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REGISTRATIONS
Seven tram substations, a unique mansion linked to Bendigo’s gold and defence history and
the state’s oldest water supply system have been included in the Victorian Heritage Register
this month.
TRAMS
The tram substations, which heralded the advent of electricity to Melbourne’s tram network,
are in Ascot Vale, Carlton, Camberwell, South Yarra, Brunswick, Elsternwick and
Maribyrnong.
Each has a significant association with the development of Melbourne’s transport systems,
which played an important role in the development of the city’s growing suburbs during the
early 20th century.
Melbourne’s first trams in Melbourne were horse drawn. The first of Melbourne’s cable trams
opened in 1885 on the Richmond line and in the following six years the councils of
Melbourne and the 10 surrounding municipalities built a system of cable hauled tramways. It
was the world’s largest cable tram network but by 1891 had reached its maximum extent. By
1900 it was recognised that electric trams were easier to run and other cities had adopted
such systems.
The first two regular electric tram services in Melbourne opened in 1906, with the opening of
a line from Flemington Bridge to Essendon and St Kilda to Brighton. The Victorian
Government set up a Royal Commission in 1910 to examine the way forward for trams and
recommended their electrification and establishing one board to oversee all tramways. The
Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board was established in 1918.
Impressive tram substations were built during the 1920s at Ascot Vale (H2323 – above left),
Carlton (H2325 above centre), Camberwell (H2324 – above right) and South Yarra (H2320 –
below left) by the newly established board.
As well as the scale of the network, they demonstrate the quality of works undertaken to
establish the electric network. The 1914 Elsternwick substation (H2322 – above right) and
the 1857 former Cable Tram Engine House in Brunswick (H2332 – below left), built by the
Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust were adapted by the MMTB.
The Maribyrnong station (H2321 – below right), a unique example of war camouflage
designed to look like a water feature from the air, was added to the network in the 1940s to
provide power for the tramlines built to transport workers to Commonwealth munitions and
explosives factories in the Maribyrnong and Footscray areas.
While some are abandoned or adapted as shops or offices, some are still in use.
Melbourne’s tram substations continue to be operated from a control room at Carlton, as they
have since 1925, but from a 1964 air-conditioned extension at the rear of the original
building.
WATER
The state’s oldest surviving water supply system still forms part of Melbourne's water supply
and influenced and informed the design of later systems.
The Yan Yean Water Supply System (H2333) was constructed from 1853 as the first largescale engineered water supply system in Victoria. Although today it supplies only three
percent of Melbourne’s water, it was the major source of water supply to Melbourne for more
than 30 years.
It consists of a series of catchment weirs and reservoirs connected by aqueducts and pipe
track which extend from north of the Great Dividing Range to the Merri Creek, five kilometres
north of the Melbourne Central Business District.
After the establishment of Melbourne in 1835, there were escalating problems with the
quality of the water supply as the population increased. Two water supply schemes were
considered, but James Blackburn's proposal for a gravity-fed water supply drawn from a
reservoir to be constructed near Whittlesea was selected and constructed between 1853 and
1857.
Refinements were made during the latter decades of the 19th century. These included the
1864 construction of a holding reservoir at Preston to regulate supply pressure of water to
the city and prevent stagnation in the pipes overnight, and the northern extension of the
system through construction of weirs and aqueducts to harvest Wallaby Creek, Jacks Creek
and Silver Creek.
The 1886 construction of a second reservoir known as Toorourrong allowed sediment from
these sources to settle before water passed to Yan Yean Reservoir along the new
'Clearwater Channel', avoiding a polluted section of the Plenty River. By the 1890s
Melbourne's population had grown significantly and the Maroondah System was constructed
to augment supply, joining the Yan Yean pipe track at the Junction Basin.
The Yan Yean Water Supply System extends from north of the Great Dividing Range to Merri
Creek in Northcote, five kilometres north of the Melbourne Central Business District. The Yan
Yean Water Supply system was constructed from 1853-91 and comprises a range of
different components and sections, including (from north to south): Silver Creek and Wallaby
Creek weirs and aqueducts (pictured above left and centre), The Cascades, Jacks Creek
and Jacks Creek Deviation Channel, Toorourrong Reservoir, Clearwater Channel aqueduct,
Yan Yean Reservoir (caretaker’s cottage above right), pipe reserve from Yan Yean to
Morang, Pipehead Reservoir, pipe reserve track from South Morang to Preston Reservoir,
Preston Reservoir complex, and pipe reserve from Preston Reservoir to Merri Creek.
The Yan Yean Water Supply System contains representative examples of most of the
features associated with 19th and early-20th century water supply systems including storage
and service reservoirs, weirs, pipe mains and reserves, aqueducts, siphons and tunnels and,
as such, is one of the best representative examples of such a system not only in Victoria, but
also Australia.
MANSION BUILT ON GOLD
Developed from 1857 by two of Australia's wealthiest gold magnates, Fortuna Villa (H2211)
in Chum Street, Golden Square in Bendigo, is a picturesque 19th century villa, which
eventually boasted 40 rooms and lavish decoration and furnishings from around the world,
and a garden with lakes, fountains and follies.
The Bendigo goldfields were discovered in 1851, and the surface gold was soon traced to
gold-bearing quartz reefs, which proved to be the deepest and richest in the world.
The German immigrant Christopher Ballerstedt and his son Theodore were among the
earliest successful reef miners on the Bendigo diggings. In 1854 they bought a mining claim
on Victoria (or Chum) Hill (VHR H1355) to the north of Fortuna for £60, and obtained from it
gold worth nearly £200,000.
Christopher bought the Fortuna site in 1857 and by 1858 had built a quartz-crushing mill on
the site, as well as a modest two-storey brick house, which he extended in 1869 to designs
by the Bendigo architects Vahland & Getzschmann. Christopher Ballerstedt died in 1869 and
in 1871 his son Theodor sold Fortuna and the mine on Victoria Hill to George Lansell for
£30,000 and returned to Germany.
Lansell (1823-1906) had migrated from Kent in 1853, and from 1855 invested in quartz
mining companies. His confidence in deep mining began to yield returns in the 1860s and,
after acquiring Ballerstedt's mine, he sank it even deeper, soon finding £180,000 worth of
gold. With interests in almost every mine in Bendigo, he was known as 'Australia's Quartz
King' and was famous for his tireless efforts to maintain the town's mining industry.
He transformed the Fortuna site, with the villa (below left and right) continually altered and
extended to successive plans by various prominent Bendigo architects: Vahland &
Getzschmann, Emil Mauermann and William Beebe.
The industrial landscape of settling ponds and tailings dumps was transformed into spacious
gardens with ornamental lakes, extravagant fountains and follies, pathways and exotic
plantings, including the 'Pompeii Fountain' (c1879 - below centre).
On Lansell's death the management of his mining interests was taken over by his son, and
his widow Edith continued to live at and develop Fortuna until her death in 1934, when the
house and its contents were sold.
The house was used for a short time as a reception centre until acquired in 1942 by the
Commonwealth as the headquarters of the Australian Survey Corps, accommodating the
army's cartographic and printing activities during World War II. From then until 1996 it was
occupied by the Army Survey Regiment, which became a world leader in developing
technologies for use in automated mapping systems, and from 2000-2008 by the Defence
Imagery and Geospatial Organisation (DIGO).
The only surviving mining structure is the former quartz-crushing battery (1874, extended
1899), used by the Army as a printing facility. A brick-lined tunnel north of the house may
have been associated with the secure loading of bullion onto armed coaches, and may date
from the Ballerstedt era.
The period of defence occupation is reflected in a number of utilitarian structures, among the
earliest of which are two 1940s P1 type huts, which are corrugated steel-clad buildings with
low-pitched gable roofs.
Left: Fortuna Villa’s east elevation. Centre: The Pompeii Fountain. Right: The villa from across its lake.
NEW GRANT PROGRAM
Minister for Planning Matthew Guy has announced a new grants program to benefit some of
the state’s most significant heritage places and objects.
Open for its first round of applications from today, the Victorian Heritage Register grants
program will provide financial assistance to custodians of publicly owned heritage places and
objects.
Grants from $20,000 to $200,000 are available for repair of heritage places and grants from
$5,000 to $20,000 are available for conservation of heritage objects.
The Victorian Coalition Government has provided funding for 2013-2015 of up to $2.7 million
for the program which will be delivered by Victoria’s Heritage Restoration Fund (VHRF).
VHRF has representation from the National Trust, the City of Melbourne, the Department of
Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure and regional councils. It is an independent
organisation that will deliver more effective and efficient heritage grant programs.
“The VHRF will use its heritage expertise to assess all grant applications and deliver the best
results for heritage in the state,” Minister Guy said.
Much of the state's heritage is managed by volunteers and not-for-profit groups, as well as
local councils. The Victorian Heritage Register grants program provides support for the
conservation of state significant heritage managed by community-based organisations.
The program provides funding for repair works to the state’s most significant publicly
accessible and important heritage places and objects. This will ensure these important
assets can continue to be used and enjoyed by all Victorians.
"These grants will support communities in their efforts to retain and creatively use heritage
places and objects to promote community identity. They will also increase awareness,
knowledge and understanding about significant heritage in the community;” Mr Guy said.
Chair of VHRF, Dr Graeme Blackman welcomed the announcement and said the
organisation will draw on its experience administering the Melbourne Heritage Restoration
Fund in recent years to deliver an effective heritage grants program across Victoria.
“We know heritage and how best to deliver funds to communities to ensure its conservation
and ongoing use,” Dr Blackman said.
Applications for the first round of grants close 28 February 2014 and successful applicants
will be announced in May 2014.
For more information and to make an application visit www.vhrf.com.au
ORDER TO REINSTATE HERITAGE BUILDING
A Kyneton man has been found guilty of unauthorised works to the heritage-listed Willis Flour
Mills (H2186) in Piper Street at Kyneton Magistrates’ Court.
Mr Richard Karol Beniac, of Kyneton, was charged with unapproved works to the Victorian
Heritage listed property at 16-20 Piper St, Kyneton.
Under the court order Mr Beniac will be required to remove a concrete slab and reinstate
bluestone flooring and other original heritage elements to the property lost during the
unauthorised works.
The owner was ordered to engage, at his own expense, a heritage consultant, appropriately
qualified to the satisfaction of the Executive Director Heritage Victoria, to design, document
and supervise the works, which must be completed within six months.
Heritage Victoria officers had extensive contact with Mr Beniac throughout the period,
informing him of his obligations under the Act to seek permits for any work to the property.
Permits are needed to protect the important features of heritage places and objects that are
registered on the Victorian Heritage Register.
Heritage Victoria recognises that if significant places are to have a future, they need to be
attractive and comfortable places in which to live and work. Alterations are often required to
keep pace with the demands of modern life, but they must respect the importance of the
place.
Despite contact and a clear understanding of the requirements under the Heritage Act 1995,
the works occurred to the Piper Street property without the consent or approval of Heritage
Victoria.
As well as the removal of bluestone, walls were painted and a concrete floor laid, which may
result in rising damp and salt attack to the masonry walls.
If the appropriate permits had been sought, alternative methods of refurbishment could have
been suggested by Heritage Victoria officers, resulting in a better outcome for the property.
CULTIVATING MODERNISM
Exhibitions supporting Melbourne-based architect, historian and curator Richard Aitken’s
latest publication, “Cultivating Modernism: Reading the modern garden 1917-71” (above
left), continue at the National Trust’s Tasma Terrace Gallery and in the Baillieu Library
building at the University of Melbourne.
The Trust exhibition ‘Cultivating Modernism - French Garden Style of the 1920s and 1930s’
is open week days until 30 January depicts the French modernist response to garden design
and the succession of exhibitions which promoted the decorative form of modernism known
as art deco.
Books, magazines, and ephemera all played a key role in the transfer of ideas and these
diverse publications transmitted this fashion internationally. Like functionalism, direct
emulation in Australian gardens was modest—especially compared with architecture and the
decorative arts—yet it has left a compelling legacy of design ideas.

Richard Aitken, “Cultivating Modernism, Reading the modern garden 1917-71”,
Miegunyah Press, Melbourne University Publishing. Soft cover, 330 pp, full colour. RRP
$39.99.
Exhibitions open until late January:
‘Cultivating Modernism - French Garden Style of the 1920s and 1930s’ , National Trust
of Australia (Victoria) Tasma Gallery, Parliament Place, Melbourne.
9 am – 5 pm Monday to Friday except public holidays.
Cultivating Modernism, Baillieu Library, University of Melbourne, open daily.
WINS
Several heritage restoration or adaptive re-use projects have been recognised in recent
months.
Northern Grampians Shire Council was recognised at the 2013 Australian Property
Industry Excellence in Property Awards for the restoration of its Western Highway
office.
The Awards celebrate innovation and outstanding achievement across the entire property
industry, with individuals, group and sector projects being eligible to enter one or more
categories.
Northern Grampians Shire Council was named the winner of the Heritage Property Award,
which is presented to an individual or organisation in recognition of outstanding treatment of
heritage issues in the context of a development project.
The Western Highway Office restoration was completed in late 2011 and involved removing
the old mezzanine floor, reinstating the Council chambers, replacing the roof of the building
and repairing external render. Landscaping work was also undertaken as part of the project.
Mayor Cr Wayne Rice said the restoration had resulted in increased use of the facility by
Council and the community.
“Since the project was completed, we have held regular meetings in the Council chamber,
while the offices have been used for information sessions and community consultation,” he
said.
“The building is an important part of Stawell’s history and we are pleased that the Australian
Property Industry Excellence in Property Awards acknowledged the work that Council has
done to preserve it for future generations.”
Left: Northern Grampians’ API award. Right: Members of the Heritage Council inspect the restoration works at the
Western Highway office last year.
A $3.1 million restoration of the historic Maryborough Railway Station to its original
glory has been recognised with a UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage.
The Maryborough Railway Station restoration was one of six projects – and the only one in
Australia – to receive an Award of Merit.
Judges said the restoration at Maryborough had breathed new life into a fine and rare
example of a Victorian-era station built in the Anglo-Dutch style.
The meticulous research and conservation interventions of the restoration work was noted,
with the character and values of the station retained and the continuing function enhanced.
A $1.3 million project in 2011, funded by VicTrack and the Department of Transport, restored
the historic verandah at Maryborough, providing passengers with an upgraded and
comfortable platform area.
The project included demolition works, replacement of laminated glass panels, installation of
approved heritage corrugated metal roofing and guttering, metal roofing and associated
works, glazing, timberwork and painting.
VicTrack spent a further $1.8 million on Maryborough station between 2007 and 2008 under
its Heritage Program to upgrade the clock tower, station façade, cast iron gutters,
balustrades and ornate shields.
Heritage architects RBA Consultants guided the restoration of the station and submitted the
restoration project to UNESCO. Skilled trade firms Lekkas Constructions and Period
Restoration Services worked on the station.
Maryborough Station (below left) was built in 1890 and is listed as historically and
architecturally significant to Victoria.
The UNESCO awards acknowledge the efforts of individuals and organisations that have
successfully restored and conserved structures and buildings of heritage value in the AsiaPacific region.
A panel of eight international conservation experts judged the awards. Nearly 50 entries were
received from 16 countries ranging from the Cook Islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean to the
Islamic Republic of Iran in the far west of Asia.
The only other Australian winner was the restoration of the Sail Maker’s Shed in Broome,
Western Australia, which received an Honourable Mention.
The former Olympic Tyre Factory site (above right) on Barkly Street Footscray, featured
in the Heritage Council of Victoria’s Adaptive Re-use case studies, has taken out the
award for best Medium Density Development at the 2013 Victorian Urban Development
Institute of Australia (UDIA) Awards for Excellence.
Started in 2009, the $200 million Banbury Village project also received a Commendation for
Urban Renewal. Currently two-thirds complete, it includes a mix of houses, townhouses and
apartments.
The development pays homage to the site’s history and Sir Frank Beaurepaire with the use
of old manufacturing equipment as installation pieces and the restoration of many iconic
elements from the original factory site such as the facades of the heritage buildings.
There is also a Heritage Trail that winds throughout the estate.
Nathan Blackburne, Victorian State Manager of developer, Cedar Woods noted a key
objective had been to offer a mix of product types that celebrated the significance of the
heritage buildings on-site, while still providing home owners with a contemporary feel.
He said the company had worked tirelessly with Maribyrnong City Council, dKO, MGS
Architects and the entire consulting team to create a unique, integrated housing project.
See case study at – www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/heritage/projects-and-programs/industrialheritage-case-studies/08-banbury-village
Also in the news
BLUESTONE: A good news story from Warrnambool about the owners’ commitment to the
restoration of a Victorian Heritage Register listed shop and residence, at 222 Timor Street,
Warrnambool.
In the story, the owner, Luke Taylor, thanks Heritage Victoria's Senior Permits Officer Peter
Brooks for his help.
"He was blown away by it," Luke explained. "There are basically so few properties like this
that are still in their original condition and have not been modified or altered in any significant
way. Peter's enthusiasm and excitement about that was infectious."
Luke Taylor, and his wife Nat, bought the double-storey, derelict building at 222 Timor Street
more than 12 months ago with intention of turning it into an investment, but what they didn't
count on was just how much hard work would be involved, or how much they would come to
love the old place.
"At first it was very much about building an investment for the future, rather than being
passionate about restoring an old building, but that has completely changed," Luke said.
Read the full story and see before and after pics in the online magazine 'Bluestone
Magazine':
http://www.bluestonemagazine.com.au/2013/11/10/restoring-a-treasure-back-to-life/
Visit Victoria's Heritage Database for information on this State significant place:
http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/vhd/heritagevic/?timeout=yes#detail_places;1200
WHAT HOUSE IS THAT? Period Home Renovator published by Publicity Press will present
a style guide based on Heritage Victoria’s publication What house is that? in its 2014 Buyers
Guide.
There are also a story on what is involved in restoring registered properties and how to best
approach the task, and another on the restoration of wallpapers in the Walhalla Post Office.
Due out in January 2014.
HERITAGE SKILLS
The second Heritage Skills Workshops to be presented by the Department of Transport,
Planning and Local Infrastructure, the Heritage Council of Victoria and the National Trust of
Australia (Victoria) will be held in Bendigo in February. The project has been supported
through funding from the Australian Government’s Your Community Heritage Program and
the Bendigo workshop also has been supported by the Department of Premier and Cabinet
and hosted by Bendigo RSL.
Looking after War Memorials and Honour Rolls will be held at Bendigo RSL on 28
February 2014.
This Workshop with David Young and Jenny Dickens will cover the typical stones (granites,
marbles, sandstones), metals (bronze, copper) and other materials found in war memorials.
Talks and site visits will include discussion of basic repairs and appropriate cleaning
techniques and control of biological agents like lichen and algae. Serious damage can be
done with the wrong chemicals and the workshop will explain the importance of the right
approach.
The materials and care of wooden and metal honour boards and rolls will also be explained.
In many cases the historic timber, lettering and varnish can be preserved and renewed
without aggressive stripping and re-lettering.
The other workshops will be:
Looking after Old Houses at The Heights Aphrasia Street, Newtown (Geelong) on Friday 4
April, 2014
Dealing with Damp, a two-day workshop at the Briars, Mt Martha in May-June 2014.
Courses are free but numbers are limited and bookings are essential on
http://www.nationaltrust.org.au/vic/HeritageSkillsWorkshops
TRUST SUMMER
Regardless of how you like to spend your summer, the National Trust offers a huge range of
exciting events. From exhibitions, pantomimes and summer sessions to great family fun days
out, like Australia’s largest annual Teddy Bears Picnic at Rippon Lea House and Gardens or
the brand new Maize Maze at the historic Gulf Station.
The new website 100daysofsummer.com.au is full of events suitable for everyone from little
kids to big kids, those who love the great outdoors or those who want to keep cool indoors!
Many of these events are free for National Trust members.
OTHER DIARY DATES
Streets of Melbourne: Old Treasury Building, 20 Spring Street, Melbourne, from 26
November. Explore the stories behind the city.
See www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au/streets-melbourne
Also coming soon at Old Treasury, an exhibition of ‘Early Melbourne Paintings’
Perception Deception Exhibition: National Wool Museum, 26 Moorabool St, Geelong.
Daily from to 29 January 2014. Explores your brain's ability to take sensory signals and paint
a mental picture of your environment.
See www.geelongaustralia.com.au/nwm/calendar/item/8d082700141180a.aspx
Australia Day at La Trobe’s Cottage: Cottage open 1 – 4pm Sunday 26 January 2014.
Join in the celebration of Australia Day in the Domain with guided tours of the Cottage, flag
raising ceremonies and rifle salutes. It will be Open Day at nearby Government House so
you will be able to visit the homes of both the first and current Victorian Governors.
See – www.latrobesociety.org.au/events.html
Inherit is published by the Heritage Council of Victoria. Next issue February 2014
Subscribe at inherit.magazine@dtpli.vic.gov.au or download copies from
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