Minister Topples 70-Metre Tower

The Age 16/05/2002 Minister topples 70-metre tower RoyceMillar The president of the Queen Victoria Market Retail Traders Planning Minister Mary Dela- Association, Michael Presser, hunty has refused to approve a also welcomed the decision. 70-metre residential tower that "I'm hoping that the developers would have overshadowed the will come back with something Queen Victoria Market. more appropriate," he said. "This Developer Australian Super is a sensitive area and requires Developments had proposed to sensitive handling." build a $60 million tower on the Carlton Residents Association corner of Victoria and Leicester president Sue Chambers said Streets, the site of the former Victoria Street should be seen as CUB headquarters. a visual boundary between The proposal would have South Carlton and the CBD. been twice the recommended ASD is the development arm height limit under the City of of construction industry super- Melbourne planning scheme. annuation fund Cbus. It would In a letter to the developers, not comment on the refusal. Ms Delahunty said the tower Cbus and ASD are believed to be would overshadow important working with construction group pedestrian areas. Multiplex on a new nine-level The project, designed by office building for the site. architects Robert Peck von Har- The Victorian Civil and Admin- tel Trethowan, drew opposition istrative Tribunal has upheld from market traders, Carlton Melbourne City Council's rejec- residents and the Melbourne tion of a plan to redevelop the City Council. MCG Hotel in Wellington Parade, The council's planning com- East Melbourne. PCH Mel- mittee chairwoman, Catherine bourne planned to demolish the Ng, welcomed the decision. "We hotel's rear and build 65 apart- have to preserve some of these ments and a six-level car park. important places in our city," she VCAT found that it was too high, said. "We can't have people too bulky, and detrimental to shopping in the dark." nearby heritage buildings. The Melbourne Times 02/06/2004 news Footy pub fans a tower of strength est heritage authority, the Heritage Council, decide whether the building was significant to the state. The group argues that the pub's role as a pre- and post-match meeting point for footballers, who played games in the paddock between the MCG and Wellington Parade during the 1850s, makes it an important social and historical link to the earliest days of the game. The pub, previ- ously known as the Parade Hotel, is also believed to be the place where the earliest set of football rules was drafted. The moves come as Thakral Holdings, which owns the pub and the neighbouring Hilton Hotel, finalises its plans for a major development of the site. By SIMON KIDD Thakral development director - Dan RESIDENTS have vowed to protect an East Kolomanski said the group intended to demolish the newer rear sections of the pub to build a Melbourne hotel — thought to have had a major role in the early development of Aussie Rules — 40-metre tower. The company respected the his- from the threat of development. torical importance of the original front portion East Melbourne Residents Group (EMRG) of the hotel, which it would refurbish and con- president Margaret Wood said the group would tinue to operate as a hospitality venue. continue its efforts to have the MCG Hotel, on However, Ms Wood said the tower would Wellington Street, added to the state's heritage overwhelm the pub and detract from its historic register. importance. Heritage Victoria last month turned down the Melbourne City Council and the appeals tri- group's bid for the building to be recommended bunal rejected development plans for the site in for inclusion on the register. Ms Wood said the 2002. Mr Kolomanski conceded that the new plans still exceeded council height limits, but The Age 24/10/2004 Footy hotel' fights for heritage listing Nassim Khadem provide a report on why the MCG UrbanAffairs Hotel is of historical, cultural and social significance. The group is It is the most important docu- hoping that the Heritage Council ment in the history of Australian will revisit its decision not to sport, for some as valuable as a include the hotel on the state biblical record. heritage register. In 1859, almost 150 years "Its most significant feature is ago, a group of cricket lovers that it was where the codification reportedly met in a pub and of the game (Australian rules devised the first rules for a game football) took place," Mr Grow we now know and love as says. "It's really unusual to find a "Aussie rules" football. known significant site where the The pub was Parade Hotel, guys actually got together and now called the MCG Hotel, on wrote the rules." Wellington Parade in East Mel- Developer, Thakral Holdings bourne. And the group included Limited, also made submissions the founder of Australian rules to the Heritage Council, arguing football, Tom Wills. that the hotel itself does not have The hotel was also where two significant heritage value. of our most treasured sporting Thakral's proposal for a clubs — Victoria's first football 14-storey (46 metres) apartment club, the Melbourne Football building at the site of the hotel Club, and the East Melbourne has been rejected by Melbourne Cricket Club — were founded City Council for being too high. and where its players used to Thakral had wanted to build drink before and after a game. 89 apartments and has now These submissions were put appealed the matter to VCAT. before the Heritage Council on Melbourne City Council's Friday afternoon by author and planning spokeswoman Cath- football historian Robin Grow. erine Ng said council last week The submissions are based on agreed on introducing a newspaper reports at the time, 24-metre height limit on any but the historical accuracy of the developments in Wellington Par- submissions was disputed at the ade. hearing. The Heritage Council is likely Mr Grow was commissioned to make its decision late this by the East Melbourne Group to week. The Age 11/07/2004 Locals don't want a bar of the new-look MCG Hotel NassimKhadem,RoyceMillar Under the proposed develop- style places around. Do we really Margaret Wood, resident and ment, the two-storey hotel would need snazzy places? If the member of the East Melbourne A proposal for a 14-storey apart- still trade as a licensed venue, atmosphere changes too much, Group, said she opposed the ment building at the site of the but the front would be refur- people won't like it." development because it was too MCG Hotel in East Melbourne bished, with a new restaurant on David Kendall, 64, said too high and would compromise the has angered residents and its the first floor. many of Melbourne's icons were historic character of the hotel. football-mad patrons. Part of the Hilton Hotel's being destroyed because of new "We are very sensitive about any- The developer, Thakral Hold- vehicle entry/ exit would be con- developments. "The MCG Hotel one tampering with heritage ings Limited, last month lodged verted to 117 parking spaces. is a cultural icon," he said. "It's buildings," she said. an application with Melbourne Yesterday the hotel was filled the classic meeting place for A similar proposal designed City Council to partly demolish with Richmond and Essendon footy fans." by architects Bates Smart in the rear of the 150-year-old hotel supporters, some of whom have He said although some of 2001, was rejected by the Victor- maximum recommended in the ABOVELEFT:TheMCG and replace it with 89 apart- been performing the same ritual Melbourne's greatest architec- ian Civil and Administrative Tri- planning scheme. Hotelyesterday.ABOVE: ments. of meeting for pre-match beers ture dated back to the 19th cen- bunal on height and design Melbourne City Council's Thearchitect'sdrawingof Formerly known as Parade with their mates over the past 30 tury, the city was in danger of grounds. planning spokeswoman Cath- theproposal. Hotel, the MCG Hotel is a popu- years. becoming too modernised. While Thakral's proposal erine Ng said she had not yet lar meeting spot for football and Pat Hooper, 65, is one of the "Places like this are of great cul- would be slightly lower at 14 seen the planning application, cricket fans on match days. It sits regulars who is against renovat- tural value and need to be storeys (46 metres), VCAT had but that the council would look opposite Jolimont Station, and ing the hotel. reserved at all costs. Otherwise advised in its May 2002 decision into it. adjacent to the Hilton Hotel on "I like it just the way it is," he we lose our soul and our his- that the height of the building be The developer was not avail- Wellington Parade. said. "Let's keep a few of the old- tory," he said. no more than 24 metres — the able for comment. Melbourne Times 24/11/2004 Bid to protect MCG pub fails because of 19th-century renovations By SIMON KIDD Their main argument was its role in written in May 1859, the hotel was There was little doubt that the rules front portion of the hotel building, are THE state's heritage umpire has called the development of Australian Rules being rebuilt in the period 1859-1863. were drafted on the site, but council now before the Victorian Civil and "play on" over an appeal to protect a footy. Early administrators are The material that has been presented rates records clearly showed the build- Administrative Tribunal after threatened East Melbourne pub thought to have drafted the rules at to us shows that the fabric that sur- ing had changed from wood to brick, Melbourne City Council failed to rule linked with the earliest days of the pub during the 1850s, when it was vives today is not associated with the she said.

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