Recommendation of the Executive Director and assessment of cultural heritage significance under Part 3, Division 3 of the Heritage Act 2017

Name Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Location 8 Gordon Street, Elsternwick, City of Glen Eira Hermes Number 166052 Heritage Overlay Number HO156 (proposed)

Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea, December 2018

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION TO THE HERITAGE COUNCIL: • That the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea NOT be included in the Victorian Heritage Register under Section 37(1)(b) of the Heritage Act 2017.

STEVEN AVERY Executive Director Recommendation Date: 9 May 2019 Advertising Period: 20 May 2019 – 18 July 2019

This recommendation report has been issued by the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria under s.37 of the Heritage Act 2017. It has not been considered by the Heritage Council of Victoria.

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 1 EXTENT OF NOMINATION

Date that the nomination was accepted by the Executive Director 14 September 2018

Written extent of nomination The entire site known as 8 Gordon Street, Elsternwick as indicated on the plan below, indicated in red, being the entire site being bound by Gordon Street, the Sandringham railway line, 2 Gordon Street and Rippon Lea estate.

Nomination extent diagram

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 2 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RESPONSE SUMMARY It is the view of the Executive Director that this place should not be included in the Victorian Heritage Register for the reasons outlined in this report.

The information presented in this report demonstrates that the ABC Studios may be of potential local significance, rather than state level significance. A proposed amendment to the Planning Scheme of the City of Glen Eira to apply a heritage overlay to the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea is currently being considered.

BACKGROUND WHAT IS AT THE PLACE? The Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea are located on a parcel of land bounded by the Sandringham railway line to the west, Rippon Lea Estate to the north and Gordon Street to the east. A recently constructed unit block is located to the south. Entrance is via two driveways from Gordon Street. A carpark with mature trees and other plantings is located at the front of the main building. The brick building in the southern corner was the first building constructed on the site. The main building faces Gordon Street with a curtain wall of aluminium frames and red infill panels to the front façade. An addition in a similar style is located at the north end of this building and a four storey addition is located in the north-western corner of the place. The broadcast tower is located above the scenery workshop, adjacent to the railway line. Internally the entrance opens into a reception area with corridors leading to a staff canteen, dressing rooms and studios. The two main studios (studios 31 and 32) are centrally located in the building. They are double height with walls lined with hessian and timber battening. Numerous panels with numbered electrical outlets hang from the ceiling, but all lighting and other equipment has been removed. The rear of each studio opens into the scenery walkway where props were moved from the workshop to the studios. This in turn opens into the scenery workshop which has a saw tooth roof. The upper floors contained production rooms, offices and the costume department. Some fixtures survive but all equipment and furnishings have been removed.

What is the history of the place? The Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea are located on land which was formerly part of Rippon Lea Estate. In 1954, the land was acquired from the Estate by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for the intention of constructing a television studio which was to open in time for the broadcasting of the 1956 Olympic Games. The first regular television transmission in Australia began on 16 September 1956 by TCN9, Sydney. The first ABC broadcast in Australia took place on 5 November 1956 in Sydney, followed by the first ABC broadcast in Victoria on 19 November 1956. At the time of the Olympic Games, the Ripponlea site was still under construction broadcasts were made from temporary locations around Melbourne and from an outside broadcast (OB) van. The second stage of the ABC studios was formally opened on 21 May 1958 and comprised two studios (including Studio 31 where most well-known programs were produced), production areas, a scenery workshop and offices. Stages Three and Four were constructed in 1961 and 1968 respectively and comprised additional office space. Major changes to allow for colour TV were made to the Ripponlea site in 1975 and there was also expansion to multiple sites across Melbourne at this time. In the 1990s a new ABC facility was constructed at Southbank. This initially housed ABC Radio and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra but was later expanded to include Radio Australia and ABC TV, thereby consolidating Melbourne-based staff and operations on a single site. This occurred on 4 May 2017 when the new ABC premises were officially opened at Southbank.

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 3 RECOMMENDATION REASONS

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDING INCLUSION IN THE VICTORIAN HERITAGE REGISTER [s.40] Following is the Executive Director's assessment of the place against the tests set out in The Victorian Heritage Register Criteria and Thresholds Guidelines (2014).

CRITERION A Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria’s cultural history.

STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION A The place/object has a CLEAR ASSOCIATION with an event, phase, period, process, function, movement, custom or way of life in Victoria’s cultural history. Plus The association of the place/object to the event, phase, etc IS EVIDENT in the physical fabric of the place/object and/or in documentary resources or oral history. Plus The EVENT, PHASE, etc is of HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE, having made a strong or influential contribution to Victoria.

Executive Director’s Response The Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea have a clear association with the development of television in Victoria which has had an impact on Victorian and Australian culture and identity. Opened in 1956 as one of the first television stations in Victoria, the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea has contributed to this.

The ABC relocated from the Ripponlea site to Southbank in 2017. All equipment associated with filming and producing television programs was removed from Ripponlea at this time. The association between the site and the process of television production remains somewhat evident in the physical fabric of the place through the broadcasting tower and the layout and relationships between the creative, functional and administrative areas of the place.

Criterion A is likely to be satisfied.

STEP 2: STATE LEVEL SIGNIFICANCE TEST FOR CRITERION A The place/object allows the clear association with the event, phase etc. of historical importance to be UNDERSTOOD BETTER THAN MOST OTHER PLACES OR OBJECTS IN VICTORIA WITH SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME ASSOCIATION.

Executive Director’s Response As the location of the first purpose built ABC television studio in Victoria, the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea has played an important role in the development of television in Victoria.

There is a strong association between Victorians (and Australians more broadly) and the ABC as an entity. Victorians have relied on the ABC for news and weather reporting as well as entertainment since its first broadcast in 1956. Television programs such as Bellbird, Adventure Island, Countdown and Seachange have had an impact on the cultural identity and social history of Victoria.

While the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea are a physical and tangible reminder of the ABC, the connection between Victorians and the ABC is more closely related to the concept of the ABC as the nation’s

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 4 broadcaster (fondly referred to as ‘Aunty’), and to the programs themselves which are viewed primarily in homes and other venues away from the studio.

The buildings and the broadcast tower survive at the ABC Studios. However, all equipment associated with filming and producing television programs, tools and equipment for making stage sets, the sets themselves and props and costumes were removed from the Ripponlea site when the ABC relocated to Southbank in 2017. The association with the development of television in Victoria is now difficult to understand at the place. Television production and broadcasting in Victoria can now be understood better at the ABC Studios (Southbank), and at Network 10 (South Yarra), and Channel Nine and Channel Seven (Docklands), and through the ABC archives and archival footage.

Criterion A is not likely to be satisfied at the State level.

CRITERION B Possession of uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of Victoria’s cultural history.

STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION B The place/object has a clear ASSOCIATION with an event, phase, period, process, function, movement, custom or way of life of importance in Victoria’s cultural history. Plus The association of the place/object to the event, phase, etc IS EVIDENT in the physical fabric of the place/object and/or in documentary resources or oral history. Plus The place/object is RARE OR UNCOMMON, being one of a small number of places/objects remaining that demonstrates the important event, phase etc. OR The place/object is RARE OR UNCOMMON, containing unusual features of note that were not widely replicated OR The existence of the class of place/object that demonstrates the important event, phase etc is ENDANGERED to the point of rarity due to threats and pressures on such places/objects.

Executive Director’s Response The Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea have a clear association with the early development of television broadcasting in Victoria. Television broadcasting studios by definition are rare or uncommon as few are required. The consideration of the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea as a television studio is more appropriately considered under Criterion D.

Criterion B is not likely to be satisfied.

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 5 CRITERION C Potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Victoria’s cultural history.

STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION C The: • visible physical fabric; &/or • documentary evidence; &/or • oral history, relating to the place/object indicates a likelihood that the place/object contains PHYSICAL EVIDENCE of historical interest that is NOT CURRENTLY VISIBLE OR UNDERSTOOD. Plus From what we know of the place/object, the physical evidence is likely to be of an INTEGRITY and/or CONDITION that it COULD YIELD INFORMATION through detailed investigation.

Executive Director’s Response The Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea are unlikely to contain physical evidence of historical interest that is not currently visible or understood. The design, function and construction of the buildings and the broadcasting tower is well understood. Technology and equipment was updated as required, and there was little early surviving equipment at the place prior to its closure. All other elements such as technical equipment, scenery, props and costumes were removed from the place prior to its closure in 2017. The integrity of the place has been compromised through the removal of these elements and it is no longer of a condition that could yield information through detailed investigation.

Criterion C is not likely to be satisfied.

CRITERION D Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural places and objects.

STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION D The place/object is one of a CLASS of places/objects that has a clear ASSOCIATION with an event, phase, period, process, function, movement, important person(s), custom or way of life in Victoria’s history. Plus The EVENT, PHASE, etc is of HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE, having made a strong or influential contribution to Victoria. Plus The principal characteristics of the class are EVIDENT in the physical fabric of the place/object.

Executive Director’s Response The Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea are in the class of ‘television studios’. This class of place has an association with the production of a medium which has had an impact on, and responded to, Victorian (and Australian) culture and identity. Although all technical equipment, workshop tools and equipment, scenery, props and costumes are no longer evident at the place, some of the principal characteristics of the class are evident at the place through the broadcasting tower and the spatial arrangement of creative, technical, work and administrative areas.

Criterion D is likely to be satisfied.

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 6 STEP 2: STATE LEVEL SIGNIFICANCE TEST CRITERION D The place/object is a NOTABLE EXAMPLE of the class in Victoria (refer to Reference Tool D).

Executive Director’s Response For a place to be notable in its class, it is required to be fine, highly intact, influential or pivotal.

The Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea do not contain a larger number or range of characteristics than is typical of the class. There are also no characteristics that are of a higher quality than is typical of the class. Although the buildings survive, the internal elements which defined the place as a television studio, including technical equipment, props, scenery and costumes have been removed. The architectural design of the Stage Two building references post-war International style and is of interest, but this style was commonly used for the design of factories, government, educational and commercial buildings during this period. There are comparable buildings in the VHR (refer to Comparisons section of this recommendation). The place is not highly intact and it did not influence the design or construction of subsequent television stations.

Criterion D is not likely to be satisfied at the State level.

CRITERION E Importance in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics.

STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION E The PHYSICAL FABRIC of the place/object clearly exhibits particular aesthetic characteristics.

Executive Director’s Response The curtain wall to the main (eastern) elevation of the Stage Two (1958) building demonstrates aesthetic characteristic through its references to post-war International style. To a lesser degree, this style is also evident through the Stage Four (1965) building in the north-western corner of the place. The broadcast tower is a landmark within the local landscape.

Criterion E is likely to be satisfied.

STEP 2: STATE LEVEL SIGNIFICANCE TEST FOR CRITERION E The aesthetic characteristics are APPRECIATED OR VALUED by the wider community or an appropriately- related discipline as evidenced, for example, by: • critical recognition of the aesthetic characteristics of the place/object within a relevant art, design, architectural or related discipline as an outstanding example within Victoria; or • wide public acknowledgement of exceptional merit in Victoria in medium such as songs, poetry, literature, painting, sculpture, publications, print media etc.

Executive Director’s Response The aesthetic characteristics of the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea may be appreciated by some community members, particularly in the surrounding locations, for whom the broadcast tower is a local landmark. However there has been no critical recognition or wide public acknowledgement of exceptional merit of the place in Victoria.

Criterion E is not likely to be satisfied at the State level.

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 7 CRITERION F Importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period.

STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION F The place/object contains PHYSICAL EVIDENCE that clearly demonstrates creative or technical ACHIEVEMENT for the time in which it was created. Plus The physical evidence demonstrates a HIGH DEGREE OF INTEGRITY.

Executive Director’s Response The Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea contain no physical evidence that clearly demonstrates creative or technical achievement for the time in which it was created. All technological equipment was regularly updated and has now been removed from the site. There is little remaining at the site which demonstrates the development of technological design and innovation in the television industry or demonstrates changing technology in television production and broadcasting from film to video to digital broadcasting, between 1956 and 2017.

Criterion F is not likely to be satisfied.

CRITERION G Strong or special association with a particular present-day community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.

STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION G Evidence exists of a community or cultural group. (A community or cultural group is a group of people who share a common interest, including an experience, purpose, belief system, culture, ethnicity or values.) Plus Evidence exists of a strong attachment between the COMMUNITY OR CULTURAL GROUP and the place/object in the present day context. Plus Evidence exists of a time depth to that attachment.

Executive Director’s Response There are two broad community or cultural groups which may be considered to have an attachment with the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea. Both are sizeable (although largely unstructured) and both share a common interest.

1. Past staff (actors, producers, set and costume designers and makers, administrative and managerial staff) The association with the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea varies within this group. Most had a long term attachment with the place as evidenced by regular workplace interaction. For permanent staff members or actors associated with long term productions, who worked at the place daily over an extended period, the association is strong. For actors who worked at the site sporadically the association may be equally strong, but less regular. The attachment is strong and many of the people in this group spent the formative parts of their careers at the place. Interviews with former staff and actors demonstrate a strong and collective affection for the place.

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 8 Similar attachments are evident between other workplaces and the long term, sometimes multi- generational staff who worked there including the Ford Motor Company Complex, Geelong (VHR H2305) and Morwell Power Station and Briquette Factory (VHR H2377). Like the ABC Studios, Ripponlea, these places have now closed and any attachment between the places and the groups is no longer ‘present day’.

2. Individuals and groups with an attachment to the creative output (programs) or with the ABC more generally. This group is unstructured and for the most part unconnected. Individuals have a shared and generational interest in the creative output (programs) of the place. The program Countdown was viewed by people across Australia who may have felt some connection or association through the music experience. However, most of those who viewed Countdown had no direct physical experience of the ABC Studios themselves. Apart from those in the studio audience, and the fans who congregated at the studios to glimpse the bands as they arrived, the association between the individuals who watched Countdown and the ABC Studios themselves was limited. Countdown is no longer produced and the association now comes from the shared memories of viewing Countdown or through viewing past episodes.

The same can be said of the association between the place and viewers of many other programs the ABC produced. Unlike places such as Festival Hall (VHR H2386) and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (VHR H1928) where the primary experience occurs at the place, the social significance of the ABC is more strongly associated with the ABC as an institution rather than the ABC as a physical place. The association is also diverse. Various groups have associations with particular ABC programming, such as Radio National, Triple J, ABC TV or the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. On the available evidence, any associations between groups and the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea ceased with its closure in 2017 and there is no present day strong attachment between the place and the groups.

Criterion G is not likely to be satisfied.

CRITERION H Special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance in Victoria’s history.

STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION H The place/object has a DIRECT ASSOCIATION with a person or group of persons who have made a strong or influential CONTRIBUTION to the course of Victoria’s history. Plus The ASSOCIATION of the place/object to the person(s) IS EVIDENT in the physical fabric of the place/object and/or in documentary resources and/or oral history. Plus The ASSOCIATION: • directly relates to ACHIEVEMENTS of the person(s) at, or relating to, the place/object; or • relates to an enduring and/or close INTERACTION between the person(s) and the place/object.

Executive Director’s Response Many actors, producers and presenters have a direct association with the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea. As a group, they have made a contribution to Victoria (and Australia’s) cultural and social life, but this cannot be said to be a particularly strong or influential contribution to the course of Victorian’s history. Some programs produced by the ABC (and individuals associated with their production) have contributed to

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 9 the course of Victoria’s history but the contribution lies with the programs themselves, not with the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea.

With the removal of all equipment from the place, the association between this group of persons and the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea has been substantially reduced.

Criterion H is not likely to be satisfied.

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 10 ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE [s.40] The Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea are a good example of mid-century purpose built television studios. The buildings, grounds and broadcast tower survive intact although all filming, production and broadcasting equipment, props, stage sets and costumes have been removed. A proposed amendment to the Planning Scheme of the City of Glen Eira to apply a heritage overlay to the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea suggests that the place may be of potential local significance.

RELEVANT INFORMATION Local Government Authority City of Glen Eira Heritage Overlay HO156 – proposed (The City of Glen Eira have exhibited an amendment to the Planning Scheme to apply a Heritage Overlay to the place). Other Overlays No Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register No Other Names Gordon Street Studios ABC Ripponlea The Dream Factory

HISTORY The Land The land on which the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea is located was formerly part of Rippon Lea Estate. In 1954, a portion of land was acquired from the Estate by the ABC with the intention of constructing a television studio in time for the broadcasting of the 1956 Olympic Games. Nearly ten years later, the ABC again approached the Jones family to inform them that the Federal Government was intending to compulsorily acquire a further 1.7 hectares of the Rippon Lea grounds including the lake area, lookout tower, waterfall and grotto. It was this acquisition proposal that prompted the Jones family to approach the National Trust with the intention of leaving Rippon Lea to the nation. Two weeks later, the Government publicly announced their intention which prompted a mass rally and the beginning of protracted negotiations between Louisa Jones and the Trust, and State and Federal governments. Louisa Jones died in 1972 and in March 1974, Rippon Lea and all its grounds passed to the National Trust. The ABC withdrew their compulsory acquisition proposal.

Television in Australia In 1954 a Royal Commission into Television recommended that television services in Australia should be introduced gradually, beginning with an ABC station and two commercial stations in Sydney and Melbourne. On 16 September 1956, TCN9 Sydney began the first regular television transmission in Australia. This had been preceded by test transmissions in July of the same year from TCN9 Sydney and HSV7 Melbourne and earlier experimental transmissions in 1929.

In Victoria, GTV9 Melbourne conducted its first program transmission on 27 September 1956 and started daily test pattern transmissions from 1 October 1956. The first regular transmission in Victoria was made by HSV7 Melbourne, beginning on 4 November 1956 from a converted warehouse in Dorcas Street, South Melbourne. It was owned by newspaper publisher the Herald and Weekly Times who had gained a licence to operate one of the two commercial licences available for Melbourne in 1955. By July of that year, the company was allocated the Channel 7 frequency with a call-sign of HSV7 after its registered name Herald- Sun TV Pty Ltd. A third commercial television licence was purchased by airline entrepreneur Reginald Ansett in 1963 and became known as ATV Channel 0.

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 11 The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio broadcasting On 13 October 1924, 3LO radio station, owned and operated by the Broadcasting Company of Australia, commenced broadcasting in Melbourne. It was named after its English counterpart, 2LO London. In 1928 3LO was taken over by the Sydney-based Australian Broadcasting Company and in 1932 the ABC was established. It took control of Melbourne stations 3LO and 3AR and in 1936 acquired land for the construction of a purpose-built radio premises at the corner of William and Lonsdale Streets.

Television broadcasting The first broadcaster of Australia’s national television service (the ABC) was ABN2 Sydney. As construction of the new studios at Gore Hill were not completed in time for the first programming on 5 November 1956, the first broadcast took place from the ABC’s orchestral studio in Kings Cross (connected to Gore Hill via the ABC’s new outside broadcast van) and a makeshift studio, the ‘Arcon’, a storage shed on the Gore Hill site.

The ABC site at Ripponlea On 19 November 1956, the ABC’s second station, ABV2, was officially opened in Melbourne. The Ripponlea site was still under construction and the first broadcasts were made from locations across Melbourne including the ABC’s radio studio. The Melbourne Olympic Games began three days later and approximately eight hours of live coverage was broadcast from an outside broadcast (OB) van. Filmed highlights were then flown to Sydney. When completed, what became Stage One of the ABC studios (located in the southern corner of the current site) comprised garages for the OB vans, a production area, a small studio, a master control area, a substation and generator. The existing broadcast tower was also constructed at this time.

The second stage of the ABC Studios was formally opened on 21 May 1958. The building was designed by the Commonwealth Department of Works with advice from television production staff from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The new building comprised two large, double height, centrally located studios (Studios 31 and 32), surrounded by dressing rooms and offices, with production and editing rooms on the first floor, and a scenery workshop to the west. Studio 31 is where some of the ABC’s most well-known programs were filmed. To aid sound abatement, the studios were constructed with walls and a floor slab which were separate to the rest of the building. The arrangement of offices and dressing rooms around the studio further contributed to sound abatement. Secondary flooring, sound proofing batts and timber battening were installed in the studios in 1974 to further alleviate sound transmission from the railway line. Stage three was constructed in 1961 and comprised a three storey office space at the north end of Stage two. Stage four was completed by 1968 and comprised a four storey administration building above the north-western corner of the scenery workshop.

In 1975, major changes to technology were made to the Ripponlea site to allow for the transmission of colour TV. There was also expansion to multiple sites across Melbourne at this time, followed by further expansion to properties in Selwyn Street, Elsternwick in 1990. In the 1990s a new ABC facility was constructed at Southbank. This initially housed ABC Radio and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra but was later expanded to include Radio Australia and ABC TV, thereby consolidating Melbourne-based staff and operations on a single site. This occurred on 4 May 2017 when the new ABC premises were officially opened at Southbank.The Television News relocated from Gordon Street to Southbank in 2000 to unite all news functions in a single location. In 2011, the ABC Board approved co-location of all Melbourne based staff and operations at Southbank and on 4 May 2017 the new ABC premises were officially opened at Southbank.

Until its closure in 2017, many well-known programs were produced at the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea including Bellbird, Adventure Island, Countdown, Power Without Glory, The Saturday Show, Australia – You’re Standing In It, The Factory, Countdown Revolution, The Big Gig, Frontline, The Late Show, Phoenix, Seachange, Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell, Spicks And Specks, as well as thousands of ABC News bulletins.

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 12 CONSTRUCTION DETAILS Architect name: Commonwealth Department of Works Architectural style name: Post-War Builder name: Clements Langford Pty Ltd (1958 section) Construction started date: 1956 Construction ended date: 1965

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION The Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea are located on a parcel of land bounded by the railway line to the west, Rippon Lea Estate to the north and Gordon Street to the east. A recently constructed unit block is located to the south. Entrance is via two driveways from Gordon Street leading to a carpark with mature trees and other plantings in front of the main building. The building at the southern end of the site was constructed as Stage One. It has silica brick walls with metal framed windows, garage doors at the southern end and a steel deck roof behind a small parapet. The main building (Stages Two and Three) faces Gordon Street and is constructed of silica brick with references to the Post War International style. The front façade comprises a curtain wall with aluminium frames and red infill panels with the main entrance defined by a more recently constructed awning and sliding glass doors. The addition at the northern end of the building is in a similar style and another four storey addition is located in the north-western corner of the site above the scenery workshop. Internally the entrance opens into a reception area with corridors leading to a staff canteen, dressing rooms and studios. The two main studios (studios 31 and 32) are centrally located in the building. They are double height and the walls are lined with hessian and timber battening. Spiral staircases in the north-eastern corners of each studio provide access to the control rooms and upper level walkways around each studio. Numerous panels with numbered electrical outlets hang from the ceiling, but all lighting and other equipment has been removed. The rear of each studio opens into the scenery walk and then into the scenery workshop which has a saw tooth roof. The upper floors contained production rooms, offices and the costume department. Some fixtures survive but all equipment and furnishings have been removed.

Archaeology There is no identified archaeology of State level significance at this place.

INTEGRITY/INTACTNESS Intactness – The Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea are intact to the extent that the buildings and the broadcast tower survive. However all technical equipment, props, furniture and set construction materials were removed from the building when the ABC vacated the place. There is no surviving technology, lighting, equipment, props, costumes, sets or furnishings remaining at the place which demonstrates its former use of the place as the ABC studios. (December 2018).

Integrity – The integrity of the place is fair/poor. The cultural heritage values of the place are difficult to read in the extant fabric. There is little surviving evidence of the use of the place as a television studio. The studio spaces survive, but all technology, lighting, staging, props and sets have been removed. (December 2018).

CONDITION The place is in fair condition. It appears structurally sound but has been vacant since 2017 and has been subject to leaking roofs and vandalism. (December 2018).

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 13 COMPARISONS Television studios Former ATV-0 studios, Nunawading (City of Whitehorse Heritage Overlay HO 272) The Former ATV-0 studios at Nunawading (now known as Global Television Studios) were constructed in 1965 following the purchase of Victoria’s third commercial television licence by Reginald Ansett through his company Austarama. The studios were designed by Hassell, McConnell and Partners and won the Medal and Diploma in the General Buildings category at Victorian Architectural Awards (1965). They were designed in the modernist style and comprised a central studio block of four studios and a technical area, flanked by the administration block to the north-east and the scenery store to the south-west. Each section is structurally independent to allow for sound insulation. An addition to the administration block was completed in 1976 and the station was renamed ATV-10 in the late 1970s, later known as Channel 10. The studios moved to new premises at the Como Centre in South Yarra in 1992 and sold the Nunawading site to Global Television in 1995. Some of Channel 10’s productions, including the interior scenes of Neighbours, continue to be filmed at the studios.

Former ATV-0 studios, Nunawading

Former Wertheim Piano Factory (GTV 9 Studios), Richmond (VHR H2165) The former Wertheim Piano Factory is of architectural and historical significance to the State of Victoria. It is architecturally significant as a fine and intact early twentieth century factory building in a Federation Free style designed by Nahum Barnet. It is historically significant as one of Victoria's most important early twentieth century industrial buildings, reflecting the move from importing to local manufacture of goods, encouraged by the Commonwealth Government's New Protection laws of 1907. It is also significant for its association with television station GTV9. Wertheim’s closed in 1935 and the building was purchased by H J Heinz Company before becoming the premises for GTV9 in 1956. Iconic Australian television shows such as 'In Melbourne Tonight', 'The Graham Kennedy Show', 'The Ernie Sigley Show', 'The Don Lane Show', 'The Bert Newton Show', 'New Faces', 'Hey Hey It's Saturday', 'The Footy Show', 'Sale of the Century', 'Family Feud', 'Temptation' and 'Rove' were produced at the Richmond studio which was known as Television City.

Former Wertheim Piano Factory (GTV 9 Studios), Richmond

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 14 Places constructed in the mid-twentieth century (not in the VHR) The post-World War II period in Victoria saw a substantial manufacturing and construction boom. New factories were constructed as well as many new schools, churches, houses, halls, libraries and swimming pools. These new buildings and structures were commissioned by private companies, local councils and government agencies and took advantage of new materials and construction methods which allowed for experimentation and innovation in architecture. Some were experimental, some were designed by architects and won awards while others reflected the materials and design concepts in a more pedestrian manner. The ABC Studios, Ripponlea are one of many places designed and constructed during this time. This building type is well represented throughout Victoria and many are more architecturally resolved than the ABC Studios, Ripponlea.

Places constructed in the mid-twentieth century in the VHR The Beaurepaire Centre, Univeristy of Melbourne, Parkville (VHR H1045) The Beaurepaire Centre is of architectural, aesthetic and historical significance to the State of Victoria. It was designed by Eggleston, Macdonald and Secomb and comprises a 25 metre tiled swimming pool, changing rooms, gymnasium, trophy hall and administrative offices. It officially opened in 1957, although it had already been used for training purposes by athletes during the 1956 Olympic Games. The Beaurepaire Centre is architecturally significant as an unpretentious and elegantly designed example of the International Style. It is an unusual combination of engineering and art representing a new monumentalism in Victorian architecture. The Centre's massing, its expressed structural framework, its extensive use of glass, sun control devices and internal acoustic treatments were influential in the development of architectural style, building technology and construction techniques in Victoria in the 1950s. The Beaurepaire Centre is aesthetically significant for the mural in the trophy hall 'Symmetry of Sport' and the external glass mosaic friezes by Leonard French, one of Australia's most distinguished twentieth century artists. The Beaurepaire Centre is historically significant for its association with Sir Frank Beaurepaire, Olympic swimmer, businessman, civic leader and Chairman of the committee that promoted the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956.

The Beaurepaire Centre

ICI House, Melbourne (VHR H0786) ICI House, Melbourne was completed in 1958 and is of architectural significance to the State of Victoria due to its considerable advancements in local construction techniques. These include the framed glazed curtain walls and innovative use of concrete, including precast reinforced units in structural members and flooring. The division of the glazed office space from the solidly clad service tower predates similar developments overseas. ICI House was a major architectural statement which contributed to Melbourne's position as a participant in innovative world architecture in the 1950s. ICI House is also of architectural significance as a landmark in planning regulations within the city of Melbourne. The building was more than double the

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 15 previous height restriction enforced in Victoria and the design was permitted under the uniform building regulations because the site coverage was examined as a percentage of the total site area. This led to plot ratio determinations for city sites and the eventual redefinition of the central Melbourne skyline. The garden (along with its component parts including the Lewers fountain and the water feature) is of significance due to its role in determining the plot ratio that allowed the breaking of the height limit as well as defining the original formal entry to the building.

ICI House, Melbourne

The Craig & Seeley Offices and Showroom, Brunswick (VHR H2026) The Craig & Seeley Offices and Showroom were constructed in 1962 and are of architectural and historical significance to the State of Victoria. They are architecturally significant for the boldness and inventiveness of their external design and as one of the best examples of the commercial work of architect Theodore Berman, one of Melbourne's earliest exponents of featurist architecture. The place is historically significant for its association with the great surge of manufacturing in the post war years and the redevelopment and immigration programmes that sustained this activity.

Craig & Seeley Offices and Showroom, Brunswick

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 16 Wilson Hall, University of Melbourne, Parkville (VHR H1012) Wilson Hall was constructed in 1956 and is of architectural, aesthetic and historical significance to the State of Victoria. It is architecturally significant as an early and distinctive example of the post-war International Style. It was the first major public building in Victoria to combine ornament, artwork and detail within the strict visual tenet of the monumental form of the International Style. It incorporates curtain wall glazing, lavish materials including Swedish birch panelling and black Italian marble and extensive artwork both inside and outside the buildings. Wilson Hall is a distinguished work of architects Bates Smart and McCutcheon, the practice that was derived from Reed and Barnes, architects for the original Wilson Hall. The monumental scale of Wilson Hall demonstrates the importance of a great hall in the ceremonial customs and ritual of a university. Built on the same site as the former Wilson Hall, the new hall was designed to fulfil the same central ceremonial role as its predecessor. Wilson Hall is significant for the murals and sculptures of Tom Bass and Douglas Annand. The murals are integral elements of the building, and expressive of the meaning and purpose of a great hall and of a university, and demonstrate a notable application of decorative schemes.

Wilson Hall, University of Melbourne, Parkville

Former Shire Offices, Benalla (VHR H2189) The Former Shire Offices in Benalla are of architectural and historical significance to Victoria. Designed in 1958 by A K Lines, MacFarlane & Marshall, this small-scaled brick building is architecturally significant as a rare and substantially intact example of a Modernist municipal building of the 1950s, and as a very early example of the adoption of the Modernist idiom for a municipal building. It demonstrates the innovations which occurred in architecture during the building boom of the late 1950s, following the austerity of the immediate post-war period. The building is of historical significance for their association with the economic growth of provincial Victoria following World War II and the desire of local government to appear innovative and progressive by their adoption of emerging building styles.

Former Shire Offices, Benalla (VHR H2189)

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 17 Entertainment venues in the VHR for social significance Festival Hall, Melbourne (VHR H2386) Festival Hall is of historical and social significance to the State of Victoria. It is historically significant as Victoria's principal purpose-built boxing venue, earning it the name ‘The House of Stoush’. It hosted boxing and gymnastics for the 1956 Olympic Games and was the venue for bouts of key national and international athletes including Lionel Rose, Johnny Famechon, Anthony Mundine and Lester Ellis. Festival Hall is also historically significant as one of Victoria's primary live music venues from 1955 until the 1980s. Festival Hall played a key role in social evolution in the post-war period by exposing thousands of patrons to the ‘new wave’ of big production live music. It hosted national and international acts including the Beatles, Buddy Holly, Neil Young, The Kinks and Frank Sinatra. Festival Hall is socially significant for its association with the boxing and wrestling community in Victoria and continues to be used by these communities including Lionel Rose's State Funeral in 2011. Festival Hall is also socially significant for its continued association with the live music industry in Victoria. The association between Festival Hall and the Victorian live music community is particularly strong due to the length of the association and the close relationship between the place, the live music community and the establishment and growth of the live music industry in the State.

Festival Hall (exterior and interior)

Melbourne Cricket Ground (VHR H1928) The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is of historical, social and architectural significance to the State of Victoria. It is of historical and social significance as one of the oldest and largest capacity contained sporting venues in the world and one of the best-known of international cricket grounds, and as the pre-eminent venue for top-level cricket in Australia since the mid to late nineteenth century. Since the late nineteenth century it has also been the main venue and symbolic home of Australian Rules Football in Melbourne. The MCG is also of historical and social significance for its association with the Melbourne Cricket Club, which is reflected in the Members Pavilion, which as well as being the repository of Victoria's cricketing traditions, occupies the prime position for viewing events, particularly cricket. The MCG is also of historical and social significance for its egalitarian image as the 'people's ground'. The MCG is socially significant as a living icon, a focus of attention in which the importance lies in participating in events as well as experiencing the place itself. Whether full or empty, the stadium is of considerable aesthetic power and significance and is a place of energy and great atmosphere.

Melbourne Cricket Ground

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 18 SUMMARY OF COMPARISONS Television Studios Like the former ATV-0 Studios Nunawading, the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea were purpose designed as television studios. Both are similar in design and layout, with separate areas for filming, production, administration, and costume and set manufacture and storage. Television production still takes place at the former ATV-0 Studios, most notably of Neighbours. There is still a strong association between Neighbours fans, the program and the place where it continues to be made, as evidenced by tours, visitation and social media. In contrast, all sets, technical equipment, costumes, furniture and fittings have been removed from the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea and it is now difficult to understand the place as a television studio. Although the former Wertheim Piano Factory (GTV 9 Studios), was not purpose built as a television studio, it was still operating as Channel 9 television studios at the time of its inclusion in the VHR and was able to demonstrate the process of television production.

Places constructed in the mid-twentieth century The Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea are of architectural interest, but there are many places throughout Victoria which exhibit similar architectural qualities. The places included in the VHR are fine architectural examples post war modernist design and are also of cultural heritage significance for associations with particular architects or artists.

Entertainment venues in the VHR for social significance Unlike the ABC Studios, Ripponlea, Festival Hall and the MCG are still in use. They have a current association with the people who attend the events at each place. Although sporting events are (or in the case of Festival Hall, were) televised from both places, the televising of the event is not the primary reason for the event taking place and is not the primary way in which the event is intended to be viewed or experienced. For both places, and unlike the ABC Studios, Ripponlea, the association is directly connected with the atmosphere and physical experience of being in a particular place, experiencing a particular event at a particular time.

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 19 KEY REFERENCES USED TO PREPARE ASSESSMENT Anthemion Consultancies (2018) Peer Review of NBRS Heritage Assessment of the ABC Site, 8 Gordon Street, Elsternwick (prepared for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Bryce Raworth Pty Ltd (2015) Global Television Studios 104-168 Hawthorn Road, Forest Hill Expert Witness Statement to Panel Amendment C157 to the Whitehorse Planning Scheme

Heritage Alliance (2018) Heritage Assessment, ABC TV Studios, 8 Gordon Street, Ripponlea (Prepared for Glen Eira City Council)

National Trust of Australia (Victoria) (1996) In Trust, the first forty years of the National Trust in Victoria 1956-1996

NBRS and Partners (2018) Heritage Assessment, ABC, Ripponlea (prepared for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

NBRS and Partners (2018) Response to Heritage Assessment, ABC TV Studios by Heritage Alliance (prepared for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Online sources https://televisionau.com/timeline/1950-1959 (retrieved 25 March 2019) History of Television in Australia

www.tvtonight.com.au (retrieved 12 March 2019) History of Television in Australia

www.abv2.net.au (retrieved 12 March 2019) History of ABV2 and historical images

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/public-offered-peek-inside-the-abc-dream-factory-at- elsternwick-20160616-gpk4tv.html (retrieved 12 March 2019) Backstage tour by set buyer/producer Andrew Best

Name: Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea Hermes Number: 166052 Page | 20 ADDITIONAL IMAGES

2019, Oblique view of the Former ABC Studios, Ripponlea.

2019, Stage One, view from first floor of Stage Two on the right.

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2019, View from Gordon Street (northern end).

2019, View from carpark. Stage Two at left and Stage Three at right.

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2019, Carpark, looking north towards Rippon Lea Estate.

2019, Reception area. 2019, Main corridor looking towards reception area.

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2019, Studio 31 c.2017, Studio 31 in use (all moveable objects now removed).

2019, Studio 31 control room. 2017, Studio 31 control room in use.

2019, Studio 31 control room.

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2019, Scenery walk between Studios 2017, Scenery walk in use (all moveable objects now and scenery workshop. removed). Source: Heritage Alliance

2019, Scenery workshop. 2017, Scenery workshop in use (all moveable objects now removed). Source: NBRS Architecture

2019, Costume department. 2017, Costume department in use (all moveable objects now removed). Source: Andrew Best, Behind the scenes

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2019, Interior, Stage Four.

2019, Broadcast tower. 2019, Base of broadcast tower on top of scenery workshop roof.

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c.1956, Stage One.

1956, ABV2 control desk (in Stage One). Source: www.abv2.net.au

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c.1958, Stage Two shortly after completion.

c.1961, Stage Two looking north-west. Source: www.abv2.net.au

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1963, Stage Three is evident centre right. Source: NBRS Architecture

1968, Stage Four at left, above the workshops

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1968, Stage Four interior.

Early 1900s, Subdivision plan showing the triangular area bounded by Gordon Street and the railway line which became the location of the ABC Studios. Source: State Library of Victoria

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Plan showing Stages One – Four. Source: Heritage Alliance

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