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I ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT I I I PEDESTRIAN MALL I BONDI JUNCTION I I I I I I I I I I I I Cultural Resources Management I I I 1I I
I ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT I I I PEDESTRIAN MALL I BONDI JUNCTION I I I I I I I I I
I January 2003 I Cultural Resources Management I For Tract Consultants Pty Ltd I I I I I CONTENTS OF THE REPORT
1.0 PRECIS OF THE REPORT ...... 01 I 1.1 The Work ...... 01 1.2 Historical Context...... 01 1.3 Archaeological Profile ...... 01 I 1.4 Cultural Significance ...... 02 1.5 Impact Assessment ...... 02 I 1.6 Management ...... 02 2.0 CONTEXT ...... 04 2.1 Background ...... 04 2.2 The Study Area and Subject...... 04 I 2.3 Status of the Site ...... 04 2.4 Methodology ...... 05 2.5 Objectives and Tasks ...... 05 I 2.6 Authorship, Client and Acknowledgements ...... 05 Site Location Plan
I 3.0 HISTORICAL PROFILE ...... 06 3.1 The Context of Settlement ...... 06 Plan of Subdivision of Southern Side Old South Head Road, 1838 I 3.2' Tea Gardens Hotel ...... : ...... 08 Plan of the Mall area in 1889 with duplicated tram lines 3.3 Old South Head Road ...... 09 I Detail of 1908 survey 3.4 Trams ...... ;; I 3.5 Thematic Framework ...... 12 4.0 THE RESOURCE ...... 13 4.1 Topography and Environs ...... 13 4.2 Services ...... 14 I 4.3 Tram Lines ...... 14 4.4 Road and Footpaths ...... 14 4.5 Building Elements ...... 14 I 4.6 Site Formation ...... 14 4.7 Archaeological Profile ...... 15 I Sub-Surface Plan Non-Intrusive Investigation 5.0 CULTURAL SiGNIFiCANCE ...... 16 5.1 Evaluation Criteria ...... 16 I 5.2 Assessment of Significance ...... 18 5.3 Statement of Significance ...... 18 I View of Bondi Junction in 1925 6.0 MANAGEMENT ...... 20 6.1 The Work ...... 20 6.2 Impact Assessment ...... 20 I 6.3 Statutory Considerations ...... 20 6.4 Protocols and Mitigation Procedures ...... 21
I 7.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 22 I I I ------~-~- - Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003
SECTION 1.0 I PRECIS I I 1.1 The Work
I The subject of this report is the sub-surface archaeological resource that may be contained within land encompassed by the Oxford Street pedestrian mall located between Newland Street and Bronte Road, Bondi Junction. The objective of the work I has been to determine the probability of finding archaeological evidence within this property. The report describes the extent, nature, integrity and significance of the resource and the impact of the excavation on archaeological relics. It provides I strategies to mitigate that impact. The work fulfils statutory requirements of Bondi Junction Commercial Centre LEP 1991. I 1.2 Historical Context
The development of this site is linked with the expansion east of the main settlement I at Sydney during the early years of the nineteenth century. Old South Head Road began as a track to the Signal Station in 1790. It was improved on several occasions and became a major thoroughfare but was gradually eclipsed .by New South Head I Road. It fell into disiepair and neglect. Nevertheless it remained in uSe as the principal means of access to the slowly developing community at Waverley. Subdivision had commenced here in the 1830s and the nucleus of the present-day Bondi Junction was I formed around the Tea Gardens Hotel established there in the 1840s. The introduction of the steam tram service in the early 1880s was the impetus for a massive wave of development and subdivision of the previously sparsely settled I district. By the later 1880s a duplicate tram line ran down Old South Head Road and both sides of the future mall were lined with buildings. The tram remained in use until 1960. When it ceased to operate the lines were covered with road surfacing. The I present-day mall was formed in 1979 ..
I 1.3 Archaeological Profile The land encompassed by the Bondi Junction Mall is likely to contain a fragmented I archaeological resource with some or all of the following archaeological elements: • Some evidence of the pre-settlement environment in the form of preserved , I I micro-flora • Evidence of nineteenth and early twentieth century road surfaces including I formed natural surfaces, gravel, road metal and asphalt. • Possible evidence of kerbing and footpath surfaces I I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 1 I I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 I • Intact evidence of the later nineteenth century tram system including track and I sleepers. • Possible evidence of structural elements from commercial development on both I sides of the street. • Numerous services including water pipes that are of significance as relics because of their age.
I Generally, it may be concluded that the site is likely to contain archaeological relics and deposits however, in many cases these will have been substantially fragmented. It I will contain intact relics of the tram system and early services to the area I 1.4 Cultural Significance Old South Head Road is the first and oldest European feature associated with this area. It was a significant factor in the development of permanent settlement. The I archaeological profile of the Bondi Junction Mall is likely to provide specific evidence of the development of this road as a formed thoroughfare. There is also the potential to identify some evidence of earlier commercial development along the edge of the I road. The tram system that was established along it in the later part of the nineteenth century was one of the first suburban extensions of the Sydney system and was the I most critical factor in encouraging subdivision and the development of the present-day suburb. The archaeological resources of the Mall will provide explicit evidence of the tram system although this is unlikely to reveal more than is already known about the I technology and relationship of this system to its environs.
None of the archaeological material is rare or unusual but it will provide collaborative I evidence and specific demonstrations of what is now only known from archival resources. The ability of the resource to realize this significance is likely to be compromised through the impact of excavation for services. This resource has local I cultural value and is assessed to be of moderate significance.
I 1.5 Impact Assessment The excavation required for the redevelopment of the mall will have a SUbstantial impact on the archaeological profile. It will remove SUbstantial components and disturb I others. The most substantial impact will be on the intact tram system. The general excavation required for laying slabs and new paving extends below the level of the I tracks and sleepers. These elements will need to be removed to allow for this work. I 1.6 Management Monitoring, investigation and recording throughout the excavation can mitigate the impact of the proposed excavation on archaeological relics of this degree of I significance. I On this basis the implementation of the following strategies is recommended:
I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 2 I I January 2003 I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall • An application for a Section 140 Excavation Permit is made to the Heritage Council of NSW. The permit should request a programme of archaeological I monitoring, investigation and documentation to commence with the excavation of the site. The purpose of the work will be to transfer the information now within the ground to a permanent archival form with an interpretation of the I archaeological profile contained within the study area. • A permanent repository should be identified in the event that portable relics or I artefacts are retrieved during the course of excavation. This can be a local museum or historical society archive. • At the conclusion of the archaeological programme the evidence recorded I should be compiled to a single site record. This should be interpreted in light of the primary archival records for the site.
I • Copies of this record should be made available to Waverley Council and the I NSW State Heritage Office. I
I I I I I I I I I I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 3 I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 I SECTION 2.0 I CONTEXT I I 2.1 Background I This report provides an archaeological assessment of land encompassed by the Oxford Street pedestrian mall at Bondi Junction. The refurbishment of this place may entail the removal or disturbance of archaeological relics. This document has been written to determine if archaeological relics are present within the site, to assess the I impact of excavation on those relics (if any) and to provide information and analysis that will identify mitigation measures including the necessity or otherwise of applying I for a Section 140 Excavation Permit. I 2.2 The Study Area and Subject The subject of this investigation, the "study area", encompasses property within Bondi Junction between Newland Street and Bronte Road, part of Oxford Street formerly Old I South Head Road. It occupies the street area between 133-205 Oxford Street on the southern side and 400-472 Oxford Street on the northern side. It is located within the Parish of Alexandria, County of Cumberland. It is within the Local Government Area of I Waverley Council. This report broadly encompasses the European "heritage" values of the study area I with respect to a possible archaeological resource. Heritage values are understood to mean the appreciation and value placed upon the resource by contemporary society in terms of the criteria expressed in the Surra Charter and formalised by the Heritage Office of NSW. Archaeological evidence, "relics", is defined by the Heritage Act of I NSW to be physical evidence (structures, features, soils, deposits and portable artefacts) that provide evidence of the development of NSW, of non-Aboriginal origin I and are fifty or more years in age. Aboriginal relics are provided protection by the National Parks and Wildlife Act of I NSW. The potential for them is not discussed in this report. I 2.3 Status of the Site The site has not been identified specifically as one of archaeological potential or significance on any register. The archaeological component of the Waverley Heritage I Study noted that little visible evidence of the former tram system remained but there were tram lines in situ buried beneath present road surfaces 1. This report recommended that a series of monitoring briefs be established for road works on Old 2 I South Head Road and other former tram routes • The statutory obligations are discussed in Section 6.3 of this report.
I 1 Peru mal Murphy Wu, Waverley Heritage Study: Volume 5, 11 2 lbid: 28 I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 4 I ------..~--- _. - I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 i I 2.4 Methodology I This report has been prepared in accordance with the principles expressed by the Heritage Office of NSW in its publication "Archaeological Assessment Guidelines". It also draws on the methods and procedures presented in the NSW Heritage Manual, Historical Archaeological Sites Investigation and Conservation Guidelines and the I Burra Charter. There has been no archaeological sampling or investigation of this I place to date. 2.5 Objectives and Tasks I The principal objectives of the work have been to determine the development of the built environment and landscape and, secondly, to identify whether there is an archaeological issue to be addressed prior to and/or during the work proposed for the I study area. The report identifies what may be retained in the ground as an archaeological resource, the significance of that material, the impact of the proposed work on that resource and the most appropriate means of managing that impact. To I this end the following tasks have 'been undertaken: • primary and secondary historical research sufficient to determine the physical I development of the site and its principal associations; • site survey (visual inspection only) and an assessment of physical evidence taking into account those factprs which are likely to have impacted on the I retention of archaeological evidence; I • a determination of the probable archaeological profile; • an evaluation of the cultural significance of this resource with reference to I standard criteria; • an assessment of the impact of the work on sub-surface features
I • identification of management strategies; I • complete documentation of the programme. 2.6 Authorship, Client and Acknowledgements
I This report has been written and researched by Wendy Thorp (Cultural Resources Management) to meet the requirements of Waverley Council and the NSW Heritage Office. It has been commissioned by Tract Consultants. The work draws on both I primary and secondary sources. A complete bibliography is included at Section 7.0 of this report. I I I
I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 5 I I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003
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I Study Area Location (Source: Sydney Water Base Plan 830) I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants I I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 I SECTION 3.0 I HISTORICAL PROFILE I I This section presents evidence derived from both primary and secondary archival sources. It is used to describe the evolution and occupation of the study area and its I principal associations. This narrative provides the basis for assessing what may be retained in the ground as archaeological evidence of that development as well as I providing a context for determining the significance of this resource. The study area lies within land that was formally alienated for European purposes during the first half of the nineteenth century although substantial development did not I occur here until the introduction of the tram system in the early 1880s. Old South Head Road was established as a track to the Signal Station in 1790. It remained a precarious means of travel well into the later part of the nineteenth century until I improvements were made to facilitate the passage of trams. The development of the mall on part of this road in 1979 was the first permanent closure of Old South Head Road since its construction.
I The evidence presented in the following sections generally defines the principal influences on the development of the study area and the periods of its development. I These are: • The Context of Settlement I • Tea Gardens Hotel I • Old South Head Road • Trams I I I I I I I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 6 I ------I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 I 3.1 The Context of Settlement
The development of settlement at Bondi Junction is related to the early nineteenth I century expansion east of the main settlement at Sydney. At Bondi the earliest grants were made in 1809. Two land grants were made in this year to William Roberts and John Hurd. These properties encompassed all of the beach and foreshore area and I Ben Buckler.
North of Old South Head Road the land was part of a massive consolidated grant to I the firm of Cooper and Levey. This had grown from their acquisition in 1827 of the former property of Captain John Piper forfeited to meet his debts. On part of this estate the Cooper family established Woollahra House. The Cooper Levey land was I leased in several lots from the 1850s and several substantial houses were built on or near Old South Head Road although not adjoining the study area.
3 I The estate was subdivided and offered for sale in the 1870s and 1880s . The land immediately to the south of Old South Head Road was subdivided from the 1830s. I __ .?/u'7z. ___ tY. .7?T
I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 7 I I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 I 3.2 Tea Gardens Hotel I The increasing traffic to the east and the establishment of properties in this area provided opportunities for land speculators and businessmen. Several auctions were arranged for land in the district. A Crown Lands auction was held in October 1838 that encompassed the land on the southern side of the Oxford Street mall. This was sold in I two portions, Nos. 275 and 274. These properties encompassed 3 % acres and 4 4 acres and were sold for £58/2/6 and £58 respectively to J.B. Jones • A plan of the I lands sold shows the area to be virtually undeveloped in any ways. By 1844 this land had passed to T.W. Smart a well-known Sydney auctioneer. No 6 improvements had been made to it in the interim • The same was true of the northern I side of the study area. In the early 1850s the northern side of Old South Head Road 7 was still defined only by the old split-rail fence seen on earlier plans . I The sale of land and the gradual development of a community in the area encouraged more development. A hotel was established close to the study area in the 1840s. By 1854 this was known as the Waverley Tea Gardens Hotel. This establishment and its I gardens and other amenities forined the nucleus of the present-day Bondi Junctions. Waverley was created a municipality in 1859 and Woollahra in the following year. The division between the two was drawn in the middle of Old South Head Road. The road I has only recently been fully incorporated into Waverley Municipality. The area was still sparsely occupied at the time of the creation of the municipal identities. An old-time resident writing in the 1920s recalled the southern area of the Oxford Street mall in the I 1860s. He remembered that there were only a very few houses in the district and most 9 of the land to the south of the mall was vacant scrub •
I !n 1876 the four blocks between Denison Street and Bondi Junction were sold as part of the Erith Estate, a subdivision of Smart's land. Sales were very slow; the distance from Sydney and the not entirely reliable public transport made the area less than I suitable as a dormitory suburb 10. Even by 1880 the area was still vacant in most parts. A contemporary recalled that a few houses fronted Oxford Street but from Newland Street to the east was largely vacant until a blacksmith's shop was reached some 11 I distance down the road . The introduction of public transport to Waverley by means of an extension of the tram system in the early 1880s led to a wave of speculative development and building. By I 1889 both sides of Old South Head Road in the area of the present-day mall were lined with buildings 12. Several plans show the encroachment of verandahs and front I walls of buildings into the footpath 13. I
I 4 B. T. Dowd, History of Waverley: 29 5 Plan of Five Portions Applied for by A.Beckett ... at Waverley, 1838: Lands Department Plan 326-690 6 B. T. Dowd: Loc Cit. 7 J. Atkins, A History of Old South Head Road: 10 I 8 J. Atkins: Tea Gardens Waverley: 7 9 ·Plugshell", Memories of Early Waverley: 21 10 B. T. Dowd: Loc Cit. 11 ·Plugshell", Oxford Street in 1880, Memories of Early Waverley: 17 12 NSW Department of Lands, Metropolitan Detail Series Waverley Sheet 2: 1889. ML M Ser 4 811.17/1 I 13 For example, Plan of Remarking Under the Public Roads Act of 1902 Part of Oxford Street MuniCipality of Woollahra 1908. Lands Department Plan 49.1925 Sheet 1 I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 8 I I I~ -\- .' o ----4~ o SHEET N'?2 \Y ~. ~---- .. 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I . fA, I Plan of the mall area between Newland Street (now Newland) and Brisbane Street (now Bronte Road) in 1889 showing the duplicated tram tracks and commercial development bordering the Old South Head R~d I (Source: NSW Department of Lands, Metropolitan Detail Series Waverley Sheet 2: ML M Ser4 811.17/1) I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 I 3.3 Old South Head Road I The development of Old South Head Road was brought about by the establishment of a signal station in 1790 on South Head. The road was probably little more than a rough track running along the ridge from Hyde Park. In 1803 improvements were I made to it at the expense of Surgeon John Harris 14. Despite his efforts it is clear that this thoroughfare remained little more than a track through the scrub. In 1809, while James Meehan was surveying Roberts' grant at Bondi he noted in his field book that a 15 I "so-called road" existed all the way to South Head . After many complaints funds raised by public subscription led to the construction by military labour in 1811 of a proper road, the only road in the colony that was formed I using the efforts of this group. The improvements did not last for long. In 1813 it was reported that the road was being cut up by wagons and other traffic. A turnpike was erected at Woolloomooloo. The tolls collected here were used for the upkeep of the I 16 road . In 1820 the road was remade under the direction of Chief Engineer Druitt. With an easier ride now made possible by this work the drive to South Head became I one of the most popular and fashionable pass-times in Sydney. Another and better road was made to this destination along the foreshores. This became New South Head Road and it eclipsed the older road as the most fashionable means of driving to I South Head. With most traffic passing along New South Head Road complaints were made to the I Government in the 1830s and 1840s that the Old South Head Road was being neglected and was beginning to deteriorate. Plans of the sale of lands on the southern side of the study area in 1838 show the road to be little more than a track, fenced on I the northern side, and with virtually no development anywhere along it in this area 17. In 1848 an Act was passed to create Commissioners of Road Trusts. Eight Trustees 18 were appointed to bring both New and Old South Head Roads up to standard . I Despite these appointments the road remained in a deplorable state. In 1853 when the first horse drawn buses went as far as Paddington one passenger described Old South Head Road. "It is not a road but a bad track along which the bus passed; it I consisted of a series of jumps and bumps, down holes, over stones, roots and tree stumps,,19. I Not surprisingly there were many complaints made about this road to the Government in the 1860s and 1870s. In 1870 Waverley Council claimed that the Road Trust favoured New South Head Road; Old South Head Road was said to be almost I abandoned and impassable2o. One local resident recalled in the 1870s that, ''The roads were dreadful in those days during wet weather being composed of ironstone gravel which was ground to a powder by the traffic. When it rained it became I a quagmire,,21. In other places the wheels became encased in boggy clay22. Even by the 1880s the I 23 road was still said to be largely unformed • Some improvements were made, 14 J. Atkins. A History of Old South Head Road: 3 I 15 Ibid. 16lbid: 4 17 Plan of Five Portions Applied for by A. Becket!.. at Waverley, 1838. Lands Department Plan 326-690 18 J. Atkins, Op Cit: 10 I 19 Quoted in Ibid. 20 J. Atkins, AHlStory of Old South Head Road: 14 21 "Plugshell", Buses Before 1876. Memories of Early Waverley: 27 I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 9 I I I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 beginning with the introduction of gas lighting in 1873, but the real impetus for improvement, development and change came through the extension of the tram I system to the eastern suburbs. With the extension of the tram to Waverley a huge wave of subdivision followed and a I massive increase occurred in the population. New streets were formed and old ones made good. In 1887 it was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald of December 13 that at Waverley, "the total length of streets is only 42 miles. All the main > I thoroughfares are metalled as well as many of the smaller ones. The footpaths in the more populated parts are kerbed and guttered and a very large amount of asphalt has been laid'. I In 1904 the old Road Trust was abandoned and responsibility for the development and maintenance of Old South Head Road was passed to local Councils. Before they would accept this role all Councils concerned required Government to bring the road I to a first class condition24. Eleven years later in 1915 the Mayor of Waverley initiated a large programme of public works largely devoted to the construction and reconditioning of roads, kerbing. and guttering. This work included the asphalting of 5 I Oxford Street2 . Prior to this the Old South Head Road had been disturbed on several occasions to I allow for the introduction of services. Water mains were laid here in 1888, 1895 and 191426 . These are still functioning services. In 1920 electric lighting was brought to the I municipality and this occasioned further disturbances to the street and footpaths. The last great change to Old South Head Road came about as a result of the construction of the Eastern Suburbs Railway in 1979. This brought about changes to bus routes, the creation of a new traffic by-pass at Bondi Junction and the first closure I of Old South Head Road since its construction in the early years of the nineteenth century. A new pedestrian mall was created along two blocks between Newland Street and Bronte Road. In the original plan the mall would have extended along four blocks I to the intersection with Bondi Road. This proposal was abandoned but as Faro notes, "In a planning gesture of monumental artlessness-but which represented the height of I planing fashion of the day-the street was brutally interrupted with the construction of a wall across the city end of the shopping mall in Bondi Junction. Beyond it hermetically sealed off from the surrounding neighbourhood, stretched an expanse of beige paving I dotted with concrete planter boxes, the spatial focus for its singularly defined retail character.. .Stage 11 (the extra two blocks) was never completed,27. I I I I 22 "Plugshell ", Days of the Horse Buses, Memories of Early Waverley: 26 23 "Plugshell", Oxford Street in 1880, Memories of Early Waverley: 17 24 J. Atkins, History of Old South Head Road: 24 . I 25 B.T. DoWd, 00 Cit: 80 26 Correspondence Sydney Water to Tract Consultants 27 Faro and Wotherspoon, Street Seen A History of Oxford Street: 194 I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 10 I I '~~~~~:"~1~:::Q~'~2~~;Y~(~~/~~~~'~~J~~)~:&~A~;~b=====:==_=_=-=~==_=-=-=-=-=====.=b:=.11=1=ln=;C=./,;P=a=l=i:::!:.f.}::=/=2=1=.ff=, ., €J t· 'H?I"It..NtT(-!. r; .·H-'- .. =~j)=O='="=I!=f:'=n='=~)='=(_J=(J ~~'! 1 __ .,!_r/(f ~('=r=a=n=(=f=a=h=s===i I~t:i;:~~ u o/cl5"td/r /(,;-/4'. I I I I rfJl I (t)) I) /~ I Cl C?">e,s ff',l I I I ------ (\) ------~8~2~I.C~5~ro-A-:P-.-~ ,," -r:::3'"v...., / 0,1, -=.~ re> I c. I I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 3.4 Trams I The first tram to operate in Sydney was a horse drawn car that ran along PiU Street connecting the old railway terminus at Redfern to Circular Quay. This was established in 1861. It was closed in 1866 because of problems caused by the tracks with the rest I of the road traffic. A steam-operated tram was opened in 1879 to facilitate the movement of visitors from the rail head at Central to the Great Exhibition. The route ran along Elizabeth Street. Intended to close after the Exhibition its success was so 28 I great that plans were made to extend the system to the rest of the city and suburbs . Horse drawn omni-buses had provided the first regular public transport from Waverley to the City commencing their run from the 1850s. They remained economically viable I until 1889 but the success of the steam trams was so great that they ceased running at that time. The first extension of the tram system to the suburbs was made in 1880 when a section of line was built along Liverpool Street to Old South Head Road to I take passengers to Darlinghurst. In 1881 the line was extended to Woollahra. In 1882 a single track was extended to Waverley. 4700 people travelled along this tram track 30 each daj9. The line was duplicated in 1884 . In 1902 the system was electrified and I trams continued to run to the eastern suburbs until 1960. Early plans of the tram system through the area of the mall show the lines running I along the centre of the street. One plan of 1908 also notes two "stone foundations" at 31 the south-western corner of the present ma1l . I Like most of Sydney, when the line was closed, the tracks were left in place and a new street surface was formed over them sealing them below the surface. I I I I I I I Undated view of Bondi Junction (probably c. 1900) showing the trams in Oxford Street I (Source: ML SPF Sydney Suburbs) 28 D. Keenan, Tramways of Sydney: 7 29 J. Atkins, History of Old South Head Road: 16 I 30 B. T. Dowd, Op Cit: 105 31 Plan of Remarking Under the Public Roads Act of 1902 Part of Oxford Street Municipality of Woollahra 1908 Lands Department Plan 49.1925 Sheet 1 I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 11 I I I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 3.5 Thematic Framework I The preceding sections present a specific analysis of the evidence that is available for describing the development, use and associations of this place. An important component of an historical analysis is the identification of generic themes relevant to I this specific history. The NSW Heritage Office describes this process; "Historical themes help in evaluating comparative significance, as like themes under I like themes can be compared and their rarity or representativeness assessed. Applying the themes also helps to prevent one value from taking precedence over another. Themes ... help in deciding whether historical or social values may be more important to the heritage significance of a building than its aesthetics or research I potentiaf'32. There are two sets of themes used to define the place of an item, local and state I themes. Local themes have been prepared as part of the evaluation of heritage assets prepared for the Waverley Heritage Study. Of the eleven principal historical themes I developed for this study the following have relevance to the study area: • Transport I • Amenityllnfrastructure I • Speculation and Subdivision 3 • Communitl I There are thirty-five state historical themes. Of these, three have particular relevance to this place. These are: I • Townships I • Transport • Utilities I • Commerce I I I I I 32 NSW Heritage Office, Assessing Heritage Significance: 5 33 Perumal Murphy Wu, Waverley Heritage Study Volume 5: 6-8 I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 12 I I January 2003 I Assessment Bondi Junction Mall I SECTION 4.0 THE RESOURCE I I I 4.1 Topography and Environs The site runs between Newland Street and Bronte Road, a space of two blocks. The surface of the mall is level throughout. The space is defined to the north and south by I commercial properties of varying dates. The surface of the mall is completely covered in brick pavers. There are several trees in concrete planters and a variety of street furniture. There is no above-ground evidence of the former street surface, footpaths, I kerbing, guttering or remnants of the tram service . .1 I I I I I I I I I I View of the mall near Bronte Road intersection I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 13 I I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Ma" January 2003 I 4.2 Services I Sydney Water has indicated that there are three active water lines running through the mall that were placed there in 1888, 1895 and 1914. More recent evidence of work for services can be seen in the surface of the mall where there are several grated drain openings. A recent services evaluation has shown that the former footpath areas of I the Old South Head Road within the mall contain numerous service lines for 34 sewerage, electricity, Telstra and Optus and gas as well as unidentified service Iines . Up to five lines also are to be found within the former street area. These services vary I in depth below the present surface from c. 300 - 1000mm. I 4.3 Tram Lines The same non-destructive testing has shown that the wooden sleepers and metal tram I lines of the duplicate system also survive below the paving in the centre of the former road. They are between 100 and 150mm below the surface. No evidence was I revealed of wood-blocking. I 4.4 Road and Footpaths No evidence was revealed in the investigation of this place of the former footpath or kerbing although it could be expected that elements of these will remain below the I present surface. These would likely comprise stone kerbing and asphalting. The historical evidence indicates that the surface of Old South Head Road has undergone several changes. Beginning as a barely formed track, it has been levelled, I widened, covered with ironstone gravel, road metal and asphalt. Although the surface has been disturbed on many occasions for services and track it could still be I anticipated that elements of these earlier services survive within the profile. Lying above the tracks and the services across the entire site is a 100-200mm layer of I fill supporting the pavers. I 4.5 Building Elements The nineteenth century surveys of this place indicate that several verandahs and portions of buildings extended into the area of the public footpath on both sides of Old South Head Road. One early twentieth century survey also noted the presence of two I unidentified sandstone footings at the western end of the mall. The services survey has not identified the presence of any footings within these areas but a strong I possibility remains that some evidence of this type could be included within the profile. I 4.6 Site Formation These are the processes, conditions and uses that are likely to have influenced the I formation of the study area: . I 34 CMP GBG Joint Venture, Plan Non Destructive Testing Utility Location and Pavement Construction Investigation Oxford Street Mall Redevelopment; July 2002. I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 14 I I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 I • The site appears to have largely lain vacant until the later part of the nineteenth I century with the exception of Old South Head Road. • Old South Head Road was formed in 1790 and has been in continuous use since that time. The closure of the mall in 1979 was the first interruption since its I inception. • The road has been widened and improved on several occasions with a variety of I surface preparations used including gravel, road metal, asphalt and the most recent pavers. Footpaths and kerbs were formed in the later part of the nineteenth century. I • Tram tracks were laid on wooden sleepers down the middle of the road in the early 1880s and these were in use until 1960. The tracks and sleepers are in I situ beneath the mall. • Commercial development has lined the sides of this street since the 1880s. Some elements of these buildings may remain within the footpath areas of the I mall. • The introduction of numerous services from the 1880s onwards has contributed I to disturbing the profile both within the street and footpath areas. I 4.7 Archaeological Profile The land encompassed by the Bondi Junction Mall is likely to contain a fragmented I archaeological resource with some or all of the following archaeological elements: • Some evidence of the pre-settlement environment in the form of preserved I micro-flora • Evidence of nineteenth and early twentieth century road surfaces including I formed natural surfaces, gravel, road metal and asphalt. • Possible evidence of kerbing and footpath surfaces. I • Intact evidence of the later nineteenth century tram system including track and sleepers. I e Possible evidence of structural elements from commercial development on both sides of the street. I • Numerous services including water pipes that are of significance as relics because of their age. I Generally, it may be concluded that the site is likely to contain archaeological relics and deposits however, in many cases these will have been fragmented by the impact of excavation for services. It will contain intact relics of the tram system and early I services to the area. I I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 15 I I SUB-SURFACE INVESTIGATION I OF OXFORD STREET MALL BONDI JUNCTION, SYDNEY I PLAN LEGEND I I lOft I SECTION LEGEND I I DO ...... '" It •• .. '" .. ,- - . I!i- - 11 I a I PLAN SCAlE '200 I SCHEMA TIC TRANS VERSE SECTION A - A' AT 134.3Sm. SHOWING TYPICAL LA YOUT OF BURIED UTILITIES AND PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTION. NORTH SOUTH A ClC ClC I A' 20 I FOAHER KERB SOOFACE 500 I o 50' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ o ~~~====~~~~~~~==~~~~~~~~~~~ SUS-BASE I 1000 aa I i 1 • D P '" '" S 1 ) S o~ 1S< l> I:> D' I OXFORD ST MALL CROSS SECTION / SCALE, .50 HORZ. '10 VERT. --~/ !!lill; I PIPE ilW£TERS, TRAM UHES AND PITS NOT TO SCAl.E. CIIIp ... GIB G JOINT VENTURE ... ca ___ .U& ..... /.r.a.a ...... "" NON DBSTBUCTlVE TES'l'ING I 1N'1. .., --..n ...- a I I January 2003 I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall I SECTION 5.0 I CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE I I 5.1 Evaluation Criteria "Heritage significance", "cultural significance" and "cultural value" are all terms used to describe an item's value or importance to our own society. Heritage items are those I which remind us of who we are, how we came to be here, our interests, concerns, tastes and needs at particular times. They are visible landmarks of community development. Their value or significance may be contained in the fabric of the item, its I setting and relationship to other items, the response that the item stimulates in those who value it now and in the historical records which allow us to understand it in its own context. An assessment of what is significant is not static. Significance may increase I as more is learnt about the past and as items become rare, endangered or are found to document and illustrate aspects that have acquired a new recognition of importance. I Determining cultural value is at the basis of all planning for places of historic value. A clear determination of significance permits informed decisions for future planning that will ensure that the expressions of significance are retained, enhanced or at least are I minimally impacted upon. A clear understanding of the nature and degree of significance will determine the parameters for and flexibility of any development. I An analysis of archival evidence provides the context for assessing significance. This analysis is presented in Section 3.0. An assessment of significance is made by applying standard evaluation criteria to what is known of the item's development and I associations. These criteria are divided into two categories: I • Nature of Significance • Comparative Significance I In the revised heritage assessment procedure seven criteria have been identified that may singly or in combinations contribute to the cultural significance of a place. These criteria are: I • An item is important in the course or pattern of NSW's cultural or natural history or of the local area I • An item has strong or special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance to the natural or cultural history of the state I or local area • An item is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high I degree of creative or technical achievement in NSW or the local area I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 16 I 1I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 I • An item has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural I group in NSW or the local area for social, cultural or spiritual reasons • An item has the potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of NSW's cultural or natural history or of the local area I • An item possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of NSW's or the local areas natural or cultural history. I • An item is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of NSW's or the local areas cultural or natural places or environments. I These are the inclusion criteria for demonstrating cultural heritage. There are parallel exclusion criteria that relate to factors that weaken the claim of an item to those I criteria. Comparative significance, or the degree to which an item is significant, is assessed according to its value as a rare or representative element. Items have value if they I meet at least one of the nature of significance criteria and are good examples of either of the comparative criteria. The comparative criteria or grading applied to cultural significance is categorised according to an ascending scale of Intrusive, Little, 35 I Moderate, High and Exceptional • I I I I I I I I I I 35 Heritage Office NSW, Assessing Heritage Significance: 9-11 I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 17 I I ------~ ~----" I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 5.2 Assessment of Significance 5.2.1 An item is important in the course or pattern of NSW's cultural or natural history or of the local area. Old South Head Road is the first and oldest European feature associated with this area. It was a significant factor in the development of permanent settlement. The tram system that was established along it in the later part of the nineteenth century was one I of the first suburban extensions of the Sydney system and was the most critical factor in encouraging subdivision and the development of the present-day suburb. I 5.2.2 An item has the potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of NSW's cultural or natural history or of the local area. I The archaeological resources of the Mall will provide explicit evidence of the tram system although this is unlikely to reveal more than is already known about the technology and relationship of this system to its environs. The archaeological profile is I also likely to produce specific evidence of the evolution of Old South Head Road as a formed thoroughfare. There is also the potential to record evidence of earlier commercial buildings that lined this part of the street. None of this material is rare or I unusual but it will provide specific demonstrations of what is now only known from archival resources. I 5.2.3 Degree of Significance I The archaeological resources of the Bondi Junction Mall will principally provide collaborative evidence and a demonstration of the evolution of Old South Head Road and the introduction of the tram system. This has local cultural significance and is assessed to be of moderate significance. The degree to which the resource is able to I demonstrate this significance is likely to be compromised to some degree by the impact caused by the introduction of services. I 5.3 Statement of Significance Old South Head Road is the first ana oldest European feature associated with this I area. It was a significant factor in the development of permanent settlement. The archaeological profile of the Bondi Junction Mall is likely to provide specific evidence of the development of this road as a formed thoroughfare. There is also the potential I to identify some evidence of earlier commercial development along the edge of the road. I The tram system that was established along it in the later part of the nineteenth century was one of the first suburban extensions of the Sydney system and was the most critical factor in encouraging subdivision and the development of the present-day suburb. The archaeological resources of the Mall will provide explicit evidence of the I tram system although this is unlikely to reveal more than is already known about the technology and relationship of this system to its environs. I None of this material is rare or unusual but it will provide collaborative evidence and specific demonstrations of what is now only known from archival resources although the ability of the resource to realize this significance is likely to be compromised I through the impact of excavation for services. This resource has local cultural significance and is assessed to be of moderate significance. I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 18 I I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mali January 2003 I I I I C\ • I ~ I j- I I I I I I I I I I I View of Bondi Junction in 1925 with cars competing for space on the road with the tram system. I (Source: ML SPF SydneY Suburbs) I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 19 I I I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 I SECTION 6.0 MANAGEMENT I I 6.1 The Work I The mall is to be upgraded keeping the same function but providing contemporary services and a more amenable environment. New paving, furniture and lighting will be I introduced to it. The work will encompass the following: • Introduction of new underground services including gas mains, water lines, I stormwater and electrical cables • General excavation for the laying of slabs and new paving to a depth of 260mm I • Isolated excavation for light pole footings to a depth of 2000mm I The accompanying plan shows the extent of the work. 6.2 Impact Assessment I The excavation required for this work would have a substantiai impact on the archaeological profile. It will remove substantial components and disturb others. The most substantial impact will be on the intact tram system. The general excavation I required for laying slabs and new paving extends below the level of the tracks and I sleepers. These elements will need to be removed to allow for this work. 6.3 Statutory Considerations I 6.3.1 Waverley and Woollahra Joint LEP 1991: Bondi Junction Commercial Centre I There are no specific requirements in the instrument with respect to archaeological provisions. However, the mall is within a Heritage Conservation Area and the section of the LEP relevant to these areas requires that, within a Heritage Conservation Area, I a person shall not, "damage or move a relic, or excavate for the purpose of exposing or removing a relic, within the area" (Section 21 (1) b) except with the consent of Council. Council will not give its consent to a Development Application in these circumstances until an assessment has been made to determine how the proposed I work will impact on the significance of this area (Section 21 (2). As the archaeological resources of the place are components of its significance it is I necessary to determine how the work will impact on these resources. This report fulfils that requirement. I I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 20 I ------I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 I 6.3.2 NSW Heritage Act 11 The principal state statutory requirement with respect to archaeological relics is contained in the NSW Heritage Act. When the potential for the retention of "relics", as these are defined by the Act, is identified for a site a number of legislative requirements are made of its owners/managers who will be responsible for the I disturbance of that archaeological resource. The Act requires that an Excavation Permit be sought from the Heritage Council of NSW through a Section 140 1 application. 1 6.4 Protocols and Mitigation Procedures The impact of the proposed excavation on archaeological relics of this degree of significance may be mitigated by investigation and recording during the excavation. 1 The purpose of the work will be to transfer the information now in the ground to a permanent and stable archival form. I On this basis the implementation of the following strategies is recommended: • An application for a Section 140 Excavation Permit is made to the Heritage I Council of NSW. • The permit should request a programme of archaeological monitoring and 1 recording to commence with the beginning of excavation within the Mall. • A permanent repository should be identified in the event that portable relics or artefacts are retrieved during the course of excavation. This can be a local I museum or historical society archive. • At the conclusion of the archaeological programme the evidence recorded 1 should be compiled to a single site record. This should be interpreted in light of the primary archival records for the site. 1 • Copies of this record should be made available to Waverley Council and the NSW State Heritage Office. 1 1 1 1 I I I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 21 I I . , \~ IMPERIAL BUIlDINGS I \ :;\\ I \' '\ I I ' \\~ I i I I I; . '\ I'I'! t, I ! , i I I \' ~ it \ ~:; I~ ~ I1 I, I I ~ ;~ > i I I> I I ',\ ',t ~ . ~I i . IIii I ~ la I- \'f-1/ I I (~ '~ \';"\ ... ..11111 111'6 ' '.\ .~ 'Ill j J I . '.Tt ! -'I ,- " ..III i i - ie I .. ij 1 I ~ I t: ~ I i Lt, h § § .. ~ I § ~ I i! r ~ I ~ 11. i !~ ~ r i ~ s i i Ii I ~ ~ H ill 11 I ~ 11 ~ I i I I r I i I I I: I I I L I • I ,i I i CONCEPT PLAN - GROUND PLANE i I I I , I \ I I . \ . \ I I i . .. I I I I a I I I I I ~; , l!! ! I, I I : I i: I ! I I ~ : I I I I.. 11 : : ! i It I I ~,. I S ': ~ I h I I : I 11 r 11 I ! I: § ~ , I I I la I " I:I § 3 I I I I • I I I .. I I I I I I I I I i i id: I.. ! I I • ! il w 19 ~ I §!! ; fi I I I .' . I i: I~ i :i I , I !: !: ~ I ;I I... ~ i , I . , I I I 'I -" I, ; 5 i \' b I i I '. I I I ,I I I I I!I , I : j; I . I I I lONCEPT PLAN WITH TREES AND REM:OVABLE MA~KET CANO~I~S I I' __~~~ENO ______~O~X~F~O~R~D~S~T~R~E~ET~M~A~L~L~R~E~D~E~V~E~L~O~P~M~E~N~T I =-- : =- -- -- CONCEPT PLAN --- _2 1 "...-- IlwGNo.202018 LlCOOO_02 001.:08.10.02 l/1li I! IIC'fO.I JUot:Q o '. to .. '0 ------, ... ,I I Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 I SECTION 7.0 I BIBLIOGRAPHY I I 7.1 Books and Reports I Doug Benson and Jocelyn Howell Taken for Granted the Bushland of Sydney and Its Suburbs Kangaroo Press. 1990. I B.T. Dowd The History of the Waverley Municipality 1859 - 1959 I Waverley Municipal Council 1959 Clive Farro and Garry Wotherspoon Street Seen A History of Oxford Street I Melbourne University press. 2000. James Jervis I The History of Woollahra A Record of Events from 1788 to 1960 Municipal Council of Woollahra. 1960 I Portia Fitzsimmons Eastern Suburbs Album Atrand Pty Ltd. 1996. I David Keenan Tramways of Sydney. I Transit Press. 1979. Peru mal Murphy Wu Waverley Heritage Study I Waverley Municipal Council. 1993 Frances Pollon I The Book of Sydney Suburbs Angus and Robertson. 1988. Waverley Municipal Council I th Waverley 125 A Celebration ofWaverley's 125 Year I Waverley Municipal Council. I I I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 22 I I :1 Archaeological Assessment: Bondi Junction Mall January 2003 7.2 Monographs I Jack Atkins History of Old South Head Road Origin of Place and Street Names I Waverley Historical Society Volume 1. NO. Jack Atkins Tea Gardens Hotel 1854-1904 I Waverley Historical Society Journal Volume 3. NO "Plugshell" I Memories of Early Waverley (news articles form pre 1920) Manuscript Volume ML I 7.3 Maps and Plans Plan of Five Portions Applied for by A Becket County of Cumberland Parish of I Alexandria at Waverley 1838 NSW Lands Department Plan 326-690 I NSW Department of Lands Metropolitan Detail Series Waverley Sheet 2 (1889) I ML M Ser4 811.17/1 Plan of Remarking Under the Public Roads Act of 1902 Part of Oxford Street Municipality of Woollahra 1908 I Lands Department Plan 49.1925 Sheet 1 Surveyor T. Sloman Oxford Street North Side Woollahra 1888, revised 1891 I Sydney Water Archives PWD 341 1544 Surveyor T, Sloman I Oxford Street South Side Waverley 1888, revised 1892 Sydney Water Archives PWD 961 1544 I 7.4 Images I Bondi Junction Shopping Centre 1925 ML SPF Sydney Suburbs- Bondi Junction I Bondi Junction Undated ML SPF Sydney Suburbs Bondi Junction I I I I Cultural Resources Management for Tract Consultants Page 23 I