SSB financed home, a form of home finance which
pioneered today's bank loans for home ownership (Criterion A4).
Documentation
References
City of Williamstown Conservation Study (COWCS);
Heritage Study;
Butler, 1992 `The Californian Bungalow in Australia' Lothian
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
(1920s ):
the place where elements include buildings, fence, objects, yarding, paving,
landscape, and land where enhancement includes reinstatement of known missing
original elements;
the place;

conservation; and

Name of place: Houses

Other Names Emoh Ruo (1)
Address 1- 3 Hope Street Cultural Significance: City
Site Type House, urban Map (Melway) 55K1

Houses and title land with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being the 1890s.
Description
These two brick detached `row' houses were once identical, with their common
parapeted form and convex verandah roof. However 3 has an Edwardian-era verandah
in the place of what exists at 1, being a Victorian-era timber and cast-iron verandah
with paired posts. The guilloche pattern and arched parapet entablature are common
to both as was the coloured brickwork of the front elevation (see 5-7). The existing
timber fences are related to the construction date of the houses.
They are paired with the altered 5-7 Hope St to provide a distinctive streetscape in this
area, near the Spotswood Railway Station which no doubt inspired their construction.
The four houses have a contribution to a small streetscape in this part of Hope St
which is enhanced by the notable railway station building nearby.

External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions- bricks painted 1-3, 3 Edwardian-era verandah, 1 verandah detail
gone.
Context:
Contributory part of Spotswood Residential Precinct, being close to the railway station and distinctively early
elements in the surrounding residential area.
Masonry 19th century row house types are uncommon in the City, most of the examples being in this street.
History and themes
History
Hope Street was part of LP2966, being a subdivision of CA16, CP 7, parish of Cut
Paw Paw: it was lodged by the ill-fated land boom solicitor firm Fink, Best &
Phillips in 1890 and declared by Robert Poole.
These two 4 room brick houses were built in 1891 for or by one Martin whose tenure
quickly passed to the Economic Building Society and then to the Modern Permanent
Building Society. This was in the turbulent years of the early 1890s when the latter
society failed. Prior to building the land was owned by Miller. The first occupier of 1
was John Thompson followed by John Salkeld, glass-blower (the glass works was
nearby). One McKinnon was in number 3 but was soon replaced by Thomas
O'Rourke, engine driver. Charles Joshua and Beatrice Williams (of 15 Hope St) were
long term owners of 1 and Ernest Hease (fitter and owner-occupier) and Charlotte
Williams (5 Hope St) of 3. Tenants varied from Cornelius O'Leary, labourer, to John
Grieg engine driver. Fred (engine driver) and Lily Bishop owned and occupied
number 1 in the period 1920s-40s.
Associations: Martin Charles Joshua and Fred (engine driver) and
Beatrice Williams Lily Bishop

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

These houses are significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as distinctive row house form in an otherwise detached villa domain (criterion B2) ;
- for the recognisably earlier construction date than most nearby houses showing
them as a railway inspired speculation which did not spread beyond the immediate
area (criterion A4) ;
- for their cast-iron, cement and brickwork ornamentation, typical of the 19th century
domestic design (criterion D2);
- for the association with local identity, Williams (criterion H1); and
- for their contribution to a small streetscape in this part of Hope St which is
enhanced by the notable railway station building nearby (criterion F1).
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Canon: 90, 102
Janette Mackenzie, 1998: from 1 Hope Street phoned. Janette is going to endeavour to contact a man
who lived in the house next door and could provide a great oral history for us on the group.
Apparently he knows the original architect's son who is still alive and lives in Williamstown.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
(Victorian-era ) and the Williams tenure:
the place;

Name of place: Afon Rhos Cottage (5) and house (7)

Other Names
Address 5-7 Hope Street Cultural Significance: City

Houses and title land with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being the 1890s.
Description
These two brick detached `row' houses are identical, with their common parapeted
form, convex verandah roof and Victorian-era timber and cast-iron verandah with
paired posts. The guilloche pattern and arched parapet entablature are common to
both as is the coloured brickwork of the front elevation. The existing timber fences are
related to the construction date of the houses. They are paired with the altered 1-3
Hope St to provide a distinctive streetscape in this area, near the Spotswood Railway
Station which no doubt inspired their construction.
The four houses have a contribution to a small streetscape in this part of Hope St
which is enhanced by the notable railway station building nearby.

External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
Contributory part of Spotswood Residential Precinct, being close to the railway station and distinctively early
elements in the surrounding residential area.
Masonry 19th century row house types are uncommon in the City, most of the examples being in this street.
History and themes
History
Hope Street was part of LP2966, being a subdivision of CA16, CP 7, parish of Cut
Paw Paw: it was lodged by the ill-fated land boom solicitor firm Fink, Best &
Phillips in 1890 and declared by Robert Poole.
These 4 room brick houses were built in 1891 for Robert Williams, an engine driver,
and 5 was occupied by him for a time after Alex Scott, stationmaster, and Fred
Thornton. The `Victoria Government Gazette' 1914 listing of railways employees
noted one Robert (James) Williams who was a Roadmaster, Ways & Works Branch.
He was born in 1856 and had joined the railways in 1877.
The house was in Mrs Charlotte Williams name around World War One and in
Beatrice Williams name (of 15 Hope St) in the 1930s-50s, with the family also
residing there after the war. Robert Williams then classed himself as a gentleman.
Beatrice and Robert Thomas Williams (Robert's son?) lost their 3 year old son
Robert Newton Williams in 1923: Robert Thomas Williams died one year later, aged
29, possibly as an indication of some family tragedy.
A tenant in the 1940s-50s was glass worker, Jack Picone, presumably working at the
nearby ACI plant.
A Robert Williams was the member for Melbourne West province in 1922: he was
Judge Williams father and a leading member of the local Welsh Church..
Associations: Robert Williams Charles Joshua and
Beatrice Williams

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
These houses are significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as distinctive row house form in an otherwise detached villa domain of the City
(criterion B2) ;
- for the recognisably earlier construction date than most nearby houses showing
them as a railway inspired speculation which did not spread beyond the immediate
area (criterion A4) ;
- for their cast-iron, cement and brickwork ornamentation, typical of the 19th century
domestic design (criterion D2);
- for the association with local identity, Williams (criterion H1); and
- for their contribution to a small streetscape in this part of Hope St which is
enhanced by the notable railway station building nearby (criterion F1).
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
the Williams tenure:
the place;

Name of place: Spottiswoode Hotel

Other Names
Address 56 Hudsons Road Cultural Significance: Regional
Site Type Hotel Map (Melway) 41H12

Building and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, the 1880s.
Description
This is a cemented two storey Italian Renaissance Revival hotel design sited on a
corner close to the Spotswood Railway Station and the site of early industrial
complexes like Robinson's and the bottle works. It compares with the similar designs
in the east, west and northern inner suburbs by the architect, Wolf (see Union Hotel,
Union Road, Moonee Ponds), but is more austere. Only the openings and parapet are
ornamented, leaving the balance of the façade without trabeation or further
embellishment - contrasting with the ornate designs by Wolf.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

substantially intact/some intrusions, signs and minor changes to openings.

Context:
Contributory part of Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong Railway Precinct, being close to the railway station
and a distinctively early element in the surrounding residential area.
This hotel is a landmark in this part of the City being earlier than most buildings around it and is paralleled
only by the Newport Hotel and Williamstown examples, such as the more ornate Yacht Club and Royal Hotels.
History and themes
History
also purchased 119 acres in the area that was later named after him and began a dairy
farm.{ Barnard, 1999}.
Specific history
The Spottiswoode Hotel was built for George Spottiswoode (also known as
Spotswood) in 1888, with 38 rooms and of brick. George leased the hotel to George
Chard in the 1890s but with the expansion of the Castlemaine Brewery Ltd in the
early 1900s, this hotel was acquired and Henry Salmon took over as licensee.
Salmon remained there for a long period and eventually purchased the freehold, with
Henry Luckie and Clifford Dore among his licensees. Harry Fowler the company-
owner of the Junction Hotel was the licensee in c1940.
George Spottiswoode was born 1841 the son of John Stewart Spottiswoode in 1840
and is thought to have been one of the earliest born natives of Williamstown.
Official records have John and Ann (nee Normandale) as wed in 1841. John
Spotswood died in 1851 aged 42, a declared member of the parish of St James
Church of England { VPI}. His widow married Thomas Hand a year later, at St
James.
Ann was later known locally as Granny Spottiswoode' and died in 1891 aged 83,
from an accident. Then she was recorded as the oldest female Colonist, having first
landed in Australia on the ship John Barry' in 1827 as a lady's help'. She went with
her master and mistress to Van Diemans land and there met her future husband who
was a retired officer of the British Army. They came to Victoria in 1839, initially
lodging at the Ship Inn at Williamstown. It was at the then primitive Spottiswoode
residence that a Mrs Carey is said to have given birth to the first white child born in
Williamstown 1840 (before John and Ann were wed?): this child became Mrs
Robert Lamont. Elsum also writes that Mrs Spottiswoode was the mother of Lady
Seddon, wife of Sir Richard Seddon, one time premier of New Zealand. This appears

to be an error as it was Louisa Jane Spotswood who married Richard John Seddon in
1869. The suburb of Seddon was named after the family. { Elsum: 17, 144}.
George married Sarah Ann Clark in 1863 and the two had produced a daughter,
Elizabeth, by 1864, and Amelia by 1872 { VPI}. Two years later Sarah gave birth to
George junior who died at birth. Emily was another addition to the family in 1876.
What must have been mistakenly recorded as the progeny of George Spotswood and
a Mary Kilchrist was a daughter Margaret born at Williamstown in 1877: subsequent
records indicate that the father was John, George's brother. Meanwhile another
George junior George was born to Sarah and George in 1879.
Associations: George Spottiswoode Castlemaine Brewery Ltd

Lodging people

Other Subtheme:
Significance

Spottiswoode Hotel is significant to the Western Region:
- for its association with Spottiswoode (or Spotswood) family whose name is well
known within the region and is repeated in the name of this suburb (criterion H1);
- as a well preserved if austere example of the Italian Renaissance Revival style, often
associated with hotels built near railway stations (criterion F1, D2);
- as a landmark quasi-public building in the area which remained without a domestic
context for many years, serving instead local factory complexes, and is well known
within the community (criterion A4, G1).
Documentation
References

`City of Williamstown Conservation Study' 1993 (WCS) upgrade of value;

Heritage Study;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
the Spottiswoode tenure:
the place;

Name of place: Spotswood State Savings Bank

Other Names
Address 98 Hudsons Road Cultural Significance: City
Spotswood Creation date(s): 1928-9
Site Type Bank Map (Melway) 41H12

The building and land to the extent of the title with emphasis on fabric from the inter-war period.
Description
This two storey cemented and red brick bank and residence is landmark in the area,
prominently displayed on a corner site. It has public building status as the sole long
term bank branch in the Spotswood area. The façade is designed in the Greek Revival
manner popular in the 1920s, with a stepped parapet, and has a deep upper level
balcony facing the street to serve the residence.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions- altered ground level

Context:
Early part of the Spotswood commercial strip.
Although relatively austere, this is the only early 20th century bank design in the City (see also later bank
buildings at Altona and 19th century ones at Williamstown and Newport).
History and themes
History
him...Spotswood Station opened as Edom in 1878, became Spottiswoode in 1881
and Spotswood in 1905.{ Barnard, 1999}
Specific history
This State Savings Bank was erected in 1928-9 under the management of Stanley D
Harkness, at the height of the international financial crisis. It had 8 rooms and houses
5 persons. John M Dougall. Arthur Kemp and Eric Fraser were later managers there.
State Banks branches built at that time included those at Alphington, Croydon,
Malvern East, Camberwell and Blackburn: they were designed by a group of
designers including Smith & Ogg, Godfrey & Spowers, Stephenson & Meldrum and
WH Tunbridge.
Associations: State Savings Bank Stanley D Harkness Smith & Ogg?

Financing Australia
PAHT Subtheme: Financing Australia

Other Subtheme:
Significance


Spotswood State Savings Bank is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- as a superior 20th century custom design, judged within the region, in the Greek
Revival manner and sited prominently at a corner (criterion F1);
- for having existed on this site in this form throughout a major part of the Hudson
Road commercial precinct's history, dating from near its beginning (criterion A4);
and
- as a long-term public building in the region, having acquired public recognition for
its role in the community (criterion G1)
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Trethowan, 1976. Banks of Victoria.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
(inter-war era ) and fabric from the bank tenure as a secondary consideration.
the place;

the place;
conservation;

Name of place: Raleigh's Boiling-down Works archaeological

site (City of Maribyrnong) and the Victorian
Meat Preserving Company archaeological site
Other Names Mobil Yarraville Terminal
Address off Hyde St Cultural Significance: Regional
Yarraville Creation date(s): 1840s, 1860s-
Site Type Factory, meat processing Map (Melway) 42C11

The existing title land holding the Mobil tank farm, Melway 42C11- precise extent to be determined by archaeological examination
based on the MMBW Record Plan cited.
Description
The Victorian Meat Preserving Company site is an archaeological site only with the
Mobil tank farm covering the site. The building foundations and wharf of the Victoria
Meat Preserving complex will lie beneath the tanks and the bund on the north side of
the Stony Creek Backwash.
The Raleigh's Boiling-down Works archaeological site is in the City of Maribyrnong

and located within the Pivot Fertiliser complex.

External Condition:
Substantially destroyed or removed
External Integrity:
grossly modified
Context:
Part of the Spotswood Industrial Precinct, set near a river frontage on flat land, now surrounded by more recent
industrial development.
As the first documented industrial site in the region, this is potential significant but lacks original fabric,
requiring further identification. Other surviving industrial structures of comparable age include parts of the
CSR complex and the other Victorian Meat Preserving Company further north on the Maribyrnong River.
History and themes
History
Much of Melbourne's western region became associated with meat and meat- by-
products in the mid to late nineteenth century and some of these industries were
located within, and just outside, the City of Hobsons Bay. Joseph Raleigh, whose
name was later associated with meat works at Maribyrnong, had a very early meat
salting establishment on the river at Yarraville, where the Mobil Oil Depot is now
situated. Raleigh's salting works, along with a wharf, is shown on a map dated 1844,
though it did not remain at this site for very long.' { Barnard, 1999}
Specific History
Raleigh's Australia Felix Salting and Melting Co

John Lack traces Raleigh's movements in his history of Footscray, noting that
Raleigh's Australia Felix Salting and Melting Co was leased from early in 1845 to
the early 1850s. The works were thought to have been on the Maribyrnong River,
south of the original Yarra River junction { Lack: 34-6}. Raleigh was one of a group
of boiling down works along the river, each attempting to make some money out of
the near worthless sheep during the depression in the wool trade of the 1840s.
However even with the finding of gold and a gain in prosperity, the boiling down
works remained. There was one description of a job held there (or at Raleigh's
Maribyrnong works) by John Chandler in the 1850s, having to feed some 600 pigs
on the refuse (sheep remains) of the boiling down works. … It was a very dirty job.
They were a very bad lot of men'. Raleigh was also active further north along the
river as the proprietor of a punt at the crossing of Maribyrnong Rd up until its
replacement in 1858 by a pontoon bridge { Lack: 74}.
Hoddle's Plan of 7 Allotments .. In the parish of Cut-Paw-Paw' shows seven

`suburban lots', each of 12-13 acres, facing the Maribyrnong River, just south of the

Yarra junction. These were noted on the plan as having been offered for sale in 1845
and a wharf was noted at the junction of lots 1 &2, with a fenced yard shown on lot
2.. A more detailed plan (Feature Plan 524) shows `Mr Raleigh's Salting
Establishment' and a wharf as above, with the lots owners being W Lonsdale and DC
McArthur (lot1) and George Annand (lot 2). A three-rail fence extended southward
to meet a lagoon. The title was `Plan of 7 allotments …. As recently marked out by
Robert Hoddle Surveyor October 1844 applicant to purchase Mr Raleigh'.
A later parish plan (c1850s-60s) shows Raleigh's Boiling Down establishment and a
Wharf noted on these lots (1&2) south of the junction of Somerville Rd with the
river. This site is currently occupied by Pivot Fertiliser and is in the City of
Maribyrnong.
The Commander Cox 1864 plan of the lower Maribyrnong River shows the southern
limits of civilisation as Somerville Rd where Hyde Street ended and Whitehall Street
crossed but only for a short distance. The plan shows the two lots occupied by
Raleigh extending to Whitehall St on the west and served by two piers and one more
pencilled in. An embankment is shown on the east end of lot one, descending to the
river's edge. Three buildings scattered randomly at the centre were on lot one and a
quarry hole at the west end. Two buildings were on lot 2 at the centre south of the
lot. Nothing is shown of the complex later known as the Victoria Meat Preserving
Works.
Victoria Meat Preserving Works

This complex was one of seven meat preserving works established in the period
c1868-71 to tap new technology which offered the canning process to preserve meat,
on similar sites to the 1840s boiling down works, along the Maribyrnong River. One
set up at Maribyrnong and five located in Footscray. Stock could be walked in from
the western plains and the vacant land nearby served as holding paddocks. The
product could be taken down stream to the deep sea ports at Williamstown. The
success of meat preserving is thought to have been the basis of a brief population
boom, 1868-70. By the end of 1871 all had closed { Lack: 91}.
A plan of c1880 shows the Victoria Meat Preserving complex at the end of Hyde
St on the east side. The site faced a major inlet connected with the mouth of the
Stony Creek with a wharf protruding from the complex into it. The MMBW plan of
1894 shows the complex as two groups of buildings, one set at Hyde St with four
timber wings and the other set opposite the end of a wharf-like promontory, being
three large masonry wings. The two sites, Raleigh's and the Victoria Meat Preserving
complex, may have been quite separate. While the Victorian Meat Preserving
Works is clearly shown on MMBW plans, on the northern shore of the Stony Creek
Backwash where landscaping has been carried out beside the Mobil terminal fence,
Raleigh’s works had river access and was probably close to the Yarra bank about

100 metres south of Francis Street within the loading area or the Mobil Terminal.
This area is now Mobil’s Yarraville Terminal and south of the site is the recently
constructed Stony Creek Backwash. The excavation of the Holden Oil Dock and
filling of the river banks and former swamps have changed the shoreline, but there
may be buried archaeological evidence of both sites.
Associations: Joseph Raleigh

Feeding people
PAHT Subtheme: Feeding people

Other Subtheme:
Significance

Raleigh's Boiling-down Works site later Victorian Meat Preserving Company site is
significant to the Cities of Hobsons Bay & Maribyrnong;
- as the known site of one of the earliest meat processing plants in the Colony
(criterion A4) ;
- as a link with the major meat processing industry development which followed in
the Western Region (criterion A4).
The Victorian Meat Preserving Company is significant to the Cities of Hobsons Bay
& Maribyrnong:
- as the known site of one of only seven meat preserving works set up in Melbourne
in a brief period within the 1860s (Criterion A4);
- as a link with the major meat processing industry development which followed in
the Western region (criterion A4).
Documentation

References
Melbourne's Living Museum of the West, Gary Vines and Andrew Ward and Associates, Western
Region Industrial Heritage Study, 1989?
Gary Vines, Melbourne's Industrial Heartland, `Trust News', Vol 18, No. 2, August 1989
Hoddle, R 1844. `Plan of 7 allotments …. As recently marked out by Robert Hoddle Surveyor
October 1844 applicant to purchase Mr Raleigh' ( Feature Plan 524), Land and Survey Information
Centre;
Cox, 1864. `Misc. Coastal Survey 40';
Map MD1C, Selwyn 'Cut Paw Paw, Truganina, Melbourne Williamstown', 1859, Land and Survey
Information Centre
Melbourne Harbour Trust `Piers at Williamstown' c1880 (copy held by the Living Museum of the
West);
Melbourne Harbour Trust `West Melbourne Swamp and Yarra River' c1910 (copy held by the Living
Museum of the West);
Hoddle, R 1844. `Plan of 7 Allotments .. In the parish of Cut-Paw-Paw' and `C/1 Sydney (6230)'
shows suburban lots noted as sold 1845;
Lack, 1991. À History of Footscray': 34, 36, 42, 44, 45, 74
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1840s, 1860s-70s
development phases:

- To conduct an archaeological examination of the place to confirm surviving

remains and a survey to determine their precise location and then reassess
conservation measures.

Name of place: Pridmore house

Other Names
Address 8 Junction St Cultural Significance: City

House and title land with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being the 1920s.
Description
This is a Californian Bungalow style weatherboard house with fine coloured
glasswork and bayed windows. It has the overlapping gables and recessed porch of
the style, with half-timbered gabled ends, Marseilles pattern terra-cotta tiling and
decorative terra-cotta finials. It is part group of similarly aged houses. There is a
Victorian-era reproduction picket fence in front of the building.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Contributory part of the Newport Residential Precinct, being mainly Edwardian-era and inter-war detached
housing.
A good example of a common style which is well represented in this precinct.
History and themes
History
EP Pridmore purchased lot 88 in this estate around 1922 and built this house for his
own use, albeit briefly. By 1930 it was owned by the William H Kennedy Trust and
occupied by Rose Kennedy. George T Smith was the tenant there in the mid 1930s
while John Temby, a fitter, was the owner-occupier in 1940. Frances E Dunne had
replaced him by 1945.
Pridmore died at Footscray in 1956 aged 72: he was the son of Edwin & Margaret.
Associations: EP Pridmore William H Kennedy Frances E Dunne

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

This house is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a superior example of the Californian Bungalow style in the City context, with
distinctive window bays and coloured glasswork (criterion F1);
- as an exemplar from a major growth period in this part of the City in the post World
War One era (criterion A4); and
- as contributory place in a similarly aged domestic streetscape (criterion A4) .

Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the inter-war period:
the place;

Name of place: Laverton State School, former SS2857

Other Names Laverton Primary School
Address Kiora St Cultural Significance: Regional
Laverton Creation date(s): 1888c
Site Type School Map (Melway) 53F11

School and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being the 1880s.
Description
This is a gabled rendered brick school sited at the SE corner with Cameron Avenue.
The roof is clad with slates and the gable ends trussed, with ornamental finials. A
gabled porch is at each end. The main windows have been replaced, as documented in
the history.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions- window hoods have been added to the side windows, the shelter
has been removed on the west side, and a related picket fence erected on the boundary.

Context:
Set in a much later residential domain, distinctive because of its age and form.
This school is uncommon in the Region for the combination of its age, materials and high external integrity.
Located as it is among much later housing, the school is landmark in the area.
History and themes
History
At Laverton, in 1886 developer and auctioneer C.R. Staples commissioned 'well-
known surveyors' Bruford and Brain to design a township and induced the Railways
to build a station on the Geelong Railway line here. The planned township was
between the railway line and the current line of the Princes Freeway, south of
Laverton Station. Staples' marketing brochure assured would-be buyers that all the
streets were sixty-six feet wide, that reserves for public buildings had been set aside,
over 25 acres had been allowed for parks and recreation reserves and that it was
planned to be a 'really model suburb'. Staples argued that, as the township was only
ten minutes' travel from employment at the proposed railway workshops at Newport,
it would surely increase in value. By 1901, Laverton had a population of only 125,
which fell by 20 in the next ten years. { Barnard, 1999}
In 1886 local people were writing to the government seeking a school building.
Fifteen school age children were to be provided for initially, on a half time basis, and
land was available free of charge from Staples & Wise (CA 3, 3A/3). The
surrounding population was considered a permanent' one. No building resulted such
that the new Wesleyan Church was offered for rent as a school in 1887. The church
was a simple Gothic revival structure 25 feet by 18 feet: it was taken on a temporary
basis given that the local Board of Advice considered it an unsuitable size for school
use. The present school was completed in September 1888, measuring a more
substantial 36 feet by 20 feet. { VPRO} The cost was £700. Teachers included
Elizabeth Strahan, and Ada Waldron. A temporary teacher, Isabel Bannister, wrote to
the Department that the bricks were coming loose over one of the doors and the
slates needed repairing in 1899. Ada Newing complained in 1907 that a fence was
needed to stop wandering cattle from entering the grounds and destroying
everything'.
The school went through the usual window and floor modifications dealt out to 19th
century schools in 1935 under the direction of PWD Chief Architect, Percy Everett.
The former segment arched main windows (see remaining side wall windows), front
and back, were each replaced with a three-light multi-pane window group. The old
gallery or stepped floor was removed and new flat flooring installed on new stumps
and bearers. Then the school consisted of one large classroom, a cloak room entry
and a rear porch, a timber shelter shed on the west side and tank stands at thee

corners. The rear door was also replaced in 1935{ PWD 21/2/35}.
After reports of small school yard, the Department purchased additional land in 1926
but an inspector still found the grounds insufficient in 1945. A new site was
acquired in Epson St and two prefabricated classrooms were erected 1950-1. The
school opened there in March 1951 with 65 pupils. Classrooms were added in 1956,
1959, and 1969 such that yet another school was opened in Armstrong St June 1960.
… the old brick school house was sold to a family who lived in it for some years.
When vacated, it lay empty and fell into disrepair. In 1988 it was saved from
demolition and the local community and Werribee Council restored the building. It
re-opened as an Arts and Crafts and Community Building{ Barnard, 1999}.
Associations: Victorian Colonial
Government

Educating
PAHT Subtheme: Establishing schools

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
Laverton primary school, former SS2857 is significant to the Western Region:
- as one of a small number of well preserved 19th century schools in the region
(criterion B2);
recognisable as the oldest building in the locality, standing out as a once isolated
structure serving a rural community (criterion A4); and
- as the focus of the local community over a long period and the subject of recent
extensive community action to seek its preservation (criterion G1) .
Documentation

References
Blake, LJ 1973. `Vision & Realisation', v3: 98;
Heritage Study;
National Trust of Australia 5768 file has Save Our School, typescript history with extract from
`Vision & Realisation';
Victorian Public Records Office (VPRO) SS2857 School Building Files VPRS 795/1674
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
the place where elements include buildings, objects, trees, yarding, paving,
original elements;
the place;
conservation;

Name of place: Commonwealth Oil Refinery (COR) complex,

offices & refinery site, later part BP complex
Other Names COR, Altona Petrochemical Contributory
Address off Kororoit Creek Road Cultural Significance: City
Altona Creation date(s): 1921-22
Site Type Oil refinery Map (Melway) 54GH5

Buildings including a red brick hipped and gable roof former office building and a small hipped roof red brick building plus former
sidings including the bridge over the creek, and land within nominally 5m of each building, with emphasis on fabric from the main
construction period, the 1920s.
Description
This complex includes:
- a red brick hipped and gable roof former office building with small pedimented
parapets and cemented cornices over windows and doors;
- remains of former sidings including bridge over the creek, now disconnected from
main line.; and
- a small hipped roof red brick building c1940s steel windows soldier course over
windows to north

This was part of Australia's first refinery, set on 400 acres. There was formerly a
`COR' railway station nearby.
External Condition:
Part in fair condition.
External Integrity:
substantially changed/major intrusions- much of the complex has been removed.
Context:
Set in a flat open landscape between major industrial development.
As part of the first Australian oil refinery there is no comparison, although severely depleted in original fabric.
History and themes
History
In 1922 Australia's first oil refinery, Commonwealth Oil Refineries (COR), was
established jointly by the Commonwealth Government and the Anglo-Persian Oil
Company. It was located on Kororoit Creek, north of Kororoit Creek Road. The
refinery was connected by pipeline to a wharf at Point Gellibrand where oil tankers
unloaded crude oil into storage tanks, from which it was piped to the refinery.
Effluent from the refinery travelled by pipeline beside the creek and was released
eighteen yards into the Bay, near the Williamstown Racecourse. The refinery is said
to have pioneered welded, rather than riveted storage tanks, possibly the first of their
kind in the world. The Commonwealth sold its shares in COR in 1952. Three years
later the refinery closed when the owners, now BP Australia Ltd, opened a new
refinery in Western Australia. BP Australia's Altona Terminal still occupies the site
of the original refinery, where some of the original tanks and office buildings
remain. The storage tanks at Spotswood are also now owned by BP. Some of the
storage tanks at Ampol's storage depot at Spotswood also date back to this early
refining venture. They were built for Alba Petroleum , which eventually became
Ampol{ Barnard, 1999}.
Ambrose Pratt's The National Handbook of Australia's Industries' of 1934 gives the
COR formation date as 1920 and the partners as The Australian Government and
Anglo-Persian Oil which, itself, had the British Government as a partner since 1914
to ensure oil supplies during WW1. Pratt stated that the refinery had commenced
operation in 1924 and described the new Laverton works as producing motor spirits,
kerosene, and fuel oils of high quality and marketing centres were established to
cover the chief interstate centres'. The crude oil came from Persian oil fields near the
Karun river and were piped 150 miles to the Abadan port. The British Tanker
company's vessels then took it to the storage tanks at the Melbourne (Spotswood)
docks, each of 10,000 tons capacity. From there it was pumped to the Laverton plant
which had been completely modernised in 1932 was then thought comparable with

any other of its type in the world. In 1934 there were 5 COR ocean installations, 21
bulk storage depots, hundreds of COR depot agents and several thousand kerbside
pumps serving the four States. Apart from the welded storage tanks, Pratt observed
that COR had pioneered road tanker design and the planning and construction of
country depots. The product itself had set a standard that the other distributors
followed, for example the introduction to Australian petrol of tetra-ethyl lead in 1932
to allow for the modern high compression engine { Pratt: 80}.
A tank farm, with two lines of four circular tanks set in bunds, was shown there in
c1924 with the rest of the complex sited west of the Kororoit Creek, east of the line
of Grieve Pde and north of Kororoit Creek Road. A forked spur line ran off the main
railway { Priestley: 164}. A number of structures, a tall brick chimney, long gabled
stores next to the transport lines and a group of smaller tanks were located south-
west of the tanks farm. An aerial view of 1945 shows a similar complex. More larger
tanks were located over the creek north of the main railway. The surviving building
was shown at the road entry point to the complex from Kororoit Creek Rd on the
south. What may have been four associated housing blocks faced Kororoit Creek
Road west of the entry road junction.
Associations: Commonwealth Oil BP Australia
Refineries

Working

Other Subtheme: Working in offices
Significance

B.2 Rarity
Commonwealth Oil Refinery (COR) complex, offices & refinery site, later part BP
complex is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- as one of the few surviving parts of Australia's earliest commercial oil refining

complex which once included this brick office structure, a wharf on the Yarra River
used to unload imported crude oil, the crude oil storage tanks (2 early examples
survive), and the pipeline to the COR refinery at Altona North (criteria A4, B2).
Documentation
References
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 163- aerial photo 164 cites State Library of Victoria;
Gary Vines, 1989. Western Region Industrial Heritage Study, Melbourne's Western Region Cultural
Heritage Study, (Melbourne's Living Museum of the West), site 180 graded B - cites Àltona City
Council': 16; Jiricek, F 2:2; `National Handbook of Australian Industry': 80;
Heritage Study;
Pratt, A 1934. `The National Handbook of Australia's Industries': 80 pic and article;
Land Victoria aerial photo Run 19W Film 58190 Melbourne & Metropolitan Area December 1945
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1920s construction
period as identified:
the place where elements include buildings, objects, paving, landscape, tramlines,
roadways and land within nominally 10m of the walls of the former offices- this
might also include retention of the route of the connecting railway sidings, possibly
as a pedestrian path, to retain the context and sense of association with the other
adjoining petrochemical sites;
- further research the place using oral sources and provide further interpretive public

information.

Name of place: Railway bridge & stone ford over the Laverton
Creek, part Melbourne - Geelong Railway
Other Names
Address over Laverton Ck. Cultural Significance: Regional
Altona Creation date(s): 1859, rebuilt
Site Type Bridge, rail Map (Melway) 53F9

The bridge and ford plus land within nominally 5m of its perimeter with emphasis on fabric from the bridge and ford construction dates.
Description
The 1850s coursed basalt abutments have drafted margins and a splayed plinth. The
bridge beam, originally wrought iron girders, has been replaced with pre-stressed
girders, with modifications to the bearing surface at the top of the stone work.
Pilasters to the abutments also appear to have been trimmed above track level. The
approach road is evidently of “Telford” type construction, of basalt boulders set in the
natural clay on a camber, with a crushed rock wearing surface and bare basalt pitchers
in the ford section.
This is an unusual combination of road ford and rail bridge in the Melbourne area

which compares directly with the Black Arch or Duke Street ford in Tottenham, but
more generally with the former Neil Road ford Deer Park, Clarke’s Road ford
Rockbank and Cobbledicks Ford, Werribee. Many fords have a natural stone base.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions- beams replaced
Context:
Set in a flat open landscape near major industrial development.
There are similar stone abutments on this line but none with a stone paved ford under. Bridges of this age are
found only on the railways or at the old Geelong Road deviation at Brooklyn (q.v.).
History and themes
History
Historical context
Two of Victoria's earliest railway lines were begun (in the City of Hobsons Bay ) by
private companies in the 1850s, though both were soon taken over by the
government. Private railways figured again later when the spur to Williamstown
racecourse was extended to Altona by the company developing an estate here.
The Geelong and Williamstown Railway Lines
The first two railway lines through the ( the City of Hobsons Bay) were proposed by
private companies in 1852. The Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company
proposed connecting Geelong and Melbourne with a line that joined the proposed
Melbourne to Williamstown line at Greenwich (later Newport). Work began on the
Geelong-Melbourne line in 1853 but, with the Williamstown line not completed, a
temporary spur line was constructed from the proposed railway junction at
Greenwich to a specially-constructed jetty, Greenwich Pier. Initially this spur line
was built solely to carry material needed for the construction of the railway. When
the Geelong line was completed in 1857, however, the Government gave permission
for the line between the proposed Williamstown railway and the pier to be used for
passenger traffic. The train connected with a steamer to carry passengers from
Greenwich Pier to Melbourne. The Geelong -Melbourne line, which crossed the
pastoral and farming country of North Altona and Newport, was opened in June
1857. A wooden bridge with rubble stone piles and abutments carried the line over
Kororoit Creek. Local landowners were not happy with this arrangement so it was
not long before the Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company was forced to
terminate the rail journey from Geelong at "new Platform', which is thought to have

been the location of the present Newport Station. Passengers had to walk from the
station to the pier to catch the steamer. The pier and the spur line were removed and
by October 1857 the Geelong -Melbourne line began running through to a temporary
station at Williamstown Pier on the newly-constructed Williamstown-Melbourne
line. The Geelong Railway Line was sold to the Government in 1860. { Barnard,
1999}
to Melbourne.
Specific History
On the evidence of construction technique, the road across the ford and on the
immediate approaches, appears to be contemporary with the bridge (therefore
1850s). However, parish plans and the 1933 military ordnance survey, do not show a
road crossing here but rather continuing parallel on the south of the rail line to a
level crossing about 500 metres to the east, then turning westward to rejoin
Explosives Road about 200 metres north of the bridge. It is also evident that the
explosives siding terminated south of the railway in 1915, and only later was
extended under the rail and linked to Laverton Station, so that the ford and road
construction may date from this period. The use of stone for a well traversed
roadway was not uncommon in this period and in this area, given the easy
availability of stone and the ability of the surface to take heavy vehicles.
Associations: Geelong and Melbourne Victorian Colonial
Railway Company Government

PAHT Subtheme:
Other Subtheme:
Significance


B.2 Rarity
This stone bridge abutment and ford over the Laverton Creek are significant to the
Western Region:
- as original and contributory parts of the earliest railway line to cross the region
(criterion A4);
- one of a small group of stone railway bridges from the 1850s in the region
(criterion B2); and
- the only ford paved with shaped or worked stone in the City (criterion B2); and
- an unusual combination of road ford and rail bridge in the Melbourne area
(Criterion B2).
Documentation
References
Vines, G. 1999 from Stage One of the Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts Heritage Study 1999
part former Explosives Road;
Heritage Study.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
(1860s ) and existing road pavement area to provide a context.
the place where elements include bridge structure, paving, road reserve and where
the place;

Name of place: Fishing Village, anglers clubs, boat sheds

Other Names Kororoit Creek Angling Club, Brunswick City Anglers Club
Address off Maddox Road, JT Gray Reserve Cultural Significance: Local (farm house, palms)
Access Road
Williamstown Creation date(s): 1920s-
Site Type Clubrooms Map (Melway) 55F8

The former farm house building (138 Maddox Rd), two Canary Island palms at Brunswick City Anglers Clubhouse and land within
nominally 5m of each element's perimeter with emphasis on fabric from the inter-war period.
Description
Group of informal structures at the south end of Maddox Road, some early, on
Kororoit Creek bank and grouped along an unformed dirt track parallel with the creek.
Starting at the western end of the complex:
Facing the Gray Reserve Access Road, in order east to west:

25 Kororoit Creek Angling Club flat roofed part weatherboard clad, extended over
many periods, has feature brick chimney with the club emblem thereon;
24 Flat roof corrugated iron clad shed;

23 Gabled Myer garage type crimped metal clad shed, called Club 23;
21 Recently built Colorbond crimped metal clad shed;
20? Vertical corrugated iron clad shed, earlier vintage, possibly inter-war;
17 Vertical boarded and corrugated iron clad shack;
15? Vertical corrugated iron clad shed;
? crimped metal clad prefabricated garage type shed;
flat roofed corrugated iron clad (vertical) shed;
Access way to jetties along creek with numerous boats etc.;
Gabled corrugated iron clad silver coloured shed;
Similar shed, but set-back from track;
Similar shallow gabled roof form, set back;
10 Recently built galvanised corrugated iron clad garage type;
9 Vertical corrugated iron clad gabled shed, earlier than most;
8 Asbestos cement clad cottage with recent bluestone chimney and mature Monterey
cypress at the front;
7 vertical corrugated iron clad, gabled possibly 1950s;
Brunswick City Anglers Club (meetings first Tuesday every month) - large
Castlemaine slate and brick clad building, with two large Canary Island date palms,
two colours of brick (cream brick next to river) in walls indicate stages, as does
sawtooth profile roof;
Cement sheet clad inter-war building;
1-2? Corrugated iron clad gabled building linked with cement sheet wing, with fish
motif at front;
Maddox Rd address
140 Maddox Rd called The Shack,
138 double fronted weatherboard house with corrugated iron clad hipped roof, red
brick corbelled chimney, new verandah on north side and timber framed windows
typical of period c1920-30, a mailbox has 17 on it;
142 VDAC long gabled weatherboard house, c1920 with new garage and sheds at the
rear, being the easternmost building of the group.
The character of the group is typically ad-hoc beach shack construction with the
exception of 138 and part of 142, being the early core of the place, and possibly two
altered inter-war boat sheds with some mature planting like the Canary Island palm.
The later substantial club rooms such as the BCAC and KCAC dominate. These
buildings are representative of post WW2 recreational activity but have been altered
since then, providing a diluted expression of this period. The few inter-war boat sheds
have also been altered. Only the former farm house suggests a specific period and its
former use is reinforced by the rural setting.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

substantially changed/major intrusions

Context:
Set in open coastal landscape, next to the creek and reserves.
The location is unusual and parallels other informal water-side groupings or structures such as the beach shacks
further west along the coast facing Corio Bay, a group of fishing shacks at Lakes Entrance or the rocky
mooring created at the end of Bayview St in Williamstown which was made famous by the Percival painting.
More numerous and more formal recreational facilities are dotted along the coast in the form of life saving club
houses, yacht clubs and the like: some are much earlier (Williamstown Life Saving Club and former rifle range
pavilion) than any on this site. There are few former farm houses in this part of the City, the most famous being
the former Laverton homestead.
History and themes
History
Now part of the JT Gray Reserve, the so-called fishing village is owned by the
Hobsons Bay Council. The land around the site was granted to William Ford Knight
of Williamstown 16 November 1864 as lot D2/3 Cut-Paw-Paw parish as 13 acres.
He paid £33/5/-. The next owner, in 1907, was Arthur E Knowles of 57 Ferguson St,
North Williamstown. He was then the subject of a writ of Fieri Facias served by
Robert Gunn and William Francis Hindson. Knowles mortgaged the property but by
1910 his estate was assigned to Lancelot Cleveland of Queen St, Melbourne who
transferred Knowles property to John G Pennell of Electra St, Williamstown in 1911.
Knowles died in 1915 { Lemon: 184}. Pennell leased part of the land to James
Quinn in 1912. Pennell died May 1917 and probate was granted to George FA Jones,
a Melbourne solicitor and Hugh Jones, a Presbyterian clergyman at Ormond.
John Arthur Knowles was the new owner in 1928, the property being now 63 acres
and including CAs D1, D2/3 and parts CAs E1, E2, F2/3. The land was distributed
between the Kororoit Creek Rd and the Kororoit Creek, either side of a strip of land
owned by others. Mortgages followed in 1936 and in 1947 and 1949 parts of the
land were sold to the Vacuum Oil Company P/L. Another 27 acres were sold to the
City of Williamstown in 1948. This was the site of the Fishing Village (D1, D2).
Rate descriptions of the property are vague, with John Knowles of 70 Electra St,
Williamstown, being the owner of 27.1/2 acres (D1, D2) land with no mention of
buildings: the annual value was £80 { RB1940-1, 2511}. The City of Williamstown
replaces Knowles in 1947-8 { RB1947, 3494}.
In 1945 an aerial view shows a collection of small structures not unlike the present
group of buildings. The existing house (138) is shown fronted by what appears to be
an ornamental garden, with a hedge row on the east of the house. Large sheds are
located on the river bank in front of the house, with an associated landing area. The
other early house-like structure to the east of the house (142) is shown isolated in

open ground. At the back of the larger house is more garden with outbuildings and a
line of sheds up Maddox Rd. On the west side of the road are other garden or
plantation quadrangles. Some of the small sheds facing the creek to the west of the
house have jetties or slipways into the creek. The track they face on the north is
irregular.
A Council plan probably prepared after this date, shows 27 lots laid out with
typically 20 feet frontages perpendicular to the creek along an Access Road' also
known as the JT Gray Reserve Access Road. The buildings on these lots are also
numbered 1-31, with structures on lots 1,-17, 19, 22-3 and 25-27. Another version
of this plan shows added structures on lots 24, 21, and 18 or differently shaped or
missing structures on lots 23, 14. 22, 12, 9, 8, 6, 3, and 1.
Water reticulation was offered by Council to the site in 1966, with a small increase
in rental for the 15 hut occupiers interested in connection. In 1977 the Bristol
Anglers Club applied for a building permit to erect clubrooms on site 24 (20'x75' lot)
but Council refused saying that it was too substantial and would affect the water
course. In the same year the Williamstown Town Clerk told Council that no further
works should be allowed there as the existing huts were detrimental to the amenity
of the adjoining reserve. A 1978 option was to combine all of the clubrooms into
one, with proper facilities and car parking, and all existing huts were to be removed
within 10 years but to no avail. A 1980 scheme included a landscape plan which
reinstated native vegetation, removed weeds and provided a walking path with car
parking and other facilities. A Williamstown Council policy from 15 September
1980 banned any further extension of the leased structures at the village or any
further building on the vacant sites. At the same time the local Kororoit Creek
Progress Association was urging the preservation of boat shed number one and the
extension to the hut occupied by McCarthy (site 9) and Virgona's among other
works.
A Council Health Department report of 1985-6 lists the sites 1-24, based on the 27
lots. Site 1 was occupied by J Virgona's hut, which was equipped largely for
weekend usage', with cooking, refrigeration and sleeping facilities. There was part
allocated to boat storage. Site 2 was F Flata's hut was for occasional overnight stays
and was more spartan: he used the Brunswick anglers Club toilet facilities. Site 3
was occupied by Mrs & Mrs A Thompson's cottage on a near full-time basis (they
spent 2 months of the year interstate) and was consequently fully self-contained.
Their sewerage went into the Brunswick club's septic tank.
The Brunswick Anglers Club (sites 4-6) had only club rooms but their toilet and
washing facilities were used by many of the village residents. Site 7 was J Turner's:
it held a more typical fishing shed, with fish cleaning facilities and little else. H
Thompson's site 8 had bunks and a sink but was reputedly not used frequently. Site 9

was similar and occupied by B McCarthy. Site 10 was a store only, held by R
Schuhm. D Fyke's shed on site 11 was also a store, as was L Hirris's site 12. Site 13
had bunks and a sink and was leased by W Davidson and H Chapman's shed on site
15 houses a boat. The shed on site 16 had bunks and a sin for occasional nightly use
by J White but R Baker's hut 17 had beds, sink and a TV with a clothes line full of
washing at the back. P Davey's hut on site 18 was lined throughout with timber
panelling and although there were no beds, there was a fully equipped kitchen and
lounge. Site 18 also had a stove, sink and bunks and was occupied by J Carruthers
and friends on occasions. Sites 20 and 22 were not tenanted but 21 was occupied by
J Knight for storage. Site 23 had bunks, a sink and storage areas: it was unlined and
not used for habitation. The Kororoit Creek Angling Club (24) was fitted out as a
club with boat storage. It had a septic tank was also used by other tenants.
A 1990 list of tenants showed that the tenants had not changed greatly and most had
an address in the region. One addition t the list was the Bristol Angling Club on site
24 and the Kororoit Creek club occupied sites 25-7. At that time the Williamstown
chief executive sought some fee for the occupation of Council land and asked the
valuer to strike a rent.
A 1996 Council planning report noted that the majority of sheds on the lots had been
extended or converted over time for use as a dwelling, either for occasional or
permanent use. The building regulations have not been met and waste disposal was a
problem given that all sullage from the various basins and sinks went into the creek.
The report cited two large fish processing sheds on the creek with a large cool room
attached and a strong odour of rotting fish. A pile of scallop shells contained rotting
remnants of their former occupants.
Associations: John Arthur Knowles Williamstown Council

Engaging in primary production
PAHT Subtheme: Forming associations

Other Subtheme: Trapping and hunting
Significance


B.2 Rarity
The Fishing Village, a former farm house and a collection of anglers clubs and boat
sheds at the end of Maddox Rd, is of local historical interest:
- as an unusual grouping of structures in terms of its informal tenure, evolution, and
relatively remote waterside location for the metropolitan area (Criterion B2) ; and
- for the former farm house, which is one of the major structures in the group, and is
locally significant for its representation of an early farm house surviving within a
rural setting central to the City (Criterion B2);
- for the two palms which provide some mature introduced landscape as well as being
uncommon in the City (Criterion A4, B2) ; and
- as a setting for recreational activity in the form of anglers clubs who have been on
the site over a long period (Criterion G1).
The former farm house and palms are recommended for conservation as locally
significant (Criterion A4, B2) ; the other elements are below the threshold in criteria
G1, A4, B2.
Documentation
References
Victorian Titles Office (VTO) Crown grant Vol 134, Fol. 26615 and following;
Victorian Titles Office (VTO) Vol 5544/Fol 1108088;
Heritage Study;
Hobsons Bay Council: former City of Williamstown correspondence files and `Property File 7' held
by P Gilleron;
Municipal Rate Book and cards (RB);
Land Victoria aerial photo Melbourne & Metropolitan Area December 1945.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
- To conserve and enhance the contributory elements at the place including the
former farm house (138 Maddox Rd), two Canary Island palms at Brunswick City
Anglers Clubhouse, (and potentially two early boatsheds, 9, ?) plus land where
the place;
- To conserve and enhance the public view of these elements;
and
- carry out an oral history and then reassess the heritage significance of the place.
Planning protection is not recommended as the appropriate tool for conservation of

this place at this time. Council should seek to achieve the above objectives in the
preparation of a management plan for the sites which encompasses heritage aspects.
These recommendations should be re-evaluated if Council sells the property.

Name of place: Maidstone Street House Group Precinct,

Solomit or straw houses
Other Names Miners' houses, Galvin Estate
Address 169- Maidstone St, Seaview Cr Cultural Significance: City
175, 2 1927-8, 1939-
Altona Creation date(s):
Site Type housing estate Map (Melway) 54D12, C8

Houses at 169-175 Maidstone St, Altona and 2 Seaview Cr, Seaholme with title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main
construction period, being 1930s-40s.
Description
The following houses, each group with a distinctive history, make up the precinct:
Solomit or `straw houses', in an Old English style, using straw insulation and render
facing, staggered plan in a group, typical of the late 1930s:
House 175 Maidstone St Altona 1940-1, Melway 54D12

House 169 Maidstone St Altona 1940-1, Melway 54D12 (corner)

Other rendered but more simply designed houses are in the street and may have been
built using the same product. There are also reputed former coal miner houses in
Curlew Ave and Maidstone St, west side, built of weatherboard with red tile roofs.
Potential examples include numbers 3-7, 15 and possibly 2 and 14 Curlew Ave. Most
are typical designs and most have been altered.
The prototype house at 2 Seaview Cr, Seaholme is also a well preserved example of
Solomit construction.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
Set in flat area of mainly later detached housing.
Among the diverse housing development in the Altona area, this group stand out as a distinctive private design
using one theme, as distinct from other speculative housing in the period. The government designs in the same
period also used a pattern design.
History and themes
History
When a coal mine was sunk in 1899 near present day Maidstone Street, a spur line
was again extended to the coal mine to enable heavy equipment to be carried there...
In 1906 the Altona and Morwell Coal development and Option Co. Ltd began a shaft
in what is now Harrington Square Altona. This shaft was enlarged two years later by
the Melbourne and Altona Colliery Company which operated the shaft between 1910
and 1919, extracting about 31,160 tons of brown coal. A historic cairn now marks
the site of this shaft, which was closed when the SEC decided to develop Morwell
instead.
… (a) short-lived coal mine was sunk west of Maidstone St, Altona in 1928, but
closed in 1931. According to David Mortimer, some houses in Maidstone Street
Altona were occupied by miners from the coal mine and after the Second World
War, when an acute shortage of building materials coincided with a building boom
in Altona, bricks from the paved area of the old coal mine were pulled up and used
in the construction of houses. The chimney of the house at 94 Maidstone Street is
said to have been built of these bricks' { Barnard, 1999}.
Specific history
These Solomit or straw reinforced and insulated houses at 169-175 Maidstone St are
thought to be good examples of wartime use of straw in the face of materials
shortages. They were built by 1941 for a reputed cost of around £120, using
compressed straw over what is thought to have been a timber frame, with cement
render over that for a weatherproof exterior finish { D Mortimer, 1999}. Doug Grant
believes that the three houses were built by Woolcot Forbes, a man with a colourful
past, who also built another similar house behind Seaholme railway station at the
corner of Seaview Cr and Station St (2 Seaview Cr).
The houses are on the block bordered by Galvin, Morrow, Maidstone Streets and
Park Parade. The subdivision plan of this block was lodged with the Titles Office, by
Cornwall Stoddart & Company, as the Galvin Estate, in 1941. It was surveyed by G
Little and approved by the Werribee Shire in 1940. The estate owners appear to have
been the Altona Beach Estates, care of Rickard & Company 84 Pitt St, Sydney.
Shire valuers cards list John A R & Doris Hill occupying the house at 169 (lot 1)
from 1941, with an increase in annual value in 1946-7 from £8-£25. The houses at
171-5 were occupied as follows: 171 by Arthur C & Bonnie Stevens; 173 by
William & Doris Fordham; and 175 by James H & Ursula Holmes from 1941. The
last house was owned by Eliza Gray of Toorak from August 1941, with Walter
Whelan as owner from mid 1945.
Aerial views from 1951-54 show grouping of houses either side of Maidstone St
south of the Wren St crossing and then a sparse section to an isolated grouping on
the west side around Park Pde. West of them at about the site of Aberdeen Road was
what appears to be the coal mine dump. South of them is another two or three
houses. W Fordham, Arthur Stevens, Roland Hill and WJ Whelan were still resident
in the straw house' group in the 1950s { D1952}.
The so-called coal miner houses were reputedly built by John Wren and Bell around
1927 along the west side of three streets in the Curlew Avenue, Maidstone Street
area, just north of Blyth St { D Grant}. Doug Grant believes that once they were
every second house in Curlew Ave, clad with white painted weatherboard and
topped with red tile roofs.
The `straw' houses attracted considerable interest, as reported in the `Williamstown

Advertiser' 25 February 1939 and a Melbourne daily, when they came before
Council. The construction was deemed unusual. Termed as workmen's housing for
the Galvin Estate, Little the Werribee Shire Engineer, had requested that a display
house be erected at Seaholme to demonstrate their worth (2 Seaview Cr) in an area
not covered by the Shire's building regulations. Twenty houses were to be built on
the estate if successful. The designer of these houses is thought to have been the

famous commercial and residential architect, Marcus Barlow { A Grey 2000}.
The construction method had been promoted by the then South Australian firm of
Solomit Ltd, being straw plates 4'10" wide erected in a steel frame and plastered over
inside and cement rendered on the outside. What had been originally a German
product, Solomit was insect and sound proof and less costly than brick. The South
Australian Government had built 12 cottages using the material at Pt Pirie { `The
Age' 22.2.1939}. The concept of using compressed straw or other organic materilas
in buildings was carried further by a local Williamstown firm and the still current
Solomit company { Curtain}.
Associations: Altona Beach Estates Woolcot Forbes Marcus Barlow?

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
The Solomit house examples are significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- for their distinctive construction, using unusual and innovatory building techniques
during materials shortages after the outbreak of WW2 (criterion A4, B2);
- for their association with the noted architect Marcus Barlow ( Criterion H1).
There is also another less distinctive house group's association with the ill-fated coal
mining activity in the area (criterion A4, below study threshold because of low
integrity).
Documentation
References

Butler, 1970, Whitlands, MU history investigation

David Mortimer, 1999, pers. com.
Doug K Grant, pers. City of Maribyrnong, 2000 (93982404) cites another source as ER (Ray)
Symons, 163 Blyth St, Altona- relations named Eden had one of the houses;
Victorian Titles Office (VTO) LP15772;
Heritage Study;
Shire of Werribee valuer's cards;
Curtain, C & Weate 1947 `Wealth of a City';
`Williamstown Advertiser' 25 February 1939;
`The Age' 22.2.1939;
A Grey 2000 verbal from research for Èarth Garden' hay bale house articles.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the c1940-50s
development phase:
the precinct;

and
significance.

Name of place: Newport Quarry, now Newport Lakes

Other Names
Address off Margaret St Cultural Significance: City
Newport Creation date(s): 1867-
Site Type quarry Map (Melway) 55G2

Quarries and title land plus pepper trees along Margaret St.
Description
Although progressively filled as a tip, from closure of this basalt quarry in the early
1980s, and landscaped for parklands, a considerable extent of quarry face is still
recognisable. This takes the form of irregular terraced “boards” or steps on the
working face, with some showing the long parallel drill holes from hand hewing
building stone, by inserting wedges or “plug and feathers” to break away blocks of
stone. Much of the quarry’s later output was for crushed stone for concrete, rail ballast
and “blue metal”. The evidence of extraction for this material is less visible as
mechanical equipment and blasting simply shattered the rock.
The historical encroachment of the quarries on the residential area is still apparent

along the lane behind Graham Street, and along the south of Percy and Bruce Street,
where home owners once had sheer drops of 30 or 40 metres at their back fences.
Mature pepper trees grow along the eastern fence line, presumably as a hardy screen
from residential areas of the quarry activity.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
Surrounded by mainly later housing development.
Large stone quarries are typically filled in for refuse disposal and
/or parklands- this is one of the few to survive from the numerous examples which once dotted the Western
region.
History and themes
History
Historical Context
present site of Newport Lakes, where, despite substantial landfill through tipping in
the twentieth century, some of the quarry face can still be seen.'
While many later reserves within the City of Hobsons Bay were set aside during
town planning (for example, by the Housing Commission of Victoria), others have
been beautified during concerted Council and community efforts to beautify the area.
(for example Apex Park) >From its inception, the Altona Council placed a priority
on achieving sports and recreation reserves within its boundaries. Some reserves
within the City are recycled land, such as Newport Lakes Park, created on the site of
an old quarry, the athletics reserve on the site of the old Newport Power Station and
P.J. Lynch Recreation Reserve on the site of the former SEC briquette dump.' {
Barnard (1999)}
Specific History
This part of the Parish of Cut Paw Paw was CP D/Sec 6 which was granted as 158
acres to William Hall in 1852, having been sold at auction in December 1851 as lot
10 for £173/16/-. Hall leased the site (the commonly known as the Stony Rise') to
James Horsley for 7 years dating from June 1869 for £100/annum paid monthly.
Hall died in 1889 so that in 1890 his will bequeathed the site to Thomas Hoad Hall.
Thomas leased part of the grant (98 feet x 66 feet in the south-east corner) the quarry
to Harry K Matthews in 1922 and another (north-east corner in Blackshaws Rd) to
William Edwards over a 2 year period for £57/12/- annually. The balance of the
quarry (the major part of it) was leased to Pat, John and Daniel Sexton from 1921 for
5 years at £82/10/- annually. Thomas died in March 1923, his executors Harry
Emerton and Herbert Hamer, taking over the running of the property. The title was
converted to Torrens in 1927 { RGO SN 46125}.
Rate records first record a quarry here in 1868-9 with a sizable increase in valuation
and occupation by Doherty. What had been described previously as two lots (a farm
and pasture each 158 acres) were owned by Hall but leased to Samuel Bunting and
Charles Newport from the earliest rate records of 1863. James Horsley, quarryman
and carrier, was the main tenant of a 1 acre stone quarry here in the 1870s-80s while
Michael Durkin and Hall ran the other holding of 157 acres as a farm. In 1884 the
quarry was shared among William Byers, Robert Allen, Andrew Anderson, James
Gibson, Donald McKenzie, Thomas Neill (or Neal), and Joseph Willis (each 16
perches), In the late 1880s, William Bannister leased a quarry of 32 perches from
Hall, along with the other earlier tenants. William Bridges joined these men in the
1887-8 rate entry, along with John Scriven and Robert Fenton in 1889-90 and Phillip
Ludlow in 1890. Other quarrymen of the 1890s leasing Hall's property included J
Beanland, Henry Booker, Cameron & Lafferty, John Gandion, Alex McDonald, Neal
& Sharp, Ben Serrivan (?) and John Hughes. Ernest Chambers, a solicitor, was rated
for the balance of the block (150 acres) as a farm during this period.
Predictably the numbers of quarrymen fell off in the 1890s depression era, with
William Bannister, David Mitchell (the noted builder?) and Joseph Beanland being
among the leaseholders while Thomas Hall was listed for the dairy farm. By 1900
only Bannister, Gibson and Willis operated quarries there and in the First War
period, only Gibson (2 acres). The Matthews Brothers of Newcastle St took up a 10
acre quarry after WW1 along with William Edwards. L Hansen of Daylesford took
Edwards place in the 1920s as well as owning the 20 acre quarry addressed as Mason
St. James Gibson was Cliff Gibson's Great Grandfather: Cliff was also connected
with the Williamstown building trade. James' son, Joseph, was also a quarryman,
having been born in 1864 and married in 1898 { Gibson, 2000}.
An aerial view of 1945 shows the major quarry holes, two radiating north and north
west from the south east corner of the site and another round hole in the northern
section of the site. Complexes of buildings in the north east corner include a series of
stores off Johnston St and what may be a works yard north of that facing Blackshaws
Rd and west of that what appears to be a large house yard and garden. More isolated
complexes are along the south side of the quarry site.
This was the focus of an 1980s revegetation project and more recent landscaping for
the City of Hobsons Bay.
Associations: William Hall Thomas Hoad Hall Harry Emerton and
Herbert Hamer


PAHT Subtheme: Quarrying

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
Newport Quarry, now Newport Lakes, is significant to the Western Region:
- as perhaps the only remaining example of a large basalt quarry in an area once
known across the State for its bluestone supply (criterion B2);
- for its association with many of the district's contractors who leased parts of its
grounds (criterion H1);
- as the source for much of the bluestone construction in the district in the 19th and
20th century (criterion A4); and
- for its more recent development and use for public recreation within the City
(Criterion G1).
Documentation
References
Vines, G. 1999 from Stage One of the Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts Heritage Study 1999:
site 61 graded C - Statement of Significance history incomplete cites Ackerly 1986 Williamstown
Historical Outline appendix Lack & Ford
Olwen Ford and Diane Parsons, 1987. `Quarrying in Melbourne’s West', unpublished research report,
Melbourne’s Living Museum of the West;
Heritage Study;
Victorian Public Records Office (VPRO) VPRS 2130/P;
Registrar Generals Office (RGO) SN 46125
Cliff Gibson, pers. com. 10/4/00
Land Victoria aerial photo Run 20 Film 179 Melbourne & Metropolitan Area December 1945

Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 19th and early
20th century development period as identified:
the quarry and activities associated with it within the reserve; and

Name of place: Newport War Memorial, median

Other Names
Address Mason Street Cultural Significance: City
Newport Creation date(s): 1920s
Site Type Memorial, war Map (Melway) 55J4

War Memorial, and land within nominally 5m radius within the road reserve, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction
period, being the 1920s, and other war-related changes..
Description
Made of polished pink and grey granite, this tapered obelisk has the inscriptions in
raised metal lettering for those who died in both great wars, with a bronze wreath
above. Rough grey granite pillars support a recent (?) pipe railing around the
memorial. It is located in the median which was once part of the `town square' located
there before the advent of the overpass.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Contributory part of Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct, set on median at focus of commercial section.
Other war memorial are in Ferguson, St, Williamstown and in Altona, the former being the most comparable.
History and themes
History
Erecting memorials to respected politicians, soldiers or philanthropists was a
common community activity in nineteenth century Australia. In the twentieth century
every community built their own memorials to those who served in overseas wars.
One of Williamstown's earliest public memorials was the Wilkinson Memorial

Fountain (in what is now Commonwealth Reserve) which was erected in 1876, the
year after the Rev. George Wilkinson died. Wilkinson was a clergyman at Holy
Trinity, Williamstown and also a homeopath and temperance advocate. Another
early memorial is the statue of A. T. Clark, Williamstown's MLA from 1871-1888
and founder of the Williamstown Advertiser. The statue was erected in the
Williamstown Botanic Gardens in 1891.
….Public memorials to local servicemen who fought overseas in war are found at the
corner of Ferguson Street and Nelson Place, Williamstown and in Mason Street,
Newport. Returned Servicemen's Halls, while offering a meeting place for ex-
servicemen, also act as memorials. There are RSL Halls at Williamstown, Newport,
Spotswood and Altona. The latter was specifically opened as a memorial to First
World War soldiers in 1936 and was extended, with the addition of a brick front, just
before the next war in 1938. Streets in Altona North were named after the eight
local men who lost their lives in the Second World War.
Laverton's first community hall was built as a World War One memorial in the
1920s. This small wooden building had been outgrown by the 1960s and was
replaced with a new hall, built by the Progress Association with financial assistance
from Werribee Shire Council{ Barnard, 1999}.
Associations: Returned Soldiers, Returned Servicemen's
Sailors & Infantry League League

Providing for the common defence
PAHT Subtheme: Remembering the fallen

Other Subtheme:

Significance

Newport War Memorial is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a memorial to those who died in both wars from within the community (criterion
A4);
- as a symbol of the public gratitude which surrounded the wartime effort by local
people (criterion G1) ;
- as an example of public stonemasonry within the local context (criterion F1) .
Documentation
References
Heritage Study.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations

contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1920s as
identified:
significant elements of the memorial, fence and where enhancement includes
reinstatement of known missing original elements;
further research the memorial and provide further interpretive information, restore
colours and missing elements as evidence allows.

Name of place: Newport Hotel, former

Other Names Newport Family Hotel, Seagulls
Address 1 Mason Street Cultural Significance: Regional
Site Type Hotel Map (Melway) 55J4

Hotel and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being the 1880s.
Description
An early image of the Newport Hotel shows it as a three-level Italian Renaissance
revival hotel with arched and rectangular window openings, an austere form of
trabeation overlaid on the façade as pilasters, a typical moulded parapet cornice and
entablature, a parapeted roof line with balustrading and urns on piers, and a rusticated
pseudo-stone base with impost moulding and ornate timber framed windows and
doorways in the manner of the Italian prototypes. At the rear of the hotel was a two
level wing (since revised). At the splayed corner was an arched parapet entablature
bearing a garland and below it on the next level a panel with further detailing.
External Condition:

External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions- the ground level openings have been changed and new signs
erected; the interior and rear wings have been rebuilt.
Context:
Contributory part of Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct, set next to railway at focus of commercial section.
This hotel is ornate and in the Renaissance Revival manner, after the style of the William Woolf designs in the
inner suburban ring (see Union Hotel, Moonee Ponds; Canterbury Rd, Canterbury): only the Yacht Club Hotel
and the Royal, in Williamstown, are more decorative.
History and themes
History
Hotels in the nineteenth century were essential for providing accommodation and
sustenance for travellers, as well as meeting place for locals. They were often
positioned at natural stopping places along well-travelled routes or, later in the
nineteenth century, close to work-places so that workers could gather at the end of
their hard-working days{ Barnard, 1999}.
Specific history
Charles Clarke was the first owner and licensee of a 40 room brick hotel on this site
in 1887. Richard Ward followed him, selling to George Bullen by 1890. Bullen
continued into this century, only to be bought out by the expanding Carlton & United
Brewery Company by 1915. Licensees who followed included Broome, Joseph
Kelly, Bernard King, Sandy Hogg and William Kennedy in the 1940s-50s.
Associations: Charles Clarke Richard Ward Carlton & United
Brewery Company

Lodging people


Other Subtheme:
Significance

The Newport Hotel is significant to the Western Region:
- as a well preserved superior example of the Italian Renaissance Revival style, often
associated with hotels built near railway stations (criterion F1, D2);
- as a landmark quasi-public building in an area which was once a form of town
square; and
- is well known within the community as a social gathering place (criterion A4, G1) .
Documentation
References
`Williamstown Illustrated' 1902
Heritage Study;
State Library of Victoria Shirley Jones collection of Victorian postcards c1907
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
the place;

Name of place: Newport Mechanics Institute & interior, former

Other Names
Address 13 Mason Street Cultural Significance: City
Site Type Hall, community Map (Melway) 55J4

Land and building within the existing title, with emphasis on fabric which derives from the 1930s.
Description
Set within a conservative cemented Greek revival exterior, the hall interior is Notable
for its panelling, good state of preservation and Moderne porch interior. There is a
1970s library attached at the rear of the Mechanics Institute where a plaque states that
the building was erected 1935 by committee of management, listing the first trustees:
including Samuel R Peel (1838-1900), James Dixon (1838-1898), GE Payne (1838-
1913), James Styles (1841-1913), James Horsley (1817-1886), and Michael Durkin
(1825-).
External Condition:
External Integrity:


Context:
Contributory part of Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct, set next to railway at focus of civic and
commercial section.
Austere architecturally, this hall is one of the early public buildings in this part of the City, representing the
residential growth here in both the inter-war and Edwardian-eras. The nearby Baptist, Anglican and Catholic
complexes are similar in period.
History and themes
History
In the nineteenth century, hotels often served as venues for meetings, etc, especially
for trade unionists or working people who had little domestic space to share. Specific
associations, church groups and community or progress associations often built their
own halls which served a myriad of purposes. Community halls in the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries could serve as schoolrooms, churches (on Sunday) concert
and dance party venues, meeting rooms, and so on{ Barnard, 1999}.
Specific history
A deputation of Newport residents sought a reservation for a mechanics hall in 1885,
yielding a reserve in 1886. In March the first Newport Mechanics Institute trustees
were elected as recorded on a plaque at the rear of the building: Samuel R Peel,
Newport Railway Workshops foreman (1838-1900), James Dickson, storekeeper
(1838-1898), Cr GA Payne (1838-1913), James Styles, civil engineer (1841-1913),
and James Horsley, contractor (1817-1886). Michael Durkin, dairyman (1825-)
replaced Horsley on his death.
The institute continued into this century, holding meetings and staging events, until a
public meeting was held in 1933 towards directing recently released funds for a
building. A committee of management was elected including William Roberts (q.v.),
president, JP Carroll and WGN Young, vice presidents, LJ Harrigan, secretary, JF
Adam, Revised to: Hodgson, WH McDonald, GA Paine, and SJ Wookey { Elsum:
109}. The foundation stone of the building was laid by the Mayor of
Williamstown, JT Gray in the Centenary Year 15/11/1934 on completion after
commencing in April.
During WW2 the Australian armed forces occupied what was then called the
Newport Public Library for the period c1941-46 as described by the Williamstown
Advertiser' 23 March 1946. During that time, the library had been moved into the
hall section of the building and had thus prevented the usual public gatherings. It was
not uncommon for the army to occupy major public and private buildings having a
strategic location for home front activity.
Associations: William Roberts JP Carroll Samuel R Peel


Other Subtheme:
Significance

Newport Mechanics Institute & interior is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a public gathering place of a long period and the centre of the communities adult
education (criterion G1);
- as an example of a mechanics institute, once a sought after centre of every
community (criterion A4);
- for the associations with the leaders of the local community, acting as the trustees
(criterion H1);
- for the good preservation of its interior and porch detailing (criterion D2)
Documentation
References
Elsum, W 1934. `The History of Williamstown' : 108-9;
Heritage ;
F.ST laying 15/11/1934;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers

Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the inter-war era and
the mechanics institute tenure:
the place;

Name of place: Shop & Residence

Other Names
Address 15-17 Mason Street Cultural Significance: City
Site Type Shop/store Map (Melway) 55J4

Shop and title land with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being the late Victorian-era.
Description
This stuccoed two storey shop and residence has been redeveloped on the lower level
but has ornate Renaissance Revival detailing on the upper level. This includes
trabeation, pediments over windows, a raised arched parapet entablature. The shop
and residence stands out in an area which was more typically developed at a later date,
relating to the Newport Hotel and former bank on the main commercial corners of the
Newport precinct.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions at ground level.

Context:
Contributory part of Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct, set in commercial section.
The mannered upper façade is surpassed by the Marks Brothers, Ferguson St, Williamstown but elsewhere in
the City and in Newport and Spotswood, single shop and residences are typically of a later era, following the
Edwardian-era upgrade of the railway.
History and themes
History
to be the commercial centre, also being located close to the railway station. ' {
Barnard, 1999}
Specific history
This shop and residence was occupied by Arthur H and Mrs E Vickers, grocer, in the
period just before and after World War One { D1917-28}. In the Edwardian-era it
was Joseph Elsum's shop and residence, for a brief period and, at the turn of the
century, Mrs Emma Loft ran her fruit shop from there { D 1901-10}. During this
period it was rated to Digney & Guest of Hudson Road Spotswood (c1915-40-) and
before that Edward Jacks or his estate (1889-c1910). Built in 1890 for Jacks, the
building was described as a brick shop and 5 rooms up until the 1940s { RB1890,
4624}. Edward Jacks lived in Speight St, Newport: he died in 1898 aged 69, the son
of Edward senior and Elizabeth (nee Roland) { Federation Index}.
The name of Elsum is known throughout the area for his bakery business and the
Loft family were well known for their blacksmith's shop in Melbourne Rd and ES
Loft's Williamstown Council role.
Associations: Edward Jacks Arthur H & Mrs E
Vickers

Developing local, regional and national economies
PAHT Subtheme: Marketing & retailing

Other Subtheme:
Significance


This shop and residence is significant to Newport
- as a highly detailed 19th century cemented façade and contributory to a commercial
and civic precinct (criterion F1);
- for the link (with the Newport hotel) with the first stage of development in the
Newport commercial area which paralleled with the 1880s estates developed nearby
(criterion A4) .
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
I Rae, comments on draft 15/6/00
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations

the precinct where elements include buildings, objects, trees, yarding, paving,
original elements;
the place;
conservation;
- To ensure that new elements proposed at the place are recessive and related to the
place's contributory elements in roof and plan form, external materials, front rear
and side setbacks from property boundaries, and building bulk as viewed from public
areas.

Name of place: Baptist Hall & Church complex

Other Names
Newport Creation date(s): 1913-
Site Type Church Map (Melway) 55J4

The building and land to the extent of the title with emphasis on fabric from the Edwardian-era.
Description
Two gabled red brick buildings, one a hall the other a church in a Modern Gothic
style: both are altered in detail and are linked by a recent glazed gabled entry porch.
There is a hipped roof weatherboarded annexe at the rear and a sign stating
Williamstown Food Relief Centre. The hall has a plaque dated 2/3/1957, set by W M
Pollard and Rev McMillan while the church stone is dated 13/12/1913, with the Rev
AH Potter's name attached.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Contributory part of Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct, set at edge of commercial section.
Austere architecturally, this church is one of the early public buildings in this part of the City, representing the
residential growth here in both the inter-war and Edwardian-eras. The nearby Anglican and Catholic complexes
are similar in period.
History and themes
History
railway station.{ Barnard, 1999}
Even the oldest of the religious buildings in the (City of Hobsons Bay) are not the
original parish churches. The sturdy nineteenth century Wesleyan, Presbyterian,
Catholic and Anglican churches at Williamstown and Newport, built between the
1850s and 1900, all replaced one or even two former buildings. Their solidity
represents the firm position held by these denominations in the period when
Williamstown and Newport were growing as important industrial centres. { Barnard,
1999}
Specific history
The Newport Baptist Church is thought to have begun with a request from the
Baptist Association to the Williamstown branch of the church in 1884 to send
delegates to the Home Mission Committee meeting in November about the
formation of a church at Newport. Hugh Ross offered an adjoining allotment of land
for any lot purchased by the church in Newcastle St provided a church was built
within one year. A timber church designed by JF Gibbons to seat 250 was erected by
CJ Prosser for the start of services in April 1885. The attendance varied in the years
to follow with the use of the building questioned as a result. However, with the
growth of the area this century, the Rev AH Potter was appointed as the area's first
regular minister in 1910 and the present brick church was erected in 1913-14, with
the old timber church moved to Mason St. Names associated with this period

include: Osmond, Carter, Findlay, Duncan, Matthews, Davies. Loft, Drew, Enfield
and Williams.
The church was connected to electricity in 1918 and by 1924 the last payment was
made to the Victorian Baptist Fund for the building costs and the complex was
connected to the sewer. During the Great Depression, in 1930, the three Sunday
School buildings were renovated as well as internal fitting out of the church. The
church was a base for missions into Werribee South to the market gardener
community and as an impetus for the group at Kingsville South.
After WW2 the immigration program caused changes in the church mission to
surrounding residents. Services were held in Greek and Italian and later still there
was a mission to the Asian community. The church provided English classes and
Sunday School at the Williamstown Migrant Hostel. In 1957 the church hall was
opened beside the church to reach youth and community groups, apparently as a
recognition of the effects of television's introduction in 1956. The minister was the
Rev RE McMillan. A two storey wing was added to the rear of the church for use as
a Kindergarten and extended Sunday School activities. The church also hired the
Newport Mechanics Hall during recent times to cater for community gatherings. The
church residence in Newcastle St was sold to allow purchase of the Schutt St manse.
Associations: Baptist Church

PAHT Subtheme: Making places for worship

Other Subtheme:
Significance

Baptist Hall & Church complex is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a well preserved long-term place of worship in the Newport area (criterion G1) ;
and
- as a major structure from the second wave of population growth in the Edwardian-
era (criterion A4);
Documentation
References
Finney et al `Newport Baptist Church 1885 Centenary 1985';
Heritage Study;
local/church papers for dates: 2/3/1957 plaque by W M Pollard, Rev McMillan; church plaque
13/12/1913
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
(Edwardian-era ) and the period of use as church.
the place;
conservation;

and

Name of place: Tyrone house

Other Names

House and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, the Edwardian-era.
Description
This is a hipped roof weatherboard Edwardian-era house, with ornate verandah
detailing, corner siting, two red brick chimneys, a slate roof and what may have been
a lookout on the roof top.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
intact/minimal intrusions- high front fence, roof altered
Context:
Contributory part of Newport Residential Precinct, being mainly Edwardian-era and inter-war housing.

History and themes
History
This 6 room weatherboard house was built for Charles Garibaldi Carter, a fitter, in
1909 on lots 10-12 of the estate. William Riddell, a labourer, purchased the house by
the mid 1920s and had retired by the 1930s: he died in 1932 aged 72. Thomas Riddle
(a bank official) took his place in the mid 1930s as the occupier, the property being
owned by the Elizabeth Riddell estate.
A Charles Carter was active in the Williamstown Baptist Church { Elsum: 95}.
Charles Garibaldi Carter was listed in the `Victoria Government Gazette' 1914 as a
fitter in the Rolling Stock branch of the railways: he was born in 1864 and had joined
the railways in 1889.
Associations: Charles Garibaldi Carter William Riddell

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

Tyrone house is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- for its verandah detailing which distinguishes it from many other Edwardian-era
houses in the City (criterion F1) ;
- for its association with local identity Charles Garibaldi Carter who was also linked
with the Newport Railways Workshops (criterion H1); and

- as a key structure from the second wave of population growth in the Edwardian-era
at Newport (criterion A4).
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
(Edwardian-era ) and the Charles Garibaldi Carter tenure:
the place;


Name of place: Christ Anglican church & residence complex

Other Names Christ Church of England
Newport Creation date(s): 1927c church,
Site Type Church Map (Melway) 55H4

The buildings and land to the extent of the titles with emphasis on fabric from the inter-war period.
Description
This is an austere red brick but large Modern Gothic style church which has been
altered in detail only. Beside it on the east is an altered Victorian-era weatherboard
house which served as the church residence. The church has pointed arch windows
and doorways with cement dressings and limited tracery, gabled entry porches,
Marseilles pattern terra-cotta roofing tiles, and a cement rose window at the west
gable end. It has the appearance of staged construction. Typically Louis Williams was
the designer of Anglican churches in this era but this does not appear to be one of his
creations.
The adjoining church residence is a typical but altered weatherboard Edwardian-era

house with return bullnose profile verandah and a Dutch-hipped roof clad with
corrugated iron.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions, changes to openings.
Context:
Contributory part of Newport Residential Precinct as a keynote building, the precinct being mainly Edwardian-
era and inter-war housing.
Austere architecturally, this church is one of the early public buildings in this part of the City, representing the
residential growth here in both the inter-war and Edwardian-eras. The nearby Baptist and Catholic complexes
are similar in period.
History and themes
History
Thomas Berry, a gentleman, owned this land in the late 1890s, as lots 69-72. By
1900 the Church of England had acquired an interest in the property and a timber
church and hall had been erected there. Rev George Ratten was perhaps the first
clergyman to live in the adjoining 7 room timber house built by the church in 1914
at 75 Mason Road (now 59) { RB1914-15, 5308}.
The first MMBW connection data is dated 1927 for the associated residence on this
site. The drainage plan shows a timber verandahed villa facing Mason St next to a
brick church. There was also a timber school behind the church. Then the honorary
secretary to the Trustees was one FH Twist of 4 Waltham Road, Williamstown.
Two years later HC Bell had taken his place and, after a further 20 years, the
secretary was P Masters of 26 Mirls St, Newport: these dates also mark periods of
renovation of the complex.
Some of the resident clergy from the 19th and early 20th century included Revs.
Fitzgerald (1890), Thos Leonard (1896), and Macdonnell (1901). This century there
were the Revs. Ratten, Robinson and Cerutty.
Associations: Church of England HC Bell Thomas Berry


Other Subtheme:

Significance

Christ Anglican Church complex is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a well preserved long-term place of worship in the Newport area (criterion G1) ;
- as a custom designed if austere example of Modern Gothic, one of the better
examples in the City (Criterion F1); and
- as a major structure from the third wave of population growth in the 1920s
(criterion A4).
Documentation
References
MMBW Property Service File, City West Water 151664;
VPRO MMBW field book 880 shows house, church; plan 1926;
Heritage Study;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
(inter-war era ) and the period of use as church.
the place;
conservation;
and

Name of place: St Arnaud

Other Names

House and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, the Edwardian-era.
Description
This large weatherboard house is distinguished by its ornate detailing, including the
return verandah, the half timbered jettied gable ends of the main roof with their rising
sun motifs, and the gablets set into both the verandah and main roof. The colours are
related.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/few intrusions.

Context:
History and themes
History
This 6 room weatherboard house was built by John Henry Whitwam, a builder, for
his own occupation. Blanche Whitwam was the next rated owner in the mid 1920s.
John Whitwam was the owner by the 1940s with George Dimmond, a rubber worker,
as the tenant. Whitwam was a Williamstown councillor from 1916-18, 1922-4. He
died in 1951 aged 78, the son of Fred and Elinor.
Associations: John Henry Whitwam

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

St Arnaud house is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- for its ornate and picturesque detailing, including the roof and verandah treatment,
which distinguishes it from most other Edwardian-era houses in the City (criterion
F1) ;
- for its association with local councillor and identity John Henry Whitwam (criterion
H1); and
- as a key structure from the second wave of population growth in the Edwardian-era
at Newport (criterion A4).
Documentation
References
Elsum, W 1934. `The History of Williamstown': 77-8
Heritage Study;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the Edwardian-era and
the John Henry Whitwam tenure:
the place;

Name of place: Williams house

Other Names

House and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, the 1860s.
Description
This house has a simple hipped roof, typical of early construction with shingle
cladding. There is a rear addition, the walls are of rendered masonry (formerly face
stonework), the chimney is an early form. The roof has new roof corrugated iron and
the verandah has been altered.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Matched by some stone houses in Williamstown, this is the oldest house in the Newport Spotswood area.
History and themes
History
Lot 23, section 2 Cut Paw Paw parish (5 acres) was sold by government auction to
Thomas Graham Anderson of Melbourne for £22/10/- in 1864. In late 1869 he sold
it to Edwin Williams.
The house at 85 Mason St is listed in early rate books as the property of Edward
Williams and set on a little over 7 acres of land, being lot 24 and part lot 23, section
2 Cut Paw Paw parish: this was in 1869-70. The annual valuation was £16 for a
holding which had in the previous year been valued at £5 within the combined tenure
of Williams and Newcombe (2 acres), both with houses. Williams property (lot 23,
5 acres) had been valued at £3. Other early occupants included Janis Morgan, John
Morgan, John Gudgeon, boilermaker John Griffiths, all in the 1870s; Alfred Clarke
in the 1880s, slaughterman and William E Bamford in the 1880s-90s. The
description was 4 rooms and stone.
More recently, in the 1940s-50s, the house was owned and occupied by Flora
Conway, with 6 main rooms and a population of 4 persons. Before that Michael
Conway, a railway employee or engine driver, lived there with his family in the
1920s-30s. Two Michael Conways were listed in the `Victoria Government Gazette'
1914 s railways employees, one with Ways & Works and one with Rolling Stock, the
latter being the occupier of this house. He was born in 1891 and joined the railways
in 1913, working at 8/- a week.
Associations: Edwin Williams John Griffiths William E Bamford

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
Williams house is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- for its relative great age combined with an site remote from other early house
concentrations (criterion B2) ;
- for its stone construction and early form, representing the extensive stone quarrying
era in the locality (criterion A4).
Documentation
References
Municipal Rate Books (RB) ;
Heritage Study;
Victorian Titles Office (VTO) Landata Network title 378/594;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations

the place;

Name of place: Perfectus Air Screw aircraft parts factory,

former
Other Names
Site Type Factory Map (Melway) 55F3

Land within and works within the existing title, with emphasis on fabric which derives from the 1950s.
Description
This factory has a sawtooth roof, corrugated iron cladding, multi-paned windows,
timber internal post, truss and beam framing and remnants of a tramway, and office
enclosure in the front.
There are two related Italian cypress at the front.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Set on flat land, on the edge of the early housing and commercial development along Mason st.
Although externally typical of other WW2 era small scale factories, this building's historical associations are
uncommon.
History and themes
History
This factory was erected in the 1951 on lot 33 of an Edwardian-era subdivision with
a 66 feet frontage to Mason Road. The previous owner of the land had been John F
Wilkes of Verdon St, Williamstown. The 1952 Sands & McDougall Victorian
directories noted that a factory was being built on this site. The factory built there
was apparently once a source of innovatory aviation products such as wooden
propellers and reputedly later space travel components for NASA { Ridley, 1999}. It
was listed as the Perfectus Airscrew aircraft parts factory { D1962-73}. Albert Ellis
& Thomas Walker, then of 17 Oxford St, Newport, were the first owners: the
Walker family was in occupation until 1999.
Perfectus Airscrew was listed as a national supplier of Sitka Spruce to BS V.37,

1200x 1200 in 1997 for aircraft maintenance and construction.
Associations: Perfectus Airscrew Albert Ellis & Thomas
Walker


Other Subtheme:
Significance


Perfectus Air Screw aircraft parts factory is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- for its link with innovatory aeronautical design in the post WW2 era (criterion H1).
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Adelaide University Gliding Club - Technical Materials and Services Sources web site
Further work:
Oral source, owner still alive - see George Ridley, Williamstown Hist. Socy. 93975423- to be verified;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1950s and the
Perfectus Air Screw tenure.
the place;
conservation;

and
- Carry out an oral history and then reassess the heritage significance of the place.

Name of place: Spotswood Victorian Railways Stores Branch

administrative building & stores, trees
Other Names
Address end McLister Street Cultural Significance: Regional
Spotswood Creation date(s): 1924-
Site Type Office building Map (Melway) 55K1

Land in the title(s) plus the small sawtooth roof buildings between the tracks; the amenities building; larger stores building to the
south; main cement rendered office block and cantilevered canopy over tracks on east side; landscape in front to McLister St. with
poplars and twin large Canary Island Palms; and the corrugated iron (paint shop?) with vent tower, with emphasis on fabric from the
main construction period, being the 1920s.
Description
This is a rendered (unpainted) and parapeted office stores building with front garden,
pepper tree, Canary Island palm, and privet hedge- all related to the 1920s landscaping
of the site. The styling is a simple Greek revival with multi-paned glazing, and raised
parapet entablatures at each end of the elevation marking major window groups. A
projecting central porch marks the doorway. Faint lettering is visible on the parapet.
Inside the complex is a series of sawtooth and gabled roof forms over the long storage
buildings extending to the south, with a loading platform on the eastern wing. The

sawtooth structure on the west has been reclad or renewed. Rusting corrugated iron
clad sawtooth structures are isolated further south on this large site.
Main Elements:
1. small sawtooth roof buildings between tracks,
2. amenities building with circular vents, and gable roof,
3. larger stores building to south, corrugated iron clad with timber louvre vents in
gables,
4. long multi-gabled building behind cement rendered front facade office block with
raised cement lettering to parapet inc 'VR'. cantilevered canopy over tracks on east
side.
5. landscape in front to McLister St. with poplars and twin large Canary Island Palms.
6. corrugated iron (paint shop?) with vent tower capped by small hipped roof with
finial.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
Set on flat land on the edge of the early housing and contributory to the Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
Railway precinct.
A major 20th century structure, associated with the nearby Spotswood workshops: one of three large
government railways industrial developments in the City.
History and themes
History
Quite apart from the very important role that railway engineering has played in the
development of the (City of Hobsons Bay) railways have played a major part in
connecting the study area with important centres, such as Geelong and Melbourne,
but also in boosting continued residential and industrial development of the area.'
Both private and government railway lines have had an impact on the study area.
While the area boasts Melbourne's first government line, it also boasts one of the
most recent additions to Melbourne's rail network. Another distinctive feature of the
rail history of the study area was the number of 'spurs' developed to link industrial
sites, the racecourse, etc and the number of private sidings or stations built within the
area.'
Two of Victoria's earliest railway lines were begun here by private companies in the
1850s, though both were soon taken over by the government. Private railways
figured again later when the spur to Williamstown racecourse was extended to
Altona by the company developing an estate here{ Barnard, 1999}..
largest industrial concern in Victoria{ Barnard, 1999}..
... workshops were erected at Spotswood in the 1920s. The signal and telegraph
manufacture and repair branch was located in these workshops. These workshops
were known as the Amalgamated Workshops{ Barnard, 1999}..
Specific history
Spotswood Victorian Railways Stores Branch complex was erected for the Victorian
Railways Commissioners, care of Spencer St, and was first listed in the `Victorian
Directory' of 1927. It is thought to be the design of James Fawcett, Chief Architect,
Ways & Works Branch, Victorian Railways. The downpipes were cast by the firm
J&T Muir, Melbourne { Ward: 94}. A plan of the site from 1939 shows two main
blocks, an Àircraft Storehouse' (sawtooth) on the west and a `General Storehouse'
on the east with various service blocks. An earlier plan of late 1924 showed service
blocks and siding platforms. A more recent plan shows the `General Store' with its
platform along the west side and the offices attached to the north. The complex was
first rated as `Railway Stores & Yards' in 1925 after the land was held as a series of
allotments by the Victorian Railways Commissioners from c1922 { RB}.
Local historian Cliff Gibson has described the complex thus:

`The Victorian Railways Stores Branch at Spotswood was the hub of the distribution
of all commercial items required to run the railway system. Everything from toilet
paper to tools, clothing, stationary, globes, bolts, nuts, nails, screws, paint, padlocks,
etc. were despatched all over Victoria. A staff of 80 were employed in the office.'
Associations: Victorian Railways

Working
PAHT Subtheme: Working in offices

Other Subtheme:

Significance

B.2 Rarity
Spotswood Victorian Railways Stores Branch administrative building & stores, trees
is significant to the Western Region:
- as the last major component of the vast complex of Victorian Railways construction
and stores establishments built up in the City since the middle of the 19th century
(criterion A4);
- for the high state of preservation of the complex, particularly the office facade and
garden facing McLister St (criterion A4, B2); and
- as a major custom designed complex in the City which represents well its creation
date (criterion F1).
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Gary Vines & Andrew Ward & Assoc. 1989. Western Region Industrial Heritage Study,
(Melbourne's Living Museum of the West), (Ward section: 93-4);
C Gibson, comments, 20/6/2000
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
the place;
conservation;
and
carry out further documentary and oral history investigation (using the Victorian
Railways contract drawings) of the place and then reassess its heritage significance.

Name of place: Masonic Hall No.5925

Other Names Newport Masonic Hall, Robbie Burns Lodge rooms
Address 405 Melbourne Road Cultural Significance: Regional
Newport Creation date(s): 1924-5
Site Type Hall, community Map (Melway) 55K4

Land and building within the existing title, with emphasis on fabric which derives from the 1920s.
Description
This large stuccoed Neo-Grec style design is typical of Masonic hall architecture of
the 20th century and is particularly well preserved inside and out. The entry porch is
flanked by giant-order Corinthian columns, the parapet has the ox-bow motif also
used in the Edwardian-era, and the façade is overlaid with trabeation, with minor
Corinthian columns supporting the projecting porch. The date, 1925, and name `5925
Masonic Hall' are on the parapet entablature. It is a dominant and contributory
element within the Newport Civic and Commercial precinct although it presents a
largely blank elevation to the side view, showing the gabled corrugated iron clad roof
behind the parapet.

The interior is well preserved with two upper level halls and one large lower hall, with
stage, reflecting the history of the place. These rooms have panelled ceilings and are
plaster lined.
External Condition:
Generally good (partially disturbed, well preserved)
External Integrity:
Context:
Contributory part of Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct, set in commercial section.
This large structure resembles a small number of other neo-Grec styled Masonic buildings in the metropolitan
area, such as the example in Dandenong Rd Caulfield, and Harry J Little's Collingwood example of 1929.
Others in the Western Region are more austere than this example or have been altered (see Yarraville
example). This building is a major 20th century addition to the Newport commercial area, paralleled only by
the Junction Hotel renovation.
History and themes
History
For working people and their families, friendly societies were important community
supports in the nineteenth century. In the 1850s and 1860s, 15 friendly or mutual
benefit societies were formed in Williamstown, some of them lasting longer than
others. Williamstown's Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows Hall
was built in 1863, the first of such halls built outside of Melbourne. The Friendly
Societies' Dispensary, which represented several of the local societies, was created in
1876 and moved in the next decade into new premises in Ferguson Street.
Williamstown's Masonic Hall was built in 1890. Newport's Masonic Hall came
later{ Barnard, 1999}.
Specific history
The Robbie Burns Lodge trustees owned this site and 4 room brick and timber hall
up until the erection of this brick and concrete' building of 7 rooms in 1924-5. As
one of the key events which took place at the lodge, the City of Williamstown Lodge
petitioned for its daughter lodge (Beacon Lodge 406 VC) which was consecrated in
the new Newport hall 12 May 1926. The membership of the Williamstown Masons
may be indicative of the general trend of Masonic activity in the area, with numbers
peeking after each World War but dwindling in recent times. Perhaps as a result of
this tend, the Newport hall has been sold and is now used as an antique shop.
JH Whitwam
The contractor, JH Whitwam (q.v.) of Mason St was the secretary to the trustees
from the time of construction into the 1950s; he was also a Williamstown Councillor

from the Edwardian-era into the 1920s. Stephen Margerson writes, in his history of
the Williamstown lodge, that when the Williamstown Masons wished to develop
their site in Electra St and Melbourne Rd they consulted Brother Thackeray of the
City of Essendon Lodge in 1926, who had just carried out similar building work.
They also consulted Brother Whitwam of the Newport Robbie Burns Lodge who
had recently completed the Newport Masonic Hall. He provided an estimate based
on a plan approved in August 1926 to build an entertainment hall on the Electra St
frontage and build a large assembly room to connect the new and existing structures:
this was to cost £2500.
Associations: Robbie Burns Masonic
Lodge trustees


Other Subtheme:
Significance

G.2
The Masonic Hall No.5925 is significant to the Western Region:
- as a major and relatively sophisticated design in the neo-Grec manner, prominently
displayed next to an open square (criterion F1);
- as a major contributory element to the Newport commercial and civic precinct
(criterion F1) ;
- for its symbolism of this influential group within the Newport and surrounding
community (criterion G1); and
- as the largest and best preserved example of a Masonic temple in the region
(criterion D2).
Documentation
References

City of Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme HO 8 in L15

Elsum 1934: 110, photo f.89;
Heritage Study;
Margerson, S 2000 `The Williamstown Masons'
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the inter-war era and
the Masonic tenure:
the place;

Name of place: McDonald house

Other Names
Address 471 Melbourne Road Cultural Significance: Regional
Newport Creation date(s): 1880-1

House and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, the 1880s.
Description
This is an elegant weatherboard villa after the Gothic revival manner, with a gabled
corrugated iron clad roof, concave verandah and window bay, all consistent with its
relatively early date. The fence is related.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
intact/minimal intrusions like the business sign
Context:
North of the Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct, next to mainly later commercial and housing development.

Contemporary Gothic revival examples in the City typically are religious in origin (see Melbourne Rd
example) as were the churches associated with them. The style is rare for a secular residence in the region.
History and themes
History
This 5 room timber house was built in 1881 on lots 10 and 11 for John McDonald,
an inspector. He owned and occupied the house until the mid 1880s when a
`gentleman', John McDonnell (McDonald?), was the owner-occupier. After
McDonnell's departure early this century, Lucy Francis Clauscen owned the house
(died 1942). Engine driver, John Einsporn, owned it by the 1940s.
Both John McDonald (d 1881) and (Herbert) John McDonnell (d 1887) were buried
in the Williamstown cemetery. A number of John McDonalds followed: John James,
John Joseph, and John Little (1912-1965).
Associations: John McDonald John McDonnell? Lucy Francis Clauscen

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

The McDonald house is significant to the Western region:
- for its relatively well preserved exterior and elegant detailing in the form of the
verandah and the bay window (criterion F1);
- for its relatively early date for the location (criterion A4) .
Documentation
References


Heritage Study;
Sands & McDougall Melbourne directories (D);
Elsum- no mention.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the Victorian-era :
the place;

Name of place: WC Thomas & Sons Flour Mill

Other Names Newport Flour Mill; W.C. Thomas & Sons Pty Ltd Defiance Milling Contributory
Address 482- Melbourne Road Cultural Significance: Regional
490 1903
Newport Creation date(s):
Site Type Flour mill Map (Melway) 55K3

The extent of the title land and associated siding, with emphasis on Edwardian-era fabric.
Description
This is a two storey bichrome brick storage and dispatch building with timber
verandah along the rail siding. There are later brick office buildings and the
corrugated iron clad sheds constructed about 1934 are in a style sympathetic with that
of the mill.
The early section of this complex includes a multi-level red brick mill structure, with
a gabled roof line, punched window openings and cream brick headers, and a long
timber-post verandah over a railway siding next to the main Williamstown to
Melbourne Railway. Gabled roofs project above the verandah to accommodate two
external sack hoists. A partition wall projects above the roof marking the re-proof
division between the milling and wheat cleaning. Two separate structures are
noticeable by their different roof heights, the track side loading, wheat cleaning and
store building being on three levels and the main mill building being four storeys. On
the west of this building are three early silos and north of these is a group of more
modern concrete silos.
Elsum's 1934 Williamstown history shows this building and the three silos. Four
gabled bays with circular vents in each gable end are evident on the south, and a
larger gabled structure is to the north. The three silos are shown with a corrugated
iron clad tower on the east of the southernmost tank. A metal framed gantry attaches
to the top of the silos, similar to, but in a less elaborate form to the existing gantry.
The verandah along the siding had segment-arched corrugated iron valances in place
of today's horizontal lines, and a large ` WC THOMAS & SONS P/L FLOUR
MILLERS' as a banner sign repeating along the valence. Two of the silos also had the
business name attached.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
Contributory part of Spotswood Industrial Precinct, next to railway.
The Newport flour mill is an unusual survivor as a medium sized early twentieth century metropolitan flour
mill. In this context, it stands alone, but by expanding the comparison to include larger and later mills, it can be
compared to the much modified Kimpton No. 3 at Kensington and Brunton’s Mill in North Melbourne.
However the closest comparison can be made with the country mills of the period, several of which survive
including Thompson’s own Murtoa mill. Another interesting comparison is with the contemporary silos of the
Rupanyup Mill, which were erected by Schumachers milling engineers using the Monash designed Monier
system. Monash and Shumachers appear to have quoted on the construction of silos at Newport but it is not
clear whether the silos built were theirs or by an alternative tenderer.
History and themes
History
The site of this complex was vacant ground in the 1894 MMBW plan No 10. It is
thought that a new brick building was planned for W.C. Thomas & Sons Pty Ltd, as
a flour mill, during the disastrous drought of 1902 when the firm recognised the need
for a city based mill. It was able to use imported wheat during local shortages,
initially imported from Argentina. The site was chosen to take advantage of the
railway lines and was close to the Williamstown docks, then the major point for the
export of flour (and import of wheat when required). Early rate descriptions of the
site, in 1901, listed WC Thomas miller as owning and occupying two parcels of land,
one of four lots each of 40 feet frontage, and the other measuring about 800 feet, off

Melbourne Road. The first rate entry for the building was January 1904 when the
800 feet land frontage was occupied by flour mills brick and land and siding' {
RB1904, 4282}. The Newport Flour Mill was first listed in Sands & McDougall
Directories in 1905 and then with WC Thomas as the proprietor.
In 1912 the original steam power source was converted to a gas engine and then in
1920 when electricity became available a 350 h.p. slow speed electric motor was
purchased and installed in place of the suction gas plant. In 1908 quotes were
obtained for concrete wheat silos using the Monier system to be built by the
prominent milling engineers Schumachers. This same combination, of John
Monash’s design and Schumachers’ construction, was responsible for the Rupanyup
silos of George Frayne, which were built in 1910 ( MUA). It is unclear whether the
existing silos of this period are Monier concrete clad in metal, or a different riveted
iron system erected by an alternative tenderer.
The railway siding was enlarged in 1917, and additional buildings erected for storage
and expanded production. By the 1950s it was operated as an oat crushing mill by
the Victorian Oatgrowers Pool before being returned to flour milling in c.1984 by
Defiance Milling Co Pty Ltd.
W.C. Thomas & Sons were one of Victorias larger Flour Milling firms, described in
the mid 20th century as ranking ‘...amongst the most important in the
Commonwealth and their export trade to overseas countries, ant the various states,
amounts to a huge total each year’ (Wealth of a City). The firm had mills in several
north west Victorian centres in the early 20th century operating up to ten mills, not
all at the same time, concentrated in the Wimmera - Mallee regions. The firm was
both a local flour supplier and exporter, serving markets in South Africa, Egypt,
Cyprus, Mauritius, India, Siam, China, Philippine Islands, Jamaica, Java and
Singapore (Wealth of a City)
The Cyclopedia of Victoria' (1904) entry for WC Thomas gives his address as care
of Queen St Melbourne, also at Beaufort, Minyip, Warracknabeal and Ballarat,
being grain growing centres. His was an old and well known firm. His sons
appeared to the active part of his business with WC Thomas Jnr managing the
Melbourne branch, George Thomas at Ballarat and Ernest J Thomas managing the
Newport concern. Jean Fielding records the expansion of Thomas & Sons in 1915
when they purchased her ancestor, Edwin Davey & Sons Melbourne concern
(Fielding: 75).
Associations: W.C. Thomas & Sons Monash, John? (silos)



Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
The WC Thomas & Sons flour mill complex is of historical and architectural
significance to the Western Region:
- as one of the few surviving early twentieth century flour mills in Melbourne, falling
between the late nineteenth century mills of Kimpton and Brunton and the 1920s
Albion mill at Sunshine of John Darling, in technology and date (Criterion B2);
- for the documented use of new milling technology in this complex, using new
power sources as soon as they had proved themselves to be viable, and quickly
adopting bulk storage and handling methods (Criterion F1);
- for the expression of a period after roller plants became the norm when the
increasingly competitive market meant that constant improvements to efficiency were
required to stay in business (Criterion A4);
- for the riveted iron bulk wheat silos which are possibly some of the earliest of their
type in Melbourne (Criterion B2);
- as typifying the style of flour mill building used from the mid 19th century on and
as one of the earliest intact mill complexes in Melbourne with others such as
Kimpton's having been drastically modified (Criterion A4) ;
- for the association of the silo design with the noted engineer John Monash although
now modified with metal cladding (Criterion H1).
Documentation
References
Elsum, W 1934. `The History of Williamstown': facing 101;
Smith 1904.`The Cyclopedia of Victoria';
Sands & McDougall Directories;
Jean Fielding, 1985. `The Golden Grain';
Heritage Study;
Curtain, C et al 1947. `Wealth of a City';

V/line defunct private siding records;

Municipal Rate Book (RB);
Monash papers, Melbourne University Archives (MUA);
Vines, G. Western Region Industrial Heritage Study (site no: 0394);
Jones, Lewis and Peggy. 1990 `Flour Mills of Victoria 1840-1990'.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
(Edwardian-era ) and added fabric from the Thomas tenure as a secondary
contribution.
the place where elements include brick mill structure, verandah and siding, three
early silos and title land where enhancement includes reinstatement of known
the place;
conservation;

Name of place: Loft's Blacksmiths

Other Names
Address 521 Melbourne Road Cultural Significance: Local
Site Type Factory Map (Melway) 41H12

Land and exterior of the masonry building with emphasis on fabric form the 1920s-30s.
Description
The original 1920 section of this parapeted smithy building has been recently stripped
of its early machinery and fittings and remains a rendered masonry shell with timber
trusses and added fibre cement roofing. There are later corrugated iron clad sheds at
the rear.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Isolated next to contemporary and later housing on Melbourne Rd., facing and south of major industrial
development.
When complete, this blacksmiths shop was unrivalled in the Region for its collection of early blacksmith
machines and tools: these have been removed.
History and themes
History
A weatherboard residence was erected on this site for an engineer, James W Elliott,
in 1910. Elliott appears to have died in 1921 aged 82. The blacksmiths shop
(smithy) followed in 1920 but now under the name of George F Loft around the end
of World War One with Lily Jane Loft being listed as the rated owner. George (son
of Emma and Henry) died in 1941 aged 61. By the mid 1940s Eric and Reginald
Loft had taken over the smithy with Lily still in command of the house. Lily died in
1952 aged 78.
This business was featured in a post WW2 survey of Williamstown industrial

development, `Wealth of a City'.
Associations: George F Loft Eric and Reginald Loft


Other Subtheme:
Significance

Loft's Blacksmiths building (former) is of historical significance to the Spotswood
locality

- for its long association with the locally prominent Lofts family and (until recently)
the early machinery and tools within it (criterion H1, A4) ;
- for its identification in a regional survey of industrial sites (criterion G1).
Documentation
References
Heritage Study, (Melbourne's Living Museum of the West): site 175 graded C;
Heritage Study;
Curtain, C. et al. 1947 `Wealth of a City'
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
(Edwardian-era and inter-war period) and added fabric from the Lofts tenure as a
secondary contribution.
the place where elements include the former blacksmith main building and
outbuildings, any early machinery and the title land where enhancement includes
reinstatement of known missing original elements;
the place;


conservation;
contributory elements as viewed from public areas; and
- Record the former contents of the place using oral and documentary sources.

Name of place: Newport Victorian Railways DC substation, part

Other Names
Address off Melbourne Road Cultural Significance: State
Site Type Railway substation Map (Melway) 55J4

Building and land within nominally 5m of its perimeter, within the railway reserve, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction
period, being pre 1920.
Description
This giant red brick and stucco Edwardian-Baroque design is typical of the small
number of substations built in the inner metropolitan area as part of electrification of
the Melbourne railway, then the longest electrified system in the world. Other
examples exist at Newmarket and North Fitzroy. The giant arched window strips with
the metal farmed multi-paned glazing are major façade elements. The segment arched
parapet and asymmetrical composition are others. The now demolished Newport
Power station was an integral part of this vast undertaking, leaving the substations as
the sole reminders of this early enterprise.
No inspection of the interior for plant has been made but the interior has a mammoth

scale, typical of the type, which should be preserved.

External Condition:
good (partially disturbed, well preserved) but derelict.
External Integrity:
Context:
Contributory part of Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong Railway precinct, set at edge of Newport Civic &
Commercial precinct.
A small group of these DC substations exist around the inner City railways, most being either altered or
recycled. This is perhaps the most intact of these distinctive and historically significant buildings.
History and themes
History
to Melbourne.


1999}.


Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
Newport Victorian Railways DC substation, (part Melbourne - Williamstown
Railway) is significant to the Western Region and Victoria:
- as one of the small number of DC substations built to power the Melbourne railway
network, then the longest in the world (criterion A4, B2);
- for the distinctive architectural treatment in the Edwardian-Baroque style which
dominates its immediate surroundings (criterion F1).
Documentation
References
Heritage Study, (Melbourne's Living Museum of the West): site 264 graded B history incomplete
Line'
Butler report on Jolimont Railways workshops for the Historic Buildings Council.

Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
elements of the complex and land within nominally 10 m of the perimeter of the
building;
- To conserve and enhance the visual relationship between any contributory elements
at the place;
conservation;
and

Name of place: Spotswood Railway Workshops (part) & palm

trees, part Melbourne - Williamstown Railway
Other Names
Address off Melbourne Road Cultural Significance: City
Site Type Railway Workshops Map (Melway) 55J1

Building ( bearing the words `VR Ways & Works Workshops' ) and trees (4 Canary Island palms, one mature sugar gum, Monterey
cypress, Monterey pines, and Italian cypress avenue) plus land within nominally 5m of each or 1m outside the root ball whichever is the
greater, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, being the 1920s.
Description
The sole remaining building of this once vast complex is at the front of the site. It is
set at an angle, with walls of red brick with cemented details, a parapet bearing the
words `VR Ways & Works Workshops' and has multi-paned glazing. The style of the
building is an austere neo-Grec, in line with other contemporary Victorian Railways
buildings. The related planting includes 4 Canary Island palms, one mature sugar gum
along the Birmingham St frontage, Monterey cypress, Monterey pines to the west of
this and an Italian cypress avenue to the former driveway running south west.
External Condition:


External Integrity:
Context:
Contributory part of Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong Railway and Spotswood Industrial Precincts.
As a railway- related complex it was second only to the Newport workshops: the remnants are symbolic of this
major industrial development.
History and themes
History
Victoria's first railway workshops were erected at both Williamstown and at
Batman's Hill in 1858. The Batman's Hill workshops did not exist very long. At
Williamstown, the four or five sheds, which were intended to be temporary, were
located at Point Gellibrand. They were used for the assembly of engines and
carriages imported from England for use on the first Victorian Railways-built lines.
The 'temporary' sheds were augmented by the addition of other workshops in which
seven locomotives were built. The Williamstown workshops operated until the
Newport workshops were opened in the 1880s.
Like the Newport workshops after them, the Williamstown workshops provided
significant local employment. In 1880 451 men were employed here.
Barnard, 1999}.

Specific history
Additional workshops were erected at Spotswood in the 1920s. The signal and
telegraph manufacture and repair branch was located in these workshops. These
workshops were known as the Amalgamated Workshops. During both World Wars
the workshops took on some defence engineering tasks, such as the building of
tanks.
The Victorian Railways workshops attracted similar industries to the study area. The
Australian Forge and Engineering Co's first contract was to supply iron carriages and
wagon wheels to the Victorian Railways Department. (see above.) The Semaphore
Iron Works was established in 1878 at Spotswood to manufacture railway signals
and equipment. It was later known as McKenzie and Holland, which produced
equipment for the electrification of Melbourne's rail network in the 1930s{ Barnard,
1999}..
Associations: Victorian Railways


Other Subtheme:
Significance

Spotswood Railway Workshops (part) & palm trees, (part Melbourne - Williamstown
Railway precinct), is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as the sole remaining building and landscaping of this once large complex which
was a major element in the vast array of Victorian Railways industry in the City
(criterion A4);
- as the sole indicator for the many people who worked within the complex over the
years of its operation (criterion G1) ;
- as part of a custom designed building and landscape setting (criterion F1).

Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Line' FN6452
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
elements of the complex, building, trees and land within nominally 10 m; - To
conserve and enhance the visual relationship between contributory elements at the
place;
conservation;
and


Name of place: Boyd house

Other Names
Address 37 Milford Street Cultural Significance: City
Newport Creation date(s): 1907, 1930

House and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, the inter-war period.
Description
This red brick Marseilles pattern tiled house is on a corner site, addressing the corner
in a derived Californian Bungalow styling. The brick pier and pipe fence appear
original. Distinctive elements include the window bays, the angled promontory siting.
Other aspects include a hipped and gabled roof combination and the extensive return
verandah.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Set west of railway on flat land south of the main Newport commercial centre.
Many inter-war houses exist in the Newport - Spotswood area: this is a more articulated example of the type.
History and themes
History
The history of this site revolves around the Boyd family, with Samuel Boyd, a
blacksmith, having erected a 6 room weatherboard house in 1907. Lily Boyd
followed him as the rated owner, with David Boyd, a builder, occupying the house in
the 1920s-30s. At this time, it was presumably David Boyd who erected 37A Mitford
St in 1930 as a 3 room weatherboard building, for Lily Boyd. David occupied the
building. David (son of Lily and Samuel) died in 1954 aged 57. A Samuel Boyd
worked for the Victorian Railways as a Repairer in the Ways & Works branch: he
was born in 1888 and thus, at the age of 19, may not have been the owner of this
house.
Associations: Samuel Boyd Lily Boyd David Boyd

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

The Boyd house is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- for its distinctive treatment of the common Californian Bungalow style (criterion
F1);
- as a good example of the 3rd wave of population growth in the Newport area

(criterion A4);
- for its association with a local builder who presumably designed it (criterion H1) .
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
(inter-war era ) and the Boyd tenure:
the place;


Name of place: Brooklyn MMBW pumping station & main sewer

Other Names
Address off Millers Rd Cultural Significance: State
Brooklyn Creation date(s): 1960-4
Site Type Sewage pipeline/pump Map (Melway) 41B10

MMBW pumping station and land within 5m of its perimeter inside the title area, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction
period, being the 1960s.
Description
This building is of orange brick 4 storey, with a zig zag roof, and steel framed glazing.
It replaced the steam powered Spotswood Pumping Station with a new gravity sewer
and rising main. The zig zag motif is redolent of the 1960s as also reflected in the
better known Southern Cross Hotel, Melbourne, designed by Leslie M Perrott &
Partners and built in a similar period 1960-2.
((Inspection Required of plant)
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Set next to major industrial development.
Only the 1890s pumping station is comparable with the type, but is of another era. The building can also be
compared to boiler houses, such as the earlier example at Bradmill's, City of Maribyrnong or the BP mixing
tower in Spotswood.
History and themes
History
The distinctive Spotswood Pumping Station, which now forms part of Museum
Victoria's Scienceworks Complex, was built on the river at Spotswood at about the
same time that other industries were establishing themselves near the water here. The
pumping station was the centrepiece of Melbourne's new sewerage system installed
in the 1890s in a bid to combat the filth and disease suffered by a growing metropolis
with no adequate solution to human waste disposal. The Melbourne and
Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) was established especially to build the
system, which connected households to three main trunk sewers, all leading (under
the river) to Spotswood, the lowest point in the system. At the pumping station,
steam engines (later replaced by electricity) worked to pump the sewerage up a rising
main to join the main sewer outfall at the head of the pumping mains near Millers
Road at Brooklyn. The outfall sewer then carried the sewerage to the Werribee
Treatment farm, where it was purified and discharged into the sea. Work began on
building this system in 1891 and in 1892 the Board bought the land for the pumping
station from the Spottiswoode Land Company. It was not until 1897 that the first
steam engine was put into operation. In 1921 the Pumping Station was turned over to
electricity. In the 1950s, when the system was becoming inadequate to cope with
Melbourne's enlarged population, the mains between Spotswood and Brooklyn were
replaced, by-passing the old pumping station to reach a new pumping station at
Brooklyn. The Spotswood Pumping station ceased operation in 1965 when the
Brooklyn Pumping Station was completed.' { Barnard (1999)}
The installation of the sewerage system had an immediate effect on public health in
Melbourne. In the decade to 1910 the death rate from typhoid fever fell by 72 % and
the overall death rate fell from 18 to 12.6 per 1000 inhabitants. As important as the
sewerage system and pumping station were to the health of the city, they also
represented the 'largest civil engineering undertaking of the 19th century in
Australia' ... The pumping station's location at Spotswood links it with the
development of other large industrial concerns in this locality at the time, as farm
land along the river was taken over. Not only was Spotswood the lowest point in the
system, but the location on the river, and with a spur railway built to the pumping

station, made the delivery of coal, essential for powering the engines, easy. Unlike
many of the .. area's industries, the operating pumping station did not provide large
scale employment, although at the beginning of the century, most of the employees
were locals, living in Williamstown, Newport, Spotswood, Yarraville and Footscray.'
{ ibid. }
The work of building the pumping station and the sewers did offer employment to
local men during the harsh depression of the 1890s. Most of the work of constructing
the system was completed by contractors, some of them local firms. Work on the
sewer and the search for work itself generated a temporary village at Brooklyn in the
1890s. In 1893, as a bridge was built to carry the sewer across Kororoit Creek and
work progressed on the drains on either side of the creek, a 'temporary police
headquarters' was positioned in 'the future township of Brooklyn' [presumably the
village reserve] near the Guiding Star Hotel. Men living in 'tents. cornsack dwellings
and other human habitations...gave the place the appearance of a gold-fields rush in
the early days and descended] almost to the creek'. The Guiding Star was doing a
roaring trade. Ironically, when the new pumping station was opened at Brooklyn in
the 1960s, it could be operated by only one staff member.' { ibid. }
Specific history
The needed expansion of the sewerage pumping system at Spotswood had been
planned in the 1950s. The station and the associated trunk sewer was to be the
biggest project undertaken since the 1890s by the MMBW. It required excavation
through major areas of basalt. Drilling also struck difficulties in 1960 due to ingress
of water but the link with the sewer was achieved in 1964 { Dingle: 289-}.
Associations: Melbourne and
Metropolitan Board of
Works

Providing services
PAHT Subtheme: Providing sewerage services

Other Subtheme:
Significance


Brooklyn MMBW pumping station & main sewer is significant to Victoria
- as the biggest project undertaken since the 1890s by the MMBW (criterion A4);
- for the distinctive roof form of the pumping station which sought to follow
recognised contemporary architectural trends (criterion F1)
Documentation
References
Heritage Study, (Melbourne's Living Museum of the West): site 259 graded B cites MMBW 1900
`The Melbourne Sewerage Scheme' see also sites 185, 204 (Military topo shows route);
Heritage Study;
Dingle, T. `Vital Connections'
J Barnard: Outfall Sewer built in 1893 (has some press descriptions of the works
dated this time)
Last edit: 30/06/2000 Consultant(s): Graeme Butler,Gary Vines
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory places or elements are generally those which derive from the 1960s
development period:

the place;
- To ensure that new elements near the place are recessive and related to the place’s
and

Name of place: Cherry swamp, later Cherry lake

Other Names
Address Millers Road Cultural Significance: City
Altona Creation date(s): 1840s-
Site Type Stock well/tank/trough Map (Melway) 54J8

The lake, vegetation and land within nominally 10m of its perimeter
Description
This lake resembles its historical form but its setting has changed dramatically in part,
particularly the proximity of refineries. However the presence of the refineries has
also created a buffer zone which has stopped residential development from
encroaching on the lake. Revegetation of its banks has been an important step to
reclaim this major historical landmark in the City.
Along the pathways created around the lake is a number of information panels which
include descriptions of the indigenous vegetation around the lake, such as tangled
lignum, cumbungi, sea club-rush, rounded noon flower, and chaffy saw sedge.
Another panel deals with the history of the lake, with the William Cherry noted as a

horse breeder among his other farming activities, having provided horses for the
British Army in India. Cherry is said to have driven his stock from his pre-emptive
right (entered at the east end of Civic Drive) north along Altona Road across the
`stepping stones' (ford) in the Kororoit Creek and on to the abattoirs which were once
on part of the rifle range reserve. There is a picture of what presumably is the Cherry
family in front of a random basalt rubble house.
Another panel deals with the seasonal variations of the lake over time, with dry
weather making its banks a good race track in past times and its dry bed providing a
source of dust for the surrounding residents. Flooding into nearby houses is said to
have inspired the construction of a levee bank between it and the Kororoit Creek and a
weir built along Millers Rd after the 1963 floods. An outfall was established into the
bay and later a bore pump installed that allowed the lake to remain at a fairly constant
level by the late 1960s and further recreation development to occur.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
An unusual context for the metropolitan area, the lake adjoins a coastal strip as well as intensive petro-
chemical industrial sites.
As a body of water in the metropolitan area with early pastoral associations, this lake is one of a small number,
discounting rivers and creeks.
History and themes
History
The area now covered by the City of Hobsons' Bay is at the eastern edge of a basalt
plain that stretches across most of Western Victoria to the Yarra River and Port
Phillip . It was formed millions of years ago by a series of lava flows from
volcanoes, which covered the plain. While the Bay and the Yarra River form the
southern and eastern limits to the Study Area, in the north the Stony Creek divides
Hobsons Bay from its neighbours. Skeleton Creek forms a partial boundary in the
west. Kororoit Creek bisects the Study Area from north to south and Laverton and
Cherrys Creeks drain from the north into what were once seasonal swamps (now
Truganina Swamp and Cherry Lake). Early European visitors found stony ground,
with good grassland to the west, mud flats along the coast at what is now
Williamstown, and a 'she-oak forest' skirting the coastline{ Barnard, 1999}.
had the Truganina or Laverton station from 1836 onwards. Wrede's house is said to
have been near the beach end of Millers Road. It is certainly marked on early maps,
close to the beach in this area { Barnard, 1999}.
Hoddle's plan from 1850 shows the lake as a `lagoon' near what was to be RW
Wredes' 100 acres and east of Henry Miller's 640 acre holding (later annotations on
the map). Wrede was said to have relied on the lake for his stock although slightly
brackish' { Priestly: 46}. Another plan of 1914 shows the lake extending into Miller's
land (1852) and 102 acres held by R Clough (1870s). William Cherry owned 44 and
88 acre lots to the east of the lake, south of the Kororoit Creek, each dated 1866 {
Truganina Parish T109/2}. A small lake south of the main Cherry Lake occupied
what is now the Grant Reserve while another larger body of water occupied the site
where the Cheetham salt works were set up. William Cherry purchased Wrede's
100 acre pre-emptive right in 1861after Wrede's death in 1857' { Priestley: 46 }. The
property contained Wrede's homestead, among other improvements.
...many large areas of the municipality had been set aside for government or public
purposes (but not recreational), throughout the area's history. The earliest of these
was Point Gellibrand, where land for government purposes was reserved in 1839. In
the mid-1990s Melbourne Parks and Waterways, together with the City of Hobson's
Bay, proposed connecting many of these public lands into a 'Williamstown-Altona
Coastal Parklands', incorporating all Crown and Council owned land on the coast
between Laverton Creek and Point Gellibrand. This includes Point Gellibrand, the
foreshore areas of Seaholme, Williamstown and Altona, Altona Sewerage Treatment
Plant, Truganina Swamp, Truganina Explosives Reserve, Altona Tip, Cherry Lake
and the Altona Coastal Park.{ Barnard, 1999}
'Cherry Lake is one of the most important urban wetlands in the metropolitan area,
with the Lake Reserve approximately 130 hectares in area, 70 ha of which is the lake
itself. originally this was only a periodic swamp, but drainage programs by the
MMBW in the 1960s and 1970s have created a permanent lake with a regulated
water level.... In 1974 a beautification program with extensive plantings of natural
vegetation made Cherry Lake an important haven for many birds and a delightful
recreation area.{ Barnard, 1999}.. More recently the all weather track around the
lake has been constructed with the aid of groups such as Kemcor, Habitat and
Friends of Cherry Lake. The habitat of the Altona Skipper Butterfly is at Cherry
Lake and Truganini { A Linkes, 2000}. A plaque at the lake describes the opening of
the athletic track & playground by Mayor WH Summers 1.8.1976, and the reopening
of the reclaimed swamp as a lake.
Associations: RW Wrede Henry Miller William Cherry


PAHT Subtheme: Developing sheep and cattle industries

Other Subtheme:
Significance

Cherry swamp, later Cherry lake, is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a major cultural landscape element within the Contact phase of the City's history
when it was used as drinking water for the stock of early graziers and provided a
landmark for surveyors mapping the area (criterion A4);
- for its association by ownership to the pioneer William Cherry (criterion H1); and
- for its aesthetic and natural values as a wetlands within a residential and industrial
domain (criterion F1)
Documentation
References
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 45-6, 51-2, 69-70, 80, 206-7, 264, 293, 307;
Heritage Study 1999: 2
Land Victoria- parish plan put-aways
A Linkes, 2000, pers. com.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 19th century or as
identified:
elements of the lake, vegetation and land within nominally 10m of its perimeter; and
Given there is no need for a demolition control, a heritage overlay control may not
be the best means of conserving this place, unless an incorporated plan is prepared
which specifies controls, before the heritage overlay is active. Otherwise a design
and development overlay could be considered with the above objectives to protect
the cultural concepts associated with the lake.

Name of place: Mobil Refining Australia offices & refinery

Other Names Standard Vacuum Refining Co Ltd
Address Millers Road Cultural Significance: Regional
Altona North Creation date(s): 1949-53
Site Type Oil refinery Map (Melway) 55A6

Whole site with emphasis on fabric from the 1949-53 era, specifically the offices complex facing Millers Road and the Thermofor
Catalytic Cracking Plant plus land within nominally 10m of the former offices and plant.
Description
An office block, located at the north-east corner of Kororoit Creek Road and Millers
Rd, has a flat roof, is clad with cream bricks and has aluminium framed windows with
green glass panels. The amenities block is to the north, adjacent to refinery structures,
tanks and stacks, all set out on a rectilinear grid between the railway, Millers Rd and
Kororoit Creek Rd. These stacks include the 248 feet high Thermofor Catalytic
Cracking Plant which is thought to be the last vertical catalytic cracker in Australia.
What was the Administration and Cafeteria Buildings, designed by Stephenson &
Turner, was diagonally across the Millers - Kororoit Creek Roads intersection This
was the building pictured in the RVIA 1956 Olympics guide to the State's
architecture. This building has since been changed by a general renovation in recent
times.
A tank farm lies to the south across Kororoit Creek Road. The number of tanks has
been greatly expanded since the 1940s. The plant has also been expanded, with some
additional land occupied to the east, but the original plant has not been radically
changed { Priestley: 206 }. This is underscored by the aerial view of the site titled
`January 1955 The new refinery already looks complete' which shows little change
from recent aerial views { SVRC}.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions, with the exception of the administration and cafeteria.
Context:
Set in an open industrial landscape which is complemented by the Kemcor Australia plant further to the west,
separated by Cherry Lake.
The integrity of the plant is high to its 1940s-50s development stages and thus it is perhaps the most complete
complex of its kind in the region from this key era. Another example is the Kemcor Australia plant which has
many new elements.
History and themes
History
In 1949 Vacuum Oil Company Ltd, an American Company, brought its new
petroleum blending plant on stream at Altona. Soon after, the company decided to
enlarge this facility. A new company, Standard-Vacuum Refining Company
(Australia) Pty Ltd was formed and work began on a new and enlarged refinery. The
area covered by the new facility was 340 acres. The company also reclaimed four
and a half acres of land and rebuilt the Breakwater Pier at Williamstown for delivery
of crude oil to be piped to the refinery. Four huge transit tanks were also erected at
Williamstown. Although the refinery included 'a million feet of pipe with 60,000
welded joints, ... 300 miles of electrical wiring, six miles of paved roads, five acres
of concrete paving and 19 buildings' in pride of place was the Thermofor Catalytic
Cracking Plant, a towering landmark, 268 feet high. The refinery was opened in
1955 by the Prime Minister, R.G. Menzies. After 1960 the refinery became known as
PRA (Petrol Refineries Australia) but is now referred to as the Mobil Refinery{
Barnard, 1999}.
Mobiltown railway station

…. Another defunct railway station in the study area was Mobiltown, initially built

as a platform called Standard Oil Platform. It was constructed in 1953, quite near to
the old Williamstown Racecourse station, which was dismantled in 1951, and had
been unused since racing had been discontinued during the Second World War. The
Standard Vacuum Platform was built initially for the use of employees of the new
refinery. Its name was soon changed to Mobiltown and it was available to general
passengers from 1958. { Barnard, 1999}
The Administration and Cafeteria Buildings (1953), designed by Stephenson &

Turner, were cited in the RVIA 1956 Olympics guide to the State's architecture as an
example of the industrial expansion of the post WW2 era. Architects, Bates Smart &
McCutcheon designed the Standard Oil head office, later Mobil Centre, at Southgate
in 1960. The noted landscape gardener, John Stevens, was involved with the
landscape design of this complex, as well as the Shell Oil Refinery in Geelong
{Hendry, 2000}.
History of Mobil Oil Australia

Mobil was the first oil company in Australia. It began as Vacuum Oil, opening the
Queen Street, Melbourne, branch in February 1895, less than 30 years after Vacuum
first started operations in the United States.
Vacuum Oil's first salesman in Australia, Mr David Clarke, sold the company's first
barrel of lubricating oil to a gold mining operation at Eaglehawk, near Bendigo, on
his first day in the job.
In March 1904, Vacuum Oil was officially incorporated under Victorian Law as a
proprietary company, and in 1906 the company issued Australia's first ever chart of
"Recommendations to Motorists" covering about 200 makes of car. By 1908,
Vacuum was growing rapidly and merged with the Colonial Oil Co, a company
marketing kerosene and motor spirit, adding to Vacuum's specialty lubricant
products. In 1916, Vacuum introduced its "Plume" and "Laurel" brands to the
Australian market and a year later brought its first 100 gallon, horse drawn tank
wagon into service.
As motor vehicles became more popular in Australia, Vacuum expanded its
operations. In 1924 Vacuum opened its first bulk petroleum products terminal at
Pulpit Point in Sydney and took delivery of its first imported bulk oil products cargo,
a 1.5 million gallon shipment carried from the United States by the tanker "HT
Harper".
A decade later, Vacuum introduced "Ethyl", Australia's first Super grade motor
spirit. Around the same time in the US, Vacuum's parent company, Vacuum Oil Inc,
merged with the Standard Oil Company of New York to become Socony Vacuum,
then Socony Mobil that ultimately became Mobil Corporation.
Socony Mobil introduced the Flying Red Horse (Pegasus) logo. It appeared in
Australia in 1939 and became one of Australia's best recognised corporate symbols.
In October 1946, Mobil began constructing the Altona oil refinery. The refinery
commenced operations in June 1949, initially making lubricating oil and bitumen

from imported crude oil.

A multi-million dollar expansion program that came on stream in December 1954,
extended the refinery's product range into motor vehicle fuels and, in 1956, it
produced Australia's first locally made aviation gasoline.
In 1958, Mobil unveiled plans to build an oil refinery at Port Stanvac, south of
Adelaide, which came on stream in 1963. At the same time, Mobil announced the
construction of a major petrochemical plant next to the Altona Refinery in
Melbourne that produced its first products for sale in June 1961.
The discovery of vast reserves of crude oil and gas in Bass Strait in the early 1960's
changed the Australian refining industry dramatically, as all companies changed to
processing the locally produced oil instead of importing their raw materials.
In 1970 further expansion and modification of the Altona Refinery near Melbourne
was completed, making it possible for Bass Strait crude to be processed in the plant.
In 1973 MOA announced its return to the production of lubricating oils in Australia
and commenced construction of a lubricating oil refinery alongside the existing
Adelaide fuels product refinery. The lubricating oil refinery, the most modern one in
Australia, opened in 1976.
In 1985, Mobil Oil Australia negotiated a major asset swap with BP Australia in
which Mobil vacated the Perth retail market in exchange for acquiring a large
portion of BP's South Australian, Victorian and New South Wales retail market.
Two years later, Mobil completed a major upgrade of its Yarraville bulk fuels
terminal in Melbourne to create the most efficient and technologically advanced
petroleum products terminal in Australia.
In late 1990, MOA announced the purchase of Esso Australia's refining and
marketing operations. This gave MOA 100 per cent ownership of Petroleum
Refineries (Australia) Pty Ltd, the company that operated both the Altona and
Adelaide refineries. Completed in January 1991, the acquisition lifted Mobil to
second place among the petroleum marketing and refining companies in Australia.
In December 1995 Mobil re-entered the West Australian market when it purchased
the service station network and wholesale business of Amgas. A program of
investment and expansion in Western Australia will take place over the next few
years through upgrading the chain and building new sites.
Mobil has now embarked on a long term program to modernise its Altona Refinery,
including the installation of a new catalytic cracking unit, to help make the refinery
among Australia's most efficient. The modernisation will equip the refinery with
new, ultra-modern process equipment designed to meet increasingly stringent
environmental and product quality requirements and providing the flexibility to
handle a wide range of crude oil feedstocks' { Mobil Australia}.
Associations: Standard Vacuum Mobil Refining Australia Stephenson & Turner, Jo
Refining Company
(Australia) Ltd.



Other Subtheme:
Significance

E.1 Aesthetic importance to the community or cultural group
Mobil Refining Australia offices & refinery complex, former Standard Vacuum
petroleum is significant to the Western Region:
- as a major refinery and office complex within the industrial history of the City and
part of the State's post WW2 industrial expansion (criterion A4);
- for the recognition of the office block as a good example of design in the 1956
architecture guide (criterion E1) ; and
- for significant plant such as the Thermofor Catalytic Cracking Plant which is unique
in the State (criterion F1)
Documentation
References
Strahan, L 1994 Àt the Edge of Centre': 378
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 206-7, 216-18, 219;
Standard Vacuum Refining Company (Australia) Ltd. 1955. Àltona Story' (SVRC)
Heritage Study 1999, cites above sources;
Mobil Australia web site history, www.mobil.com.au.
Hendry, M 2000 in Àustralian Garden History' V12 N1, July/August 2000: 19-
Further work:
Inspection required of plant
Recommendations

Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1940s-1950s
the place where elements include buildings, objects, plant, paving, landscape, of the
offices complex and Thermofor Catalytic Cracking Plant plus land within nominally
10m of the former offices;
inspect the site and identify any further contributory or significant elements;
research the place using oral and documentary sources and provide further
interpretive public information; and
- Carry out a conservation management plan for the complex as the basis for an
incorporated plan in the planning scheme heritage overlay.

Name of place: St Joseph's Roman Catholic Convent, part St

Other Names
Address 7 Newcastle St Cultural Significance: City
Site Type Church complex Map (Melway) 55J3

The building and land to the extent of the title with emphasis on fabric from the construction date.
Description
This two storey, red brick and terra-cotta tiled convent building is located at the
corner of Walker St, next to the similarly styled presbytery. Consistent with its
ecclesiastical use are the pointed windows, with cement dressings, and the leadlight
glazing. Related landscape includes a modified silky oak and pittosporum.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Contributory part of Newport Residential Precinct, as a keynote building.
Religious complexes, with school, residence and church, are uncommon in the City (see Electra St group,
Williamstown): this is an early religious building group in this part of the City.
History and themes
History
( see also presbytery)
The Sisters of St Joseph were to be stationed here in 1900 to start Catholic education
within the parish but delays arose from a shortage of sisters to serve the new school.
A `fine hall' was erected by mid 1901 under the watch of Fr Brazil (Williamstown )
but it was not until 1903 that the Sisters were announced as being in charge of a new
school built by D Lanigan. The Newport parish was created from Williamstown in
1916 with Fr Cusack as the first PP and the new presbytery followed.
It is unclear when the convent was erected but although it is possible that it was built
for the Sisters who arrived before 1903 and sometime after 1901, the building
appears to be more from the 1920s.
Associations: Catholic Church Sisters of St Joseph

PAHT Subtheme: Worshipping

Other Subtheme:
Significance

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Convent, part St Joseph's Roman Catholic Complex, is
significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a large, well preserved custom designed residential building prominent within the
Newport area and closely related to the St Joseph's complex (criterion F1);
- for its long association with the work of the catholic Church in the area (criterion
A4, G1)
Documentation
References
Àdvocate' held at Catholic Hist Commission;
Heritage Study;
VPRO MMBW Field Books 109, 1473, 58 - 1923, Propert Service plans 133830 133869
Further work:
Trustees requested to provide history pamphlet to City of Hobsons Bay (see also State Library of
Victoria?)
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
(1920s) and the period of use as a convent.
the place;
conservation;
carry out an oral history and then reassess the heritage significance of the place; and

Name of place: St Joseph's Roman Catholic Presbytery, part St

Other Names
Address 9 Newcastle St Cultural Significance: Regional
Site Type Church residence Map (Melway) 55J3

The building and land to the extent of the title with emphasis on fabric from pre 1920.
Description
This two storey, red brick and slate roof presbytery is located at the corner of Schutt
St, next to the similarly styled convent. The building has cement dressings over
windows, shingled gable ends, a two level verandah and notable leadlight glazing.
There are also interior elements generally as described after construction (see history).
Related landscape includes a lilly pilly, and silky oak.
External Condition:
External Integrity:


Context:
History and themes
History
A fine hall' was erected by mid 1901 under the watch of Fr Brazil (Williamstown )
This presbytery was designed by the prolific architects, Kempson & Connolly, and
built in 1917 by G Ireland with Mulhall as the clerk of works . The parish priest, Fr
Cusack, had been residing in Williamstown. Bold headlines in `The Advocate'
stated `The Archbishop at Newport Enthusiastic welcome by 3000 people'.
Archbishop Mannix blessed and opened the new presbytery as well as addressing the
crowd on a number of `current topics'. The reporter noted that this was a democratic
suburb in the best sense of the term .. The workers rallied around the Archbishop …
evidently captured the hearts of the toilers (who) recognise in him a staunch friend'.
Then Newport was the `newest and the smallest parish in the Archdiocese'. It was
noted that Newport was populated by artisans and that no large donations were
expected but that small donations in large numbers would help. Typically the
foundations of the building had been costly as being for a `permanent' building; the
total cost had been £2354. The war had treated the Newport workers poorly and
many sought work and the railways workshop was only partly staffed.
The presbytery was described as of brick, roofed with the best Welsh slates, two
storied with a balcony and verandah to the side and part of the front and back. Kauri
flooring had been used throughout with the verandah floors being of jarrah and the
staircase, doors, skirtings and architraves of polished Queensland maple. On the
ground floor were the entry hall, reception, a dining room with a large window bay, a
study with an open air lounge attached, kitchen, scullery, servants bedroom and a
pantry. On the upper level were four bedrooms, bathroom, and an open air room
(sleepout) connected with the balcony. Leadlight windows were fitted in the dining,
study and entry hall. Electric light was provided and hot water laid on to the
bathroom.
Associations: Catholic Church Fr Cusack Kempson & Connolly


PAHT Subtheme: Worshipping

Other Subtheme:
Significance

St Joseph's Roman Catholic presbytery, part St Joseph's Roman Catholic Complex,
is significant to the Western Region:
- as a large, well preserved custom designed residential building prominent within the
Newport Residential Precinct and closely related to the St Joseph's complex (criterion
F1);
- as the subject of a grand opening ceremony and extensive publicity in the press of
the day (criterion G1);
- for its long association with the work of the Catholic Church in the area (criterion
A4, G1); and
- for its association with the architects Kempson & Conolly and the locally prominent
parish priests who resided there (criterion H1) .
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Àdvocate' held at Catholic Hist Commission see 23/6/1917: 35, 25/8/1917: 24, 1/9/1917: 16
Recommendations
Heritage Registers

Planning Scheme
Recommendations
c1917 and the period of use as a presbytery.
the place;
conservation;
carry out an oral history and then reassess the heritage significance of the place; and

Name of place: Sacred Heart RC Church & School, part St

Other Names
Site Type Church Map (Melway) 55J3

The building and land to the extent of the title with emphasis on fabric from the 1940s.
Description
This is a red brick Modern Gothic church typical of many erected for the Catholic
Church in the first half of the 20th century. The elevation is in two gabled bays with a
bell tower over the western bay, presumably being the 1942 addition. Tiles have been
used on the roof, with glazed tiling on the western wing being later than those of the
eastern section. A number of minor additions in a matching style are evident.
Cemented dressings are used at openings particularly the tracery and foliation in the
main windows and entry gables.
The school block on the east is of two storeys and red brick with multi-pane windows

on both levels. This elevation is similar to but not a match to the 1930 school façade
which appears to have been either modified considerably or part of another wing.
More recent school wings adjoin on the east and rear.
External Condition:
good (partially disturbed, well preserved) in part.
External Integrity:
Context:
Contributory part of Newport Residential Precinct, as keynote buildings.
History and themes
History
A fine hall' was erected by mid 1901 under the watch of Fr Brazil (Williamstown )
.
A new brick school building was opened in 1930 by Archbishop Mannix under the
supervision of Fr Cusack PP. The mayor and mayoress of Williamstown attended
along with the Williamstown town clerk, several councillors and the Minister for
Education, Mr J Lemmon.
The school replaced an old timber building which was to be remodelled as a parish
hall. It had six classrooms 30 feet x 25 feet each (3 to a floor) and had been designed
to be `better than and not quite like' any other school of the time. It was pronounced
a fine addition to a Progressive Parish. The design had a Dutch hipped roof, was two
storeys and had an arcaded loggia on the ground level. A gablet was placed centrally
in the roof and the upper level had a `large sun balcony'. The builder (and designer?)
was Bart Moriarty and the cost including remodelling and moving the old school was
£5178. Total spending in the parish was then over £10,000. Altona and Laverton
were incorporated into the Newport parish in 1937.
The foundation stone for additions to this church was laid by the M Rev Daniel
Mannix 17/5/1942. PJ O'Connor was the architect and the parish priest, Rev J
Gorry. The work consisted of a new font, choir gallery and 70 feet high tower, and
near doubling of the seated capacity: the cost was £8000. This work took place

during WW2 and protests were being made against occupation of Catholic schools
by the armed forces in the state of emergency
Associations: Catholic Church Fr Cusack PJ O'Connor


Other Subtheme:
Significance

St Joseph's Roman Catholic church and school, part St Joseph's Roman Catholic
Complex, are significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as large, well preserved custom designed ecclesiastical buildings prominent within
the Newport Residential Precinct and integral to the St Joseph's complex (criterion
F1);
- as subjects of grand opening ceremonies and extensive publicity in the press of the
day (criterion G1);
- for its long association with the work of the Catholic Church in the area (criterion
A4, G1); and
- for their role as public buildings with associations for many Newport and district
Catholics (criterion G1) .
Documentation
References
Àdvocate' (at Catholic Hist Commission) see 8/5/1930: 11, 21/5/42: 4-5;
Heritage Study;
F.ST laid 17/5/1942

Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
(1940s) and the period of use as church.
the place;
conservation;
- Carry out an oral history and then reassess the heritage significance of the place;
and

Name of place: Newport Coffee Palace, former

Other Names Newport Residential Palace
Site Type Hotel Map (Melway) 55J3

The title land and building, with emphasis on fabric from the main construction period, the 1890s.
Description
This prominent but austere 2 storey corner building has a parapeted form and Italian
Renaissance character, with sparely applied cement detailing. The bricks have been
painted, and the building has been recently converted to apartments. Apart from the
rectangular windows generally used on the elevation, there is a small arcaded balcony
with basket arches between Romanesque inspired columns. An unusual roof form at
the corner appears to be the result of an alteration.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions, such as the painted brickwork and the redeveloped interior.

Context:
The only known coffee palace in the City and the Western Region, in this case sited atypically some distance
from the railway station.
History and themes
History
This 20 room brick Coffee Palace was erected in 1891 for Frederick Harris. A
Frederick Harris was listed as residing in Yarra St, Newport in the 1890s { D1892}.
Peter Morrison, a grocer, was the first occupier of a shop in the building while the
Bank of NSW appears to have foreclosed on Harris in the 1890s and taken
ownership. Residents at the Coffee Palace included Elizabeth Blackwood and
Winifred Rowe in 1915, who were presumably boarding house keepers. G Farrar
was one of the boarding house proprietors in the 1920s when it was the Newport
Residential Palace with what was still a one room retail tenancy taken up by a boot
repairer. Other occupiers of this shop included Miss E Fitzgerald, grocer, Alex
Hughes, confectioner, and Arthur Harvey, a green grocer.
After the bank ownership, WA Fowler, agent of Collins St, was the listed owner but
he was replaced by Thomas H Firth in the 1920s. His estate owned it still in the
1940s until O'Connor & Smith took over what was still described as a guest house,
in the mid 1940s and the Newport Coffee Palace in the 1950s. More recently it has
been converted into apartments, leaving the interior generally changed from its
original form.
A related contemporary event at Altona has been described in the Environmental

History:
With a minute population and little through traffic, there was probably little
justification in establishing a hotel in Altona in the nineteenth century, especially
with so many hotels located nearby in Williamstown. Moreover, at least one member
of the syndicate that developed Altona's first planned subdivision was a teetotaller.
During the marketing of the Altona Bay Estate in the 1880s, there were plans to use
the Laverton Homestead as a guest house or coffee palace, rather than a hotel. Many
of the land boomers who promoted estates such as Altona in the 1880s were
abstainers and included coffee palaces, instead of hotels, in their estate plans. At
Altona, however, even the plans to use the homestead as a coffee palace did not
seem to materialise. Some sources have attributed the lack of hotels in Altona to a
predominantly teetotal population{ Barnard, 1999}.
This account highlights the theories behind the creation of coffee palaces, in the
Newport case atypically sited away from the railway station and very close to a
Catholic Church.

Associations: Frederick Harris Thomas H Firth

Lodging people

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
Newport Coffee Palace, former, is significant to the Western Region:
- as the only known surviving purpose built coffee palace in the region and as one of
the relatively small number in the State (criterion B2);
- for its link with the first stage of urban growth in the Newport era and a nation wide
enthusiasm for abstinence (criterion A4);
- for the association as a public building with the local Newport community
(criterion G1);
- for its distinctive architectural treatment, being contributory to an otherwise
ecclesiastic group within the Newport Residential Precinct (criterion F1) .
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers

Planning Scheme
Recommendations
the coffee palace tenure:
the place;

Name of place: Red Robin Hosiery factory, now Finnish Hall

Other Names Finnish Hall
Address 119 Pier St Cultural Significance: City
Altona Creation date(s): 1949c

Building and land with emphasis on fabric from the immediate post WW2 era and the Red Robin tenure.
Description
This is a European Modern style, stuccoed factory-office design which may have been
further augmented by the current occupiers. The composition of the elevation is
marked by the juxta-positioning of a long horizontal window strip, with metal framed
windows, against a vertical feature at the entry. This entry element has a rickrack
pattern semi-decorative wire glass window openings above the door and relates to
another geometric grouping of openings at the corner. Either side of the entry element
and echoing its profile, are tripartite cement mouldings protruding above the parapet
line. There are remnants of the former factory garden described in the local press of
the time.
External Condition:


External Integrity:
Context:
Edge of Altona commercial centre in flat open site.
One of the few early Modernist inspired industrial designs in the City, the others including Goetz & Son in
Hall St and the BP mixing tower and stores in Douglas Pde. One of the few non petro-chemical industrial
developments in the Altona area.
History and themes
History
Historical context
The migrant presence has also been reflected in the number of social and welfare
clubs and centres, many of them based on ethnic or regional communities. Many,
such as the Finnish Hall in a former Red Robin factory in Pier Street, Altona, took
over older premises, when they were established. A range of nationalities - Italian,
Maltese, Croatian, Greek, Finnish, Macedonian, Polynesian, Slovak, Vietnamese and
Lebanese - offer social support, many of them based at the Migrant Resource Centre
which was first established in 1975 as the Migrant Centre in a converted shop in
Second Avenue, Altona'. { Barnard, 1999}.
Specific History
The Red Robin Hosiery Mills were established at Brunswick by Arthur Rose c1926.
Rose died in the 1940s but his sons continued and expanded the business. As a
result, the branch mill at Altona opened c1949, with the first Victorian Directory'
entry for the building as 1950 { Williamstown Chronicle' 16/2/1951; Priestley:
230}. The Brunswick factory was expanded c1965 meaning the demise of Altona,
with all company activities reverting to the home factory { Priestley: 230}. It was the
Finish Hall by 1972, serving 23 Finnish familles in Altona and others from across
the metropolitan area..
In 1951, two years of operation, the mill had received a glowing report from the local
press (`Williamstown Chronicle'): èquipped with modern amenities designed for the
well being and comfort of employees … the mill may be regarded as a splendid asset
to a rapidly growing and well regulated district'. The reporter noted the proximity of
the mill to the railway station and the ample room for growth on the site which
already had a basketball court planned. The `spacious lawn' in front of the building
had proved popular for staff lunch breaks. A generator was on hand to cope with any
electricity disruptions.

The staff was particularly well catered for with heating and cooling of the workplace,
tea breaks and grilled lunches provided by the firm, and a very active social club.
The 25 `girls' or òperatives' were thought to be the `best looking in the district', with
most living in Altona and others from Williamstown and beyond. The products
(ladies and children's socks) were also of note: the demand for products had
overtaken supply although 1500 dozen pairs were being made per week. The
manager over the past 14 months had been a Mr K Giebels who was also skilled in
the machinery maintenance. When he arrived his staff had numbered 4 girls {
`Williamstown Chronicle' 16/2/1951}.
Associations: Red Robin Hosiery Mills


Other Subtheme:
Significance

Red Robin Hosiery factory, now Finnish Hall, is significant to the City of Hobsons
Bay
- for its distinctive architectural stylism which contrast with other industrial
complexes in the region for its use of a European Modern inspired treatment
(criterion F1);
- for the association with Red Robin Hosiery which was a highly lauded modern
factory development of its time in the City (criterion A4);
- for the local association of former workers in the complex over a long period
(criterion G1) ;
- for the subsequent use by an immigrant group, highlighting a particular facet of the
area's history (criterion A4) .

Documentation
References
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 229-30 owner Arthur Rose 1920s-
`Williamstown Chronicle' article 2/1951;
Heritage Study;
MMBW Property Service File, City West Water PSP 466474- no result
Municipal Building Permit Records- no trace except for minor works in the 1970s.
Further work:
Photos or records from Red Robin Socks in Brunswick.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the immediate post
WW2 era and the Red Robin tenure.
the place;
conservation;
and

Name of place: Memorial plaques, Altona

Other Names
Address off Pier Street Cultural Significance: City
Altona Creation date(s): 1969, 1974
Site Type Memorial, pioneer Map (Melway) 54H10

The plaques and sufficient stone or masonry to support them in the public view.
Description
These two bronze plaques were erected by the Altona Historical Association:
- one recalls the former Altona hospital site and is set in a white painted boulder at the
south-west corner of a service station and car wash driveway;
- the other is a plaque set on the corner wall of a shop recalling the first step for the
Australian avaiation industry in the near vicinity.
The first Altona hospital was erected there in 1932; the plaque also refers to the
services of Dr L Joel MBBS (medical officer Werribee Shire) and Matron Ivy Weber
and the Shell Company of Australia Ltd who once owned the site and provided the
`garden setting' for the memorial in October 1974. Another foundation stone

(sandstone) is evident on the east wall of the former Altona hospital sited at the corner
of Queen St and Sargood St which records that the President of the Werribee Shire,
David Greive, laid the stone in September 1937.
The other plaque is on the wall of a shop wall at the south-west corner of Railway St
South and Pier St Altona. It was placed there by the society 6 December 1969 and
refers to Altona as the birthplace of Australian aviation. It cites an open field to the
west of the plaque location where, 18 February 1911, Joseph J Hammond made the
first of a successful series of flights in a Bristol aeroplane equipped with a 50hp motor.
These flights included the first cross- country (Geelong and back) passenger and
charter flight in Australia. His achievements convinced the Commonwealth
Government to purchase two Bristol aircraft and establish an airbase at Pt Cook.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
The hospital memorial is set at the edge of a service station driveway which is unrelated to the former history
of the site; similarly the plaque on the shop corner has little visual relationship to the event it records.
History and themes
History
Hammond flights
While Australia's first two RAAF bases were located just outside of the City of
Hobsons Bay, Altona was the site of some of the earliest aircraft flights in Australia.
In November 1910 a Frenchman, Gaston Cugnet managed to leave the ground near
Altona Homestead and fly for about six miles at a height of about 200 feet. However,
in February 1911 a New Zealander, Joseph Hammond, performed a number of
demonstration flights for a selected audience. Hammond's flights originated in a
paddock just north of Altona Homestead. On one of his flights he succeeded in
getting as far as Geelong. The Altona Historical Society has commemorated
Hammond's flights with an historical marker { Barnard 2000}. Another plaque has
been placed in the grounds of the City of Hobsons Bay council offices which
commemorates the
Susan Priestley records some of the detail of the flights, telling of the British &
Colonial Aeroplane Company sending a mission to capture the Australian

Government's interests in acquiring defence aircraft for a new Australian Corps. The
Bristol planes were twice as heavy and twice as powerful as the French rivals but the
distinction was that they could carry a passenger. The pilot, Hammond, had learnt
how to fly in France. The flights took place on a grass paddock at the invitation of
entrepreneur WH Croker who then held control of the Altona Bay real estate
company and the former Laverton homestead adjoining the paddock. Paying
passengers, J Baillieu and WJ Knox were the first to take a commercial flight in
Australia 2 March 1911 { Priestley: 110}. Pt Cook was selected as the first
Australian Corps flying school in 1913 which opened in the following year.
Altona hospitals
Hospitals also were formed out of a spirit of self-help (which was something of a
necessity). Williamstown Hospital was erected by public subscription in order to
deal with the victims of accidents at nearby industrial sites. The first two wards were
opened in 1894 and the hospital was enlarged to three wards by 1900 { Barnard,
2000}.
Altona's first hospital was established as a community subscriber hospital, on similar

principles to bush nursing hospitals, in 1932 when a trained nursing sister, Ivy
Weber opened an eight bed hospital in an old house in Pier Street. Local families
were encouraged to subscribe to the hospital. In 1938 the hospital moved to a new
brick building in Sargood Street { Barnard, 2000}.
Associations: Altona Historical Society

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance


Memorial plaques, Altona, commemorating the first Altona hospital and the first
commercial air flight in Australia are significant to the City:
- as reminders of one nationally significant event and one locally significant
milestone in community health ( Criterion A4);
- a symbols of the community's continuing memory of these formative events within
the City ( Criterion G1) .
Documentation
References
Priestley 1988. Àltona A Long View': 110-11, 112; 187-8, 190-2, 192-3, 197, 224, 276-9, 311, 312;
Barnard, J. 2000 Environmental History in Stage Two of the Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts
Heritage Study;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
the plaques are the contributory elements.
- To conserve and enhance the contributory elements at each place where
- To conserve and enhance the public view of these contributory elements.

Name of place: Cheetham Salt Works site (part)

Other Names Homestead Run estate, part
Address off Point Cook Road Cultural Significance: State
Laverton Creation date(s): 1924c-
Site Type Factory Map (Melway) 208C4

Land bound by Aviation Road on the west, Skeleton Creek on the north and part east, the Altona Meadows estate and MMBW drainage
reserve on the north, and the Port Phillip Bay on the east and south (refer Melway 11th edition, Map 208, as marked) with emphasis on
fabric from the inter-war and Cheetham Salt Works era.
Description
This is the site of former large salt evaporation ponds and earth embankments on the
north and south side of Skeleton Creek, merging with a wetlands near the coast (south
side in City of Wyndham) The entry to the works was east off Aviation Road just
north of the Sneydes Road intersection { Melway 11th ed}. The area covered is bound
by Aviation Road on the west, Skeleton Creek on the north and part east, the Altona
Meadows estate and MMBW drainage reserve on the north, and the Port Phillip Bay
on the east and south (refer Melway 11th edition, Map 208, as marked).
This was a prominent salt works within the State but has since been partly re-

developed. Nothing remains within the new housing development south of the creek
but there are many remnants in the Skeleton Creek reserve and in the 505ha
Cheetham Wetlands: these are yet to be assessed. North of Skeleton Creek there are
some 81 ponds (clay, mud and sand based, some called Cherry, Explosives etc. after
local identities), a pump house on the creek with steam driven pump, a ford and weir,
and remnants of sand collection rail line with prefabricated light rail sets, stored and
in-situ, a windmill, a weed rake and fence posts from the pre Cheetham era. The ford
is still used by Parks Victoria. The rolling stock from the tramway was sold to the
Choo-Choo restaurant at Emerald and had survived as of an inspection in 1999. Part
of the wetlands have been recognised under RAMSAR for their natural values.
A summary of surviving elements of the saltworks complex in the City of Hobson’s

Bay, include :
-concrete weir and ford on Skeleton Creek;
-remnants of timber tramway bridge across skeleton creek and related drains, some
with small bluestone abutments;
-sand collection tramway from weir to near beach, rails and sleepers on west side of
track to Pump house, intact from pump house to beach on bank of creek;
- pump house, trash racks, distribution pipes and control weirs; and
-evaporation pans, levee banks, connecting channels, control gates and sluices
The salt refinery and workshop complex survives on Aviation Road (in the City of
Wyndham), but stripped of equipment and in a dilapidated state. Cheetham's main salt
works at Geelong still survives with extensive documentation on its construction held
at the Geelong Historical Records Centre.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
Set on low wetlands of the coast, near the former Pt Cook hunting lodge and west of the former Laverton
explosives reserve.
Cheetham's main salt works at Geelong still survives with extensive documentation on its construction held at
the Geelong Historical Records Centre. No other saltworks in known in the Melbourne metropolitan area.
History and themes
History
In 1924 Cheetham Saltworks Pty Ltd bought the northern part of the former Point
Cook Pastoral Estate to harvest salt in man-made evaporative lakes. When the
company wound up its operations here in the 1990s the lakes, which were significant
wetlands bird habitats, were handed over to Melbourne Parks and Waterways. The
remainder of Cheetham's land was subdivided for new housing developments and a
resort-style country club and golf course. (in the City of Wyndham) { Barnard,
1999}.
Chemist, Richard Cheetham arrived in Victoria 1862 and set up a salt works on
French Island. After initial failure he started another at Geelong in 1888. To expand
his holdings he purchased 1200 acres on this site and produced the first salt in 1926.
A refinery was built there in 1940 and housing for workers along the east side of
Aviation Road { Vines, 1989}.
Associations: Cheetham Saltworks Pty Melbourne Parks and Parks Victoria
Ltd Waterways


Other Subtheme:
Significance

Cheetham Salt Works site (part) and any surviving elements (as sited) are significant
to the Western Region:
- as a major undertaking in an uncommon industry for the State and the region
(criterion A4, B2).
(all surviving elements are yet to be assessed )

Documentation
References
Vines, 1989: site 232;

Heritage Study;
Parks Victoria Pt Cook office 461 Pt Cook Road, Pt Cook, 9395 1132 via Bernie McCarrock, former
Cheetham worker, and Alec Thomsic;
`Melway Greater Melbourne' 11th ed
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the inter-war and the
Cheetham tenure.
the place where elements include 81 evaporation ponds (clay, mud and sand based),
a pump house on the creek with steam driven pump, a ford and weir, and remnants
of sand collection rail line with prefabricated light rail sets, stored and in-situ, a
windmill, a weed rake and fence posts from the pre Cheetham era plus reserve land,
related landforms, buildings, plant, tramways, piping, objects, posts and yarding,
paving, and landscape - where enhancement includes reinstatement of known
the place;
conservation;

and
oral sources and then reassess the heritage significance of the place, preparing an
incorporated plan for the heritage overlay based on the above before the control is
active.

Name of place: North Williamstown Railway Station, part

Melbourne Williamstown Railway
Other Names
Address off Power St Cultural Significance: City
Williamstown Nth Creation date(s): 1912
Site Type Railway platform / station Map (Melway) 56 A7

Buildings, platform and station yard, with emphasis on fabric from the Edwardian-era.
Description
As with Newport, twin red brick and stucco Edwardian-era station buildings face each
other across the tracks, fronting onto asphalt paved platforms. However the
Edwardian Baroque ox-bow motif seen at Spotswood is disbanded here in favour of
expressed gabled Marseilles pattern terra-cotta clad roofs. This, as with Newport,
provides a domestic character to the complex. The entry to the west building has a
slatted frieze not unlike Edwardian-era houses in the area, the roof is corrugated iron
clad. Colours are related to the era. The cantilevering canopies are supported on open-
web steel or iron portal frames, have scalloped ripple iron front valences, with straight
profiles at each end. The coping and base wall of the platform is stone.

As with Newport there is a row of pepper trees on the east side and other related shrub
planting on the west side facing Kororoit Creek Road.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions, such as the blocked and altered windows.
Context:
Contributory part of Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong Railway precinct, close to vast Newport railway
workshops and opposite Rifle Club Hotel..
One of three Edwardian-era railway stations in the City and one of a small number of Edwardian-era public
buildings.
History and themes
History
to Melbourne.


1999}.
Specific history
This station was built for the Victorian Railways by Sunshine councillor and prolific
contractor, FE Shillabeer, in 1912 { National Trust of Australia, contract date
22..5.1912} .
Associations: Victorian Government Victorian Railways


Other Subtheme:
Significance

North Williamstown Railway Station (part Melbourne - Williamstown Railway) is
significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a good example of a well preserved architect designed Edwardian-domestic style
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Line'
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
elements of the complex, trees and land within nominally 10 m of the perimeter of
each element;
the place;
conservation;
and


Name of place: Laverton homestead & garden

Other Names Homestead
Address 128 Queen St Cultural Significance: Regional
Altona Creation date(s): 1855c-, c1909
Site Type Farm complex, sheep/cattle Map (Melway) 54H11

The homestead building and cited trees (Moreton Bay figs -3 centre north in the reserve and one centre; Norfolk Island pines - 2 south-
east, one centre, two centre-west, a kauri pine - centre north, Monterey cypress -3 centre east, 1 south-east, row of 6 south west; a
`Washingtonia sp.' palm - 1 centre west) and land within nominally 5m of the perimeter of each.
Description
The complex consists of the 1850s-60s rubble bluestone wing with a hipped main roof
clad with corrugated iron and a rear service courtyard facing north. On the south of
this is a large and picturesque brick and stucco Edwardian-era wing which faces the
sea. This has two projecting room bays, a gabled porch entry and a linking verandah.
On the east wing is a ribbed brick Edwardian-era chimney set in a base reusing the
1850s basalt. The interior has been renovated in the Edwardian-era and has some
notable parts.
The close proximity of Queen St, hard against the north wall of part of the complex,

has affected the concept of the house as a former pastoral era homestead but is not a
new phenomena, having been put in place with the Altona estate of the 1880s. The car
park to the adjoining clubrooms is on the site of one demolished outbuilding while the
woolshed site was well to the north.
The siting next to the reserve and former grounds of the homestead, with its mature
ornamental planting, aids the historical expression of the place. The grounds include
mature exotic trees which appear to have been part of the homestead garden. These
include a number of Moreton Bay figs (3 centre north in the reserve and one centre),
Norfolk Island pines (2 south-east, one centre, two centre-west), a kauri pine (centre-
north), Monterey cypress (3 centre east, 1 south-east, row of 6 south west),
Washingtonia palm (1 centre-west) and lesser shrubs. This group of trees is
significant within the Western Region.
A new shelter has been added to the reserve along with reconstruction of pathways. A
toilet block (1950s?) is centre-west in the reserve.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
Contributory part of Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct and adjoining the Altona commercial centre.
This is the only 19th century pastoral era homestead to survive in the City and one of a small number of 19th
century farm related structures.
History and themes
History
Historical context
Early Pastoral Settlement
Gellibrand Point became an important site for the members of the Port Phillip
Association who followed Wedge from Van Diemen's Land to the Port Phillip
District. It was at this convenient spot that members of the association landed their
stock and supplies, having crossed Bass Strait to establish their own pastoral runs
here. While Williamstown soon began to develop as a village and port area, most of
the rest of the study area was taken up by early pastoral properties.{ Barnard, 1999}

had the Truganina or Laverton station from 1836 onwards. { Barnard, 1999}
Wrede's house is said to have been near the beach end of Millers Road. It is
certainly marked on early maps, close to the beach in this area. Langhorne's house,
on the adjoining property to the east, remains today as Altona Homestead in Queen
Street, Altona, although it was originally called Laverton. ... Some of the Moreton
Bay figs on (the) R Logan Reserve are said to be remnants of the large garden
attached to the homestead. { Barnard, 1999}
Pastoral licensees did not own their land. When the Crown had surveyed it and
offered it for sale. they were allowed first chance to purchase land they had
improved. The land they purchased in this way was known as a Pre-emptive Right.
Both Wrede and Langhorne took up Pre-emptive Rights. Robert Wrede's choice was
not the block containing his Altona homestead, but another block closer to Cherry
Lake, which was then a swamp. William Lyall, who later became well-known in the
colony as an agriculturalist and sheep and cattle breeder, bought Wrede's homestead
block, as well as other blocks in the vicinity. Alfred Langhorne purchased 630 acres
west of his homestead, as well as several other blocks in the Parish of Truganina,
mostly in the areas now known as Altona and Altona North. Eventually, in the
1850s, Langhorne also purchased Wrede's original land from William Lyall.
Langhorne ran cattle, sheep and horses at the Laverton property. Langhorne sold the
property in 1874 to Joseph, John and Robert Phelps, brothers who had developed
pastoral properties in NSW.{ Barnard, 1999}
In 1887 a syndicate, formed by A.T. Clark and William Croker was launched as the
Altona and Laverton Bay Freehold and Investment Company. The syndicate
purchased land at Altona, which included the old Laverton Homestead, from J.J.
Phelps and marketed the estate as a seaside resort. { Barnard, 1999}
National Trust of Australia citation from 1984: A Homestead which survives as a

relic of one of the oldest squatting runs in Victoria, taken up by Alfred Langhorne in
1836. The present building is believed to contain no material earlier than the 1850s,
and has been substantially altered at later dates.' The building was classified at Local
level in 1998.
Specific history
Alfred Langhorne purchased CA A/8 (including this site) in July 1851, 136 ha (336
acres) as part of the Laverton Pastoral Lease 693, and the grant was dated 27-10-
1852 { VTO}. Langhorne also purchased CA B/7, granted in December 1850 and
CA3/6 in 1863. The 1861 Geological Survey plan of the area does not show any
buildings on this site, although the Point Cook homestead complex is shown.
However Miles Lewis has cited Hoddle's 1842 survey (roll plan 40.109) as showing

a structure and fenced paddock on this site labelled Langhorne. A woolshed is in the
north west corner of the 248 acre enclosure, part of the pastoral lease { Lewis 1984}.
This plan has been identified as Sydney C17 which was annotated by Hoddle in 1850
and probably is from this year rather than 1842, particularly as its shows the
allotment numbers sold in that period. The plan also shows Wrede's allotment and a
structure to the east. The Cox admiralty plan of the coast line made in c1861 shows
similar structures labelled Laverton (Langhorne) and Altona (Wrede).
Some of the earliest rate entries for Alfred Langhorne show John Cafrae as occupier
of Langhorne's 2700 acres of pasture with good improvements' in the 1860s.
Langhorne took over in the late 1860s, 1870s when the description included dwelling
etc.' for the first time. He had sold to John & Joseph Phelps, graziers, by 1874, who
were joined by William McPherson by c1877. By the 1880s it was McPherson and
Joseph Phelps occupying some 2663 acres held in the name of John Phelps. From the
late 1880s the owner was the Altona Bay Estate Company who held many unsold
lots and dwellings. Around 1900 the 337 unsold lots, homestead, railways, dwelling
and wool shed, were owned by the Trustees Agency Company of Australia who
resold to Charles F Hollins, grazier, by 1902. He had sold to George Forbes by 1904
with the rated property now including the Altona Bay estate 540 unsold lots, 2324
acres, homestead and a number of holdings in the names of Greeney, Knowles,
Webb, McBain and Croker. William Henry Croker, a Melbourne solicitor, was the
next to own it in 1905. Croker had gained an interest in the Altona estate in the
1890s and apparently its ownership by 1903 { Priestley: 97}. In 1907 the description
included `Homestead brick building'. Henry Kershaw Walker, was the next to be
rated for what was described as the Altona Bay Co, homestead, in 1908-9: it was
now rated separately on its own lots (21-41, 44-5). His listed occupation was that of
manager which was apparently in his role of engineer in charge of the mining
enterprise operated by WH Croker located near the old wool shed site { Priestley:
99}. It is likely that the Edwardian-era additions and changes were made at this
time. A 1913 plan of the Queen Street survey shows the homestead similarly planned
to today's building, with a courtyard and bays to the south east corner, but there is
also an out-building facing Sargood St which has since been demolished.
The Yarraville chemical manufacturing firm of Cuming Smith & Co owned the
homestead by the 1920s when it was used in conjunction with the YMCA as a hostel
and holiday camp (Sicklehome) for workers. To that end three kitchens, a bathroom
and lavatories were installed at the house while some 20 former cable trams offered
accommodation, under the caretaker Thomas Meddings in the 1930s. The local
progress association requested Werribee Shire Council to purchase the complex for
use as a boarding house or hotel in 1935 which was done two years later and the
tramcars cleared away for the creation of a public park. From the late 1930s to the
1950s, Mrs Honora Twentyman leased the homestead.

After the Altona Shire was created in 1957 the complex was used for municipal
purposes, including the Baby Health centre, Altona community rooms and tennis
courts. The new Civic Parade complex of 1963 replaced the homestead as the venue
for many municipal services.
Associations: Alfred Langhorne Joseph, John and Robert William Henry Croker
Phelps

Governing
PAHT Subtheme: Developing sheep and cattle industries

Other Subtheme: Developing local government authorities
Significance

B.2 Rarity
Laverton homestead & garden is significant to the Western Region:
- as one of the oldest farm buildings (part) in the region as indicated by its basalt
rubble walling (criterion A4) ;
- for the skilful design of the Edwardian-era wing and its integration with the earlier
structure (criterion F1);
- for its associations with the pioneer Alfred Langhorne and early pastoralism in the
region (criterion H1, A4) ;
- for its associations with the Altona and Laverton Bay Freehold and Investment
Company and the various Altona beach housing estates;
- for the group mature exotic trees which once formed the garden which are as
specimens and a group in the region (criterion A4, B2);
- as the meeting place of the first Altona Council (criterion A4, G1);
and for its early recognition by the National Trust of Australia as a heritage place (
Criterion G1) .
Documentation
References

Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 47-, 173 cites Cuming Smith collection
Map 1861;
Heritage Study, (Melbourne's Living Museum of the West): site 269 no grading;
Heritage Study;
City of Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme HO 1 L15
National Trust of Australia file FN B2940
Munro & Cooper, Altona Homestead, B.Arch MU 1964 (see Architecture Library)
Cox 1861 coastal survey (Sydney Pal 17, Pt Phillip Sheet 6)
Municipal Rate Books (RB) VPRS 2130/P Werribee Shire (now Wyndham?)- focus on Edwardian-
era wing
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
National Trust Register: Yes, 2940
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 19th century, c1900-
20 and the shire tenure:
the place where elements include buildings, objects, landscape, trees (Moreton Bay
figs -3 centre north in the reserve and one centre; Norfolk Island pines - 2 south-east,
one centre, two centre-west, a kauri pine - centre north, Monterey cypress -3 centre
east, 1 south-east, row of 6 south west; a `Washingtonia sp.' palm - 1 centre west)
and where enhancement includes reinstatement of known missing original elements;
the place;

- To ensure that new built elements at the place are recessive and related to the
place's contributory elements in roof and plan form, external materials, front rear
and side setbacks from street and property boundaries, and building bulk as viewed
from public areas, including perpetuation of any of the cited trees, as required by tree
loss.

Name of place: Truganina Explosives Magazine & Reserve, trees

Other Names Altona Explosives Reserve
Address 276 Queen St Cultural Significance: Regional
Site Type Explosives magazine Map (Melway) 209B1

Extent of remaining reserve, works, buildings and landscape with emphasis on fabric from c1897-1906.
Description
This complex includes two government designed Magazine Keepers' Quarters, a
brick late Victorian-era (1897) house and an Edwardian-era (or later) weatherboard
house. Landscape includes mature exotic trees including pepper trees, Monterey
pines, yuccas, aloe or century plants on bunkers, many dead trees; and it is assumed
also that some early native landscape survives. Along Queen St is a serrated
corrugated iron fence with large early timber fence posts.
Since the complex was constructed, the course of the Skeleton Creek has been altered
to form a drain which has bisected the reserve and the Doug Grant reserve reclaimed
from the Bay. The corrugated iron fence runs around the perimeter of the remaining

part of the explosives reserve between Queen Street and the Truganina Swamp outlet
(Truganina Creek). This reserve formerly extended south to the edge of the Skeleton
Creek salt marshes, and contained many magazine buildings, some surrounded by
earth blast protection mounts, connected by a series of 2 foot gauge tramway lines
running parallel to Queen Street. At some stage, probably around World War II a total
of 61 magazines were included. Five parallel lines ran along the side of the
magazines, with a further line running south, and a connection to the jetty. Some of
the lines south of Truganina Creek can still be recognised from their raised permanent
ways between the salt marsh. The sites of magazines are also evident as cleared areas,
some with concrete slabs.
Within the surviving enclosure, there are several surviving blast mounds and at least
one timber building, possibly a magazine. This is in the south east corner, and is about
4 metres square with corrugated iron roof. Remnants of a blast mound exist around it.
Another complete blast mound, but without its building, is located about 50 metres
west of this.
Two substantial original gates survive in the fence, one on Queen Street, the other at
the tramway exit on the south side. Here a concrete culvert built on a curve has an
extant rail tracks with the impression “WIW Australia, and a crown symbol, (Waratah
Iron Works?) probably indicating Commonwealth construction). The tramline
disappears under recent earthworks for a new pedestrian path.
Summary of elements:
- perimeter corrugated iron fence,
- blast mounds 3 or more
- 2 keepers houses
- magazine remnants
- entrance gates
- tramway remnants and embankments- such as that on the south side with bridge and
gates, with `WIW Australia’ (or Waratah Iron Works) on tram rail;
- mature specimen ornamental exotic trees, mature succulent clumps.
The complex compares with the much earlier Jacks Magazine (1878), on the
Maribyrnong River, and other much depleted or non-extant metropolitan sites at
Footscray, Royal Park and Batman's Hill.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
Contributory part of Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct, on flat coastal strip, isolated by parklands and gold
club.

As a major land-based site for explosives storage in or near the Metropolitan area, this is the second oldest to
have substantial original fabric. It is one of a small group of this site type in the State, many smaller
compounds having been created for the goldfields in the 1850s-60s but none with a substantial land holding
and such an extensive network of tramways and stores.
History and themes
History
The Truganina Explosives Reserve is linked to both defence and industry, as
explosives were used in both areas (mining and quarrying). Explosives in Melbourne
had been stored (among other places) on the banks of the Saltwater River at
Maribyrnong (i.e. Jacks magazine 1878), but in the 1880s this storage magazine was
beginning to be too closely placed to residential and industrial areas. Moreover, the
nature of explosives was changing as the new nitro-glycerine-based explosives were
developed, replacing the earlier version, gunpowder. For a while in the 1880s a
storage hulk, the Sydney Griffiths', was used for storage of explosives, anchored off
Altona { Barnard, 1999}. Storage of explosives in hulks anchored round the bay had
been the practice since 1853 { Gibson, 2000}.
In 1896, 555 acres of land was acquired from George Chirnside on the north east
side of Skeleton Creek and a complex of storage magazines, as well as a loading
jetty, were constructed and opened in May 1901. Later much of the reserve was
excised for various purposes, such as the sewerage purification plant. When a new
explosives storage area was opened at Point Wilson in 1962, Truganina Reserve was
limited to 40 acres and many of the explosives magazines were dismantled.
Truganina was still used for the disposal of explosives for some years after this.
What remains of the explosives reserve, includes some remnants of the former pier
and two of the residences formerly used by staff. { Barnard, 1999}
This Magazine was established under the Powder Magazines Act' 1896 which
provided for the acquisition of land at Laverton, due to the Maribyrnong Gunpowder
Magazine being unsuitable for storage of modern high explosives. The act also
authorised the establishment of a tramway along Queen and Merton Streets, which
was constructed by the Department of Land and Works. The land was acquired from
George Chirnside and construction commenced soon after. Management of the
reserve and operation of the tramway was vested with the Victorian Commissioner
of Trade and Custom. As such this was initiated as a Victorian Colonial project, but
soon became part of the Commonwealth defence facilities following Federation.
Contracts were let for:

-pier 1618 feet long;
-24 magazines;
-magazine keeper's and assistant keeper's houses;

-7 miles of fence;
-a bridge;
-2 feet gauge horse tramway to the Laverton Railway Station;
sidings and sheds at the Laverton Railway Station; and
-24 wagons for use on the tramway.
Local historian Cliff Gibson writes that from 1901-1936 explosives were carried by
rail from Deer park Explosives factory to the Laverton Railway Station. From here
they were carried by horse tram to the reserve for storage in the magazines. As
needed, explosives could be taken via the internal tramway to the pier and loaded
into explosives lighters and from there to the hold of waiting ships. From 1936
explosives were carted from the explosives factory at Deer Park to the reserve by
road, using specially built diesel powered trucks.
Early Plans
Plans of what was then described as a 536 acre reserve and building complex, were
produced in 1900-4. These show detailed layouts of the tramway and the names of
tenants and their magazine allocations. The 1900 plan also shows a single masonry
house and corrugated iron clad stables at the frontage linked by a drive to the
tramway. The corrugated iron front fence is also shown. The tramway itself had 8
branches on the loop and exit lines to the east across the Skeleton Creek and west
(Laverton) along Queens St. Names on the plan include: N Guthridge, J Abraham(s),
C Russell, JJ Morris, Curtis & Harvey, and George Bowden, among others. Bowden,
for example, was Inspector of Signals at the Victorian Railways and no doubt had a
need to store the explosive powder used in his signals. J Abraham (or Abrahams?)
was the manager of the Shell Transport & Trading Co. A contract plan of 1899-1900
shows details of a new timber tram bridge over a creeklet connecting the new
Laverton line along Queen St with an existing east-west line leading to the jetty. The
tram line west of this connection is not shown in the 1900 plan.
A later map from the 1930s shows each rectangular magazine, is allotment and its
construction (brick or corrugated iron) plus an additional weatherboard main house
fronting the line of Queen St which was still an unmade road'. Details along the main
tram route into the complex included two weatherboard offices, corrugated iron clad
stables, packing shed, a fibro cement clad house and tram shed. There was also a
brick rocket house on the east of the site, isolated, and a number of lighting
conductors dotted around the site. The pier is also shown located to the south-east of
the keeper's house on what is now the Doug Grant Reserve (reclaimed from Hobsons
Bay). There was a weatherboard store on a promontory at its end and another
weatherboard building midway.
As had happened on many previous occasions, the growth of residential development

near the reserve forced its closure and the construction for the Australian government

of an explosives storage facility at Point Wilson. Correspondence between the Lands

Department and explosives manufacturer, Nobel (Australia Ltd), reveals their long-
term association with this site, starting in 1927 and, prior to that, with the firm Cape
Explosives Works Ltd. Nobel wrote to the Department in 1962, noting the opening
up of the Pt Wilson magazine and the consequent cessation of their lease at the
Laverton magazine. The effective date of surrender of the lease was 14 June 1962 {
VPRO}. Cliff Gibson states that the last explosives to be shipped from the Truganina
reserve was via the ketch `Falie' 11 May 1962. The magazine and blast mounds were
removed but 40 acres was retained for testing. Since that time the State Government
has negotiated a transfer of the land for use as part of the Altona foreshore reserve.
Chronology of Government Contracts
The following is a chronology of government contracts for works on this reserve

1897-1906 prepared by Cliff Gibson, 1999:
Contract No. 1772 let to Ross, Fraser & Co. for erection of jetty and shed, Skeleton
Creek, 2697 pounds 15 shillings. (G.G. 25 Jan 1897, page 2668.)
Tenders called far fencing of Explosives Reserve, Skeleton Creek. (G.G. if July
1897, page 2976.)
Tenders called for erection of (powder magazine) Keeper's Quarters at Explosives

Reserve, Skeleton Creek. (G.G. 3 September 1897, page 3425.) ,
Contract No:-1772 let to W.R.Cooper for erection of Keeper's Quarters Skeleton

Creek, for 996 pounds 12 shillings. (G.G. 8 October 1897, page 37.51.
Contract let to C.D.Hall for extras on contract No. 1485 of 1897-98 for fencing at
Explosives Reserve, Skeleton Creek, 149 pounds 9 shillings and 3 pence. (G.G. 23
Sept. 1898, page 3437.).
Contract let to James Mullin for construction of 5 brick Powder Magazines at

Skeleton Creek 2083 pounds. (G.G. 18 November 1898, page 4E326.)
Submitted for the approval of His Excellency the Governor in Council that the sum
of 178 pounds 3 shillings and 6 pence be paid to Messrs. Rylah and Mclean for the
supply of second hand rails, crossings Etc., for tramway, Explosives Reserve,
Truganina, without tenders being called for same. Approved by the Governor in
Council 29 December 1899). (G.G. Jan. 1900 page 19)
Tenders called far construction of tramway from Truganina Explosives Reserve to

Railway near Laverton Station. (G. G. 4 Jan 1900 page 54.)

Tenders called for Picket fencing, piling etc., Explosives Reserve Truganina. (G.G. 4
Jan 1900 page 54.)
Contract let to Wehl Bros. for supply of rails etc. for Tramway, Explosives Reserve
Truganina. 690 pounds (G.G. 19 Jan. 1900 page 207.)
Contract let to C.D.Hall for construction of Tramway from Truganina Explosives

Reserve to Railway near Laverton Station for 905 pounds. (G.G. 2 Feb. 1900, page
457.)
Tenders called for a timber bridge, Explosives Reserve Truganina. (G.G. 21 Dec.
1899. page 4782)
Contract let to T. Coate for construction of a timber bridge at Explosives Reserve

Truganina for 110 pounds 5 shillings & 3 pence. (G.G. 2 Feb 1900, page 457.)
Contract let to C.D.Hall for construction of picket fence, piling etc., Explosives
Reserve Truganina, for 295 pounds. ( G.G. 9 Feb. 1900, page 523.)
Submitted for the approval of his Excellency the Lieutenant Governor in Council
that the sun of 1329 pounds be paid to the Railway Department for the construction
of a Railway siding at the Powder Reserve, Truganina. (Approved by the Lieutenant
Governor in Council on 27 February,1900.) (G.G. 2 March 1900 page 819.)
Orders in Council that the sum of 157 pounds eight shillings, be paid to Messrs. John
Sharp and Sons for supply of red gum timber for Explosives Reserve Truganina
without tenders being called. (G.G. 1 June 1900. page 1897.)
Footscray Powder Magazine (`Jacks magazine') closed for stock taking, 2 & 3 July
1900. (G.G. 22 June 1900 page 2323.)
Contract let to C.D. Hall for extras on Contract 1899 1900/ 1780, Tramway,
Explosives Reserve Truganina 602 pounds. (G.G. 27 July 1900, page 2909.
Contract let to J.W.Duncan, for construction of Tramway and branch lines to

Explosives Magazine, Truganina, 194 pounds, ten shillings. (G.G. 29 November
1900, page 4426.)
Contract let to W. P. Leonard, for erection of powder shed at Laverton Station, 314
pounds, 11 shillings. (G.G. 5 December 1900, page 4491.)
Contract let to M. Sorenson for 14 explosives trucks for Explosives Reserve

Truganina, 424 pounds. (G.G. 21 December 1900, page 4904.)
Contract let to W. Lord for construction of about 7 miles of fencing, Explosives

Reserve Truganina, 449 pounds.(G.G.11 Jan. 1901, page 102.)
Contract let to J.W. Duncan for erection of new shed and alteration to existing shed
on jetty, Explosives Reserve Truganina, 362 pounds, (G.G.25 Jan. 1901, page 286.)
Contract let to Z. Williams for constructing 32 chains of tramway at Explosives

Reserve Truganina, 3.09 pounds 18 shillings and 6 pence. (G.G. 29 March 1901,
page 1331)
Contract let to J.W.Duncan for extras on contract 190001/1617, New shed and
alterations to shed on jetty, Explosives Reserve Truganina, 11 pounds 6 shillings.
(G.G. 12 July 1901, page 2642.)
Contract let to J.W.Duncan for racks etc. at Explosives Reserve Truganina, 335
pounds, (G.G. 2 Aug. 1901 page 2946.)
Contract let to J.W.Duncan for extras on contract 1900-01/ 3.479, tramway & branch
lines to Explosives Reserve Truganina, 96 pounds 13 shillings. (G.G. 2 Aug. 1901
page 2946.)
Contract let to M. Sorensen ` for extras on Contract 190001/1534, for 14 Explosives

trucks, Truganina, 64 pounds 18 shillings 7 pence. (G.G. 16 Aug 1901 page 3131.)
Tenders called for supply of eight Explosives trucks and repairs to two existing
trucks Truganina Explosives Reserve.(G.G. 8 Feb. 1906 page 907)
Contract let to M. Sorensen for supply of eight Explosives trucks, Explosives

Reserve Truganina 338 pounds 15 shillings, M. Sorensen. (G.G. 14 March 1906
page 1481.)
Associations: Victorian Colonial Commonwealth
Government Government

PAHT Subtheme: Quarrying

Other Subtheme:
Significance


B.2 Rarity
(Inspection required)
Truganina Explosives Magazine & Reserve, trees are significant to the region:
- as only the second surviving major land-based powder magazine serving the
Melbourne area (criterion B2) ;
- as evocative by its siting of the special needs at that time of this part of the
metropolitan area for quarrying (criterion A4) ;
- for the remaining houses, fence, landscaping and infrastructure which is still
evocative of a special land-use (criterion B2) ;
- for the potential remnant landscape which may provide evidence of planting in the
area at contact (criterion A4);
- for the maturity of the planting and design of the houses which are relatively
sophisticated for government built house sin the area of the same period (criterion
F1) ; and
- for the value given to the reserve by the local community over the years as
expressed by various press articles, research projects and the recent acquisition by
Council of the reserve (criterion G1).
Documentation
References
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 118;
G Vines, oral, 1999;
Heritage Study, (Melbourne's Living Museum of the West) : site 100 ungraded, site 77 graded D
Dept of Finance: 03 (9)6513112, 4/35 Spring St
State Library of Victoria map room - `Melbourne' Army Ordinance map 848, zone 7, sheet South
J55, 1933
Cliff Gibson 1999. Truganina Explosives Reserve, Government Gazette Notices re the construction
of the Truganina Explosives Reserve. provided to City of Hobsons Bay 1999 (n.d.), with details of
other holdings on the reserve, including times and wages books 1928-39, and detailed notes on its
history in comments dated 20/6/2000;
Cliff Gibson 1999. `The handling and shipping of Explosives in the Port of Melbourne' submission
for Information Victoria award;
Land Victoria historic plans collection and parish plan put-aways
`Powder Magazine Act' 1896
`Leader' 15 June 1901

Priestley, S 1988. Àltona - A Long View'

`Light Railways', July 1984:18-19;
Victorian Public Records Office (VPRO) VPRS 5357/P ;
Truganina Reserve Preservation Society, contact Bronwen Gray 96878783 or 0403026566
Further work:
Detailed inspection required
Last edit: 29/08/2000 Consultant(s): Graeme Butler, Graeme Butler
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are primarily those which derive from the period of the late
19th and early 20th centuries plus added fabric from the period of the explosives
magazine tenure.
the place;
conservation;
and

Natural and Aboriginal values on the site should also be assessed.

Name of place: Truganina Explosives Magazine tramline &

tramway sites
Other Names Altona Explosives Reserve tramway
Address off Queen St, Merton St Cultural Significance: City
Laverton Creation date(s): 1900-1
Site Type Railway Map (Melway) 209B1

This site is not recommended for planning scheme protection.
Description
The former line of horse tramway served the powder magazine from the Melbourne
Geelong railway, running along Queen St and then north along Merton St to the
railway and Laverton station.
Very little is recognisable of the former tramway. A slightly raised bank was visible
during recent roadworks on the north east corner of Queen St. and Merton Street, with
evident bluestone ballast. At this point the tramway appears to have cut across the
corner to provide a larger radius curve. Another section of permanent way survives
near the ford just west of Merton Street, again only as the earth embankment curving

west from the roadway towards Laverton station with the modern bicycle path built
over it in part. Both of these section, and other sections of the lines within the reserve,
are now lacking rails or sleepers, although ballast and the occasional metal artefact
can be seen. There have been reports of another later tramline along Merton St, north
of the railway (remnant ballast found during road making) which may have been
linked with the Queen St-Laverton Station tramway although studies done on the two
explosives complexes at Deer Park have found no reference to it. It may have been a
temporary wartime measure where these complexes were exchanging product with
each other. The ballast may be from road construction and not the tramway.
The only visible section of the tramway is to be seen on the south side of the reserve,
curving from a gateway towards the jetty site. Here a concrete culvert built on a curve
has extant rail tracks with the impression “WIW Australia”, and a crown symbol,
(Waratah Iron Works?) probably indicating Commonwealth construction. The
tramline here disappears under recent earthworks for a new pedestrian path. Other
sections of tramway have been reported within the reserve, either buried or overgrown.
The jetty was once a considerable structure with double tracks for shunting at the bay
end, and a shelter shed built out from the side of the pier 3/4 towards the end. Only a
few piles are visible today.
External Condition:
poor
External Integrity:
grossly modified
Context:
Contributory part of Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct, on flat coastal strip, isolated by parklands and gold
club.
Tramway with this type of association are rare in the Melbourne area as are any industrial tramways on public
roads. However little remains of this example.
History and themes
History
The Truganina Explosives Reserve is linked to both defence and industry, as
explosives were used in both areas (eg: in mining and quarrying). Explosives in
Melbourne had been stored on the banks of the Saltwater River at Maribyrnong, but
in the 1880s this storage magazine was beginning to be too closely placed to
residential and industrial areas. Moreover, the nature of explosives was changing as
the new nitro-glycerine-based explosives were developed, replacing the earlier
version, gunpowder. For a while in the 1880s a storage hulk, the Sydney Griffiths,
was used for storage of explosives, anchored off Altona. In 1896, 555 acres of land
was acquired from George Chirnside on the north east side of Skeleton Creek and a
complex of storage magazines, as well as a loading jetty, were constructed and

opened in May 1901. Later much of the reserve was excised for various purposes,
such as the sewerage purification plant. When a new explosives storage area was
opened at Point Wilson in 1962, Truganina Reserve was limited to 40 acres and
many of the explosives magazines were dismantled. Truganina was still used for the
disposal of explosives for some years after this. What remains of the explosives
reserve, includes some remnants of the former pier and two of the residences
formerly used by staff.{ Barnard, 1999}
The Truganina Magazine was established under the Powder Magazines Act' 1896
which provided for the acquisition of land at Laverton, due to the Maribyrnong
Gunpowder Magazine being unsuitable for storage of modern high explosives. The
act also authorised the establishment of a tramway along Queen and Merton Street,
which was constructed by the Department of Land and Works. Management of the
reserve and operation of the tramway was vested with the Victorian Commissioner
of Trade and Custom. As such The land was purchased from George Chirnside in
1897 and construction commenced soon after. The jetty was constructed in 1897 and
the tramway in 1900. The two foot gauge steel-railed tramway inside the explosives
reserve was initially 133 chains or about two kilometres long.
The horse-drawn tramway was built along the north side of Queen Street and along
Merton Street to the Geelong Railway Line. A plan dated 1915 shows the tramway
terminating on the south side of the Laverton station but at some later date (at least
by 1930) the line was carried to the north side of the railway by means of the
underpass at the Melbourne end of the station (the Merton Street rail underpass and
ford). The tramway to Laverton was used until the middle of World War II when
road cartage took over. It closed in 1943 and explosives were trucked to and from the
Deer Park explosives magazines (Ravenhall siding, and ICI) in part over a specially
constructed road, the Laverton end bearing the Euphonious name “Explosives
Road”. The tramway inside the reserve remained in use until 1962 when the site was
closed due to the encroachment of residential areas.
The tramway is shown on a 1933 Melbourne' topographical plan extending west

from the reserve which itself had a network of tramways linked to the jetty. The line
headed north at right angles to join the Melbourne Geelong Railway.
The following is a chronology of relevant government contracts for works on this

reserve 1897-1906 prepared by Cliff Gibson, 1999:
Submitted for the approval of His Excellency the Governor in Council that the sum
of 178 pounds 3 shillings and 6 pence be paid to Messrs. Rylah and Mclean for the
supply of second hand rails, crossings Etc., for tramway, Explosives Reserve,
Truganina, without tenders being called for same. Approved by the Governor in

Council 29 December 1899). (G.G. Jan. 1900 page 19)
Tenders called far construction of tramway from Truganina Explosives Reserve to

Railway near Laverton Station. (G. G. 4 Jan 1900 page 54.)
Contract let to C.D.Hall for construction of Tramway from Truganina Explosives

Reserve to Railway near Laverton Station for 905 pounds. (G.G. 2 Feb. 1900, page
457.)
Contract let to C.D. Hall for extras on Contract 1899 1900/ 1780, Tramway,
Explosives Reserve Truganina 602 pounds. (G.G. 27 July 1900, page 2909.
Contract let to J.W.Duncan, for construction of Tramway and branch lines to

Explosives Magazine, Truganina, 194 pounds, ten shillings. (G.G. 29 November
1900, page 4426.)
Contract let to J.W.Duncan for extras on contract 1900-01/ 3.479, tramway & branch
lines to Explosives Reserve Truganina, 96 pounds 13 shillings. (G.G. 2 Aug. 1901
page 2946.)
Contract let to Z. Williams for constructing 32 chains of tramway at Explosives

Reserve Truganina, 3.09 pounds 18 shillings and 6 pence. (G.G. 29 March 1901,
page 1331)
Associations: Victorian Colonial Commonwealth
Government Government


Other Subtheme:
Significance


Powder Magazine Tramline site is potentially significant to the region:
- as part of only the second surviving major land-based powder magazine serving the
Melbourne area but little of the tramway fabric, if any, survives outside of the
magazine reserve (below the study threshold for criterion A4, B2 because of lack of
fabric indicating site).
The site has not been recommended for planning scheme protection
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
State Library of Victoria map room - `Melbourne' Army Ordinance map 848, zone 7, sheet South
J55, 1933
Cliff Gibson. TRUGANINA EXPLOSIVES RESERVE, GOVERNMENT GAZETTE NOTICES RE
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TRUGANINA EXPLOSIVES RESERVE. C1999 (n.d.)
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
elements of the tramway in the road or explosives magazine reserves; and

- Further research the place using oral and documentary sources and reassess, then
provide further interpretive public information at the site and reassess its
conservation management.
The site has not been recommended for planning scheme protection but Council
should observe the above objectives in management of the associated public land.

Name of place: Williamstown Racecourse site

Other Names Williamstown Immigration Hostel
Address Racecourse Rd Cultural Significance: Regional
Altona Creation date(s): 1870s-1947
Site Type racecourse Map (Melway) 55B9

Land within the reserve, cited remnants from the racecourse, including the grandstand base, Canary Island palm, landscape and birdcage
area.
Description
A single Canary Island Palm set in a circular remnant ornamental flower bed on the
former site of the Bird Cage enclosure, the former concrete base of the Williamstown
Racecourse grandstand, brick footings, broken bricks (Glen iris and South Yarra fire
bricks) lines of rusted steel cable fencing, an asphalt paved area and roadways, an
underground concrete tank (septic?) and the graded line of the race track around the
edge of the grass land are still evident. A stencilled sign on the north and south wall
faces of the grandstand base reads: `Williamstown Racecourse established c1870
Army Camp c1940-1945 Grandstand destroyed by fire 1946'. In the middle of the
track are footing remnants of former buildings which may have been associated with
the army camp or the hostel.

The former racecourse railway station site is north of the creek while at the creek
crossing of Racecourse Rd is a concrete ford which presumably replaces an earlier
crossing marked on 19th century maps. North of the site is the Kororoit Creek, the
brown brick, tiles and concrete of the 1969 Wiltona immigration hostel and to the
south is the Pines scout camp. A section of basalt paving lies to the west of the camp.
To the east is the bay and wetlands. A recent yellow concrete paved bike path has
been built through all of this.
External Condition:
The grandstand remnants and general layout next to the creek are in poor condition although the palm is
healthy.
External Integrity:
The area is substantially changed but has no major intrusions to the concept of its former use as a
racetrack.
Context:
Part of a coastal wetlands reserve which is unusual in this proximity to the Melbourne GPO, close to The
Pines, the stone paving area and former and existing railway sites. Fringed by industry and close to the former
migrant accommodation of Kororoit Creek Rd. Contributory to the Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct.
As a racecourse site, this is an early example but lacks early fabric. Other early race courses such as the one at
Emu Plains (Mornington peninsula) and Ballarat are earlier and are still used for racing. This site has
distinction from being on the coast and the early associations with the district's pastoralists and their love of
equestrian sports.
History and themes
History
It is fortunate that, as European industrial and residential activity spread across the
study area over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, some of the important natural
landscapes were preserved. Military and recreation reserves at Point Gellibrand, the
Truganina Explosives Reserve, Williamstown Racecourse (and Recreation) Reserve,
the Merrett Rifle Range, Cheetham Salt Works and the unsuitability of swampland
for development saved them' { Barnard 1999}.
An early form of entertainment for the wealthy and their friends was coursing, or
hunting. (The City of Hobsons Bay) was home to the Williamstown and Werribee
Coursing Club which organised its first hunt in 1874. Hunts would often start out at
the Williamstown Racecourse, which was located on the bay at the mouth of
Kororoit Creek{ Barnard, 1999}..
Specific History
Elsum, in his 1934 `History of Williamstown' writes of this place:

`The most important racecourse in Victoria, after those at Flemington and Caulfield,
is that at Williamstown'. This was before the grandstand was destroyed and the
course closed in 1948.
This reserve was sought by Williamstown Council in August 1857 as a place for
`horse exercise and a Racecourse between the Kororoit Creek and the sea shore'.
The Crown lands Department disagreed, stating that it was too close to settled areas
and the major transport use for reservation (only six miles form Williamstown) but
they agreed to an alternative option put by the Council, being that of permissive
occupancy of the land. This was granted in late 1859. The Council persisted with
their quest for reservation in November 1864 when they formally sought setting
aside of 400 acres. The department thought 120 acres was more appropriate and
gazetted a temporary reservation in August 1865 `..for racing and other purposes of
public Recreation at Williamstown'. It was to be controlled by Williamstown
Council from 1867 and a further 70 acres was set aside in 1869. A plan showing the
120 acre reserve bounded by the creek, surveyed roads and the bay. Where Altona
Road intersected the creek a `crossing' was shown, with a road heading west from
just below that point. Altona Road then ended on Cherry's pre-emptive Section, a
probable drive to his homestead. At its end was a short section of road reserve
turning due west on the line of today's Civic Parade. The reserve itself, on the east
side of the road, ended where the stone pitched road ends, at the turn into the RA
Burns Reserve. The enlarged reserve of 190 acres was based on a new alignment of
the creek on the north. It also showed a road, 100 feet wide, running between the
reserve and the bay. The actual size of the reserve seemed to be a changing thing.
Another plan from the late 1860s shows the reserve and dotted, north of the creek, is
what was termed Òld Racecourse'. This was roughly centred on Byron St and
overlapped today's JT Gray Reserve on the east and went to Ponting St on the west.
A note on the plan summed the area of scrub on the reserve as 80 acres, with 90
acres contained by the race course itself. The same plan showed a `Dray Track' on
the line of Altona Rd, south of today's The Pines Camp, perhaps explaining the stone
pitched surface near there.
The adjoining Wyndham Shire complained, in 1868, about the damage to the main
road from Williamstown to their Shire caused by what they termed as the
`Williamstown town herd'. Williamstown Council replied that they would use the
money gained from leasing the land for grazing and make the road between the
Wyndham boundary and the North Williamstown Railway Station and improving the
reserve itself for recreation purposes. They would also maintain the road already
built by Wyndham to the reserve. These road sections were on each side of the
Swamp and ideally had to be constructed before winter using similar specifications.
The Racecourse Reserve Committee of 1869 consisted of three members of the

Williamstown Council (Peter Power, Thomas Mason and Edward Crane) plus, in

1870, three additional members, being William Doherty, William Leake and
Thomas Sayers. A later committee of management included Alfred Langhorne,
David McLean, and John Hughes (for the racing club); Peter Power, Thomas
Mason, and Edward Crane (for Williamstown Borough Council). Richard Clough
was a later member of the committee. Local landowners, such as Alfred Langhorne
and Andrew Chirnside (of the nearby Point Cook hunting lodge) were benefactors of
the club and later J.J. Liston was a long-standing president. In 1876 the
Williamstown Racing Club explained the way members were elected to the
committee at that time: there were three each from Williamstown and Wyndham
Councils and three from the club.
Grazing rental was part of the committee's early income with some expenditure
reserved for keeping the Racecourse Rd passable { Priestley: 76-}. A racehorse
trainer, Phillip Dowling, leased the course in 1874-6 and built a house and stables
reputedly on the `hill' near the Pines scout camp. This may account for the line of
maritime pines which follows the track into the camp, possibly a former driveway to
the house { ibid.}. The well known trainer, CB Fisher, took his place 1877- 1881,
followed by James Redfearn to 1889.
A post and rail fence was erected either side of the straight. In 1873 a foot bridge of
iron and steel was erected over the creek east of the ford. An open hardwood stand
was built near the ford about the same time, adorned with a glazed pink calico
awning. An open stand was added to the course in 1873, but removed three years
later. In the 1870s, an iron-roofed grandstand was built and trees, flower beds and
lawns planted, resulting in 'approaches to the stand [that were] irresistibly charming'.
More work was done in 1876 when the entire course was upgraded. This included
fencing the course, fencing enclosures such as the carriage reserve, saddling paddock
(with horse shedding and jockeys room), and lawn, provision of a new oval track,
and construction of a new grandstand with an corrugated iron roof. The stand
contained steward and press rooms, a refreshment bar, two retiring rooms, and three
offices. George Withers and HP Sutton were mentioned for their role in the works.
Tree planting on the south was initiated in 1877, along with flower beds and lawns,
as good as Flemington.
A letter from the club to the Colonial Government in 1878 stated that since the
reserve was created, some £2000 had been spent on a `grand stand, buildings and
fencing' and several hundred pounds had been spent on ìmproving the approaches
by erecting a footbridge over the Kororoit Creek and it is proposed during next
season to commence systematic planting'. The reserve should become permanent:
this was done in 1878. Around that time regulations were gazetted for the course.
For example, no person could remain on the course if they had offended àgainst
decency as regards his dress, language or conduct'. Women it seems were free to
offend and stay. There were rules against damaging flowers or trees. Typically race

meetings were festive affairs with gaily coloured tents and booths for refreshments.
Ancillary games were also provided for.
A new and grander architect designed grandstand was erected in 1887. The design
drawings had it in the French Second Empire style with three mansard roofed towers,
each with a widows walk, and an ornate helm-hipped roof topped by ornamental
cresting. Five stairways led to the seating while extensive masonry base held many
rooms with numerous windows and doors, In front of the stand was a picketed race
track, fringed with a hedge, and two ornamental fountains { ibid.}.
The course regulations were expanded in an 1895 newspaper notice which stated the
trustees to be Orr, Wright, Fredman, Peel, Seal, Barber, Wall, Bryant, Bevis, Mason,
Chirnside, McNaughton, Missen, Robinson, McRobert, Hick, Woods and
Treganowan. They shared the Crown Grant with the Board of Land & Works. The
regulations clarified the delicate balance between use of the reserve by the public and
use by the club. The public could freely roam the reserve from sunrise to sunset
except the following specified areas:
- the lawn, grandstands, saddling paddock, member's stand, carriage paddock and
approaches;
- the weighing yard, steward's room, committee room, committee stand, steward's
stand, the judge's box, and approaches;
- the enclosures including the reserved paddocks, stands and approaches;
- the inner and outer enclosures;
- the Flat enclosure;
- training ground and approaches;
- the outer Carriage Paddock; and
- the Birdcage.
Those who paid were allowed into some but not all of these areas. The same
newspaper advertised the coming races, by order of HP Sutton secretary: THIS
AFTERNOON. The first race was at 2pm, with SPLENBDID ENTRIES, LARGE
FIELDS, GOO RACING. Special trains ran to and from the Course stopping at
Newport and Footscray.
A detailed plan prepared by D'Ebro, Mackenzie & Meldrum, architects and civil
engineers in 1923, showed the complex and proposed reclamation of the Kororoit
Creek to allow more dry land north of the grandstand and allow for an extension of
the stand itself, to the west. The plan showed the railway station and platform, the
ford and beside it a bridge and the entry into the race course nearby. At the west end
of the course enclosure was the ranger's house and gravelled drives in and out, within
a line of trees. There was alone of stalls backing onto the creek and the grand stand.
On the other side of the stand was a bar pavilion, a large lawn and then the Bird
Cage enclosure at the east end of the compound. Central to this was a water trough,
with a bar, committee stand and telegraph office at the west side and stalls lining the

other three sides of the oblong. The timber bridge over the creek reached the
complex at one corner of the Bird cage. Outside of this, to the east, was an isolated
stables and yard.
Altona grievances
In the 1930s a controversy erupted over representation of the Werribee Shire on the
trust. The course was in the shire but its representation was a mere 4 of a total of 18
(4 each from Werribee and Williamstown Councils, 4 from the Board of Land &
Works, 6 from the club). In 1893 when this new trustee structure had been created,
Werribee (then Wyndham) Shire was `practically a sheep run'. The Altona
population had risen from 500 in 1920 to 2000 in 1931: things had changed.
Williamstown Council should not have any control over land in the Werribee Shire,
stated the deputation to the Minister of Lands. The reserve was supposed to serve as
a recreation reserve but actually served solely as a race course; a growing population
and numerous sporting clubs needed recreation space. The Minister thought racing
chaps were usually sporting types and that they would fairly treat any grievance
brought to the trust. A plan of the reserve at that time showed a `plantation' where
The Pines camp is today.
A newspaper article in September 1934 underscored this Altona indignation. The

club were in the process of using another 50 feet of the reserve in alterations to the
track, saying that they were merely improving an area which had previously been a
quagmire. Altona councillor, FJ O'Brien, retorted that this was in fact a `fine level
area and was used by Boy Scouts to hold their events'. It was just to the north of the
Plantation (now The Pines) which was then described as ùncared for' with stock
wandering in and out of broken fences. Then the course was described as a half mile
in circumference and lined with a hardwood fence.
World War Two

During the Second World War racing was suspended at the course and the Army
established a camp here. An aerial view of the site in December 1945 shows the
track, grandstand, and hedge rows around planted areas next to and south of the
creek. A foot bridge over the creek links this area with a road running south off
Kororoit Creek Rd through today's Technopark complex site which is largely vacant
except for what appears to be an octagonal shelter or pavilion. A series of
rectangular plots and some structures is inside the track south of the grandstand.
After the war many racecourses in Victoria were closed. Williamstown's was not
only closed, but fire destroyed the grandstand in 1947, the official closing date was 6
August 1948. The Williamstown Racing Club amalgamated with the Victorian
Trotting and Racing Association forming the Melbourne Racing Club and resolved
to conduct their race meetings at Sandown. The remaining structures on the site were
removed, some being taken to Sandown.

Soon after the course closed the Werribee and Williamstown Councils discussed the
fate of the course and sought some guidance from the Lands Department and the
trustees. The Commonwealth government responded with a plan to use the site for a
hostel to temporarily accommodate migrants, keeping the public recreation role in
abeyance. To do this the reservation had to be revoked and the grant annulled. A Bill
was prepared to achieve this. The same action was taken with the nearby
Williamstown rifle range but to, in this case, use the site to erect war service homes
`for which it is well suited'.
Williamstown Hostel
Williamstown Hostel (renamed Wiltona after 1969) opened in 1949 based at the
Williamstown Racecourse. Migrants were housed in huts that had been used by the
army during its occupation of the course during World War Two. Other Nissen huts
were also moved onto the site. By 1952 there were 800 migrants here, mostly from
Central Europe. The hostel buildings had to be moved to the racecourse carpark in
1950 when Kororoit Creek flooded the camp. In 1951 the hostel began taking British
migrants who found the smells from the nearby meatworks and oil refinery, as well
as mosquitoes from Kororoit Creek depressing and objected to sharing the hostel
with non English-speaking migrants.
In 1956 the Commonwealth declared the 90 acres they had occupied for the camp as
surplus. All buildings, èxcept certain of the original racecourse buildings', were
removed.
It was not until 1969 that concrete and brick units replaced most of the original
Nissen huts at Wiltona. Wiltona was closed for some time during the 1970s, but then
reopened to house Vietnamese refugees arriving in Australia in the late 1970s.
Darwin residents displaced by Cyclone Tracy in 1975 were also housed here. The
site is now known as 'Technopark'.. { Barnard 1999}. The complex is now used for
light industry and offices but the hostel units remain on the site and a re reasonably
well preserved. One Nissen hut also survives on the eastern leg of Technopark Drive.
By 1964 the reserve was again vacant but was now officially called the Altona
Sports Park.
Railway racecourse spur line and station

`... in 1884 ... a line was constructed (for the Colonial Government) from Racecourse
Junction (near Paisley) on the Geelong line to the Williamstown Racecourse. The
line was opened in April 1885. Private forces stepped in again soon after this when
a company formed to subdivide and market Altona land, The Altona and Laverton
Bay Freehold and Investment Co. Ltd, purchased rails from the Victorian railways
and built an extension of the Williamstown racecourse line to platforms at Altona

Bay and Altona Beach. Advertising an already existing railway line was a good
marketing ploy for land in the time of the land boom and the first train to run to
Altona coincided with the first land sales, 22 August 1888. The company even
planned to extend the line to a station called Edinburgh on the Geelong railway line,
but little came of this plan. For the next two years the trains only ran to Altona on
sale days, although for a while in 1890 Victorian railways trains ran twice daily to
Williamstown racecourse, meeting the private Altona Bay trains there. By August
1890 all trains to Altona were cancelled, although some special trains occasionally
utilised the line to convey picnic parties to Altona Beach { Barnard, 1999}.
The Altona line (Williamstown Racecourse to Altona) remained in private hands

until the 1920s. For most of this time it was not operational, although the Victorian
Railways Department leased part of the line for shunting and storage of racecourse
trains for many years
`Mobiltown (railway station was) initially built as a platform called Standard Oil
Platform. It was constructed in 1953, quite near to the old Williamstown Racecourse
station, which was dismantled in 1951, and had been unused since racing had been
discontinued during the Second World War. The Standard Vacuum Platform was
built initially for the use of employees of the new refinery. Its name was soon
changed to Mobiltown and it was available to general passengers from 1958. Many
residents of the Wiltona migrant hostel made use of Mobiltown station, which also
closed in 1985 { Barnard, 1999}. The other perhaps more major access point was
Williamstown North railway station { Rae}.
Associations: Werribee Shire Council Williamstown and
Werribee Coursing Club?

Organising recreation
PAHT Subtheme: Playing and watching sports

Other Subtheme:
Significance


Williamstown Racecourse site and trees are significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as symbols of a long term recreation place for the community in the wider district
(criteria A4, G1) ;
- for their links with the WW2 home effort (criterion A4) ; and
- for their links with post WW2 immigration (criterion A4).
Documentation
References
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 68, 78-9, 91, 121, 199;
Heritage Study;
Land Victoria aerial photo Run 18W Film 177 Melbourne & Metropolitan Area December 1945
Land Victoria reserve file (RS 245) contains many early plans, letters, etc. and provides the basis for
most of the history;
Elsum, 1934 `History of Williamstown';
Ian Rae, 4/4/2000 comments;
Cliff Gibson comments on draft 8/4/2000 provides history of Williamstown racecourse line.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations

the identified tree, garden bedding formations, paving, racecourse route and
grandstand remains within the reserve; and
- further research the place using oral and documentary sources and provide further

Name of place: St Mary's Roman Catholic School & former

Other Names
Address Railway St North Cultural Significance: City
Altona Creation date(s): 1950
Site Type School Map (Melway) 54G10

St Mary's Roman Catholic School & former Church, and camphor laurel tree, and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main
construction period, being the 1940s-50s.
Description
Located at the corner of Sargood St this school has a plaque which states that it was
opened in 1950. Late in it architectural style, the school is evocative of Spanish/Italian
influences with its hipped roof bell tower, and textured stucco walls. The timber
framed windows are multi-paned and the hipped roofs are tiled with Marseilles
pattern terra-cotta tiles. The former church section is presumably that wing which has
clerestory lighting and side aisles, west of the bell tower.
The camphor laurel (`Cinnamomum camphora') relates to the building period. The
former Williamstown Academy of Music building is not evident in the complex today.

External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially externally intact/some intrusions
Context:
Sited facing the railway and surrounded by suburban development.
A comparable example among other Catholic schools in the City, is St Joseph's at Newport which is earlier, has
been altered over time and was a conservative design. This Altona example is unusual as a Spanish inspired
design when judged among other public buildings in the City, albeit late for the style.
History and themes
History
Churches built in the twentieth century (in the City) reflected not only periods of
development for communities, but also the growth of new faiths as migration
brought people of a variety of ethnic backgrounds to the area. Some churches, such
as the Welsh Church at Williamstown, lost their congregations. The Catholic
Church, had been represented in the (City) since 1843, but the number of its
adherents exploded in the 1950s and 1960s when large numbers of Italian, Maltese
and Slavic migrants moved in. Parishes such as St Mary's Altona and St Margaret
Mary's, Spotswood, built new and more substantial churches (and schools) during
this era and at Brooklyn a less substantial church was built. More Catholic parishes
were established at Altona North and Laverton during later periods of growth{
Barnard, 1999}.
This school was opened by Archbishop Mannix 12/3/1950 and classrooms added
nine years later. The 1950 complex included 3 classrooms and a church section
flanked by an enclosed verandah which it was thought could store equipment or
provide for expansion { Priestley: 218}. Reputedly the former Williamstown
Academy of Music building was used as a hall in this complex.
Associations: Catholic Church

Educating

Other Subtheme:
Significance


B.2 Rarity
St Mary's RC School & former Church, tree are significant to the City of Hobsons
Bay
- as evidence of the population explosion in this part of the City after WW2 largely
due to immigration (criterion A4) ;
- as an architectural style, uncommon in Catholic architecture elsewhere in this
period (criterion B2); and
- of social value for the many former school children and their parents because of its
external integrity to its construction date and hence a relatively long period of social
involvement in the Altona area (criterion G1).
Documentation
References
Heritage Study 1999
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
c1950 and the period of use as a school.
original elements;
the place;
conservation;

Name of place: Hugh Lennon Agricultural Implement works, part

Other Names International Harvester
Address Raleigh & Hall St. Cultural Significance: Local
Spotswood Creation date(s): 1930s
Site Type Factory Map (Melway) 42A12

Land and works within the existing title, with emphasis on fabric which derives from before c1949.
Description
This is a six-bay sawtooth roof, corrugated iron clad factory building which occupies
the eastern part of the Lennon works site but apparently post dates the 1890s complex.
It is likely that this building was erected for the firm in the inter-war period. As the
only remaining structure linked with the firm it has some symbolism for the large
complexes which once existed here. It is unknown if plant survives internally. The
significance of this building is qualified by the reduced integrity of the complex and
the extent to which it expresses Lennon's long history on the site as well as
International Harvester who were closely associated with the complex in the inter-war
period.
External Condition:

fair (disturbed, part reasonably preserved)

External Integrity:
The site has been substantially changed/major intrusions, with the link to Lennon not easily evident
from the existing structure.
Context:
Contributory part of the Spotswood Industrial Precinct.
Large comparable agricultural implement works once located near this site included Robinson's in Hall St and
there was also the Sunshine Harvester works at Sunshine but both of these have been demolished. The region
had a special role in manufacturing for rural purposes being on the fringe of farming land ion the western
plains and more easily accessible from large wheat farm holdings which needed mechanical aids in farming
development. Most of this specific industry types have been demolished.
History and themes
History
Living Museum of the West Industrial Heritage Study stated that Hugh Lennon
(1833-1886) moved to this site in 1900 and before that date it was the Newport Iron
Works which had been established there by Mephan Ferguson (1843-1919) in c1887
{ Vines, 1989: site 10}. Ferguson moved to Footscray, allowing Lennon to take over.
However, Hugh Lennon's Agricultural Implement Works were shown on the

MMBW Record Plan of 1894 (before the date stated above) as a large complex of
timber framed buildings erected along Hall St north of Hudsons Road and just north
of Spotswood Railway Station.. A spur line from the station curved over into
Lennon's works and continued on in another curve to the sewerage pumping station.
Lennon's works were then just south of the now demolished Robinson & Company
Agricultural Implement Works.
The only structure which resembles this plan surviving today is a saw-toothed roof
block set south of the spur line on the eastern edge of the site. However if this
building contains the 1890s sections, it has been greatly increased in area: this
appears unlikely. An aerial view from 1982 also indicates that all of the 1894
Lennon complex had been demolished by that date.
The Elsum history of Williamstown (1934) shows a photograph of the works titled
International Harvester Company's Depot at Spotswood'. They are depicted as in a 6
bay battered sawtooth roof form, clad with corrugated iron. An internal photograph
shows a timber framed structure and a well-lit open space below Àssembling Plant
Operated by International Harvester Company of Australia P/L at Hudson St,
Spotswood'. The existing sawtooth factory section of the complex is shown in a Pratt
aerial view c1933 and in the 1945 aerial. Elsum also refers to Hugh Lennon as `now
the Lennon Plough & Machinery Company'.

Lennon's firm was still listed at the Hall St address in the 1970s { D1952, 1973}.
The Living Museum of the West Industrial Heritage Study stated in 1989:
`Hugh Lennon's Implement Works was typical of the larger agricultural implement
makers in Victoria. The western suburbs of Melbourne had, by the turn of the
century, become the centre of agricultural implement manufacturers in Australia.
Along with HV McKay, T Robinson, Gibbons and other local makers, they
contributed to the prosperity and efficiency of the highly mechanised Australian
agricultural industry. While little of the early complex remains, at least one 19th
century building survives (since demolished) and detailed study of the site may
reveal further early features. The Railway siding which gave the works its
connection to markets is still connected'.
The Robinson and McKay works have been demolished and the Mephan Ferguson
Footscray factory's future is uncertain.
Associations: Lennon, Hugh International Harvester
Company


Other Subtheme:
Significance

Hugh Lennon Agricultural Implement works, part is significant to the Spotswood
locality:
- as the last factory element built for the prominent manufacturing firm of Hugh
Lennon (Criterion H1);
- for the close association with International Harvester in the inter-war period
(Criterion H1); and

- for its symbolism of the large agricultural implement works which were located at
and near this site but have been all but demolished (Criteria A4).
Documentation
References
Western Region Industrial Heritage Study (WRIHS) site 0010 - history and Statement of Significance
incomplete
MMBW Record Plan of 1894;
Heritage Study;
Elsum, W 1934. `The History of Williamstown': f.124, 57;
Qasco Land Victoria aerial photograph 1993
Land Victoria aerial photograph 1982 `Melbourne' 7822-2/81
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the period of the 19th
century until c1949.
the place;

conservation;
and
oral sources and then reassess the heritage significance of the place and the
formulation of an incorporated plan for use in the heritage overlay.

Name of place: Melbourne Glass Bottle Works, former

Other Names Australian Consolidated Industries, Australian Glass Manufacturers Co. Ltd.
Address off Raleigh St, Douglas St, Booker St Cultural Significance: Regional
Spotswood Creation date(s): 1880-1940s
Site Type Factory Map (Melway) 42B12

Land and works within the existing title(s) with emphasis on fabric from 1880s-1940s or earlier.
Description
(inspection required)
This complex consists of two main sites, one west of Booker St, with some early 20th
century corrugated iron clad gabled stores (1920s), and the other east of Bookers St,
with a Moderne styled one and two level red brick elevation to Booker St and
Simcock Avenue, with large steel framed saw tooth roofed sections east of the facade.
The brick section facing Booker St is typical of the late 1930s-1940s with its curved
walls, Moderne styling, steel framed windows, decorative curving string courses, and
glass bricks. The multi-level section central to the Booker St elevation, hovering over
the siding entry, reputedly housed the main canteen and is the architectural focus of
the design with its horizontal window strips and semi-circular tripartite flag pole

mountings and curved flanking walls. A later but similar addition to the main block
extends down Simcock Avenue.
On the eastern perimeter of the site, facing Douglas Pde is a bluestone 19th century
rubble wall which predates much of the rest of the complex and on the north of
Simcock Avenue near Douglas Parade, is an Edwardian-era brick staff amenities
building with associated palm tree. This was once part of a complex of similarly
scaled buildings seen in the 1945 aerial view, apparently connected with tennis courts
and a refuge dug-out { M Jones, 2000}.
Where the siding line crossed Booker St is marked by two Island gatehouses, designed
in a Moderne manner and presumably contemporary with the new wing east of
Booker St.
Most of the present complex is of the World War II era. Internally, the complex
retains some earlier remnants including an early 20th century timber framed,
corrugated-iron clad shed with gabled roof and ridge vent.
The bluestone coursed-rubble wall along Douglas Parade, is possibly all that is left of
the nineteenth century works. About 5 years ago a substantial section at the north end
collapsed, revealing the foundations and basement of the former boiler house. This
structure had further bluestone walls set back from the Douglas Parade elevation, with
red brick lined openings for windows and doors, all having been bricked in. The
eastern or Douglas Parade wall of the boiler house also had such openings, but when
the wall was reconstructed, the brick details were omitted, so now their is no external
or visible evidence of the boiler house. However, this and possibly other foundations
and basements of early buildings clearly survive beneath the fill used to level the yard
behind the perimeter wall.
External Condition:
Good (partially disturbed, well preserved) in part but the 1930s block which is in good to fair condition
generally but shows cracks and damage to elements apparently due to brick growth. This could be
controlled by introducing vertical expansion joints in the affected walls.
External Integrity:
The 1930s wing of the complex has a high integrity to its construction date but other sections of the
complex have been changed over time, including even the stone wall which was reconstructed in recent
times.
Context:
Contributory part of the Spotswood Industrial Precinct, facing the bay.
This site is one of the City's early large scale industries, outside of the government railways complexes. It is
the largest single glass manufacturing plant in the country and the only mechanised complex for that purpose in
the State.

History and themes
History
The Melbourne Glass Bottle Works Co Ltd started in Graham Street, South
Melbourne, June 1873 after formation of the company the preceding year. Following
the shift of other large industries to the cheaper land across the bay, the company
acquired 12 acres in 1890 by the Yarra River, in Spotswood, and erected parts of the
existing works. Rate descriptions of the works at The Avenue (also known as
Simcock Avenue or Bay View Avenue) start in 1895-6 with William McNeilage
cited as manager residing in a 9 room brick house and Alfred Felton and Frederick S
Grimwade (care of Mt Lambton) as occupiers of the brick and iron works, all owned
in the name of the Melbourne Glass Bottle Works Co. By 1905 Felton and
Grimwade have disappeared from rate descriptions with only McNeilage named. By
1910 Garnsworthy's name is entered as secretary, along with William James
McNeilage as manager. Garnsworthy continued into the 1920s but by the mid 1920s
only William Watson was mentioned as the assistant works manager, later foreman.
By the 1920s the name Australian Glass Manufacturing Co. Ltd was used.
In 1894 the MMBW Record Plan 8 shows the Glass Bottle Works as a large timber
framed (presumably corrugated iron clad) building in the centre of the block east of
Booker St, a brick (manager's?) house to the north west, a masonry building east of
the main works facing on to Douglas Pde, and associated smaller timber factory
strips (with a monitor roof) along the north boundary and to the south of the main
building. The stone boundary wall is shown bordering what is now Douglas Pde at
and north of the brick or masonry block. A tramline linked the works with a jetty and
landing protruding into the bay. Only the stone wall remains of this complex today:
even the jetty is gone.
Around 1900 the works were described in a local publication as possessing some 5-6
acres of buildings housing 400-500 hands: àll kinds of bottles are made, from the
tiniest to the largest that is required, in any shape or colour' { `Williamstown
Illustrated'}. Pictures of the works show a series of gabled corrugated iron clad sheds
with a number of smoking chimneys, one shed bearing the name Australian Glass
Bottle Works. Interior views show unlined timber framed structures. Some of these
gabled structures resemble those existing today (see Warehouses C, D & E, NE cnr
Raleigh and Hudson) although they probably were on the original site east of Booker
St where a gabled corrugated iron clad building on the east of the site is a probable
remnant.
West of Booker St was the Hudson Rd complex which was two lots of 6 acres and
rated from 1908 onwards as land. By 1921 it was described as timber and iron works
on 6 acres (block C) and 6 acres of land. This site developed rapidly in the next few
years with the annual value of the works site going from £380 in 1921-2 to £1600 in

1924-5. By then the built up part of the site was 7 acres, with 5 acres of land. This
valuation had tripled by 1940.
A plan from 1929 shows the Booker St and Simcock Ave site (south east corner) as
largely vacant except for a brick machine shop sited south of the railway siding
which curved around from the west and headed south. South of the machine shop
was a boiler room and oven on Booker St (shown as deleted on the plan) and a
series of what appear to be g.s.i. clad sheds running east west. Two latrine blocks
were associated with this complex. A new development on this part of the site was
planned in 1936 as a long thin brick strip facing Booker St with upper level
accommodation including a café. This work had been completed in part by 1937 and
in total by 1944. A large adjunct to this building, on the east, was planned in 1939,
and another section north of the siding in 1941-3: completing the Moderne style
brick building evident today. A MMBW Detail Plan (102) updated to WW2 shows
the complex at that time, with both sides of Booker St almost fully developed.
The Felton Grimwade & Co entry into the business had apparently allowed rapid
expansion which meant that in 1934 the Spotswood plant was òne of the largest
factories for the manufacture of bottles and general glassware in the southern
hemisphere' { Elsum: 55}. Pratt's 1934 `The National Handbook of Australia's
Industries' gives a slightly different emphasis on the Australian Glass Manufacturers
Ltd. which was described as centred in Sydney, with five companies (AGM, Agee
Meat preserving Company, two facets of the Crown Crystal Glass Company at
Waterloo, and the Australian Window Glass Company at Alexandria) combined to
employ 1700 compared to Spotswood's 600. Nevertheless the combination was
claimed as producing a greater variety of glassware than any other company in the
world.
The 1930 rate entry for The Avenue site gives 11 acres 2 roods 30 perch as the area.
By 1940 the firm had acquired the Robinson & Co paint shop and storeroom on a 4
acre site at Booker St and Hudsons Rd.
W McNeilage Snr had been the managing director of the company for many years, to
be replaced on his death with à native of Williamstown' Stanley G Garnsworthy. By
the 1930s the head offices were at 428 Spencer St and the style of the operation was
the Australian Glass Manufacturers Co Ltd. McNeilage was a long-term
Williamstown councillor and was elected mayor in 1911-13.
An aerial photograph from 1945 shows the plant east and west of Booker St with the
residence, first plant and associated buildings of the 1894 plan, shown next to the
large new sawtooth roof factory block facing Booker St. One of these structures
appears to have survived in the form of a gabled corrugated iron clad shed sited
centrally (north south) on the eastern section of the block.

There are also the extensive rows of earlier corrugated iron clad structures west of
Booker St. There is a large vacant area south of Hudsons Road, with what looks like
a race track within it, which has since been occupied by the firm. East of this is the
largely vacant pumping station site { Aerial 1945}.
Associations: Melbourne Glass Bottle Australian Glass Australian Consolidated
Works Co Ltd Manufacturers Ltd. Industries


Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
The Melbourne Glass Bottle Works, later Australian Glass Bottle Works complex is
significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- as the site of one of the city's early large scale industries as expressed by the
corrugated iron clad structures in Hudsons Road and the basalt wall in Douglas Pde
(criteria A4, B2);
- as the site of the largest single glass manufacturing plant in the country (criterion
A4);
- for the Moderne styling of its 1930s-40s factory and office wings facing Booker St
(criterion F1) ;
- for the rare combination of construction date, extent and construction style of the
rubble bluestone wall which bounds the site on the east (criterion B2) ;
- for the Edwardian-era current staff facilities north of Simcock Ave (criterion A4).
Documentation
References

MMBW Property Service File for SE Booker & Simcock Ave only (City West Water )
Victorian Public Records Office (VPRO) Municipal Rate Books (RB) VPRS 2132/P
Heritage Study;
MMBW Record & Detail Plans, State Library of Victoria
Land Victoria aerial photograph collection;
Pratt, A 1934. `The National Handbook of Australia's Industries': 306- pictures and article
Further work:
Inspection of the whole complex is required: this could not be achieved during the study.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the period of the 19th
century until c1949.
the place;
conservation;

and
oral sources and then reassess the heritage significance of the place and the
formulation of an incorporated plan for use in the heritage overlay.

Name of place: The Gables house, garden

Other Names
Address 21 Rayner St Cultural Significance: City
Site Type House & garden, urban Map (Melway) 54E11

Land and buildings within the existing title with emphasis on fabric from 1930s.
Description
This Californian Bungalow style weatherboard house is early for the area and well
preserved externally. The house has three nested gables with stout tapered masonry
porch piers, shingled gables, horizontally grouped double hung sash windows and
lead lights in the upper window sashes completing the image of the typical
Californian Bungalow style. There is an early fence and garage while related plantings
include a silky oak and lilly pilly.
The property is one of the more complete of this era and style in the City although
there are many examples of a similar character.
External Condition:


External Integrity:
Context:
Surrounded by mainly later suburban development.
The house is more articulated than most of the inter-war houses in the City although others have been selected
for conservation because of their high integrity or association with State Savings bank finance.
History and themes
History
Historical context
… at Altona where, in 1915, those areas of the Altona Bay estate that had not been
sold still belonged to W.H. Croker, who had tried to develop coal-mining there. He
sold his remaining interests in the estate at this time to the Altona Beach Estates
Limited, a consortium of Sydney businessmen who planned to turn the old Altona
estate into a 'model garden suburb'. The new syndicate planned 674 house lots in the
old 1880s subdivision, 2,875 lots in the new one and 58 blocks reserved for public
institutions. The company named the area east of Millers Road, Seaholme. By 1930
there was one shop and 29 dwellings on the Seaholme Estate. The first auctions were
held in 1918, with 108 lots being sold. Some new residents took up homes on this
estate in the 1920s, when the number of dwellings in Altona went from 114 in 1921
to 408 in 1933. The company managed the sale of land in central Altona for the next
thirty years, until 1953. Six other private subdivisions were all offered for sale in
Altona North and Altona East in the 1920s{ Barnard, 1999}.
Specific history
The Altona subdivision was declared by N Munro in 1888 and remained dormant
until after World War One. This house was on lot 70 of block 5 and was listed as
House being built' in the Sands & McDougall Victorian Directory of 1930: the street
was then named Fanny Street. Once built in 1931, it was owned and occupied by
Frederick R Presswell until at least the 1960s, the street name changing in 1951
{LP2154}.
Associations: Frederick R Presswell

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:

Significance

The Gables house, garden is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay
- as a well preserved and large example of a typical Californian Bungalow, judged
within other City examples, and thus represents a good example of a type and
portrays well an era of growth in the Altona area after the Altona estate was revived
(criterion A4, D2) .
Documentation
References
Municipal Rate Books (RB) Werribee Shire;
Heritage Study;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations

the place;

Name of place: Altona Baptist Church

Other Names Tylden church & Progress Hall, former
Address Sargood St Cultural Significance: City
Altona Creation date(s): 1918,1922, 19
Site Type Church Map (Melway) 54G11

The building and land to the extent of the title with emphasis on fabric from c1918-35.
Description
This gabled timber church and former hall is unusual in form, has been altered but is
recognisably early for the area. It has a broach spire, with narrow window, timber
strapping which simulates half timbering, leadlight pointed windows in groups. The
overall form is gabled with a skillion porch added to the front, wrapped around the
spire base. A skillion has been added to the south side of the nave, joining with a
gabled cross-bay, and the weatherboard cladding replaced with fibre cement sheet.
Corrugated metal sheeting has been used on the roof.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Sites on the fringe of the commercial area, backing onto a carpark.
Public halls and churches are typically of a later date in this part of the City. No other building apart from the
former Laverton homestead is more closely associated with the revival and marketing of the Altona estate.
History and themes
History
In the nineteenth century, hotels often served as venues for meetings, etc, especially
for trade unionists or working people who had little domestic space to share. Specific
associations, church groups and community or progress associations often built their
own halls which served a myriad of purposes. Community halls in the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries could serve as schoolrooms, churches (on Sunday) concert
and dance party venues, meeting rooms, and so on. Williamstown's Temperance
Hall provided a safe venue for the very strong Temperance Lobby existing in
Williamstown during the second half of the nineteenth century. It was erected
through subscription and donations in about 1870. The Mechanics Institute was
also used for a variety of purposes{ Barnard, 1999}.
Specific history
One of the first efforts of the Altona Progress Association, which was formed during
Altona's developmental spurt around 1917, was the construction of a hall by working
bees. It then served all the usual purposes, including acting as church for several
denominations and as the Altona School for some time.'
This church hall is said to have been recycled from a Tylden church brought to he
site in 1922 and incorporates the building once known as Progress Hall which was
once separate and to the north of the site. The hall was acquired and joined with the
church c1931. The Baptists had used the hall for services from 1918 until the
construction of the church in 1922 { Priestley: 156- }. A view of the church taken in
1987 shows a variegated terra-cotta tiled roof over the porch, the timber straps
picked out in dark colour, and the spire clad with terracotta shingles. The former
Progress hall is presumably the gabled wing shown in this picture attached to the
chancel of the church { Priestley: 176}.
Associations: Altona Progress Baptist Church
Association



Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
Altona Baptist Church, former Tylden church & Progress Hall is significant to the
City of Hobsons Bay
- as in part (Hall) the meeting place for the groups active at Altona during the
formative period for the suburb early this century as well as serving as the local
school room (criterion A4) ;
- as in part (church) a distinctive architectural form, albeit altered, with its broach
spire (criterion B2) ;
- as a meeting place for the Baptist community over a long period (criterion G.1).
Documentation
References
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 156-7, 176;
Heritage Study;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
(1920s) and the period of use as church.
the place;
conservation;
and

Name of place: Loft's house

Other Names
Address 41 Speight St Cultural Significance: Local

The house and title land with emphasis on fabric from the construction date and Loft period.
Description
This is a small gabled weatherboard house which is one of the better preserved
houses in the street and contributory to an area of local heritage worth. It has a
Victorian-era base, with its simple form, 4-panel front door and multi-paned front
windows plus Edwardian-era verandah which is a bull-nosed profile and simply
treated. The houses on either side are well preserved Edwardian-era and Bungalow
style weatherboard houses, making this one of the better streetscapes of the precinct.
Loss of this house would damage a locally significant heritage streetscape.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

substantially intact/some intrusions to Loft occupation

Context:
The precinct is defined by the remaining houses from distinct periods in the City's residential growth north of
the main thoroughfare of Mason St and west of Melbourne Road. It is bordered on the west by the former
Newport quarry now Newport Lakes.
The character of this precinct is dominantly Edwardian-era and inter-war period weatherboard detached single
storey houses. However so many have been altered the expression of these eras is compromised compared to
other parts of the City or the metropolitan area but the area has obvious neighbourhood character. There are
groups of well preserved houses but new development between them disrupts the historical expression as an
area.
There are many houses which resemble this simple cottage but the association with Loft is the distinctive
aspect.
History and themes
History
Estate, to the west of the railway workshops, was marketed in 1885 (this estate), as
was Hall's Farm. Grindley's Estate at Newport was marketed in 1888. It was within
walking distance of the Newport Station, on what had been known as Griffiths
Paddock (and now lies between North and Collingwood Roads.) Two other estates
offered for sale in the 1880s were the Epsom Estate, near the Williamstown
racecourse, and the South Newport Estate, between Kororoit Creek Road, the
Geelong Railway line , Maddox and Fink Streets, although very few houses were
built on these estates in the 1880s. Most of the housing that did go up at the time was
in close proximity to the railway station { Barnard, 1999}.
The evidence visible today suggests that the estate was developed largely in the
Edwardian and inter-war periods, with weatherboard detached single storey houses.
Specific History
The house at 41 Speight St is one of the early places in the estate. It is shown on the
1894 MMBW record plan set in what were then open paddocks, with few houses
built at that time on the estate. It is likely to have been built in the 1880s at the
beginning of the estate.
Some of the occupiers were:
Mrs Emma Lofts, 1909
Francis Phillips, 1901
Henry Loft 1888-90s, the first owner-occupier.
Loft, blacksmiths

The Loft family are still well known in Newport for their long tenancy of a
blacksmith's shop in Melbourne Road. It was run under their name until last year
when it closed and the early smithy equipment removed.
Loft's blacksmiths shop (smithy) was established there in 1920 under the name of
George F Loft. Lily Jane Loft was the rated owner. George (son of Emma and
Henry) died in 1941 aged 61. By the mid 1940s Eric and Reginald Loft had taken
over the smithy with Lily Loft still in command of the house. Lily died in 1952 aged
78.
Associations: Henry Loft Mrs Emma Lofts

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance

Loft's house is significant to the Newport locality because:
of its close link with the locally prominent Loft family who have been identified by
the community over time for their Newport blacksmith business (Criterion H1, G1);
of its integrity to the Loft period as a typical simple cottages which make up the
precinct (Criterion A4, H1);
of its contribution to the Newport Estate precinct as visibly the earliest in the street
by its original two-room structure (reflected by its roof form) and close proximity to
the street alignment, as well as indicative of the estate creation date (Criterion A4).
Documentation
References
Sands & McDougall Directories;
Heritage Study;

Curtain, C. et al. 1947 `Wealth of a City'.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the Victorian and
Edwardian-era eras:

Name of place: Seaholme Railway Station & landscape

Other Names
Address off Station St Cultural Significance: City
Altona Creation date(s): 1921

The railway reserve, railway buildings and trees (Canary Island palms, fig trees, flowering gums) with emphasis on built fabric from the
1920s.
Description
A distinctive grove of Canary Island palms surround a railway station complex
consisting of gabled weatherboard early 20th century station building with timber
verandah, timber platform edging, fig trees, flowering gums, and later native planting.
The palms are grouped mainly on the north side of the tracks but there are also
specimens to the south.
External Condition:
External Integrity:

Context:
Set in an inter-war and later residential domain, with a small commercial area nearby.
The Seaholme Railway Station is the only one close to tits original form and setting on this section of the
railway, the other stations having been redeveloped. It is one of the early public buildings in the Altona area.
History and themes
History
The next railway line development occurred in 1884 when a line was constructed
from Racecourse Junction (near Paisley) on the Geelong line to the Williamstown
Racecourse. The line was opened in April 1885. Private forces stepped ...soon after
this when a company formed to subdivide and market Altona land, The Altona and
Laverton Bay Freehold and Investment Co. Ltd, purchased rails from the Victorian
railways and built an extension of the Williamstown Racecourse line to platforms at
Altona Bay and Altona Beach. Advertising an already existing railway line was a
good marketing ploy for land in the time of the land boom and the first train to run to
Altona coincided with the first land sales, 22 August 1888. The company even
planned to extend the line to a station called Edinburgh on the Geelong railway line,
but little came of this plan. For the next two years the trains only ran to Altona on
sale days, although for a while in 1890 Victorian railways trains ran twice daily to
Williamstown racecourse, meeting the private Altona Bay trains there. By August
1890 all trains to Altona were cancelled, although some special trains occasionally
utilised the line to convey picnic parties to Altona Beach.
The Altona line (from Williamstown Racecourse to Altona) remained in private

hands until the 1920s. For most of this time it was not operational, although the
Victorian Railways Department leased part of the line for shunting and storage of
racecourse trains for many years. In 1917, when renewed attempts were made to
market the Altona Beach estate, an agreement between the Altona Bay Estate
Company and Victorian Railways allowed a shuttle service to operate between
Newport and Altona (then still called Altona Beach). When, after several years, the
line continued to make a loss, Victorian Railways took over the line. Electric trains
ran from 1926. When a coal mine was sunk in 1899 near present day Maidstone
Street, a spur line was again extended to the coal mine to enable heavy equipment to
be carried there.
In 1886 a private developer, C.R. Staples, marketed the township of Laverton on the
Geelong railway line. He induced the Railways Department to build a station here, to
enhance the attractiveness of the real estate, despite the fact that there were few local
inhabitants to justify this expenditure. Another siding which opened on the Geelong
line soon after, in 1890, was Hatherley, later rebuilt and renamed Paisley Station in

1929. Galvin Station, opened in 1927, was built in connection with a renewed
attempt to exploit brown coal resources at Altona, when a new shaft was sunk to the
west of the old coal mine. Both Paisley and Galvin Stations were closed in 1985,
when the Altona railway line was extended to meet the Geelong line near Laverton.
Another defunct railway station in the study area was Mobiltown, initially built as a
platform called Standard Oil Platform. It was constructed in 1953, quite near to the
old Williamstown Racecourse station, which was dismantled in 1951, and had been
unused since racing had been discontinued during the Second World War. The
Standard Vacuum Platform was built initially for the use of employees of the new
refinery. Its name was soon changed to Mobiltown and it was available to general
passengers from 1958. Many residents of the Wiltona migrant hostel made use of
Mobiltown station, which also closed in 1985 { Barnard, 1999}.
Specific history
Seaholme station was opened late in 1921, one year after the first auction was held
for the surrounding Seaholme Estate which grew to 29 houses and one shop by 1930
{ Priestley: 158}.


Other Subtheme:
Significance

Seaholme Railway Station & landscape is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- because of its preservation and landscape setting it expresses well the 1920s period
when the present suburb of Altona was beginning to form from the revival of the
Altona Beach Estate (criterion A4);
- because the palm rows are distinctive and uncommon planting elements within the
City (criterion B2); and
- the station building and platform have been public gathering places for nearly 80
years (criterion G1).
Documentation
References
Priestley, 1988. Àltona A Long View': 140, 158;
Heritage Study;
Harrigan 1962 `The Victorian Railways to 1962'.
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the inter-war period as
identified:
elements of the complex, buildings, trees and land ;
the place;
conservation;

and

Name of place: McKenzie & Holland P/L factory

Other Names Westinghouse Brake & Signal Company (Aust) P/L, Westinghouse- McKenzie- Holland P/L
Address betwe Stephenson St. & Sutton St. Cultural Significance: City
en 1930
Spotswood Creation date(s):

Land within the existing title(s) with emphasis on fabric from the 1930s or earlier and McKenzie & Holland P/L or Westinghouse Signal
and Brakes tenure (including 9 Sutton St - a 3 bay wing at the north end of Sutton St, west side, with rolled edge to roof iron over steel
framed roof lights, and early "Railway Signal and Engineering" sign painted on side; central section of the complex with canted roof
lights; and the erection shop with clerestory window on south west of site) including land within nominally 5m of each building's
perimeter.
Description
(Inspection Required)
The complex is off Blackshaws Road and set between Stephenson St. & Sutton St.
facing the railway line. It consists of a large range of corrugated iron saw tooth roof
factory buildings.
1. 9 Sutton St - a 3 bay wing at the north end of Sutton St, west side, with rolled edge
to roof iron over steel framed roof lights, early "Railway Signal and Engineering" sign
painted on side (1930s).

2. Central section with canted roof lights early 1900s.

3. Erection shop with clerestory window on south west of site.
The complex comprises a series of generally timber-framed, south-facing saw-tooth

roof corrugated-iron clad sheds. These appear to have been erected progressively with
the oldest possibly dating from the early 1900s and more recent from the post World
War II period. Central to the site is a range of buildings with roof lights canted at
about 15 degrees from vertical, suggesting a late nineteenth century date. Glazing in
this section is also unusual, incorporating wrought iron vertical bars and small
overlapping glass panes held in place by metal clips. This is also the lowest section of
roof with the narrowest bays.
The erection shop on the south side is a tall gabled structure with clerestory windows.
Again clad in corrugated iron, this building is framed in iron, partly of made-up
riveted wrought-iron columns, with iron truss roof. An electrically operated overhead
travelling crane runs the length of this building and extends beyond the south wall to
an open yard. This appears to date from the post World War II period.
On the east side of the complex on the north side of Sutton street is a 1930s sawtooth
section of steel and timber framing with rolled edge iron over the steel framed roof
light and the painted sign `Railway Signal and Engineering' with dramatic diagonal
flashes filling the triangular spaces high along the end wall. Vacant land east of Sutton
Street marks the location of the original site of McKenzIe and Holland.
External Condition:
good (partially disturbed, well preserved) in part (1930s wing)
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions in part (1930s wing)
Context:
Contributory part of the Spotswood Industrial Precinct, facing the railway.
The adjoining larger government railway industry complexes over shadow this complex but this is a privately
owned example of one of the early directly allied railway component producers in the region.
History and themes
History
Construction of the permanent workshops at Newport began in 1884 and were
completed in 1889. At the time the workshops were the largest industrial concern in
Victoria. Although the earlier carriage workshop closed at this time, it reopened in
1895 to manufacture signal equipment. Initially the Newport workshops
manufactured and repaired only carriages and wagons, with locomotives

manufactured by a private firm in Ballarat. From 1905 the workshops also

manufactured their own engines.
Additional workshops were erected at Spotswood in the 1920s. The signal and
telegraph manufacture and repair branch was located in these workshops. These
workshops were known as the Amalgamated Workshops. During both World Wars
the workshops took on some defence engineering tasks, such as the building of
tanks.
The Victorian Railways workshops attracted similar industries to the study area. The
Australian Forge and Engineering Co's first contract was to supply iron carriages and
wagon wheels to the Victorian Railways Department. (see above.) The Semaphore
Iron Works was established in 1878 at Spotswood to manufacture railway signals
and equipment. It was later known as McKenzie and Holland, which produced
equipment for the electrification of Melbourne's rail network in the 1930s{ Barnard,
1999}.
Specific History
With the construction of several major suburban and country lines through the
western suburbs of Melbourne in the 1850s and the pre-existing engineering and
manufacturing industry, the logical location for railway workshops was in proximity
to these lines. As well as the actual railway facilities, private engineering contractors
took advantage to this situation from an early date. The Semaphore Iron Works was
established in 1878, primarily as its name states, to build railway signals. It also
manufactured other railway equipment such as points and railway gates. The firm
was registered under the name McKenzie and Holland in March 1899 and continued
under that name until 1950 { VPRO}.
The company amalgamated with the British firm - Westinghouse and Brakes Signals
(which was already operating from an adjacent site) in about 1900. Westinghouse
patented a number of railway safety innovations. In 1935 the firm was one of the
major suppliers of signal equipment for the electrification of the Suburban Railway
Network.
An 1894 plan of the site shows most of it vacant but with a small complex in the
north-west corner, noted as McKenzie Holland's Interlocking Works'. A railway
siding linked to it. Masonry building central to the complex may have been the
owner's residence but the rest of the buildings were timber framed. Most of these
buildings existed in 1945 but have since been demolished { Aerial 1945}.
Through the 1920s-30s McKenzie & Holland P/L also owned and occupied land
here, east of the existing plant, with George McPherson as the manager {RB}. A
major change in the rate valuation was in 1929-30 (£185 to £347) when `works and

offices' were added to the rate description. It is probable that the rolled sawtooth bay
was built then.
Situated below the south west corner of the vast Spotswood Victorian Railways
Amalgamated Workshop, the north eastern corner of this site was occupied by
Westinghouse Brake Australasia P/L engineers in the early 1950s {D1952}. South of
them were McKenzie & Holland Aust P/L. In the 1970s the Westinghouse site was
occupied by WMM engineering and Westinghouse had moved to Sydney Road,
Fawkner {D1974}. McKenzie & Holland were however still at 41-79 Stephenson
St, on the west side of the site.
An aerial view of 1945 shows the 1930s three-bay rolled sawtooth roof wing with
associated buildings to the north plus a long run of sawtooth factory roofing at its
west end, running north-south in 11 (north end) and 7 (south end) bays of roofing.
This has been joined since by sawtooth bays to the east of the 7 bay north-south wing
and added sawtooth bays to the west of the 11 bay wing.
Today's title division encompasses the old 1890s site and the 1930s rolled sawtooth
roof block, with its attached 7 bay wing, in the northern title. The north-south wing
(11 bay sections) is in the next title south.
Westinghouse Signals Australia

Westinghouse Signals Australia is a member of Invensys Rail, a worldwide group of
railway companies that also includes: Westinghouse Signals Limited (incorporating
Signalling Control U.K.) Safetran Systems (incorporating Burco Services)
Dimetronic Signals Westinghouse Brakes Limited Westinghouse Brakes
Australia As part of Invensys Rail, all the companies share their technology and
resources. WSA supplies and supports many Invensys Rail group products in
Australia. These signalling companies are said to form one of the largest railway
technology groups in the World. The company now has over 50 Railway Signal
Engineers working in their offices on design of all types of railway signalling
systems. Among their designs are: the largest regional SSI system for the Brisbane
Metropolitan area; the largest rail network using Westrace interlockings in
Indonesia; and many small and large relay interlockings { WS}.
In the 1970s they were Westinghouse Brake & Signal Company (Aust) P/L and
based in Windsor, with the parent company in the United Kingdom. They were
manufacturing engineers, exporters and importers, with branches in most states.
Their products included automotive parts, bolts, automotive and railway brake
equipment, compressed air equipment and a large range of railway-associated parts.
Their Spotswood branch (given as Stephenson St) had been the Signal & Rectifier
Division under the management of RS Scott {BWWOA 1973: 645-6}. Another
branch of the company, also stationed at Stephenson St, was Westinghouse-

McKenzie- Holland P/L (formerly McKenzie- Holland) who were cited as having
been established in 1880. They made railway signalling, rectifier equipment, and
remote control supervisory apparatus {BWWOA 1973: 645-6}.
Associations: McKenzie & Holland Westinghouse Brake &
Signal Company (Aust)
P/L


Other Subtheme:
Significance

The former McKenzie & Holland P/L and Westinghouse Signal and Brakes
components of this complex is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- for their link with the vast railway industry which made this part of the City one of
the largest concentrations of rail-related manufacturing in Australia (criterion A4) ;
- for their roles as pioneers in the transport and signalling industry, Westinghouse
Signal and Brake having patented the original steam and air braking systems and
having patent signal configurations (Criterion A4);.
- for the link with a firm which boasts today to be one of the world's largest railway
signalling manufacturers (criterion H1) .
Documentation
References
Vines WRIHS Ref 0116 see McKenzie and Holland, Sutton St, Spotswood
Land Victoria - aerial photos 1945, Qasco 1993
G Vines, verbal 1999;
Heritage Study;
Westinghouse Signals web site (WS)

`Business Who's Who of Australia' (BWWOA

Victorian Public Records Office (VPRO) Defunct Business Files VPRS 933-X108273
Municipal Rate Books (RB) Werribee Shire
Further work:
Inspection required
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 1930s or earlier
and McKenzie & Holland P/L or Westinghouse Signal and Brakes tenure.
the place;
conservation;
and
- Carry out a detailed site inspection to determine the early surviving fabric and
assess relative significance of individual parts as part of a conservation analysis and

management plan using documentary and oral sources and then reassess the heritage
significance of the place and the formulation of an incorporated plan for use in the
heritage overlay.

Name of place: House

Other Names Pilot's house
Address 86 The Avenue Cultural Significance: City
Spotswood Creation date(s): 1898 - moved

The building and land to the extent of the title with emphasis on fabric from pre c1900.
Description
This is an altered but early weatherboard house, with a simple hipped roof (shingled
originally?) and simple timber verandah. The small low scale of the house suggests a
very early date. Pepper trees and a silky oak are related mature landscape, along with
an altered timber picket fence.
Inside the front rooms are small with low ceilings, with possible use of wide boards
on the walls as a base for paper but now overlaid with Masonite, and bead-edge
ceiling lining with the typical early slim beading in the main rooms. There are also
slim architraves and a saw cut through the weatherboards over the front 4-panel door
possibly where it was joined after moving.

External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions- verandah rebuilt or detail missing,
Context:
Isolated in generally later detached housing development.
Williamstown has a number of significant early houses associated with mariners and thus has gained
importance in the State for this fact: this house gains added distinction from its re-siting at a relatively remote
site from the sea and thus providing a recognisably early presence in an area which generally developed much
later.
History and themes
History
This site (lot 65) was part of an 1880s subdivision of CA B, Section 9, Cut Paw Paw
parish (LP 859). -The house is thought to have been a pilot's house moved from
Williamstown {owner, 1999}.
This house was reputedly moved here from Williamstown for James Steele who
leased it to Thomas Henderson, a labourer, in 1898. The Steele family had links with
the early pilot service at Williamstown so that there may be truth in the legend that
it was a former pilot's house { Evans, 1978: 101}.
Florence Bullard (care of Spotswood Railway Station) was the owner occupier form
c1906. Walter E Bullard was a later owner-occupier (although he was the listed
occupier from 1907 in Sands & McDougall Directories) of what was described as a 4
room weatherboard house in 1930. Florence had died at East Melbourne in 1930
aged 48: at her death her parents were unknown. The same was stated for Walter
when he died in 1945 aged 67: presumably they were husband and wife.
Associations: James Steele Florence Bullard Walter E Bullard

Making suburbs

Other Subtheme:
Significance


B.2 Rarity
This house is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- as an early house with links to the maritime industry which has distinguished the
Williamstown district within the State since its inception (criterion A4);
- as an uncommon recognisably early house in an otherwise generally later residential
domain (criterion B2)
Documentation
References
Heritage Study;
Inspection with owners May 2000
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations

the Steel tenure:

the place;

Name of place: Altona Primary School 3923 complex and trees (

poplars and sugar gums)
Other Names Altona State School
Address Upton St Cultural Significance: City
Altona Creation date(s): 1922-3, 1926
Site Type School Map (Melway) 54F11

Altona Primary School 3923 complex and trees ( poplars and sugar gums), and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main
construction period, being the 1920s.
Description
This is a red brick & textured stucco state school set in yard planted with large trees,
including poplars and sugar gums. A large number of portable classrooms from post
WW2 are located on the site.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions- the bricks have been painted and details altered.

Context:
Set in largely later detached housing development.
The other schools in the City (some older, some contemporary with this one) relate to their specific residential
centres, each having developed at a different time and thus representing a different phase of the City's
development as a whole. Otherwise, outside of the City, there is a number of 1920s red brick schools dotted
around the metropolitan area such as at Ivanhoe, Fairfield and Footscray West, most being superior in design
and better preserved. The former Williamstown North school was comparable but has been recently
demolished.
History and themes
History
George L Owens, of a timber merchant family and later a Presbyterian minister, was
the first to approach the government to provide a school in Altona: he wrote to the
local member of parliament Robertson in 1915. Robertson sent the letter on to the
responsible Minister. A public meeting had been held at George Missen's house and
an action committee formed to urge government action on essential services such as
road, rail and a school { Priestley: 136}. Another meeting was held 4 months later
and as one result a building which could be made suitable for a school was offered
by Mr Lawrence & Mrs Ann Fleming: this was apparently a large shed in the back
yard of their property in Blyth St. It was also the venue for a Baptist Sunday School.
Local residents would aid in its preparation to allow for school use by October. The
Department responded with a lease of the building from 1 November for one year
and classes began under Miss Christina Bavington { Priestley: 137; VPRO}. After
two years the Flemings wanted the use of their building so the Department sought
another site with accommodation for 50 students; they were informed that the trains
would be running to Altona by the start of 1918 thus promoting more demand.
The revival of the Altona Estate Company early in the 20th century and the planned
sale of house lots in 1918 meant provision of free land for community buildings and
the commencement of a railway service in December 1917 to make the purchase
desirable and achieve their aim of a modern garden suburb. The company
encouraged the formation of the Altona Progress Association in 1917. President of
the school committee, AD Grant approached the company secretary, Lyell Howden,
for school land. Howden agreed to supply a house block if the school was erected
immediately; other lots could be rented to the Department until it was ready to
purchase. However the Progress Association's new public hall of 1917 offered a
more immediate solution, with separate classrooms formed by a canvas division
which could be drawn aside for public meetings and church services { Priestley:
139}. John Morton was the first head teacher and his daughter was the infant teacher
{ ibid.}.
After leasing the public hall in Sargood St from February 1918 plus a wide variety of

other accommodation (including a lattice building owned by Howe), authority was

given to the Public Works Department to erect a school in 1921 with tenders called
soon afterwards { VPRO}. This was after pleas from head teachers, Charles Ogilvie
and Charles Borrack, and the assistance of local members of parliament, AR
Robertson and John Lemmon { Priestley: 157; VPRO}. The 3 acre site chosen was
on the railway and within a quarter mile radius were 4 families, with another 9
within the next quater mile and 12 within the next: the transfer had been made by
January 1920 { VPRO}.
J Soutar was the successful builder, after two tendering sessions, and the design to
house 200 pupils (at 12 square feet per student) was carried out under Chief
Architect, E Evan Smith. The design was typical of government schools at that time,
being red brick and stucco construction, with a Marseilles pattern tiled hipped roof.
The entry was marked by a parapeted porch with a small arch set into the parapet.
Main windows were multi paned and grouped into twos and threes. Inside there were
three classrooms, two separated by an accordion screen (half glazed folding doors)
and each provide with a fireplace, teachers cupboard and a platform. There was a
generous corridor and an administrative office. At the other end were the lavatories
(basins), hat and cloak room. Vertical boarded dadoes were throughout as were the
ceiling vents to ensure proper ventilation. Dotted on the east end was provision for
another classroom: this had been carried out by 1926. When the education minister,
Alexander Peacock opened the school in November 1922, it was already well over
capacity at 400. The tender was £3415 but £4250 was the final cost { VPRO}.
Cyclone gates were erected in 1923 to keep the cattle from the school grounds and
the trees planted there by the School Committee: these are probably the mature trees
visible today (sugar gums). The committee also erected a shelter shed in that year.
Lawrence Fleming was the committee secretary { VPRO}.
Additions were made in 1926-7, more land acquired in 1929 (lots 17-23) , and
Webb St was closed between Blyth and Railway St to allow the unification of the
two sites. The 1926 additions for 150 students, cost £3223 (2990 tendered?) and
followed the lead provided in the original design for additions. A corridor headed
east and then north to link three new classrooms, with a new enlarged cloak and hat
room and a large teachers room. Another dotted bay showed the way for yet another
extension on the north { PWD}. It was opened in November 1927 before a well
represented local gathering, this time by local member, Lemmon, who was education
minister { Priestley: 157}. The occasion, heading towards the Great Depression, was
also an opportunity for many grievances to be uttered to the local member. In the
same year the school committee had sought a higher elementary school but with no
success { VPRO}.
In 1932 levelling and grading of the school yard was achieved and pathways laid out

to shelter sheds and out offices but the cattle nuisance occurred again in 1935
threatening the gardens and new trees planted by the committee { VPRO}.
A site plan from 1966 showed this dotted space taken up by two new portables.
Already a spine of portables had grown on the west of the original school and two
classrooms attached to its south east corner, with options for three more on the east
edge of the complex. A detached library block was on the north. The growth of the
Altona population post WW2 outreached that of post WW1, the era which inspired
the erection of the school. In the 1933 census there were 1722 people in the Altona
Riding of Werribee Shire, in 1954 there were 6698 persons, and in 1961 16,167.
Overflow classes returned to the Baptist church hall in 1950-1 where the first school
had been housed. A Bristol prefabricated classroom had been added in 1954 and four
others in 1955. The school accommodation was aided by the opening of Seaholme
school in 1952, the Brooklyn primary school in 1953, and Brooklyn West (later
Altona Gate) in 1960 { Priestley: 218- }.
Associations: Victorian Government Fleming family

Educating

Other Subtheme:
Significance

B.2 Rarity
Altona Primary School 3923 complex, trees are significant to the City of Hobsons
Bay:
- as among the earliest public structures to be built in the new suburb of Altona
(criterion B2) ;
- as symbolic of the revival of the Altona Beach estate and the promotional activities
of its financial supporters (criterion A4). And
- for its long term public associations for the Altona community over a period of
nearly 80 years (criterion G.1) .
Documentation
References
Victorian Public Records Office (VPRO) SS3923 School Building Files VPRS 795/2913- figures
cited in file vary with those quoted by Priestley, S 1988. Àltona - A Long View';
Heritage Study;
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
original elements;
the place;
conservation;


Name of place: Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong Railway

precinct (part)
Other Names
Address Varies Cultural Significance: State
Varies Creation date(s): 1857-
Site Type Railway Map (Melway) 54-56

Buildings and land as listed plus all associated landscape
Description
The precinct formed by these two lines (Melbourne - Williamstown, Melbourne -
Geelong Railways) traverse the City of Hobsons Bay and contains the State's richest
concentration of railway history, in term of the major workshop complexes serving
each phase of railway development in the State and two of the earliest group of
railway lines built in the State. The Altona branch line has not been included in this
precent.
Contributory places in the City of Hobsons Bay (in name alphabetical order):
Assistant Manager's residence, Newport Railway Workshops (former ) Champion

Road, Williamstown Nth 1916, Melway 55H6

COR Railway Station site Kororoit Creek Road, Altona 1950s, Melway 54J6
Gellibrand Pier former Railway Pier, Williamstown, Melway 56G9
Lagunaria row Hall Street, Melway 55K1
Manager's residence, Newport Railway Workshops (former ) Champion Road,
Williamstown Nth 1916, Melway 55H6
Newport Railway Station & trees, part Melbourne - Williamstown Railway Hall Street
& Melbourne Road 1912, Melway 55K4
Newport Railways Workshop & Museum, Champion Road, Williamstown North,
Melway 55J6
Newport Victorian Railways DC substation, part Melbourne - Williamstown Railway
Melbourne Road 1915, Melway 55J4
North Williamstown Railway Station, part Melbourne Williamstown Railway Power
St, Williamstown 1912 56 A7
Paisley Railway Station site Kororoit Creek Road, Altona 1960s, Melway 55B5
Pepper tree row Hall Street, Newport, Melway 55K3
Railway bridge & stone ford over the Laverton Creek, part Melbourne - Geelong
Railway Laverton Ck, Altona. 1859, rebuilt 53F9
Railway bridge Kororoit Creek, Altona 1859, rebuilt, Melway 54J5
Railway bridge Stony Creek, Spotswood 1859, part rebuilt, Melway 42A10
Railway bridge, part Melbourne - Geelong Railway Cherry Creek, Altona, 1857
rebuilt, Melway 54F6
Railway Crossing - Keeper's House Hudsons Road, Spotswood, 1910c 41H12
Railway Pedestrian Bridge Hanmer Street, Williamstown
Railway reserves, Melbourne- Geelong - Williamstown railways, varies.
Railway-road stone bridges, Cole & Thompson Streets, Williamstown
Retaining wall and siding Hall St, Spotswood. 1890c, Melway 55K1
Spotswood Railway Station, part Melbourne - Williamstown Railway Hall Street,
Spotswood, 1912, Melway 55K1
Spotswood Railway Workshops (part) & palm trees, part Melbourne - Williamstown
Railway, Melbourne Road, Spotswood 1927, Melway 55J1
Spotswood Signal Box, part Melbourne - Williamstown Railway Hall St, Spotswood
1912, Melway 55K1
Spotswood Victorian Railways Stores Branch administrative building & stores, trees
McLister Street, Spotswood 1922c-, Melway 55K1
Spottiswoode Hotel Hudsons Road, Spotswood 1888 41H12
Williamstown Beach Railway Station, part Melbourne Williamstown Railway
Railway Crescent, Williamstown 1920s?
Williamstown railway station, Williamstown, Melway 5611E
Williamstown railways workshops and associated sites, Pt Gellibrand, Melway 56F10
(Note there is a number of related sites along this line in other local government areas)
External Condition:

External Integrity:
Context:
Traverses open flat country with ever increasing development along its path.
Although comparable to the other early railways in the Colony such as the Murray Valley line, this line has
strong associations with early industry and commerce in the Colony, having served the Colony's most
significant early port at Williamstown and Geelong as the outlet for the wool trade and a conduit for the gold
fields.
History and themes
History
The first two railway lines through the study area were proposed by private
companies in 1852. The Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company proposed
connecting Geelong and Melbourne with a line that joined the proposed Melbourne
to Williamstown line at Greenwich (see below). Work began on the Geelong-
Melbourne line in 1853 but, with the Williamstown line not completed, a temporary
spur line was constructed from the proposed railway junction at Greenwich to a
specially-constructed jetty, Greenwich Pier. Initially this spur line was built solely to
carry material needed for the construction of the railway. When the Geelong line was
completed in 1857, however, the Government gave permission for the line between
the proposed Williamstown railway and the pier to be used for passenger traffic. The
train connected with a steamer to carry passengers from Greenwich Pier to
Melbourne. The Geelong -Melbourne line, which crossed the pastoral and farming
country of North Altona and Newport, was opened in June 1857. A wooden bridge
with rubble stone piles and abutments carried the line over Kororoit Creek. Local
landowners were not happy with this arrangement so it was not long before the
Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company was forced to terminate the rail journey
from Geelong at "new Platform', which is thought to have been the location of the
present Newport Station. Passengers had to walk from the station to the pier to catch
the steamer. The pier and the spur line were removed and by October 1857 the
Geelong -Melbourne line began running through to a temporary station at
Williamstown Pier on the newly-constructed Williamstown-Melbourne line. The
Geelong Railway Line was sold to the Government in 1860{ Barnard, 1999}.
to Melbourne.

Williamstown Beach Station, initially, called Beach, opened in 1889'. { Barnard,
1999}.
The National Trust of Australia classified the Melbourne - Williamstown line in

1993, the statement of significance includes parts of the line outside of the City of
Hobsons Bay :
The Melbourne to Williamstown Railway Line is culturally significant at the State
level owing to
its historic, aesthetic, social and scientific (technical) values. The factors which
establish its
historic importance are as follows:
1) It is, together with the Spencer Street to Sunbury portion
of the Echuca railway, the first and oldest Government-built line in the State,
having been
opened on 13.1.1859.
2) It was the railway built to serve the Government port at Williamstown, giving it
great
economic importance to the Colony and establishing its role as an international
passenger
port.
3) It provided access to and was closely associated with the infrastructure required

by the
Victorian Railways to maintain its State-wide railway network from its
foundation in 1859 (the
now demolished Williamstown Workshops) throughout the nineteenth century
(the Newport
Workshops) and into the post Second World War period (the Spotswood
Workshops, Newport
Power Station, demolished, and the Spotswood Stores).
4) It was closely linked with the industrial development of the inner western
metropolitan area
not only through its public sidings, now removed, but through its private sidings,
many of which
are in situ and some of which continue to be used.
The factors which establish its aesthetic value are as follows:
1) It includes bridges and a
station building and platform (Williamstown) recalling the opening of the line in
1859.
2) It includes an aesthetically distinguished junction station (Footscray) which is
located in
fine, mature public gardens (Classified "C").
3) It includes the aesthetically distinguished Newport Workshops complex
(Classified "A").
the factors establishing its social value are as follows:
1) It includes Williamstown Station
which served as a point of departure for international visitors from 1859.
2) It includes and conveyed workers trains to the Railway Workshops which have
served from
1888 until the present as a work place in the State's largest industrial enterprise
which was not
only associated with railway operations but the national war effort during both
World Wars.
Factors establishing its scientific (technical) interest are as follows:
1) The Yarraville interlocked gates, although representative of their type have a
unique proximity with the hand
operated gates formerly providing access to the Yarraville sidings, and all owing
comparison to
be made between the two gate types, once common throughout the metropolitan
and country
network.
2) The Newport substation as evidence of the original electrification scheme.
3) The Newport Workshops (Classified "A").
The significance of the railway ... is especially demonstrated by the
following sites: - Bridges at the Maribyrnong River, Nicholson Street, Stony

Creek, Cole Street

and Thompson Street. The Maribyrnong River bridge abutment and the
Thompson Street
bridge are unique.
- The Williamstown station building is a unique demonstration of one of the
Government's first
station designs, once similar to Woodend and Spencer Street; as demonstrated by
the
platform elevation and verandah and by the platform coping detail which survives
also in a
reconstructed form at Diggers' Rest and in fragments at Sunbury.
-Footscray Station, (Classified "C") which adopts an imposing form comparable
with Brighton
Beach and is uniquely and intimately associated with the McNab Avenue gardens.
- The Newport Workshops (Classified "A") - The Newport Substation, relating to
the initial
phase in the electrification of the suburban railway system and one of the largest
and most
intact buildings of its type, visually linked with the Workshops at Newport.
- The Yarraville gates, as noted.'
Associations: Victorian Railways Geelong and Melbourne
Railway Company


Other Subtheme:
Significance

A.3 Richness and diversity of cultural features
Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong Railway precinct (part) is significant to the

State (see individual place reports):

- as in part the first privately built railway line in Victoria (1857) and the first
Government-built railway line (1859) (criterion A4, B2);.
- for its service to the Government port at Williamstown, giving it great economic
importance to the Colony and establishing its role as an international passenger port
(criterion A4) ;
- for the access it provided to the infrastructure required by the Victorian Railways to
maintain its State-wide railway network from its foundation in 1859 (the now
demolished Williamstown Workshops) throughout the nineteenth century via the
Newport Workshops and into the post Second World War period via the Spotswood
Workshops , the Newport Power Station, and the Spotswood Stores (criterion A4) ;
- for the close link with the industrial development of the inner western metropolitan
area not only through its public sidings, now removed, but through its private sidings,
many of which are in situ and some of which continue to be used (criterion A4);
its service to the Williamstown Station as a point of departure for international
visitors from 1859 (criterion A4);
- as a transport link for workers at the Railway Workshops which have served from
1888 until the present as a work place in the State's largest industrial enterprise and
was associated with both railway operations and the national war effort during both
World Wars (criterion A4, G1) ; and
- for its individual components such as the Newport substation which provides
evidence of the original metropolitan electrification scheme and is one of the largest
and most intact buildings of its type, the stone bridges at Cole Street and Thompson
Street, Williamstown; and the Williamstown station building, as a unique
demonstration of one of the Government's first station designs, as demonstrated by
the platform elevation and verandah and by the platform coping detail (criterion B2,
F1) .
Documentation
References
National Trust of Australia classification report;
Heritage Study 1999
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Heritage Victoria Register: Yes
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
the identified buildings, trackway, mature trees and shrubs along the trackway and at
stations, garden bedding formations, paving, the racecourse route and grandstand
remains within the reserve;
the precinct;
conservation;
and
oral sources and then reassess the heritage significance of the place; and

Name of place: Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct

Other Names
Address Varies Cultural Significance: City
Newport Creation date(s): 1880s-1930s
Site Type shopping centre Map (Melway) 55K4

Buildings and land as listed with all public land between them and associated landscape
Description
Newport Commercial Bank, former 1 Hall Street, Newport 1888 , Melway 55K4
Shop 18- 21 Hall Street, Newport 1925c-3 , Melway 55K4
Shops 34- 36 Hall Street, Newport 1915c-2 , Melway 55K4
Shops 38- 40 Hall Street, Newport 1915-20c , Melway , Melway 55K4
Shops 42- 46 Hall Street, Newport 1935c , Melway 55K4
House 6 Hall Street, Newport 1915c , Melway 55K4
Varley's Buildings 3- 5 Hall Street, Newport 1921 , Melway 55K4
Shop & residence 28 Hall Street, Newport 1925c , Melway 55K4
Shop 7 Hall Street, Newport 1915c , Melway 55K4


Junction Hotel 15 Hall Street, Newport 1924, 1938 , Melway 55K4
Shops 30- 32 Hall Street, Newport 1915c-2 , Melway 55K4
Frieze, overpass wall off Market St Newport 1990s , Melway 55J4
Newport Hotel, former 1 Mason Street, Newport 1887 , Melway 55J4
Shop & Residence 15 Mason Street, Newport 1905c , Melway 55J4
Mechanics Institute Reserve 11 Mason Street, Newport 1880s-? , Melway 55J4
Baptist Hall & Church complex 24-26 Mason Street, Newport 1913- , Melway 55J4
Mosque, former Red Cross Depot 18 Mason Street, Newport 1930s , Melway 55J4
Newport Mechanics Institute & interior, former 13 Mason Street, Newport 1934 ,
Melway 55J4
Newport War Memorial, median Mason Street, Newport 1920s , Melway 55J4
Masonic Hall No.5925 405 Melbourne Road Newport 1924 , Melway 55K4
Shop 413-417 Melbourne Road Newport 1915c , Melway 55K4
Shop 407-409 Melbourne Road Newport 1910-19 15c, Melway 55K4
Shop 421-423 Melbourne Road Newport 1915c , Melway 55K4
Newport Railway Station & trees, Hall St, Newport, Melway 55K4
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions, particularly the Melbourne Road overpass
Context:
Formed by major transport routes, flat site close to bay.
The other comparable area in the City is the older Williamstown port commercial centre of Nelson Place, the
mixed and altered Ferguson St strip and the less intact and extensive Hudsons Rd Spotswood.
History and themes
History
(see individual sites)
Retail shops develop with the markets they service. Given that much of the early,
concentrated population development in Hobsons Bay occurred at Williamstown,
this is where the earliest shops were located, usually in Nelson Place. By 1851 two
immigrants who passed through Williamstown noted its 'good stone-built houses,
stores and hotels', though their fellow immigrant,
William Kelly suggested that the stores open here were primarily butcher's shops set
up to supply ships in port. Nelson Place remained the primary shopping centre of
Williamstown until the 1880s when, with the decline of the port of Williamstown,
the town turned inward and shops began to develop in Ferguson Street and Douglas

Parade. A market place was reserved between Parker and Cole Street in 1857, but
evidence suggests that it was not a thriving commercial centre. Williamstown State
School was erected on part of the site in 1878.
Specific history
to be the commercial centre, also being located close to the railway station{ Barnard,
1999}.

PAHT Subtheme:
Other Subtheme:
Significance

Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- as a social and commercial centre which extends back into the late 19th century
(criteria A4, G1) ;
- for its architectural landmark sites like the former CBA bank, Newport Hotel,
Masonic Hall, Newport DC substation and railway station (criterion F1);
- for the continuity and visual relationships of its shopping strips in Hall St and
Melbourne Road (criterion F1); and
- as a social centre for past generations (criterion G1) .
Documentation
References
Heritage Study 1999

Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 19th and early 20ht
century construction periods.
the precinct where elements include buildings, objects, trees, yarding, paving,
original elements;
- To conserve and enhance the viability of the precinct to aid in its heritage
conservation;
- To ensure that new elements proposed in the precinct are recessive and related to
the precinct's contributory elements in roof and plan form, external materials, front
rear and side setbacks from property boundaries, and building bulk as viewed from
public areas.

Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct

Name of place: Newport Estate Residential Precinct

Other Names
Address Varies Cultural Significance: Local
Newport Creation date(s): 1885, 1910-19
Site Type Housing estate Map (Melway) 55HJ2-3

Area between Blackshaws Road, Johnston, Challis, Salisbury, Melbourne Road and Mirls Streets including:
Agg Street, Anderson Street, Ford Street, Johnston St, Junction Street, Mason St, Mirls Street , Newcastle St, Oxford Street, Ross
Street, Salisbury St, Schutt St, Speight Street, Steele Street, Walker Street, William Street, and Woods St.
Description
The precinct is defined by the remaining houses from distinct periods in the City's
residential growth north of the main thoroughfare of Mason St and west of Melbourne
Road. It is bordered on the west by the former Newport quarry now Newport Lakes.
The character of this precinct is dominantly Edwardian-era and inter-war period

weatherboard detached single storey houses, set on regular sized blocks. However
many have been altered such that the expression of these eras is compromised
compared to other parts of the City or the metropolitan area but the area has obvious
neighbourhood character. There are groups of well preserved houses which have been

recommended for heritage protection but new development between them disrupts the
historical expression of the estate as a complete area.
Selected house groups for the heritage overlay include:

Agg St (all)
Mason St 81-93
Mirls St 21-37
Newcastle St 9, 22- Catholic complex and 24 former Coffee palace
Oxford St 2-14, 1-15
Ross St 5-13
Schutt St 30-56, 31-57
Speight St 35- 79, 36- 82 (between Jack and Challis Streets)
Steele St 1-23
Walker St 19-23 west side, 24-30 east side
STREET ANALYSIS:
(Street alphabetical order)
Agg Street 2-88, 1-91 Melway 55H4

(Recommended for heritage overlay)
Weatherboard Bungalows, inter-war and some Edwardian mix, also 1930s - many
alterations east of Jack St
Non-contributory places (outside the period up to and including the inter-war era,
vacant sites, or defaced) include:
South side
(Challis - Jack section) 87, 83, 73, 67, 65, 55, 49
(Jack - Mirls section) 33, 31, 29, 21, 13, 11, 7, 5
North side
(Jack - Mirls section) 28, 30, 32, 38
(Challis - Jack section) 50, 52, 58, 60, 62, 70
Anderson Street, Melway 55H4

Mainly inter-war weatherboard, with 1940s west of Jack Street, many altered, 15%
non-contributory.
Non-contributory places (outside the inter-war period, vacant, or defaced) include:
(Challis - Jack section) 98, 96, 97, 95
(Jack - Mirls section) 44, 31, 11, 4
Ford Street, Melway 55H4

Some Edwardian & Bungalow period timber houses but many new houses
12, 31, 33, 35, 39, 41,

later houses west of Jack St.
Junction Street, Melway 55H2

strong Bungalow character centred on William St junction and east end.
Non-contributory places to the inter-war character in the street include:
4, 15, 17, 30, 34 and 36 (Moderne)
Mason St, Melway 55H4

wide median street with individual and groups of Edwardian-era houses and
Californian Bungalows along with complexes like Christ Anglican church &
residence 59-61 Mason Street but many new unrelated structures. Edwardian-era and
Victorian-era weatherboard house groups (81-93) around Jack St connect with the
Speight and Agg Streets Edwardian-era and inter-war precinct to the south.
Altered or non contributory include: 71, 73, 75, 95, 97, 99, 101, 103, 105, 109, 111,
113, 123, 131, 133
Mirls Street , Melway 55J5

sprinkling of timber Bungalows, many new houses, some acting as links between the
Agg and Speight St areas (21-29, 31-35) with 37 at the corner as an inter-war
Moderne style house which is from the era but not closely visually related.
15, 18, 20, 14, 12, 6-10, 16, 34, 44, 50, 58
Newcastle St, Melway 55H3

(Recommended heritage overlay west of Elizabeth St)
weatherboard inter-war and Edwardian-era character with Bungalows mainly north
side east of Oxford St, the Sacred Heart and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Complex
and the former Coffee Palace dominates the east end.
64, 58, 68, 70, 72, 35, 26, corner shop
Oxford Street, Melway 55H3

(Recommended heritage overlay 2-14, 1-15, south of Newcastle)
South end consistent Bungalow character (i.e.. 4 good example but many altered )
with sporadic inter-war character at the north end at and north of Junction St.
(Mason-Newcastle) 2, 8
(Newcastle- Junction) 28, 31, 40, 45, 54, 51, 58, 60, 57, 68, 67, 65, 78, 80A.
Ross Street, Melway 55J2

timber Bungalow character (79, 81) some Edwardian-era (11, 9, 7, 5 altered ) in
narrow street west end as part of Schutt St group.

Salisbury St, Melway 55F4

late inter-war and later periods, non-contributory to the inter-war period of the other
adjoining streets; paperbarks
Schutt St, Melway 55J3

(Recommended heritage overlay 30-56, 31-57 north of Newcastle St)
Weatherboard Edwardian-era and Bungalows, with inter-war, also ash street trees:
examples include 75, 73, 71, 69 , 65, 54, 52, 50 (altered), 53 (altered ), 51, 49 (altered
), 47, 45, 43-, 37, 35, 33, 31, (unusual), 16, 17, 4, 7.
Non-contributory places to this character
(Mason-Newcastle St) 1A, 2, 9, 8, 14, 15, 19
(Newcastle- Ross St) 55, 48-42, 38, 34
Speight Street, Melway 55H4

(Recommended heritage overlay 35- 79, 36- 82, between Challis and Jack Streets)
North side Edwardian near Jack St, south side Bungalow character - many alterations,
36 sole brick inter-war example. Non-contributory places (outside the Edwardian-era
and inter-war period, vacant, or defaced) include:
Challis - Jack 81A, 81B, 70, 75A, 77, 72, 71, 70, 63, 64, 62, 58, 52, 38
Jack - Mirls 34, 27, 24, 17, 15, 10, 8, 7, 1-3
Steele Street, Melway 55J3, west side only

(Recommended 1-23 for heritage overlay)
Victorian era houses 5, 7, 9, 13, 21 with other related houses being 23, 19, 17, 15,
Non-contributory west side: 11
Walker Street, Melway 55J3

(Recommended heritage overlay north end connecting with Newcastle St 19-23 west
side, 24-30 east side)
weatherboard housing: Victorian-era & Edwardian-era 5 (golden ash), 6-10, 9, 14,
18, 19, 24; also Bungalows north end both sides 1920s- 22, 28, 21 (fence), 23 (fence).
Number 30 is a notable Moderne style, if minute, house.
Non-contributory places (beyond the inter-war period, vacant, or defaced) include:
20, 17, 16, 15, 13, 11, 12, 7
William Street, Melway 55J3

Weatherboard Bungalows south and north ends (see 85) west side, some Victorian
single-fronted timber. Good character around 85; east side patchy; 61-65 rows of
Victorian-era cottages; 1920s houses to south ( see 41); large Edwardian-era house at
29 but altered.
(Junction- Ross) 86, 84, 78, 72, 70, 71,
(Ross- Newcastle) 54, 56,, 52, 48, 44, 45, 40, 36, 33, 32, 30

(Newcastle- Mason) 19, 2-10, 12
Woods St, Melway 55F4

East end 1925-30c timber houses, fair integrity
Mirls - Jack 25, 25A, 14, 24, 39, 34
Jack- Challis most non-contributory
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
Formed by major transport routes, flat site west of Newport commercial centre.
Within the City, the nearby Halls Farm residential Edwardian-era and inter-war precinct is comparable and
more intact. By way of comparison, Williamstown offers a more Victorian-era and Edwardian-era based
residential domain.
History and themes
History
Estate, to the west of the railway workshops, was marketed in 1885 (this estate), as
was Hall's Farm (q.v.). Grindley's Estate at Newport was marketed in 1888. It was
within walking distance of the Newport Station, on what had been known as
Griffiths Paddock (and now lies between North and Collingwood Roads.) Two other
estates offered for sale in the 1880s were the Epsom Estate, near the Williamstown
racecourse, and the South Newport Estate, between Kororoit Creek Road, the
Geelong Railway line , Maddox and Fink Streets, although very few houses were
built on these estates in the 1880s. Most of the housing that did go up at the time was
in close proximity to the railway station. ' { Barnard, 1999}.
The evidence visible today suggests that the estate was developed largely in the
Edwardian and inter-war periods, with weatherboard detached single storey houses.

Making suburbs


Other Subtheme:
Significance

The selected streetscapes making up the Newport Residential Precinct are significant
to the Newport locality:
- as indicative of the first and second waves of residential development in the area,
grouping along major transport links (criterion A4) but as a whole is below the
adopted study threshold of significance within the City but selected groups have been
assessed as above the threshold.
Selected groups within the precinct have been recommended for heritage overlay
Documentation
References
Heritage Study 1999
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Planning Scheme Protection: Recommended (part)

Recommendations
development phase:
- To conserve and enhance the identified contributory and individually significant
elements of the place where elements include buildings, objects, paving, landscape,
and where enhancement includes reinstatement of known missing original elements;
the precinct;

Newport Estate Residential Precinct (part)

Newport Estate Residential Precinct (part)

Name of place: Spotswood Industrial Precinct

Other Names
Address varies Cultural Significance: Regional
Spotswood, Newport Creation date(s): 1840s-
Site Type factory or workshop Map (Melway) 55HK1-3, 56AB1-

3
Land and works within each listed place, with emphasis on fabric from the period cited for each.
Description
Contributory places
(COR), off Burleigh St Spotswood, 1920s Melway 56A2
Shell Oil complex including riveted oil storage tanks & packing sheds, Burleigh St
Spotswood, 1914c- Melway 56A2
Ampol oil storage Burleigh St. Spotswood, 1920s Melway 56A2
Vacuum Oil Company Ltd depot, former, Francis Street, Yarraville, 1920s, Melway
43D10
WC Thomas Newport Flour Mills, Newport 1903 Melway 55K2
Oil Wharf site, Yarra River off Douglas Pde Spotswood, 1920s- Melway 56C3

BP oil mixing tower & offices, Canary Island palm, 431 Douglas Pde Spotswood,
1950s Melway 56B2
W. Goetz Sons Ltd offices 140 Hall Street Spotswood, 1938-9 Melway 55 K2
RVB Products complex 150 Hall Street Spotswood, Melway 55 K2
Hugh Lennon Agricultural Implement works, part only, Raleigh & Hall St.
Spotswood, 1930s 42A12
Melbourne Glass Bottle Works, later ACI, Raleigh St, Douglas St, Spotswood, 1880-
1930s 42B12
Riveted storage tanks, Mobil Terminal, former Atlantic Oil & Esso, Simcock Ave.
Spotswood, c1910-1920s 42A12
Westinghouse Brake Australasia between Stephenson St. & Sutton St. Spotswood,
1880s-1930s, Melway 55 H1
MMBW Pumping Station & residence, Douglas Pde, Spotswood, 1890s Melway 56B1
Former Newport Power Station site, gate house and palms, and cooling water outlet
(Warmies) Douglas Pde, Spotswood, c1910- Melway 56B4
Spotswood Railway Station, sidings and spur lines, Hall St, Spotswood, c1900-
Melway 55K1
Former steam ferry landing remnants, The Strand, Spotswood, Melway 56C4
Victorian Meat Preserving Company site, off Hyde St, Yarraville, 1870s Melway
42C11
Railway, Melbourne Road, Spotswood, 1920s Melway 55J1
External Condition:
Fair to good (disturbed, reasonably preserved), varying with each site
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions, varying with each site
Context:
On a flat open coastal site which is the southern continuation of the Maribyrnong River industrial precinct, one
of the States most important industrial precincts up until WW1.
As the southern continuation of the Footscray Yarraville Maribyrnong River industrial precinct, one of the
States most important industrial precincts up until WW1, this precinct embodies the new 20th century petro-
chemical phase as well as the distinctive components of 19th and 20th century railway industrial development.
More recent industrial centres are along major roads, like Ballarat and Geelong Roads, or outer suburbs such
as Dandenong, while comparable older centres such as at South Bank, Kensington and North & West
Melbourne have been all but demolished.
History and themes
History
A dominant theme in the development of Hobsons Bay since the mid-nineteenth
century has been the development of industry. Initially, there was little heavy

industry in Williamstown, apart from railway workshops and shipbuilding concerns.

Meat and meat by-product processing, chemical industries and sugar refining were
located just outside (or on the border) of the municipality at Yarraville and
Footscray. The opening of the Alfred Woollen Mills in Williamstown in the late
1870s, together with the establishment of the railway workshops at Newport, seemed
to herald the birth of large-scale industrial enterprises along the river in the north of
the municipality and during the 1880s and 1890s many major companies, especially
those connected with engineering, were located here, transforming the farmland of
Spotswood and Newport into industrial sites. These areas further developed
industrially between the two world wars. Early coal mining and oil refining at
Altona in the twentieth century gave way to the large-scale development of the petro-
chemical complex here after the Second World War. Important industries have
continued to locate here in very recent times{ Barnard, 1999}.
Another industrial project was the assembly of the West Gate bridge near the
northern boundary of the City. Several local men were amongst those who lost their
lives when the bridge collapsed during construction in 1970. A memorial to these
men is located under the bridge at Stony Creek.
Specific History
(see also individual place reports in this report and the City of Williamstown
Conservation Study, 1993)
This large early industrial precinct, which extends into the Yarraville- Footscray strip
bordering the Yarra and Maribyrnong Rivers, was located initially close to river and
creek banks as a water source for meat and wool processing. Deep water wharves
and rail links allowed heavier industries in other locations. This development has
been linked closely with that of the adjoining 1850s Melbourne to Williamstown to
Geelong Railways which provided spur lines and sidings to supply to and from each
site. The nexus of many main railway lines to the west of Melbourne eventually
meant the concentration of major railway and affiliated engineering industries in the
area. This strip of industrial development may be seen as a continuation of the
largely Victorian & Edwardian-era industrial precinct along the Maribyrnong River
to the north in Yarraville and Footscray, chronologically and physically. The
Spotswood industrial precinct mainly developed in the Edwardian and inter-war era,
following on from the industrial development in Footscray and Yarraville.
Some of the contributory places in or just outside of the precinct in chronological

order:
Raleigh's Boiling-down Works archaeological site (City of Maribyrnong) Whitehall
St, Yarraville
Victorian Meat Preserving Company archaeological site, Hyde St, Yarraville, 1860s-
70s
Melbourne Glass Bottle Works, former, Raleigh St, Douglas St, Booker St,

Spotswood, 1880-1940s
Retaining wall and siding, Hall St., Spotswood, 1890c
Newport MMBW Pumping Station & residence, Douglas Parade, Newport, 1895c
RVB Engineering Works, former Bickford Smith, Hall Street, Newport, 1911
Shell Packaging Stores, Burleigh St (off Drake St), Spotswood, 1914c-
Shell Oil complex including riveted oil storage tanks & packing sheds, Burleigh St,
Spotswood, 1914c-
Newport Power Station site, trees & cooling water outlet (Warmies), Douglas Pde,
Newport, 1918c-
Oil Wharf site, Yarra River, Douglas Pde, Spotswood, 1920
Riveted storage tanks, Mobil Terminal, former Atlantic Oil and Esso, Simcock Ave.,
Spotswood, 1920c
(COR), Burleigh St, Spotswood, 1920s
Ampol oil storage, Burleigh St., Spotswood, 1920s
Railway, Melbourne Road, Spotswood, 1927
McKenzie & Holland P/L factory, Stephenson St. & Sutton St., Spotswood, 1930
Hugh Lennon Agricultural Implement works, part, Raleigh & Hall St., Spotswood,
1930c
W. Goetz Sons Ltd offices & factory complex, former, Hall Street, Spotswood, 1939
BP oil mixing tower & offices, Canary Island palm, Douglas Pde, Spotswood, 1959
RVB Products Admin. Building, Hall Street, Spotswood, 1960c
BP terminal complex, trees, Douglas Pde, Spotswood, 1960s
Associations: Shell C.O.R. Victorian Railways

PAHT Subtheme:
Other Subtheme:
Significance


Spotswood Industrial Precinct is significant to the Western region:
- as a large early industrial area which dates from the simplest of secondary
processing of product in the 1840s (Raleigh's boiling down works, City of
Maribyrnong) and extends into the petrochemical era this century, covering a long
period of industrial development, each site illustrating a related era of expansion
(criterion A4);
because it illustrates a rich diversity in content and the importance of location in the
selection of industrial sites through differing manufacturing types and eras of
industrial expansion, locating initially close to river and creek banks as a water
source for meat and wool processing, near deep water wharves and rail links
allowing heavier industries in other locations (criterion A3);
- for some of the distinctive architectural forms created for industry, such as the RVB
Products complex 150 Hall Street Spotswood (Criterion F1);
- as the work place of many local residents over time (criterion G1) ; and
- for its close links with the adjoining 1850s Melbourne to Williamstown and
Melbourne to Geelong Railways which provided spur lines and sidings to supply to
and from each site (criterion A4).
Documentation
References
Heritage Study 1999
Individual site histories in this report and the `City of Williamstown Conservation Study' 1993;
Heritage Study, (Melbourne's Living Museum of the West), 1989
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 19th & 20th
century in distinct development phases:
the place;
conservation;
and
- Carry out conservation analysis and management plans for each complex using
documentary and oral sources and then reassess the heritage significance of the
group and prepare incorporated plans in the heritage overlay as required.

Name of place: MMBW Outfall Sewer, Spotswood to Werribee,

Pipe Track & Tree rows
Other Names
Address Varies Cultural Significance: State
Site Type Sewage Farm Map (Melway) varies

MMBW Outfall Sewer, Spotswood to Werribee, including pipe track, associated bridges and works and tree rows, with emphasis on
fabric from the main construction period, being 1890s.
Description
The outfall sewer began at the end of the rising main from the Spotswood Pumping
Station in Douglas Pde, and crossed the Princess Highway at Cypress Avenue
Brooklyn to continue south west under Dohertys Road (Melway 40 A12) at Laverton
North and generally follow the Old Geelong Road through Laverton. It then runs on
the north side of the Princes Highway until Werribee where it crosses the highway
heading to the south before entering the Metropolitan Farm. The major features of the
sewer are the elevated and covered channels which are generally concrete lined, and
the impressive stone, brick and concrete viaducts over Kororoit Creek and the
Werribee River. A lesser viaduct crosses Skeleton Creek{ Vines, 1989}. There is a

mature sugar gum row along the pipe track off Miller St.
The western plains provided a great opportunity for the construction of the system
which allowed it to become one of the world's most effective, with large areas of
cheap land, low rainfall and a high evaporation rate.{ ibid. }. The sewer is under
constant renewal with new mains being laid beside the existing which has allowed
retention of the system, albeit rendering it redundant.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
Traverses open flat country with ever increasing development along its path.
The only similar undertaking is the Brooklyn pumping station and sewer line which is relatively recent.
History and themes
History
The distinctive Spotswood Pumping Station, which now forms part of Museum
Victoria's Scienceworks Complex, was built on the river at Spotswood at about the
same time that other industries were establishing themselves near the water here. The
pumping station was the centrepiece of Melbourne's new sewerage system installed
in the 1890s in a bid to combat the filth and disease suffered by a growing metropolis
with no adequate solution to human waste disposal. The Melbourne and
Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) was established especially to build the
system, which connected households to three main trunk sewers, all leading (under
the river) to Spotswood, the lowest point in the system. At the pumping station,
steam engines (later replaced by electricity) worked to pump the sewerage up a rising
main to join the main sewer outfall at the head of the pumping mains near Millers
Road at Brooklyn. The outfall sewer then carried the sewerage to the Werribee
Treatment farm, where it was purified and discharged into the sea. Work began on
building this system in 1891 and in 1892 the Board bought the land for the pumping
station from the Spottiswoode Land Company. It was not until 1897 that the first
steam engine was put into operation. In 1921 the Pumping Station was turned over to
electricity. In the 1950s, when the system was becoming inadequate to cope with
Melbourne's enlarged population, the mains between Spotswood and Brooklyn were
replaced, by-passing the old pumping station to reach a new pumping station at
Brooklyn. The Spotswood Pumping station ceased operation in 1965 when the
Brooklyn Pumping Station was completed, although it still has the capacity to be
used for emergency pumping if necessary.

The installation of the sewerage system had an immediate effect on public health in
Melbourne. In the decade to 1910 the death rate from typhoid fever fell by 72 % and
the overall death rate fell from 18 to 12.6 per 1000 inhabitants. As important as the
sewerage system and pumping station were to the health of the city, they also
represented the 'largest civil engineering undertaking of the 19th century in
Australia' The exterior of the pumping station buildings, with their mansard roofs
and decorative brickwork, reflect the significance of the undertaking and the
remaining interior fittings illustrate the place of steam technology in the
development of Victorian industry. The pumping station's location at Spotswood
links it with the development of other large industrial concerns in this locality at the
time, as farm land along the river was taken over. Not only was Spotswood the
lowest point in the system, but its location on the river, with a spur railway built to it,
made the delivery of coal needed for powering the engines, easy. Unlike many of the
study area's industries, the operating pumping station did not provide large scale
employment, although at the beginning of the century, most of the employees were
locals, living in Williamstown, Newport, Spotswood, Yarraville and Footscray.
The work of building the pumping station and the sewers did offer employment to
local men during the harsh depression of the 1890s. Most of the work of constructing
the system was completed by contractors, some of them local firms. Work on the
sewer and the search for work itself generated a temporary village at Brooklyn in the
1890s. In 1893, as a bridge was built to carry the sewer across Kororoit Creek and
work progressed on the drains on either side of the creek, a 'temporary police
headquarters' was positioned in 'the future township of Brooklyn' [presumably the
village reserve] near the Guiding Star Hotel. Men living in 'tents. cornsack dwellings
and other human habitations...gave the place the appearance of a gold-fields rush in
the early days and descended] almost to the creek'. The Guiding Star was doing a
roaring trade. Ironically, when the new pumping station was opened at Brooklyn in
the 1960s, it could be operated by only one staff member. A Sewerage Treatment
Plant at Altona West now treats effluent from surrounding housing estates{ Barnard,
1999}.
Associations: Melbourne and
Metropolitan Board of
Works

Providing services
PAHT Subtheme: Providing sewerage services

Other Subtheme:
Significance


MMBW Outfall Sewer, Spotswood to Werribee, Pipe Track & Tree rows are
significant to the Western Region and the State:
- as a vital part of one of the largest public works projects ever carried out in
Australia and one of the most effective sewerage systems in the world (criterion A4) ;
- as apart of a scheme which meant a vast improvement in Melbourne's public health
and the ability for the metropolitan area to grow (criterion A4) .
Documentation
References
Heritage Study, (Melbourne's Living Museum of the West): site 259 graded B;
Heritage Study;
`Melbourne' topo plan 1933 shown
Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme

Recommendations
contributory places or elements are generally those which derive from the 19th
century development period:
the place;
- To ensure that new elements near the place are recessive and related to the place’s
and
oral sources and then reassess the heritage significance of the place, preparing an
incorporated plan to focus on precise controls in the heritage overlay.
Recent development plans by Bicycle Victoria have proposed this precinct as the
route for a bicycle path which, given the adoption of the above objectives, would
provide greater public access to this place.

Name of place: Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct

Other Names
Address varies Cultural Significance: Regional
Altona, Laverton Creation date(s):
Site Type Landscape Map (Melway) 54, 55, 209

Cited elements (Altona pier Esplanade Altona, 1880s-;
The Pines scout camp, entrance gates, archway, trees, Altona Road, Altona 1870s-;
Maritime pine, Apex Park reserve end Esplanade Altona;
Apex Park reserve Esplanade, Altona 1963-7;
Cherry swamp, later Cherry lake, off Millers Road, Altona, 1840s-;
Laverton homestead & garden 128 Queen St, Altona 1855c- c1909;
Truganina Explosives Magazine & Reserve, trees, 276 Queen St Altona 1897-1906;
Plaque, Doug Grant Reserve off Queen St, Altona 1988;
Powder Magazine Tramline site Queen St, Laverton 1900-1;
Williamstown Racecourse site Racecourse Road, Altona 1870s-1947;
Stone pitched paving Racecourse Road, Altona 1870s-;
Ford over Kororoit Creek Racecourse Road, Altona 1850s-;
Cheetham Salt Works sites, Point Cook Road, Laverton 1920s-) and associated land, with emphasis on fabric from the stated main
construction period for each.
Description
This foreshore strip takes in land which has seen little change compared to other parts
of the City. The same may be said for parts of the Point Gellibrand reserve in

Williamstown and the Point Cook homestead complex which connect to this precinct
physically and historically. The places cited make up some of the more historic sites
in the City. This status has arisen from Crown land reservation of the foreshore and
connected sites plus civic and community action to maintain the amenity of a
perceived asset. However the private land adjoining these sites is under great pressure
for maximum change. Management connected with the proposed precinct is thus
relevant to the places cited and development of adjoining property which may affect
the relatively undisturbed nature of the identified sites.
The elements which make up the precinct:

Altona pier Esplanade Altona 1888c-, Melway 54H12
The Pines scout camp, entrance gates, archway, trees, Altona Road, Altona Melway
55B9
Maritime pine, Apex Park reserve end Esplanade Altona, Melway 209C1
Apex Park reserve Esplanade, Altona 1963-71 209C1
Cherry swamp, later Cherry lake, off Millers Road, Altona, Melway 54J8
Laverton homestead & garden 128 Queen St, Altona 1855c- c1909, Melway 54H11
Truganina Explosives Magazine & Reserve, trees, 276 Queen St Altona 1897-1906,
Melway 209B1
Plaque, Doug Grant Reserve off Queen St, Altona 1988, Melway 209C1
Powder Magazine Tramline site Queen St, Laverton 1900-1, Melway 209B1
Williamstown Racecourse site Racecourse Road, Altona 1870s-1947, Melway 55B9
Stone pitched paving Racecourse Road, Altona 1870s?, Melway 55B8
Ford over Kororoit Creek Racecourse Road, Altona 1850s? , Melway 58B8
Cheetham Salt Works sites, Point Cook Road, Laverton Melway 208C4
External Condition:
External Integrity:
Context:
An open coastal landscape strip with associated historical fabric from a number of era, bound by suburban and
industrial development on the north.
No similar coastal strip exists in the Metropolitan area, others having been largely covered with housing
development to the east and south of Melbourne.
History and themes
History
The area now covered by the City of Hobsons' Bay is at the eastern edge of a basalt
plain that stretches across most of Western Victoria to the Yarra River and Port
Phillip . It was formed millions of years ago by a series of lava flows from
volcanoes, which covered the plain. While the Bay and the Yarra River form the
southern and eastern limits to the Study Area, in the north the Stony Creek divides
Hobsons Bay from its neighbours. Skeleton Creek forms a partial boundary in the
west. Kororoit Creek bisects the (City) from north to south and Laverton and Cherrys
Creek drain from the north into what were once seasonal swamps (now Truganina
Swamp and Cherry Lake). Early European visitors found stony ground, with good
grassland to the west, mud flats along the coast at what is now Williamstown, and a
'she-oak forest' skirting the coastline{ Barnard, 1999}.
From the very earliest times, Europeans began to alter this environment. Basalt was
quarried in many parts of the study area. The 'she oaks' were soon cut down for
firewood, particularly for the use of ferries and steamers on Hobsons Bay and the
Yarra. From the 1850s land was reclaimed at various points from the sea and the
mudflats along the river{ Barnard, 1999}..
Human activities, especially the development of heavy industry both within the
(City) and further north, brought rapid degradation of the waterways, especially
Stony Creek and Kororoit Creek. Nineteenth century workplaces, especially noxious
trades, were located near water so they could run their wastes into the creeks. Human
waste and chemical residue from agricultural fertilisers found their way into the
water table. As late as the 1980s, Kororoit Creek was labelled Melbourne's 'most
polluted creek'. Growing awareness of the importance of maintaining creeks and
coastal areas in recent decades has led to attempts to reverse the century-old cycle of
despoliation. Stony Creek Backwash, for so long labelled a swamp, is being turned
into a park. The rare white mangroves here had completely died out, but have been
replaced by others transplanted from Westernport. It is now seen as an important
bird habitat, as are Cherry Lake, Kororoit Creek, Truganina Swamp, Cheetham
Lakes , Laverton Creek and Skeleton Creek, Williamstown Wetlands (also known as
Jawbone Flora & Fauna Reserve) and the intertidal mudflats along the coast at
Altona and Seaholme. Former quarry land at Newport has been turned into Newport
Lakes Park and even the site of the former Newport Power Station is now
recreational land{ Barnard, 1999}..
It is fortunate that, as European industrial and residential activity spread across the
study area over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, some of the important natural
landscapes were preserved. Military and recreation reserves at Point Gellibrand, the
Truganina Explosives Reserve, Williamstown Racecourse Reserve, the Merrett Rifle
Range, Cheetham Salt Works and the unsuitability of swampland for development
saved them. By the time that many of these activities ceased, there was general
community recognition of the importance of preserving special landscapes.
Moreover, the recognition in the 1950s that a buffer zone was needed between
industry and residential areas at Altona has meant that, even as Hobsons Bay has
grown into a city of 74,000 residents, there are still open landscapes reminiscent of

its role as a pastoral and farming community{ Barnard, 1999}..
Early recreational facilities in nineteenth century Victoria often focussed on the

reservation of suitable spaces where sporting and passive recreational pursuits could
be enjoyed. ... to a certain extent recreational facilities were directed by the close
presence of wealthy pastoralists, such as the Chirnsides with their interest in horse
breeding, racing and coursing and by Hobsons Bay, a perfect site for establishing
yachting and boating facilities.
Appreciation of the sea for bathing, promenading, etc, came later towards the end of
the nineteenth century. When sea bathing and related activities became more popular
in the early twentieth century, picnic parties were not only drawn towards
Williamstown, but also to Altona which became a popular bay side camping place.
As communities grew in all parts of the study area, they formed their own sporting
clubs or teams, often under the aegis of a church. The range of recreational facilities
within the shire now, reflects an explosion in recreational possibilities in Victoria in
the post Second World War era{ Barnard, 1999}..
... many large areas of the municipality had been set aside for government or public
purposes (but not recreational), throughout the area's history. The earliest of these
was Point Gellibrand, where land for government purposes was reserved in 1839. In
the mid-1990s Melbourne Parks and Waterways, together with the City of Hobson's
Bay, proposed connecting many of these public lands into a 'Williamstown-Altona
Coastal Parklands', incorporating all Crown and Council owned land on the coast
between Laverton Creek and Point Gellibrand. This includes Point Gellibrand, the
foreshore areas of Seaholme, Williamstown and Altona, Altona Sewerage Treatment
Plant, Truganina Swamp, Truganina Explosives Reserve, Altona Tip, Cherry Lake
and the Altona Coastal Park{ Barnard, 1999}..
In the early twentieth century Altona foreshore attracted its share of summer campers
and, by 1912 there were enough of them for Wyndham Council to erect public
latrines here. The Altona Progress Association was formed in 1917 and set about
making improvements to the foreshore. In 1919 a band rotunda was built on the
Esplanade (this was moved off the road and onto the beach in 1927) and work was
done during winter to remove seaweed and rubbish. By then, a number of dwellings
at Altona were being used as holiday houses, rather than permanent homes. In the
1920s private businesses to cater for campers and visitors began to develop, such as
Davey's ABC Cafe on the corner of Pier Street and the Esplanade, from which one
could hire boats, as well as use small changing sheds. A number of sporting clubs,
including the Altona Life Saving Club, joined to organise an annual beach front
carnival at Altona in the 1920s. The Altona Life Saving Club was formed in 1926,
though it later went into decline. It was reformed in 1951. The clubhouse and
training centre were built in 1957{ Barnard, 1999}..

Specific history - see individual place histories.

Associations: Altona Progress
Association

PAHT Subtheme:
Other Subtheme:
Significance

A.3 Richness and diversity of cultural features
Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct is significant to the Western Region:
- as a collection of places which exhibit major historical themes in the Region
including first contact, recreation, civic pride, and defence (criterion A4, A3) ;
- as the focus of community groups who sought improvement and a higher value for
the foreshore and major landscape elements (criterion G1);
- for its aesthetic and natural values which have been recognised by community
groups (criterion E1) .
Documentation
References
Heritage Study 1999
Recommendations
Heritage Registers

Planning Scheme
Recommendations
contributory elements are generally those which derive from the 19th century to
c1940 as identified:
significant elements of the place where elements include buildings, objects, paving,
original elements;
- To encourage conservation and enhancement of the visual relationship between
contributory elements in the precinct;
- To encourage conservation and enhancement of the amenity of the place to aid in
its heritage conservation;
- To encourage new elements at the place to be recessive and related to the place's
Given there is no need for a demolition control, a heritage overlay control may not
be the best means of conserving this place, unless an incorporated plan is prepared
which specifies controls, before the heritage overlay is active. Otherwise a design
and development overlay could be considered with the above objectives to protect
the cultural concepts associated with the precinct.

Name of place: Rifle Club Hotel

Other Names
Address 121 Victoria Street Cultural Significance: Regional
Williamstown Creation date(s): 1927c
Site Type Hotel Map (Melway) 56A8

Land and building within the existing title, with emphasis on fabric which derives from the inter-war period..
Description
This is a picturesque two storey, verandahed red and clinker brick and stucco hotel -
the design of which shows parallels with the domestic Californian Bungalow style
which was popular after WW1. It is sited on a strategic corner, close to the former
rifle range from which it took its name, the Victoria St residential precinct, Hannan's
farm and the rifle range housing estates, the North Williamstown railway station and
the Newport railways workshops. The roof is clad with Marseilles terra-cotta tiling,
with deep boarded and strutted eaves. The tiles accentuate the terra-cotta look of the
design, with its red brick base wall and clinker trim in the form of string courses and
pilasters. Double hung sash openings are grouped or single.

The major element in the design is the two level gabled verandah facing east. This
verandah bay has a deep flared skirting, clad with shingles, and a an open verandah
above with shingling repeated in the gable end. Shingling is used extensively in the
south end of the hotel, set between rendered piers, as perhaps an indication of a
proposed extension. The lower part of the verandah is set on four stout trapezoidal
piers in brick and render while the upper is supported on single and grouped timber
posts.
The Bungalow styling chosen for the hotel is unusual in the region while its
associations with the adjoining rifle range site are also distinctive.
External Condition:
External Integrity:
substantially intact/some intrusions, including new unrelated signs.
Context:
Set at one end of the significant Victoria St precinct, opposite the North Williamstown railway station and
beside the former rifle range reserve.
No other hotels from this era (inter-war ) were built in the City, most having been erected in either the
Edwardian or Victorian-eras.
History and themes
History
An early rifle range was established at Williamstown in 1860 for use by volunteer
forces based in Williamstown. This rifle range was located between Garden and
Victoria Streets, the railway and the Williamstown baths but was subdivided and
sold in 1878. The Victoria Rifle Range (later called the Merrett Rifle Range)
opened in that year and was continuously used as a rifle range until 1987 when the
Urban Land Authority bought it for housing{ Barnard, 1999}.
In 1986 the Urban Land Authority purchased the Merrett Rifle Range from the
Australian Army and, from 1991, offered homes sites for sale here. (Williamstown
Council had hoped to acquire the rifle range for housing as early as the late 1940s).
At peak, the Range Estate, as it became, was expected to house one thousand
households in detached and medium density housing that represented a departure in
style from previous estates within the study area{ Barnard, 1999}..
Specific history
The Rifle Club Hotel was erected in c1927 for Edward T Boyd who was also the
licensee. He remained so into the 1930s when Henry Rutler and Edward Nyson
shared the task of hotel host while Boyd owned the freehold. Other licensees
included JM Ferguson. The hotel has long been patronised by rifle shooters who
came to compete in the competitions held regularly at the range. There are local
memories of shooters arriving in large numbers, carrying their guns, at the
Williamstown North railway station opposite the hotel { Rae}.
Associations: Boyd, Edward T Henry Rutler JM Ferguson

Lodging people

Other Subtheme:
Significance

Rifle Club Hotel is significant to the City of Hobsons Bay:
- for its well preserved and picturesque design and prominent location (criterion F1);
- for its physical proximity and historical associations wit the nearby Williamstown
rifle range site as the shooter's choice for accommodation and socialising during use
of the range (criterion A4, G1)
Documentation
References
`Williamstown Illustrated' 1902;
Heritage Study;
Ian Rae, comments 4/4/00, 15/6/2000 theory re reconstruction in the 1930s-40s.

Recommendations
Heritage Registers
Planning Scheme
Recommendations
the place;

Appendix Eleven
Appendix eleven:
Places recommended for nomination to the Victorian
Heritage Register

Appendix Eleven:
places recommended for nomination to the Victorian
Heritage Register
Places grouped by street

Appendix Eleven
Name Address
sewer

Appendix Twelve
Appendix Twelve:
Places recommended for nomination to the Register
of the National Estate

Appendix Twelve:
Places recommended for nomination to the Register of the
National Estate

Appendix Twelve
Name Address
archway, trees
(COR)
Assistant Manager's residence, Newport bbbb Champion Road Williamstown
Altona City Council Civic Centre (domed off Civic Parade Altona
council chamber)
Newport Power Station site, trees & Douglas Parade Newport
cooling water outlet (Warmies)
Island palm
North
Geelong Road
and the Victorian Meat Preserving
Company archaeological site
Railway

Appendix Twelve
Name Address
trees
WC Thomas & Sons Flour Mill 482- Melbourne Road Newport
490
sewer
trees
Booker St
Laverton
Newport

Appendix Thirteen
Appendix Thirteen:
Places recommended for protection in the planning scheme

Appendix Thirteen:
Places recommended for protection within the planning
scheme

Appendix Thirteen
Name Address
archway, trees
Quarryman's house, trees 75 Blackshaws Road Newport
Newport Railway Estate No 2- Garden south Blackshaws Road Altona North
Suburb Precinct of
Spotswood Residential Precinct parts Bolton, Forrest, George, Spotswood
Hope, Robert Streets
Gilbertsons meat processing complex & off Brunel St Altona North
quarry, former
(COR)
Housing Commission of Victoria Champion Cerberus, Edina & Gem Williamstown
Road Estate Precinct Streets North
North
Assistant Manager's residence, Newport bbbb Champion Road Williamstown
Grindley's Estate Precinct (part) 2-52, Collingwood Road, Tait Newport
2-40 St
Squadron Leader Cottee's House, formerly 6 Donald St Laverton
RAAF base
Newport Power Station site, trees & Douglas Parade Newport
cooling water outlet (Warmies)
Island palm
Hobson , and River
Streets, Douglas Pde,
Home Rd

Appendix Thirteen
Name Address
North
North
Housing Commission of Victoria West parts Fowler Crescent, Newport
Newport Estate precinct, part Champion Road, Market
St, Challis St, Crocker
St, Melrose St
Geelong Road
Spotswood Signal Box, part Melbourne - off Hall St Spotswood
Junction Hotel 15 Hall Street Newport
W. Goetz Sons Ltd offices & factory 140 Hall Street Spotswood
complex, former
Spotswood Railway Station, part off Hall Street Spotswood
Newport Railway Station & trees, part off Hall Street & Melbourne Newport
House 28 Home Road Newport
Home Road Kindergarten 48-50 Home Road Newport
State Savings Bank (SSB) house 56 Home Road Newport
Houses 1- 3 Hope Street Spotswood
Afon Rhos Cottage (5) and house (7) 5-7 Hope Street Spotswood
and the Victorian Meat Preserving
Company archaeological site
Commonwealth Oil Refinery (COR) off Kororoit Creek Road Altona
BP complex
Railway
Maidstone Street House Group Precinct, 169- Maidstone St, Seaview Altona
Solomit or straw houses 175, 2 Cr
Newport War Memorial, median Mason Street Newport

Appendix Thirteen
Name Address
Newport Mechanics Institute & interior, 13 Mason Street Newport
former
Shop & Residence 15-17 Mason Street Newport
Baptist Hall & Church complex 24-26 Mason Street Newport
Christ Anglican church & residence 59-61 Mason Street Newport
complex
Williams house 85 Mason Street Newport
Perfectus Air Screw aircraft parts factory, 175 Mason Street Newport
former
trees
WC Thomas & Sons Flour Mill 482- Melbourne Road Newport
490
Spotswood Railway Workshops (part) & off Melbourne Road Spotswood
Railway
sewer
Cherry swamp, later Cherry lake Millers Road Altona
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Convent, part 7 Newcastle St Newport
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Complex
Sacred Heart RC Church & School, part St 22 Newcastle St Newport
Newport Coffee Palace, former 24 Newcastle St Newport
Red Robin Hosiery factory, now Finnish Hall 119 Pier St Altona
North Williamstown Railway Station, part off Power St Williamstown
trees
St Mary's Roman Catholic School & former Railway St North Altona

Appendix Thirteen
Name Address
Hugh Lennon Agricultural Implement works, Raleigh & Hall St. Spotswood
part
Booker St
Solomit or straw house 2 Seaview Cr Seaholme
Loft's house 41 Speight St Newport
McKenzie & Holland P/L factory betwee Stephenson St. & Sutton Spotswood
n St.
Altona Primary School 3923 complex and Upton St Altona
Newport
Newport Estate Residential Precinct Varies Newport
Laverton

Appendix Fourteen
Appendix Fourteen:

Appendix fourteen:
Individually significant to the City's localities, the City as a whole, Western Region, State
or Nation and contributory places to assessed precincts - grouped by street

Appendix Fourteen
Name Address Precinct:

House 2 Agg Street Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct

Appendix Fourteen

Altona Coastal Park Altona Road Altona
The Pines scout camp, off Altona Road Altona Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
entrance gates, archway,
trees
Stone pitched road or paved Altona Road Altona Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
yard
Williamstown City Council 6 Bath Pl Williamstown
Electric Supply Department
building, former
Caltex Depot Blackshaws South Kingsville
Road

Appendix Fourteen

Wyndham Dairy - Altona North Blackshaws Altona North
depot- national foods Road
factory Blackshaws Newport
Road
Quarryman's house, trees 75 Blackshaws Newport
Road
Don Smallgoods, SBA factory 248 Blackshaws Altona North
complex Road
Newport Railway Estate No 2- south Blackshaws Altona North Newport Railway Estate No 2
Garden Suburb Precinct of Road
Humes (?) precast bus shelter cnr Blackshaws Altona North
Road & Mills St.
Canary Island palms x2 16 Blenheim Road Newport
Altona Clinic 55 Blyth St Altona
Maternal Baby Health centre 81-89 Blyth St Altona
House 129 Blyth St Altona
Spotswood Residential Precinct parts Bolton, Forrest, Spotswood Spotswood Residential Precinct
George, Hope,
Robert Streets
Gilbertsons meat processing off Brunel St Altona North
complex & quarry, former
Riveted Oil Storage Tanks (2) Burleigh St Spotswood Spotswood Industrial Precinct
part former Commonwealth Oil
Refinery Complex (COR)
Shell Oil complex including Burleigh St Spotswood Spotswood Industrial Precinct
riveted oil storage tanks &
packing sheds
Ampol oil storage Burleigh St. Spotswood Spotswood Industrial Precinct
Altona Meadows Laverton Central Avenue Altona
Uniting Church
Houses all Cerberus Cr Williamstown Housing Commission of Victoria
North Champion Road Estate Precinct
Housing Commission of Victoria Cerberus, Edina Williamstown Housing Commission of Victoria
Champion Road Estate Precinct & Gem Streets North Champion Road Estate Precinct
House 16 Challis St Newport Housing Commission of Victoria West
Newport Estate Precinct

Appendix Fourteen

North
House, tree 15 Champion Road Williamstown
North
Manager's residence, Newport 59 Champion Road Williamstown Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
Railway Workshops (former ) North Railway
House 102 Champion Road Newport Housing Commission of Victoria West
Assistant Manager's residence, bbbb Champion Road Williamstown Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
Newport Railway Workshops North Railway
(former )
Railway bridge site, part over Cherry Creek Altona Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
Melbourne - Geelong Railway Railway
Altona City Council Civic Centre off Civic Parade Altona
(domed council chamber)
House 2 Colingwood Newport Grindley's Estate Precinct (part)
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road

Appendix Fourteen

Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Road
Houses 2-52 Collingwood Newport Grindleys Farm Estate Precinct
Road
Grindley's Estate Precinct (part) 2-52, Collingwood Newport Grindley's Estate Precinct (part)
2-40 Road, Tait St
House 11 Crocker St Newport Housing Commission of Victoria West

Appendix Fourteen

Flats 1-3 David St Altona
Eastern Market gates, former, off Dohertys Road Altona North
at Memorial Park Crematorium &
Floral Lawn Cemetery
Memorial Park Crematorium & Dohertys Road Altona North
Floral Lawn Cemetery,
landscape & memorials
Squadron Leader Cottee's 6 Donald St Laverton
House, formerly RAAF base
Newport Power Station site, Douglas Parade Newport Spotswood Industrial Precinct
trees & cooling water outlet
(Warmies)
House 305 Douglas Parade Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
BP oil mixing tower & 431 Douglas Parade Spotswood Spotswood Industrial Precinct
warehouses, Canary Island
palm
Oil Wharf site, Yarra River off Douglas Parade Spotswood Spotswood Industrial Precinct
Maternal Child Care centre Duke St Altona North
Houses all Edina St Williamstown Housing Commission of Victoria
House pair 39-41 Elizabeth St Newport
Newport Primary School 113 & 40-68 Elizabeth St Newport
trees
House 1 Elphin Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
Houses 2-94, Elphin Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
1-91

Appendix Fourteen


Appendix Fourteen

Halls Farm Residential Precinct Elphin, Farm, Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
High, Hobson ,
and River
Streets,
Douglas Pde,
Home Rd
Altona pier Esplanade Altona Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
Norfolk Island pine row Esplanade Altona

Appendix Fourteen

Maritime pine, Apex Park end Esplanade Altona Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
reserve
Apex Park reserve Esplanade Altona Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
House 1 Farm Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
Houses 2- Farm Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
116, 1-
85
House Farm Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct

Appendix Fourteen


Appendix Fourteen

Drinking Fountain, Town Hall Ferguson St Williamstown
North
North
House 2 Fowler Newport Housing Commission of Victoria West
Crescent Newport Estate Precinct
Housing Commission of Victoria parts Fowler Newport Housing Commission of Victoria West
West Newport Estate precinct, Crescent, Newport Estate Precinct
part Champion
Road, Market
St, Challis St,
Crocker St,
Melrose St
Brooklyn Migrant Hostel site, 431 Francis St Brooklyn
former
Vacuum Oil Company Ltd off Francis Street Yarraville Spotswood Industrial Precinct
depot, former
Melbourne - Geelong Road Geelong Road Altona North Melbourne - Geelong Road Precinct
Precinct
Kororoit Creek Bridge, part off Geelong Road Brooklyn Melbourne - Geelong Road Precinct
Melbourne - Geelong Road
Brooklyn cemetery reserve Geelong Road Brooklyn Melbourne - Geelong Road Precinct
Houses all Gem St Williamstown Housing Commission of Victoria

Appendix Fourteen

Houses 6- 14, George Street Spotswood Spotswood Residential Precinct
22-26,
3-11,
23
Spotswood Signal Box, part off Hall St Spotswood Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
Railway
Retaining wall and siding Hall St. Spotswood Melbourne - Geelong Railway,
Spotswood Industrial Precinct
Lagunaria row Hall Street Spotswood Melbourne - Geelong Railway
pepper tree row Hall Street Newport Melbourne - Geelong Railway
Newport Commercial Bank, 1 Hall Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
former
Varley's Buildings 3- 5 Hall Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
House 6 Hall Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Shop 7 Hall Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Junction Hotel 15 Hall Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Shop 18- 21 Hall Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Shop & residence 28 Hall Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Shops 30- 32 Hall Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Houses groups 48-102 Hall Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
House 52 Hall Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
House 56- 60 Hall Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
House 94- 96 Hall Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
W. Goetz Sons Ltd offices & 140 Hall Street Spotswood Spotswood Industrial Precinct
factory complex, former
RVB Products Admin. Building 150 Hall Street Spotswood Spotswood Industrial Precinct
House 152 Hall Street Newport
Alloa, house 184 Hall Street Spotswood
Spotswood Railway Station, off Hall Street Spotswood Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
Railway

Appendix Fourteen

Newport Railway Station & off Hall Street & Newport Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
trees, part Melbourne - Melbourne Road Railway , Newport Civic & Commercial
Williamstown Railway Precinct
House, trees Hansen St Altona North
Altona & Morewell Coal Harrington Altona
Development & Option Street
Company coal mining site
Harrington Square
Barbara's Hair Analysis High Street Seaholme Seaholme Station Precinct
Seaholme Station Precinct High Street Seaholme Seaholme Station Precinct
Shop & Residence 15 High Street Seaholme Seaholme Station Precinct
Shop & Residence (General 17 High Street Seaholme Seaholme Station Precinct
Store)
House 69 High Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
Houses 69-101 High Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
House group 1-17 Hobson Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
Houses 72- Hobson Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
102, 1-
107
House 21 Hobson Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct

Appendix Fourteen

House 2 Home Road Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
House 2-66, Home Road Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
3-81

Appendix Fourteen

Gawne house 30 Home Road Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
Home Road Kindergarten 48-50 Home Road Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
State Savings Bank (SSB) 56 Home Road Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
house

Appendix Fourteen

Houses 1- 3 Hope Street Spotswood Spotswood Residential Precinct
Afon Rhos Cottage (5) and 5-7 Hope Street Spotswood Spotswood Residential Precinct
house (7)
House 9 Hope Street Newport Spotswood Residential Precinct
House 11 Hope Street Spotswood Spotswood Residential Precinct
House 13 Hope Street Spotswood Spotswood Residential Precinct
Railway Crossing - Keeper's - Hudsons Road Newport Melbourne - Geelong Railway
House
Spottiswoode Hotel 56 Hudsons Road Newport Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
Railway
Raleigh's Boiling-down Works off Hyde St Yarraville Spotswood Industrial Precinct
archaeological site (City of
Maribyrnong) and the Victorian
Meat Preserving Company
archaeological site
Houses Inglis Street Williamstown
North
Houses Junction St Newport
Bungalow & Edwardian-era 8- Junction St Newport
groups
Laverton State School, former Kiora St Laverton
SS2857
CRB depot site, part cnr. Kororoit Ck & Laverton North Melbourne - Geelong Road Precinct
Melbourne - Geelong Road Fitzgerald's Rds.
Railway bridge over Kororoit Creek Altona North Melbourne - Geelong Railway
Paisley Railway Station site Kororoit Creek Altona North Melbourne - Geelong Railway
Rd
Wiltona Migrant Hostel complex Kororoit Creek Altona
and site, former Road
Commonwealth Oil Refinery, 471 Kororoit Creek Altona
later Australian Synthetic Road
Rubber now Kemcor
Native grass reserve off Kororoit Creek Altona
Road

Appendix Fourteen

Commonwealth Oil Refinery off Kororoit Creek Altona
(COR) complex, offices & Road
refinery site, later part BP
complex
Railway bridge & stone ford over Laverton Ck. Altona Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
over the Laverton Creek, part Railway
Melbourne - Geelong Railway
Fishing Village, anglers clubs, off Maddox Road, Williamstown Fishing Village precinct
boat sheds JT Gray
Reserve
Access Road
Straw or Solomit houses 153, Maidstone St Altona
157,
167?
House 169 Maidstone St Altona Maidstone Street house group
Maidstone Street House Group 169- Maidstone St Altona Maidstone Street house group
Precinct 175
Newport Quarry, now Newport off Margaret St Newport
Lakes
House 134 Market St Newport Housing Commission of Victoria West
Frieze, overpass wall off Market St Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Newport War Memorial, median Mason Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Newport Hotel, former 1 Mason Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Mechanics Institute Reserve 11 Mason Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Newport Library Hall interior 13 Mason Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Newport Mechanics Institute & Mason Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
interior, former

Appendix Fourteen

Shop & Residence 15-17 Mason Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Mosque, former Red Cross 18 Mason Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
later Animal Welfare Depot
Baptist Hall & Church complex 24-26 Mason Street Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
House, now The Outlets Co-op 43 Mason Street Newport
Ltd Community Centre
House 53 Mason Street Newport
Christ Anglican church & 59-61 Mason Street Newport
residence complex
House 81 Mason Street Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
Williams house 85 Mason Street Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
Matthews Bros. Engineering 120 Mason Street Newport
Perfectus Air Screw aircraft 175 Mason Street Newport
parts factory, former
House 2 McLister Street Newport Spotswood Residential Precinct
Spotswood Victorian Railways end McLister Street Spotswood Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
Stores Branch administrative Railway
building & stores, trees
Spotswood Telephone McLister Street Spotswood
Exchange
Newport Fire Station Melbourne Road Newport
Masonic Hall No.5925 405 Melbourne Road Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Shop 407- Melbourne Road Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
409
417
423?
House 481 Melbourne Road Newport
WC Thomas & Sons Flour Mill 482- Melbourne Road Newport Spotswood Industrial Precinct
490
Loft's Blacksmiths 521 Melbourne Road Newport
Victorian Railways Ways & east Melbourne Road Spotswood Melbourne - Geelong Railway
Works complex side

Appendix Fourteen

Newport Victorian Railways DC off Melbourne Road Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct,
substation, part Melbourne - Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
Williamstown Railway Railway
Spotswood Railway Melbourne Road Spotswood Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
Workshops (part) & palm trees, Railway , Spotswood Industrial Precinct
part Melbourne - Williamstown
Railway
Brooklyn MMBW pumping off Millers Rd Brooklyn
station & main sewer
Cherry swamp, later Cherry Millers Road Altona Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
lake
Mobil Refining Australia offices Millers Road Altona North
& refinery complex, former
Standard Vacuum Refining
Cabots Australasia P/L (former 300 Millers Road Altona North
Australian Carbon Black)
complex & gardens
Altona City welcome signs median Millers Road Altona North
House 2 Mirls Street Newport
Houses 21-37 Mirls Street Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
(west
side)
Bills Horse Water Trough, Nelson Place Williamstown
War Memorial, median Nelson Place & Williamstown
Ferguson St cnr
Street Lamps Nelson Place, Williamstown
between Pasco
& Ferguson St
AKZO Nobel, trees 22 New St South Kingsville
Sacred Heart RC School 4-22 Newcastle St Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
St Joseph's Roman Catholic 7 Newcastle St Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
Convent, part St Joseph's
Roman Catholic Complex
St Joseph's Roman Catholic 9 Newcastle St Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
Presbytery, part St Joseph's
St Joseph's Roman Catholic 9, 22 Newcastle St Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
Complex
Sacred Heart RC Church & 22 Newcastle St Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
School, part St Joseph's
Newport Coffee Palace, former 24 Newcastle St Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
Post Box North Rd & Newport
Douglas Parade
cnr
Bungalow & inter-war house 2-14, Oxford St Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
group 1-15
10 Parker Street Williamstown

Appendix Fourteen

Brooklyn Village reserve Paw Paw, Brooklyn Melbourne - Geelong Road Precinct
Clelland &
Buchanan
Roads
Olympic Tyre and Rubber Co, 108 Pier St Altona
former
Red Robin Hosiery factory, 119 Pier St Altona
now Finnish Hall
Christ the Lord Slovak Lutheran 74 Point Cook Road Laverton
Congregational Church
Cheetham Salt Works site (part) off Point Cook Road Laverton Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
North Williamstown Railway Power St Williamstown Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
Station, part Melbourne Nth Railway
Queen of Peace Catholic Queen St Altona
Church
House 8 Queen St Altona
House 41 Queen St Altona
Laverton homestead & garden 128 Queen St Altona Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
Truganina Explosives Magazine 276 Queen St Altona Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
& Reserve, trees
Plaque, Doug Grant Reserve off Queen St Altona Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
Truganina Explosives Magazine Queen St, Laverton Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
tramline & tramway sites Merton St
Williamstown Racecourse site Racecourse Rd Altona Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
Ford over Kororoit Creek Racecourse Altona Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
Road
Mobiltown Railway Station site off Racecourse Altona Melbourne - Geelong Railway
Road
1st Laverton Air Scout Group Railway Ave Laverton
complex, former military huts?
Williamstown Beach Railway off Railway Williamstown Melbourne - Geelong Railway
Station, part Melbourne Crescent
St Mary's RC Church Railway St Altona
North
St Mary's Roman Catholic Railway St Altona
School & former Church, and North
camphor laurel tree
Monterey pines, Altona Railway Street Altona Melbourne - Geelong Railway
Railway Station reserve South
Hugh Lennon Agricultural Raleigh & Hall Spotswood Spotswood Industrial Precinct
Implement works, part St.
Melbourne Glass Bottle Works, off Raleigh St, Spotswood Spotswood Industrial Precinct
former Douglas St,
Booker St
House 1 River Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct

Appendix Fourteen

Houses 1- River Street Newport Halls Farm Residential Precinct
113,
2-110

Appendix Fourteen


Appendix Fourteen

Houses 49 - 57 Robert Street Spotswood Spotswood Residential Precinct
Houses 5-13 Ross Street Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
Elderly Citizens clubrooms Sargood St Altona
House 30 Schutt St Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
House Schutt St Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
Solomit or straw house 2 Seaview Cr Seaholme
Riveted storage tanks, Mobil Simcock Ave. Spotswood Spotswood Industrial Precinct
Terminal, former Atlantic Oil and
Esso
Loft's house 41 Speight St Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
House 35 Speight Street Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct

Appendix Fourteen

Seaholme Railway Station & off Station St Altona Seaholme Station Precinct
landscape
House 1 Steele Street Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct

Appendix Fourteen

McKenzie & Holland P/L factory betwee Stephenson St. Spotswood Spotswood Industrial Precinct
n & Sutton St.
Houses 2-40 Tait Street Newport Grindley's Estate Precinct (part)
(north
side)
House group 35-43 The Avenue Spotswood Spotswood Residential Precinct
Williamstown Ferry or Punt north The Strand Newport
Ramp end
Edwards Reserve Truman St & South Kingsville
Greene St
Bluestone Wall, running parallel off Twyford St Williamstown
with Morris St, off Twyford St,
behind the houses fronting
Morris St & near the Blisters,
Beach Hotel, Former 41 Twyford Street Williamstown
Altona Primary School 3923 Upton St Altona
complex and trees ( poplars
and sugar gums)
Spotswood Industrial Precinct varies Spotswood, Spotswood Industrial Precinct
Newport
Newport Estate Residential Varies Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
Precinct
Newport Civic & Commercial Varies Newport Newport Civic & Commercial Precinct
Precinct
Altona & Laverton Foreshore varies Altona, Altona & Laverton Foreshore Precinct
Precinct Laverton
Melbourne - Williamstown - Varies Varies Melbourne - Williamstown - Geelong
Geelong Railway precinct (part) Railway
MMBW Outfall Sewer, Varies Altona
Spotswood to Werribee, Pipe
Track & Tree rows
Houses 19-23 Walker Street Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
Houses 24-30 Walker Street Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
House 30 Walker Street Newport Newport Estate Residential Precinct
House, oak 80 William Street Newport
Washingtonia palm 164 Woods St Newport
Note: street numbers are provided if evident at site

Altona Laverton and Newport Districts He

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heritage study

a lto n a , l ave rto n a n d n e w p o rt d i st r i c ts

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: Vol 1

Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts Heritage

Hobsons Bay City Council

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: Vol 1

ALTONA, LAVERTON & NEWPORT DISTRICTS HERITAGE STUDY STAGE TWO

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: 1

Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts Heritage Study

The Heritage Study is divided into two stages

Stage Two involves the detailed assessment of significance end documentation of

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: 1

Determining the scope

Prioritising assessment of potential heritage places

Summary of agreed study scope

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: 2

Place group Number Priority Appen Tender

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: 3

Laverton Historical Society

Team member Task

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: 4

Council resources provided for Stage Two

Place report structure

Each place report is intended to be self-contained, with extracts from the

• Name of place: Current name

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: 5

• Assessed by: Person/consultant, and project title/date

Generic phrase Notes

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: 6

Generic phrase Notes

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: 7

Generic phrase Notes

Summary of place recommendations

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: 8

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: Appendix 1

Places grouped by locality and street

Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts Heritage Study Stage Two

Graeme Butler and Associates 2000, Appendix 1 - 1

Graeme Butler and Associates 2000, Appendix 1 - 2

Graeme Butler and Associates 2000, Appendix 1 - 3

Graeme Butler and Associates 2000, Appendix 1 - 4

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: Appendix 2:

Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts Heritage Study Stage Two

Melway Name Address

55H1 Quarryman's house, trees 75 Blackshaws Road Newport

Drinking Fountain, Williamstown Botanical off Giffard St Williamstown

53F11 Laverton State School, former SS2857 Kiora St Laverton

55H5 Boyd house 37 Milford Street Newport

Graeme Butler and Associates 2000, Appendix 2 - 1

Melway Name Address

54G11 Altona Baptist Church Sargood St Altona

41H11 House 86 The Avenue Spotswood

Bluestone Wall, running parallel with off Twyford St Williamstown

Graeme Butler and Associates 2000, Appendix 2 - 2

Graeme Butler & Associates 2000: Appendix 3:

Altona, Laverton & Newport Districts Heritage Study Stage Two

Melway Name Address

55H6 Assistant Manager's residence, Newport 57 Champion Road Williamstown

55J4 Newport War Memorial, median Mason Street Newport

55J4 Newport Hotel, former 1 Mason Street Newport

55K1 Spotswood Victorian Railways Stores end McLister Street Spotswood

Graeme Butler and Associates 2000, Appendix 3 - 1

Melway Name Address

54H11 Laverton homestead & garden 128 Queen St Altona