CITY OF GREATER SHEPPARTON HERITAGE STUDY STAGE II HERITAGE PLACE DATASHEETS The Echoes (HO11) VOLUME 3 DATASHEETS A-Mooroopna CITY OF GREATER SHEPPARTON HERITAGE STUDY STAGE 11 HERITAGE PLACE DATASHEETS VOLUME 3 DATASHEETS A-Mooroopna Allom Lovell & Associates Conservation Architects 35 Little Bourke Street Melbourne 3000 February 2004 This report is Volume 3 of a six-volume set, comprising: Volume 1 Introduction and Recommendations Volume 2 Environmental History Volume 3 Heritage Place Datasheets: A-Mooroopna Volume 4 Heritage Place Datasheets: Murchison –Z Volume 5 Heritage Overlay Precincts Volume 6 Heritage Place Datasheets: Log Structures and Scotch Kiln City of Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage Two DATASHEETS A-MOOROOPNA Allom Lovell & Associates 5 City of Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage II 6 Allom Lovell & Associates City of Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage Two Current Name Holy Trinity Anglican Church Reference No. 01 (HO1) Former Name Grade B Address Lenne Road, Ardmona Construction Date 1914-15 Map Reference 471.722 Shepparton Ownership Anglican Church Survey Date August 2002 Intactness Condition 9 Good Fair Poor 9 Good Fair Poor Heritage Listings Existing Existing Recommended VHR RNE Planning Scheme 9 National Trust (Vic) Allom Lovell & Associates 7 City of Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage Two History Prior to 1914, the Anglican congregation at Ardmona had gathered in the local public hall for services. Half an acre of orchard land was donated by a local farmer, Mr Hornidge, as the site for a new church. The foundation stone for the Holy Trinity Anglican Church was laid on 9 December 1914 by Bishop J D Langley. Designed by architect, Mr Richardson, the builder was M A Miles of Tatura. Brick paving was laid around the outside of the church after its completion by Reverend J A Rowell and members of the congregation. Description Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Lenne Road, Ardmona, is a small red face brick building comprising porch, nave, sanctuary and vestry with parapeted gabled roofs clad with corrugated galvanised steel. The parapets are finished with rendered copings and cross finials and the main gable end contains a small oculus window. The central projecting porch contains a pair of pointed arch side entrances with V- jointed board timber doors and a single lancet opening in the end wall. The buttressed side elevations contain regular fenestration with the exception of the north side which also contains a pair of timber doors. The sanctuary window comprises a group of 3 lancet openings. All windows contain timber- framed fixed sash windows with diapered leadlight glazing. The area surrounding the church is paved with red bricks (1915) and includes numerous mature Canary Island date palms (Phoenix canariensis) and Pepper trees (Schinus molle). Thematic Context Thematic Environmental History 10.0 Worshipping Australian Heritage Commission 8.6 Worshipping 9.7 Mourning the dead Significance Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Ardmona, is of local historical, social and aesthetic significance. Constructed in 1914, the church has served as a place of worship for the district’s Anglicans for almost 90 years. Aesthetically, it is a substantially intact example of a simple rural brick church, of which there are numerous examples in the municipality. References W H Bossence, Tatura and the Shire of Rodney, pp 48-50. Recommendations • Retain original unpainted finish to brickwork and otherwise investigate original external paint colours when due for a repaint • Repair damaged brickwork and repoint • Retain brick paving and landscape setting including mature specimen trees • It is desirable, from a heritage perspective, that the building retain its public/community function • Should toilets be required they should be sited at the rear and not visible from the road. Identified By SOMA Design Partnership, June 2001. 8 Allom Lovell & Associates City of Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage Two Current Name Residence Reference No. 02 (HO2) Former Name Scots Presbyterian Church Grade B Address 100 Lenne Road, Ardmona Construction Date 1930 Map Reference 473.722 Shepparton Ownership Private Survey Date August 2002 Intactness Condition 9 Good Fair Poor 9 Good Fair Poor Heritage Listings Existing Existing Recommended VHR RNE Planning Scheme 9 National Trust (Vic) Allom Lovell & Associates 9 City of Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage Two History For many years local Presbyterians, as well as Church of England worshippers, used the Ardmona Fruit Growers Hall for worship. In 1930 work commenced on the new Scots Church in Lenne Road. Constructed of concrete, it was built at a cost of £1, 121. It was opened on 16 May that year by Mr John Allan, MLA. In the early years the church was a hive of activity, and was the focus of such groups as the church choir, Ladies’ Guild and League of Worship. The number of parishioners began to decline after World War Two and it became difficult to keep the church viable. Services ceased in 1985, and the church was converted to a private residence. Description The former Scots Church, Lenne Road, Ardmona is a rendered concrete building on a T-shaped plan comprising a porch, nave, sanctuary and vestry. Each section has a gabled roof clad with corrugated galvanised steel and gable end finished with strapped cement sheet and timber fretwork. The central projecting porch contains a pair of timber doors and a pointed arch timber-framed double-hung sash window to each side. The buttressed side walls contain regular timber-framed double-hung sash windows with leadlight glazing. A recent timber-framed gabled canopy has been added to the west porch. The side and rear boundaries are defined by a recent steel fence and the landscaped surrounds include mature Canary Island date palms (Phoenix canariensis). The rear yard contains a recent prefabricated steel shed. Thematic Context Thematic Environmental History 10.0 Worshipping Australian Heritage Commission 8.6 Worshipping 9.7 Mourning the dead Significance The former Scots Church, Lenne Road, Ardmona is of local historic, social and aesthetic significance. Constructed in 1930, the church served as a place of worship for the district’s Presbyterians for 55 years, although it no longer serves this purpose. Aesthetically, it is a reasonably intact and interesting example of a rural church constructed of concrete, of which there are no other known examples in the municipality. References W H Bossence, Tatura and the Shire of Rodney. The Historical Society of Mooroopna Inc, Mooroopna to 1988, pp. 59-60. Recommendations • Investigate original external paint colours when due for a repaint • Preferably remove later timber-framed addition to west porch • Retain mature specimen trees • Any additional external structures should be located at the rear of the building and be visible from the road. Identified By SOMA Design Partnership, June 2001. 10 Allom Lovell & Associates City of Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage Two Current Name Pine Trees Reference No. 03 (HO3) Former Name Grade B Address 15 Lenne Road, Ardmona Construction Date c.1892 Map Reference 484.719 Shepparton Ownership Survey Date August 2002 Intactness Condition 9 Good Fair Poor 9 Good Fair Poor Heritage Listings Curtilage A nominal curtilage should be maintained to preserve the setting of the trees, nominally the dimension of the canopy overhang plus 10 metres. Existing Existing Recommended VHR RNE Planning Scheme 9 National Trust (Vic) Allom Lovell & Associates 11 History Spurred on by a book published in England by the Chaffey brothers, who had established irrigation in the Mildura area, two families emigrated from England to Victoria. Settling first in Mildura, H E Pickworth and the Turnbull brothers were disappointed by the early plantings of vines, as well as the difficulty of transportation from Mildura, and soon moved to the Goulburn Valley. The Pickworth and Turnbull families settled at Ardmona in 1892 and immediately bought 57 acres of land from George Pagan, one of the original settlers. The pair of Norfolk Island pines (Araucaria heterophylla) were probably planted soon after their arrival in Ardmona. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the trees were originally planted to divide the land between the two families, and a laneway still exists between the pines. Description Pair of mature Norfolk Island pines (Araucaria Heterophylla) flanking a dirt driveway off Lenne Road, Ardmona. Thematic Context Thematic Environmental History 4.2 Selectors and Closer Settlement Australian Heritage Commission 2.5 Promoting settlement on the land through selection Significance The pair of mature Norfolk Island pines (Araucaria Heterophylla), Lenne Road, Ardmona, are of local historical and aesthetic significance. Of approximately 100 years old, they provide a distinctive landmark of the township of Ardmona, which is otherwise hidden by the surrounding orchards. The trees mark the boundaries of the land selected by two families of English immigrants who chose the Ardmona area to grow fruit. References W H Bossence. Tatura And the Shire of Rodney, p. 53 Recommendations • The trees should be assessed on a 1 to 2 year basis by a qualified arborist • Should they require removal when they become senescent, they should be replaced with a similar species. Identified By SOMA Design Partnership, June 2001. 12 Allom Lovell & Associates City of Greater Shepparton Heritage Study Stage Two Current Name House Reference No. 04 (HO4) Former Name Grade B Address 610 Simson Road, Ardmona Construction Date c.1910 Map Reference 456.691 Shepparton Ownership Survey Date August 2002 Intactness Condition 9 Good Fair Poor 9 Good Fair Poor Heritage Listings Existing Existing Recommended VHR RNE Planning Scheme 9 National Trust (Vic) Allom Lovell & Associates 13 History The house, originally built in Nixon Street, Shepparton, was transported to Ardmona in c.1975 by Ken Ratcliffe. The land on which this house now stands was originally Allotment 72b, in the Parish of Toolamba, (1946). The 238 acres of Crown land was first owned by Thomas Alexander, a farmer of Toolamba, in 1882.