I I I I I HOMEBUSH BAY PROJECT REVIEW OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA AND STUDIES RELATING TO I HOMEBUSH BAY I :1 I A Report Prepared for the Property Services Group July 1993 WENDY THORP I 1I SECTION 1.0 I CONTEXT OF THE INVESTIGATION I 1.1 Framework of the Study I This investigation has been undertaken on behalf of the Property Services Group who are the managers for the study area: It is intended to more closely define the I archaeological resources contained within that area for the purpose of devising specific management strategies in the event of those site's redevelopment. The strategies are to be commensurate with the significance of the"­ I resources and fulfill legislative and conservation I requirements. 1.2 Location and Parameters of the Investigation I This investigation is concerned with land surrounding Homebush Bay, in total, approximately 760 hectares. This land has been used throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries for agricultural and industrial uses, owned and I managed both privately and by the State Government. These uses have resulted in an extensive archaeological I resource both above and below ground. Some above ground aspects have been removed after extensive investigation, evaluation. and recording programmes. Other features have been retained and are no\<] being reviewed for future uses I and interpretation possibilities. ' a@i· The below ground/sites, features or relics have generally I been identified in the literature for ~he-sites'as a "potential archaeological resource". It is the intention of this study, where possible, to specifically identify those potential areas or relics and recommend strategies for their management. This report does not address Aboriginal archaeological I investigation and resources. I 1.3 Objectives and Tasks of-the Study This investigation~addressed the non-specific "potential archaeological resource" contained I within the sites of the former State Brickyards and Abattoirs. Its primary objectives have been to consolidate the existing work for these sites and identify strategies that will make possible the future identification and management of this resource. I I To achieve these objectives the following tasks have been I undertaken: * a review and overview of all existing documentation for I the study area * the identification of the~ sites, features or relics that have been nominated as a potential archaeological I resource * an evaluation of the identification criteria or I selection process used to nominate these sites * an evaluation of the extent of the potential resource I and its significance * the definition of managements strategies for the sites and their immediate environs including specific I literature surveys that may assist in more specifically locating these sites. I 1.4 Methodology All of the principal documents for the site including the I Homebush Bay Conservation study (Fox and Associates for the Department of Planning 1986) have been reviewed for this work. A full list is included in the bibliography to I this report (Section 6.1). I 1.5 Authorship and Acknowledgements This report has been prepared by Wendy Thorp in I association with Schwager Brooks and Partners Pty Ltd. I I I I I I I I I I SECTION 2.0 I THE CONSERVATION FRAMEWORK: OVER-VIEW OF LITERATURE I 2.1 Macro and Micro Views of the study Area and Its ~I Environs Between 1985 and 1990 five major studies have investigated, analysed, recorded and provided direction I for the environmental resources contained within the Homebush Bay area. Theses studies commenced with the macro view afforded by consideration of the area within the Parramatta River system. They concluded with increasingly I micro analysis whereby individual buildings and relics have been investigated, analaysed and recorded on all three sites that generally encompass this area. These are I the former State Brickyards, State Abattoirs and Newington Arms Depot (the latter is not included in this discussion; it is the subject of a report by other consultants). I The principal objectives of all the studies have been to identify what is important about the area, site, place or relic under consideration, how it contributed to cultural I heritage and by what means it was most appropriate to manage that embodiment of significance. Some reports contain work that has derived from the findings or)( I recommendations of this analysis. A precis of each report is contained in the following sections. I I I 2.2 Parramatta River Heritage Study 1985 The Industrial Archaeology of the Newton Naval Armament Depot and Homebush state Abattoirs and Other I Sites in the Homebush Bay Region 1985 The Heritage Study was prepared by Fox and Associates in 1985 on behalf of the NSW Department of Environment and I Planning. The report addressed all areas of environmental heritage including visual catchments, natural systems, the built environment, aboriginal and historical archaeology. Its intention was to identify specific sites and/or areas I of particular merit that either were significant to understanding and interpreting the role of the river in New South Wales history and/or were of outstanding I individual merit for reasons that included architectural or aesthetic quality, historical rarity or scientific contributions. In addition to conservation the report also I considered the issues of administration and management, recreation and open space. ~ Homebush Bay a~was identified in this report to be I an area of significance and deserving of more detailed attention than provided for ~ the over-view~~f the entire river system. The brickl~~Jfs and abattoir~$we}e I highlighted to be of particular importance. The report on the industrial archaeology of the sites was I prepared by Godden and Associates to compliment and contribute to the heritage study. It considered the significance of the sites and provided a description, analysis and assessment of their significance. It I recommended specific management strategies that were incorporated into the heritage study. I I I I I I I I I I 1 2.3 Homebush Bay Conservation study 1986 This report prepared by Fox and Associates in 1986 on behalf of the NSW Department of Environment and Planning I1 was the result of recommendations contained in the earlier Parramatta River Heritage Study. These underlined the need for more detailed evaluations of specific areas along and 1 within the river system. This a comprehensive heritage evaluation and formed the basis for the schedule of the Draft REP. It includes I extensive and detailed historical evidence and analysis and addresses all major components of the environmental heritage including natural systems, aboriginal land use and archaeological sites and historical land use and I sites, both 'above and below ground. It principally addresses the Homebush Abattoirs site and Newington Arms Deport (the is latter not included in the current I discussion) . The State Brickyards did not come within the parameters of I this report's Brief although it did recognize that, "The state Brickworks is amongst the oldest and most important brickworks in the state. It I has a range of equipment and employs a range of technologies unequalled in industrial I archaeological value. "The site should be fully investigated and a report Cin its history and technology commissioned. A conservation policy should be I written for the brickworks before any decision concerning its future is contemplated." (Section 5.3.3, Section 6.3.4) This is the first study that ~~~~~r~y refers to a potential archaeological resource or, specifically, one of "str6ng archaeological research potential" (Section 5.2.2) for the Homebush Estate. This potential resource was primarily recognized to relate to the development and occupation of the site by D'Arcy Wentworth and his family. It is also the first report to identify the two sites that might possibly contain this evidence. The above ground archaeological resource of the abattoir was recognized to relate almost entirely to the working complex of an historically and technologically important industrial complex. Management of the potential sub-surface archaeological resource was considered best achieved by means of an archaeological watching or monitoring brief in either possible location (Section 6.2.4) and elsewhere on the estate (see Section':~ this report). I :1I 2.4 Draft Conservation Plan, state Brickworks and state I Abattoirs, c.1989 This study was prepared by Don Godden and Associates on t_~ behalf of the Public Works Department of NSW. It Rotes ~~~ I that it was commissioned as a response to the requirements of the NSW Heritage Act which requires the responsible management of "relics" where these have been identified; I the 1986 Fox and Associates study provided that identification. I This study was designed to determine the precise significance of the two sites, their individual components and the means by which that significance could be retained . in the event of redevelopment. The first ~~~ I assessments of significance are presented in this report. The work contains a detailed description and analysis of I the sites, their plant and equipment and the technology and processes used at both. The brickworks and abattoirs were still in operation at the time of this study. I The recommendations arising from this work included detailed archival recording of the equipment and processes and the preparation of conservation plans for those I buildings, structures and relics which were to be retained; these features were specifically nominated in the report ~Mol'l ... ±I'l.'--'&R4s a::-9f>~. Suggestions a3:'e- ~ I made for future re-use options. The report emphasizes the importance of the sites as intact, functional and historically important industrial complexes of the I twentieth century. Two sites of "possible archaeological significance" at the brickworks (Section 3.3.3) were identified; these were I recommended for immediate investigation (see Section.b:2 this report).