ATTACHMENT B
ATTACHMENT B
CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
ATTACHMENT B
142-144 PITT STREET, SYDNEY C ONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
Prepared for Gwynvill Properties
May 2012
Issue B
ATTACHMENT B 142-144 PITT STREET, SYDNEY – CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
142-144 Pitt Street was designed by architects Adolphus Gustavus Morell in association with R H Robertson. It was constructed for the Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society and completed in June 1883. The three storey building, an exuberant essay in the Victorian Free Classical style, originally boasted a tall tower rising above the intersection of King and Pitt Streets and figurative groups of symbolic statuary by Tomaso Sani mounted above the King and Pitt Street façades. 142-144 Pitt Street made (and continues to make) a distinguished contribution to this part of the City of Sydney.
The building was modified in 1919 to the design of Robertson & Marks after the Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society relocated to other premises in September that year. Its ground floor was adapted for retail uses, an awning was installed, and shopfronts replaced original ground floor windows and doors. Significant elements, including the tower and statuary, were removed.
142-144 Pitt Street was sold to Saunders Limited in January 1935 and underwent further modification, again to the design of Robertson & Marks. The building remained in the possession of Saunders Limited until 1987, during which time it underwent further modification and occupation by a succession of tenants. It was then acquired by Portmans Consolidated Pty Ltd, which sold it to Gwynvill Syndicate in 1990. Major refurbishment and conservation works took place between 2002 and 2011.
142-144 Pitt Street is significant at several levels:
• It is a fine and uncommon example of a Victorian Free Classical style commercial building constructed for a successful insurance company;
• The building is associated with a prominent architectural practice, that of Gustavus Augustus Morell, who designed the building around the beginning of the 1880s. Despite later modifications that removed important architectural features including the tower, statuary, external ground floor fabric and internal fabric, the building still retains architectural significance;
• The building provides historical evidence of the growth and consolidation of economic prosperity in Sydney during the second half of the nineteenth century and the subsequent shifts in the way the City of Sydney functioned during the early twentieth century, particularly the changes in the location of retailing activity;
• The building is a highly significant component of the local streetscape and part of an important group of Victorian and Federation era commercial buildings in this part of Sydney.
The conservation policies, which are set out in Section 7, are intended to assist in the long term use, maintenance and conservation of the site. These policies are intended to manage change rather than prohibit it. Each policy is supported by guidelines to ensure that future decisions are made in an informed manner, to ensure the conservation of the building’s heritage significance.
The conservation policies provide the essential guiding aims for the building, which should be adopted by the owner and the relevant approval authorities.
1. The Statement of Cultural Significance should be accepted as one of the bases for future planning and conservation works to the building.
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2. The future conservation and development of the place should be carried out in accordance with the principles of the Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance (Burra Charter).
3. The approach and options recommended for the conservation of specific fabric, spaces, elements and qualities of the place should be endorsed as a guide to future work, the recommendations having been related to the principles of the Burra Charter.
4. Care should be taken in any future development to avoid or minimise any adverse effect on the quality of the building within its context.
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Document / status register
Issue Date Purpose Written Approved P1 November 2011 Client review RL A 2 March 2012 Final Issue RL JJ, CMJ B 30 May 2012 Revised final issue RL JJ
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CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1 1.1 PURPOSE OF THE REPORT...... 1 1.2 STUDY AREA ...... 1 1.3 REPORT METHODOLOGY AND STRUCTURE ...... 2 1.4 AUTHOR IDENTIFICATION...... 2 1.5 LIMITATIONS ...... 3 1.6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...... 3 1.7 DEFINITIONS...... 3 1.8 ABBREVIATIONS ...... 4
2 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ...... 5 2.1 EARLY SITE HISTORY ...... 5 2.2 THE AUSTRALIAN MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY ...... 8 2.3 THE AMFIS BUILDING ...... 9 2.4 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY ...... 14
3 PHYSICAL ANALYSIS ...... 20 3.1 BUILDING EXTERIOR...... 20 3.2 BUILDING INTERIOR...... 22 3.3 SETTING AND CONTEXT...... 27
4 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS...... 32 4.1 INTRODUCTION...... 32 4.2 THE GROWTH OF NINETEENTH CENTURY INSURANCE...... 32 4.3 A CONSTRUCTION BOOM ...... 33 4.4 ADAPTIVE REUSE...... 37
5 ASSESSMENT OF HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE...... 40 5.1 PREVIOUS ASSESSMENTS OF HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE ...... 40 5.1.1 State Heritage Register...... 40 5.1.2 City of Sydney Local Environmental Plan Listing ...... 40 5.1.3 Australian Heritage Council...... 40 5.1.4 National Trust of Australia (NSW) ...... 40
5.2 ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE...... 41 5.2.1 Introduction ...... 41 5.2.2 Assessment against Criteria ...... 41
5.3 SUMMARY STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE...... 42 5.4 RELATIVE SIGNIFICANCE OF SPACES, ELEMENTS AND FABRIC ...... 43 5.4.1 Exceptional significance...... 44 5.4.2 High Significance...... 44 5.4.3 Moderate Significance ...... 44 5.4.4 Low Significance ...... 45 5.4.5 Neutral Significance...... 45 5.4.6 Intrusive Elements ...... 45
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5.5 HERITAGE CURTILAGE REVIEW ...... 48 5.5.1 Background ...... 48 5.5.2 Heritage Curtilage for 142-144 Pitt Street...... 49
6 HERITAGE MANAGEMENT CONTEXT ...... 51 6.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 51 6.2 HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE ...... 51 6.3 CONDITION AND INTEGRITY OF THE BUILDING...... 51 6.4 NEW USES ...... 52 6.5 OWNER’S REQUIREMENTS...... 53 6.6 STATUTORY CONTEXT ...... 53 6.6.1 Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 ...... 53 6.6.2 Heritage Council of NSW...... 53 6.6.3 City of Sydney...... 54
6.7 NON-STATUTORY HERITAGE CONSIDERATIONS ...... 57 6.7.1 Register of the National Estate ...... 57 6.7.2 National Trust of Australian (NSW)...... 57 6.7.3 The Burra Charter ...... 57
7 INFORMATION FOR CONSERVATION POLICY...... 59 7.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 59 7.2 PRIMARY CONSERVATION POLICIES ...... 59 7.3 OPERATIONAL CONSERVATION POLICIES...... 61 7.3.1 Conservation of Significance: General Policies ...... 61 7.3.2 Appropriate Conservation Skills and Experience...... 62 7.3.3 Conservation of Building Fabric and Spaces ...... 63 7.3.4 Setting ...... 64 7.3.5 Managing Change...... 65 7.3.6 Archaeology ...... 66 7.3.7 Interpretation...... 67 7.3.8 Signage...... 67 7.3.9 Care and Maintenance of Building Fabric ...... 68
8 MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATION ...... 71 8.1 CONSERVATION WORKS ...... 71 8.1.1 New Awning...... 71 8.1.2 Shop Fronts ...... 71 8.1.3 Stairs...... 73 8.1.4 Interpretation...... 73 8.1.5 Building Exterior Conservation Works...... 73
8.2 CYCLICAL MAINTENANCE...... 74
9 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 79
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APPENDIX A BURRA CHARTER
APPENDIX B HERITAGE LISTINGS AND INVENTORY SHEETS
APPENDIX C ARCHIVAL DRAWINGS
APPENDIX D CITY F SYDNEY STREET CARDS
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1-1 Location plan - not to scale. 1 Figure 2-1 Portion of Harper’s Map of the Town of Sydney, 1822, indicating development at the intersection of Pitt and King Streets (Source: NLA Map F 107). 5 Figure 2-2 Development on the site of 142-144 Pitt Street in the first half of the 1830s. Notations on the drawing include Samuel Terry’s name plus subsequent changes of ownership (Source: City of Sydney Archives – Section 35, City Section Survey Plans, 1833). 6 Figure 2-3 Part of King Street at the end of the 1840s as depicted by artist Joseph Fowles. The Elephant and Castle is highlighted (Source: Joseph Fowles, Sydney in 1848, p.26A). 7 Figure 2-4 Artist S T Gill’s depiction of Pitt Street looking south from King Street, 1856. The Elephant and Castle can be seen at far left (Source: NLA nla.pic-an 7537491-v). 7 Figure 2-5 Detail of licensed surveyor H Percy Dove’s 1880 plan of the block bounded by King, Pitt, Market and Castlereagh Streets. Street numbering was changed shortly after the Plan was published (Source: CSA, Dove’s Plans of Sydney, Blocks 24, 25 and 26). 8 Figure 2-6 The site of 142-144 Pitt Street following demolition of the Surrey Arms Hotel, circa 1882 (Source: SL Kerry & Co, digital image no. 568022). 9 Figure 2-7 The newly completed AMFIS Building featured prominently in this depiction of Pitt Street that appeared on page 12 of The Illustrated Sydney News, 20 December 1884. The illustration suggests the pride that Sydneysiders took in the striking new edifice. Tomaso Sani’s statuary is yet to appear. 11 Figure 2-8 142-144 Pitt Street, photographed circa 1895. The tower was complemented by the tower of Trickett’s Hotel on the north eastern corner of King and Pitt Streets (Source: Powerhouse Museum, Kerry & Co photograph 85/1284-2008). 12 Figure 2-9 Circa 1892 panorama looking south to King Street and along Castlereagh Street. The photograph was probably taken from the Hotel Australia and illustrates the historical context of 142-144 Pitt Street (SL, Fred Hardie photographer for George Washington Wilson & Co, PXD 754 Image 9). 13 Figure 2-10 The AMFIS Building formed part of the backdrop to the crowd on Pitt Street that gathered on 17 January 1900 to farewell troops departing for the Boer War (Photograph by Arthur Wigram Allen, reproduced in Judith Ainge and others, An Edwardian Summer, p.35). 14 Figure 2-11 Drawing from the office of Robertson & Marks describing modifications to 142-144 Pitt Street. External works were largely confined to the removal of the tower and alterations to shop fronts (Source: City of Sydney Archive CRS 126 0414/19). 15 Figure 2-12 142-144 Pitt Street while occupied by Sellors Silk Store, circa 1929 (Source: SL, Hall & Co photograph, Home and Away 34891). 16 Figure 2-13 An outbreak of fire during the 1935 alterations was recorded by prominent photographer Sam Hood (Source: SL Home and Away 04939). 17
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Figure 2-14 Sectional drawing forming part of the documentation associated with the 1935 modifications (Source: City of Sydney Archives CRS 126 Building Application Plans 0356/35). 18 Figure 3-1 142-144 Pitt Street viewed from the north west. Shopfront fabric and the awning were installed during the second half of the first decade of the twenty first century. 20 Figure 3-2: The third floor addition that was constructed in 1919 (left) and extended in 1935 (right) The concrete encased steel riveted beam that extends between the extension and the parapet supports the addition above the timber structure of the roof. 21 Figure 3-3 Massive steel beams that originally supported the tower remain in place at the north western corner of the building. Seismic bracing attached to parapets and lead over-flashings were installed during 2011. 21 Figure 3-4 Air conditioning units and timber walkway on the roof of the third floor addition. 22 Figure 3-5 Membrane over the roof of the third floor addition. 22 Figure 3-6 General view of the ground floor (left) and view towards the lift (right). 22 Figure 3-7 Steel and timber stair linking the ground, mezzanine and first floors (left and middle) and interpretation panel attached to the wall at the side of the lift well (right). 23 Figure 3-8 General views of the Mezzanine level. 23 Figure 3-9 General view of the first floor (above) and balustrade around the stair well at first floor level (right). 24 Figure 3-10 Original or early timber architraves around windows and timber skirting boards on the first floor. Window hardware such as sash lifts is also early, if not original. The window in the right-hand photograph is in the service room near the lift shaft and faces the light well in the south eastern corner of the site. 24 Figure 3-11 General views of the second floor showing the simple detailing associated with the fit out. Original doors opening into the central corridor (left) have been retained. 24 Figure 3-12 Original or early fabric in the central corridor includes doors, architraves and skirting boards. Doors have highlights over, but these have been blocked off. An aluminium framed window has been installed in the light well (right). An early sash lock can be seen mounted on the window joinery in the foreground of the photograph. 25 Figure 3-13 Detail of early timber joinery skirting board and architrave. 25 Figure 3-14 Original or early roof floor structure is still in place, with evidence of lath and plaster ceilings visible on the bottom of joists. 25 Figure 3-15 General views of the third floor. The multi-paned window sashes are part of the fabric associated with the 1935 alterations to the third floor. 26 Figure 3-16 Corridor leading to the lavatories on the third floor. 26 Figure 3-17 Lavatory fit outs are relatively recent. Windows appear to be earlier fabric and feature louvres providing permanent ventilation. 26 Figure 3-18 Stair finishes vary on different levels: slate-like tiles from ground floor to mezzanine (left); marble from mezzanine to first floor (middle); and terrazzo to upper levels (right). 27
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Figure 3-19 Details within the stair well: 1930s wrought steel balustrade (left), 1930s ante room with door giving access to the light well and steel framed window (middle) and steel framed window at the top of the stair (right). 27 Figure 3-20 The circa 1890 photograph at left demonstrates the striking relationship between the towers associated with the AMFIS Building and the former Trickett’s Hotel (foreground), as well as the relationship between the two buildings and the former Liverpool Arms Hotel, on the right hand side of the image. The photograph at right shows the present relationship between the former Trickett’s Hotel and the AMFIS Building (Source: NLA – Charles Bayliss photographer, nla.pic-vn4217767). 28 Figure 3-21 Views to 142-144 Pitt Street from the east are obscured by the bridge linking the Glasshouse and MLC Centre. 29 Figure 3-22 142-144 King Street viewed from the east, in the context of Victorian era buildings and recent development on the southern side of King Street. 29 Figure 3-23 The northern side of King Street east of Pitt Street. The Victorian context of 138-140 Pitt Street and 104-106 King Street gives way to the massive scale of the MLC Centre. 30 Figure 3-24 142-144 King Street viewed in its context from the west. Victorian and early twentieth century buildings punctuate the large scale of late twentieth century development. 30 Figure 3-25 142-144 King Street viewed from the north along Pitt Street. 30 Figure 3-26 142-144 Pitt Street viewed from the south. The building is obscured by trees planted in Pitt Street Mall. 30 Figure 3-27 Façade of 1882 Sydney Arcade. 30 Figure 3-28 Pitt Street section of Sydney Arcade development, opposite 142-144 Pitt Street. 30 Figure 3-29 Culwulla Chambers and Cornelius Court, 147 to 149 King Street. 31 Figure 3-30 Group of Victorian era buildings at 152-158 Pitt Street. 31 Figure 3-31 158-166 King Street – Soul Pattinson Building at left and former City Bank, Building at right. 31 Figure 3-32 213 Pitt Street – former Way & Co department store. 31 Figure 4-1 The Pacific Insurance Co’s building in Pitt Street (Source: ML image number a089580r). 34 Figure 4-2 The 1864 AMP Building (Source: ML Charles Bayliss photograph SPF 481). 34 Figure 4-3 The Commercial Union Building, Pitt and Hunter Streets, Sydney, 1884 (Source: ML SPF 591) 35 Figure 4-4 The Colonial Mutual Building, Pitt and Hunter Streets, Sydney, 1886 (Source: ML Kerry & Co photograph). 35 Figure 4-5 Morell & Kemp’s United Insurance Building, George and Hunter Street, above, and the Manufacturers Mutual Building prior to demolition circa 1930, right (Sources: ML SPF 591; City of Sydney Archives SRC 487). 35 Figure 4-6 The Mutual Life Association’s building on the corner of George and Wynyard Streets, right, was just as elaborately detailed as architect Varney Parkes’ Australian Joint Stock Bank at the intersection of King and George Streets, above, built during 1884-85 (Sources: ML Hall & Co photograph, Home and Away – 34740; NLA nla.pic-vn4469751-s28-v). 36 Figure 4-7 Portion of the 1888 map of the City of Sydney published by the Sydney and Suburban Map Publishing Co. The AMFIS building is depicted at middle
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right and Morell’s Her Majesty’ Theatre at top left. Both appear to have been Sydney landmarks (Source NLA http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-rm722 , 29 August 2011). 37 Figure 4-8 Evolution of 365 George Street: 1858, left; circa 1890, middle; 1925, right (Sources: Mitchell Library Small Picture File SPF/8; ANZ Group Archive EH3-574; ANZ Group Archive EH3-295). 38 Figure 4-9 The Commercial Bank of Australia after the 1919 additions, left, after alterations and additions carried out for the Millions Club, middle, and in 2011, right (Source: Alpen, pp.25-26; Tanner Architects). 39 Figure 4-10 Evolution of 16 Martin Place. The photograph at left shows the building as originally completed in 1895. The middle photograph shows the building after the late 1920s additions were completed. The photograph at right shows the building after the removal of the 1920s additions and incorporation into the 1970s office development (Sources: photograph at left and middle - ML Hall & Co photographer, Home and Away – 35129 and Home and Away – 34936; photograph at right – http://www.sydneyarchitecture.com/cbd/cbd5-05.htm, 19 December 2011). 39 Figure 5-1 Curtilage Diagram 50 Figure 8-1 King Street awning and rendered band below sandstone, 2002. 71 Figure 8-2 Pitt Street shopfronts, 2002. 71 Figure 8-3 Comparative photographs showing 142-144 Pitt Street in January 2002 prior to conservation and other works taking place (top) and the building after execution of the works and conservation of stonework in January 2012. 72 Figure 8-4 Interpretive panel near the lift on the ground floor of 142-144 Pitt Street. 73
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1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
The Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for 142-144 Pitt Street has been prepared by Tanner Architects on behalf of Gwynvill Properties. The purpose of the report is to guide the management of the heritage significance of 142-144 Pitt Street and to provide policies for the conservation of the place. The owners of the building are proposing to apply for an Award of Transferable Heritage Floor Space and a conservation management plan is a prerequisite of any development application for the Award.
The primary objectives of the CMP are:
- To establish the cultural significance of 142-144 Pitt Street and its elements; - To formulate appropriate policies for the conservation of 142-144 Pitt Street as a whole, taking into account both the care of significant physical fabric and ongoing use and management.
1.2 STUDY AREA
142-144 Pitt Street is located on the south eastern corner of the intersection of Pitt and King Streets, Sydney, in a precinct that is distinguished by a relatively large number of extant Victorian era buildings. The site is identified as Lot 1 Deposited Plan 901185.
Figure 1-1 Location plan - not to scale. (Source: Google Earth)
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1.3 REPORT METHODOLOGY AND STRUCTURE
The CMP has been prepared in accordance with the guidelines contained in The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance 1999 (The Burra Charter). The Burra Charter is widely acknowledged as the principal guiding documents for conservation work relating to places of cultural significance. The Burra Charter has been widely adopted as the standard for best practice in the conservation of heritage places in Australia.
The content and format of the CMP follow the guidelines for the preparation of significance assessments and conservation policy provided by the Heritage Office, Office of Environment and Heritage. It is also consistent with the methodology set out in The Conservation Plan (Sixth edition, 2004), prepared by James Semple Kerr and published by the National Trust of Australia (NSW).
The CMP consists of the following sections:
• Section 1 Introduction (this section) provides the key background information that is relevant to the preparation of the report;
• Section 2 Historical Overview provides a summary history of the site and development of the buildings and landscape.
• Section 3 Physical Analysis provides a summary of the analysis of built elements within the landscape, landscape analysis and visual analysis of the place.
• Section 4 Comparative Analysis provides an historical and architectural context for 142- 144 Pitt Street.
• Section 5 Assessment of Heritage Significance provides comparative analysis of 142- 144 Pitt Street and provides a statement of heritage significance for the site. This section identifies the varying levels of significance of individual elements and components of the site.
• Section 6 Heritage Management Context sets out the heritage management context for the site, including client requirements and a discussion of any heritage opportunities and constraints that might apply,
• Section 7 Information for Conservation Policy sets out policy recommendations and actions for the effective management of the heritage significance of 142-144 Pitt Street and policies to guide subdivision and future development.
• Section 8 Management Recommendations provides guidelines for the implementation of conservation policies and the care and conservation of the place.
• Section 9 Bibliography lists primary and secondary source material used during the preparation of the CMP.
• Appendices include selective supplementary material referred to in the CMP including existing heritage listings and other relevant material.
1.4 AUTHOR IDENTIFICATION
The CMP was written by Roy Lumby, Senior Heritage Specialist, of Tanner Architects and reviewed by Jocelyn Jackson and Megan Jones, Directors of Tanner Architects.
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1.5 LIMITATIONS
Inspection of the building did not involve any intervention into building fabric. A limited number of spaces were not available for view during inspection.
1.6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of the following people:
• Staff at the City of Sydney Archives, who provided assistance with historical research;
• Staff at Country Road, 142-144 Pitt Street, who assisted with access during the internal site inspection;
• Michael Rogerson, Chief Property Manager - Gwynvill Group;
• Taria Wheeler, Studio Co-ordinator, Geyer Pty Ltd;
• Anne Higham, Heritage Officer at the Australian Institute of Architects (NSW Chapter), who provided information on the building’s architects.
1.7 DEFINITIONS
Definitions have been reproduced from the Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance (the Burra Charter) as follows:
Place means site, area, land, landscape, building or other work, group of buildings or other works, and may include components, contents, spaces and views.
Cultural significance means aesthetic, historic, scientific or social value for past, present or future generations.
Fabric means all the physical material of the place, including components, fixtures, contents, and objects.
Conservation means all the processes of looking after a place so as to retain its cultural significance.
Maintenance means the continuous protective care of the fabric and setting of a place, and is to be distinguished from repair. Repair involves restoration or reconstruction.
Preservation means maintaining the fabric of a place in its existing state and retarding deterioration.
Restoration means returning the existing fabric of a place to a known earlier state by removing accretions or by reassembling existing components without the introduction of new material.
Reconstruction means returning a place to a known earlier state and is distinguished from restoration by the introduction of materials [new or old] into the fabric.
Adaptation means modifying a place to suit the existing use or a proposed use.
Use means the functions of a place, as well as the activities and practices that may occur at the place.
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Compatible use means a use which respects the cultural significance of the place. Such a use involves no, or minimal, impact on cultural significance.
Setting means the area around a place, which may include the visual catchment.
Related place means a place that contributes to the cultural significance of another place.
Related object means an object that contributes to the cultural significance of a place but is not at the place.
Associations mean the special connections that exist between people and a place.
Meanings denote what a place signifies, indicates, evokes or expresses.
Interpretation means all the ways of presenting the cultural significance of a place.
1.8 ABBREVIATIONS
The commonly used abbreviations in the CMP are:
AHC Australian Heritage Council (formerly Commission)
AMFIS Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society
BCA Building Code of Australia
CMP Conservation Management Plan
CSA City of Sydney Archives
DCP Development Control Plan
ICOMOS International Committee on Monuments and Sites
LEP Local Environmental Plan
ML Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW
NLA National Library of Australia
SHR State Heritage Register
SL State Library of NSW
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2 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
2.1 EARLY SITE HISTORY
What was to become the site of 142-144 Pitt Street appears to have been in some state of development by the second decade of the nineteenth century. It was originally granted to William Hodges on 20 May 1819. The elderly Obed West (1807-1891), son of a pardoned convict and successful landholder, published his recollections of early Sydney in the Sydney Morning Herald during the 1880s. According to West, around the years 1816 or 1817 there was a large block of land at the corner of King and Pitt Streets “belonging to Mr. M. Byrne, with a brewery at the back. Mr. Byrne subsequently built a weatherboard public-house called the ‘Three Legs ‘o Man,’ on the King-street corner.”1 West’s recollections are confirmed by a map of Sydney that was published in 1822 and shows indicative development at the intersection of King and Pitt Streets.
Figure 2-1 Portion of Harper’s Map of the Town of Sydney, 1822, indicating development at the intersection of Pitt and King Streets (Source: NLA Map F
107).
This evidence notwithstanding, the site of 142-144 Pitt Street is an amalgamation of land belonging to several grants in Section 35 of the City of Sydney. The major component was part of Allotment 1 of Section 35, which was formally granted to Rosetta Terry and John Terry Hughes on 29 January 1840.2 Rosetta Terry (nee Marsh) was the widow of Samuel Terry. When she married Terry in March 1810 Rosetta was an inn keeper with premises situated on Pitt Street. Samuel Terry (1776-1838), was an exceptionally prosperous merchant and landowner. Originally a labourer, in 1800 he was sentenced to transportation for seven years and arrived at Sydney in June 1801. Terry rose quickly from this disadvantaged position and by 1809 owned land (including a farm on the Hawkesbury River) and was in receipt of Government cattle. When he moved to Sydney Terry promptly took up inn-keeping. The Terrys prospered through their hard work as inn-keepers and store-keepers and their fortune was consolidated by land speculation, farming and trade. In due
1 “Old and New Sydney. XV.- A Glimpse of Old Pitt-street”, Sydney Morning Herald, 12 August 1882, p.9. 2 The other components of the site were part of Allotment 28 of Section 35 granted to Tom Winder and James Norton on 13 January 1841 and part of Allotment 2 of Section 35 granted to Nicolas Murphy on 19 July 1841.
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Samuel and Rosetta Terry seem to have been associated with this land prior to 1840, as Samuel’s name is shown on a survey drawing of 1833. John Terry Hughes, with whom Rosetta Terry shared the grant, was Samuel’s nephew.
The land on the corner of Pitt and King Streets belonged to the Terry family for several decades. Rosetta Terry died in 1858, still retaining it in her possession.4 The property then came under the jurisdiction of another family member, Richard Rouse Terry (1838-1898), a wealthy land owner in the Ryde district. He applied to bring it under the provisions of the Real Property Act in 1867.5
The site was occupied by a hotel for many years. In 1833 the name of the Three Legs o’Man was changed by licensee Charles Morris to the Elephant and Castle, which identified the establishment until the beginning of the 1870s. The original weatherboard structure was rebuilt before 1848 but remained a relatively modest two storey structure. Its external appearance, depicted by several artists, was characteristic of many hotels constructed in this period of time.
Figure 2-2 Development on the site of 142-144 Pitt Street in the first half of the 1830s. Notations on the drawing include Samuel Terry’s name plus subsequent changes of ownership (Source: City of Sydney Archives – Section 35, City Section Survey Plans, 1833).
3 Dow, Gwyneth, 'Terry, Samuel (1776–1838)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/terry-samuel-2721/text3833, accessed 24 August 2011. 4 City of Sydney Assessment Books Macquarie Ward, 1858. 5 Land and Property Management Authority, Primary Application Search Books PA 1558; Old Systems Title Book 68 Number 115.
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Figure 2-3 Part of King Street at the end of the 1840s as depicted by artist Joseph Fowles. The Elephant and Castle is highlighted (Source: Joseph Fowles, Sydney in 1848, p.26A).
Figure 2-4 Artist S T Gill’s depiction of Pitt Street looking south from King Street, 1856. The Elephant and Castle can be seen at far left (Source: NLA nla.pic-an 7537491-v).
By 1872 the name of the premises had been changed to Owen’s Hotel and then around the middle of the decade changed once again to the Surrey Arms Hotel. The site was acquired by the Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society during 1877 in the names of directors John Wetherill and Manuel Francis Josephson.6 The purchase included the Surrey Arms Hotel plus two neighbouring buildings on King Street and one on Pitt Street.7
6 “The Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Company”, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 July 1877, p.3; Land and Property Management Authority, Old Systems Title Book 46 Number 198. 7 Sands Sydney and suburban directory, 1877 to 1885 editions. At the time of purchase the Elephant and Castle was at 180 Pitt Street. The neighbouring properties were 107 and 109 King Street and 184 Pitt Street
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2.2 THE AUSTRALIAN MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY
The Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society (AMFIS) was the result of a public meeting held on 11 December 1871. The meeting took place because of dissatisfaction over the high premiums owners of private dwellings were paying for fire insurance. The fact that a large amount of the money was paid to foreign insurance companies and so left the colony was a cause of further grievance. AMFIS was successfully established the following year, commencing its operations on 1 February 1872 in a building on the western side of Pitt Street, just to the south of King Street.8 Only five years later the company’s business turnover had grown to the extent that new premises were required, hence the purchase of the Surrey Arms Hotel. The company moved into the building next to the hotel in King Street and occupied it for a short time.9
Figure 2-5 Detail of licensed surveyor H Percy Dove’s 1880 plan of the block bounded by King, Pitt, Market and Castlereagh Streets. Street numbering was changed shortly after the Plan was published (Source: CSA, Dove’s Plans of Sydney, Blocks 24, 25 and 26).
AMFIS’ early interests were closely associated with Sydney’s co-operative building movement. The Society was registered in September 1908 and by 1909 its portfolio had been broadened to include accident insurance. In 1920 the Society’s portfolio expanded once again to embrace marine underwriting. The Commercial Union Assurance Company acquired the company around 1920 but it continued to trade as an autonomous entity for several decades. Ownership was transferred to Commercial Union about forty years later, in 1960. The Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society was finally de-registered in 1995.10
8 The Cyclopedia of New South Wales, p.578. 9 Sands Sydney and suburban directory. 10 www.aviva.com/about-us/heritage/companies/australian-mutual-fire-insurance-society, 18 August 2011.
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Figure 2-6 The site of 142-144 Pitt Street following demolition of the Surrey Arms Hotel, circa 1882 (Source: SL Kerry & Co, digital image no. 568022).
2.3 THE AMFIS BUILDING
The foundation stone of AMFIS’ new building was laid on the afternoon of 7 June 1883 in front of a crowd of prominent citizens and shareholders who had been invited to the ceremony by the contractor, Alexander Dean. The foundation stone was laid by the Hon John Sutherland, Member of the Legislative Assembly and chairman of the company’s board of directors. A detailed description was published in the Sydney Morning Herald the following day:
“… The design of the building is of the Italian style, adapted to modern street architecture, combining lightness with solidity. The two facades of the building are to be entirely of the best Pyrmont stone. The frontage to King-street is 71 feet 8 inches [21.84 metres] and that to Pitt-street 51 feet 9 inches [15.77 metres]. A lofty tower at the corner is one of the features of the building, and will be another landmark in the city. The two elevations are uniform, with rusticated and moulded piers, balustrades in front of ground floor windows, and a massive cornice continued along each front. The cornice projects over the main entrance, where it is supported upon carved trusses, and forms a balconette, with columns on each side bearing a circular pediment under the base of tower. The second and third stories are lighted by large windows placed between handsome, fluted engaged columns; the windows of the first floor have alternate pointed and circular pediments, with enriched trusses, keystones, and carved wreaths. The columns support a handsome entablature and cornice surmounted by an ornamental parapet and balustrade, with a large pediment, and carved and enriched tympanum on each façade, crowned at the top with a group of statuary emblematic of the society’s business. The tower will be 105 feet [32 metres] in height, with stone piers, enriched pediments and carved shield, and finished with a handsome cupola and lantern of metal. The ground floor is divided into two parts: the northern part, comprising the corner entrance and the King-street frontage, is reserved for the society’s offices, the insurance chamber, and manager’s room; the southern part is arranged for the Pitt-street branch of the Bank of Australasia. The directors’ and shareholders’ rooms occupy a portion of the first floor; all these rooms will be handsomely decorated; the remaining portion of the first floor,
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as well as the second floor, is subdivided into offices for letting. A separate entrance at the north-east side in King-street is provided for these offices.11
The building was designed by R H Robertson in association with Gustavus Alphonse Morell, architect and structural engineer.12 Robertson remains an elusive character about who little has been found, but Gustavus Morell was a respected architect and engineer during the second half of the nineteenth century.
The French-born Morell arrived in Australia in 1863 and joined the Colonial Architect’s office. He designed defence works and bridges. Morell was responsible for the design of the innovative Pratt truss railway bridge over the Macquarie River at Bathurst, constructed in 1868 -1869, the first such bridge in New South Wales. He was also involved in the design of defence works in Sydney, Newcastle and Botany. After these works were completed he resigned from the public service and established his own practice as an architect and consulting engineer. Buildings attributed to Morell include Her Majesty’s Theatre at the corner of Pitt and Market Streets, Sydney (circa 1886; demolished), Angel House in Ash Street, Sydney (1888; the facade survives), the house known as “Swifts”, Darling Point, built for brewer Robert Lucas Tooth (1876-82), and the house known as “Rona” at Bellevue Hill 1883 for Edward Knox (1883). Morell went into partnership with architect John E Kemp in May 1885.13 The partnership undertook a number of significant commissions, including the building for the United Insurance Company at the intersection of George Street and Hunter Street, Sydney (1887; demolished) with Alexander Dean the building contractor. In 1885 Morell was appointed President of the Royal Commission into the safety of railway bridges in New South Wales. He died at the beginning of August 1888.
One of the features of the building that evidently intrigued sections of the community when it was completed was the tower rising high above the street corner. It was a testament to Morell’s engineering skills:
“The audacity of placing this tower in such a peculiar position, and at such a height from the ground, caused at the time considerable curiosity among architects and builders as to how it was going to be supported; but the problem was solved by specially-designed girders, cross-ties &c., by which the weight of the tower was ingeniously thrown upon the main walls. There is no doubt that the elegant proportions of the tower add greatly to the dignity and external appearance of this fine building.”14
It was anticipated that completion would take place by January 1884.15 However, delays in construction moved the date of completion back to the second half of the year.16 The principal tenant was the Bank of Australasia, which occupied the southern end of the ground floor until the middle of the 1890s.17
11 “Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society”, Sydney Morning Herald, 8 June 1883, p.6. 12 Robertson’s name appears on an 1883 drawing of the tower of the building held at the State Library of New South Wales (call number PXD 813/9). 13 Sydney Morning Herald, 12 May 1885, p.12. 14 “Our Portrait Gallery. The Late Mr. G. A. Morell, Architect and Engineer”, The Builder & Contractors’ News, 6 April 1889, p.333. 15 “Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society”, Maitland Mercury, 16 June 1883, no pagination. 16 “Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society”, Maitland Mercury, 20 May 1884, p.2. 17 The last entry for the Bank in Sands Sydney and suburban directory appears in the 1896 edition.
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Figure 2-7 The newly completed AMFIS Building featured prominently in this depiction of Pitt Street that appeared on page 12 of The Illustrated Sydney News, 20 December 1884. The illustration suggests the pride that Sydneysiders took in the striking new edifice. Tomaso Sani’s statuary is yet to appear.
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Figure 2-8 142-144 Pitt Street, photographed circa 1895. The building’s tower was complemented by the tower of Trickett’s Hotel on the north eastern corner of King and Pitt Streets (Source: Powerhouse Museum, Kerry & Co photograph 85/1284-2008).
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Although a substantial amount of original external fabric remains, the exterior of the building boasted a number of striking features in addition to the tower that have since been removed. They included a corner entry protected by a balconette embellished with large urns and tall arched windows separated by aggressively rusticated piers. The heroic groups of figurative statuary “emblematic of the company’s business” mounted above the King and Pitt Street pediments were the work of sculptor Tomaso Sani. They were executed in a process called electro-bronze, apparently a method of electro plating to another material to achieve the appearance of bronze. Tomaso Sani (1839-1915) was born in Florence and trained as a sculptor in Italy, migrating to Melbourne during the 1870s. He moved to Sydney around 1880 and in 1882 was engaged by Colonial Architect James Barnet to execute the sculptural embellishments on the exterior of the GPO in Martin Place. The ensuing outcry over the works deleteriously affected Sani’s career, although he undertook a number of commercial commissions during the 1880s and was commissioned to execute statuary for the exterior of the Lands Department Building in Bridge Street at the beginning of the 1890s.18
Figure 2-9 Circa 1892 panorama looking south to King Street and along Castlereagh Street. The photograph was probably taken from the Hotel Australia and illustrates the historical context of 142-144 Pitt Street (SL, Fred Hardie photographer for George Washington Wilson & Co, PXD 754 Image 9).
18 Noel S Hutchison, 'Sani, Tomaso (1839–1915)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/sani-tomaso-4537/text7433, accessed 23 November 2011.
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Figure 2-10 The AMFIS Building formed part of the backdrop to the crowd on Pitt Street that gathered on 17 January 1900 to farewell troops departing for the Boer War (Photograph by Arthur Wigram Allen, reproduced in Judith Ainge and others, An Edwardian Summer, p.35).
At the beginning of 1908 the title to the AMFIS Building was conveyed to directors John Wetherill and Sydney Herbert Cary, who transferred it to AMFIS the following December, three months after the company was registered.19 AMFIS occupied the building for about 35 years, and then at the beginning of September 1919 moved its offices to Dalton House at 115 Pitt Street.20 This may well have coincided with the acquisition of the company by Commercial Union. However, AMFIS retained ownership of the building.
2.4 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY
Once the decision had been made to relocate AMFIS’ administration to another site the prominent architectural firm of Robertson & Marks was engaged to document alterations to the building:
“The very fine stone building at the corner of King and Pitt Streets … is to be remodelled, and the ground floor converted into four up-to-date shops … Plans have been prepared … for the remodelling of the premises … the upper floors of which will be converted into up-to-date offices. The tender of Messrs. John Grant and Son, builders, has been accepted to carry out the work.”21
19 Land and Property Management Authority, Old Systems Title Book 1859 Folio 57. 20 “Company News”, Sydney Morning Herald, 30 August 1919, p.19. 21 “General Notes”, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 September 1919, p.8.
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Figure 2-11 Drawing from the office of Robertson & Marks describing modifications to 142-144 Pitt Street. External works were largely confined to the removal of the tower and alterations to shop fronts (Source: City of Sydney Archive CRS 126 0414/19).
What had not been noted was that the landmark tower rising high above the intersection of King and Pitt Street was to be removed, along with the rusticated ground floor piers, the corner entry and the heroic sculptures above the King and Pitt Street pediments. However, the building was now to be provided with the convenience of a lift. A mezzanine level was introduced between the ground and first floor levels and a third floor constructed over part of the roof, which contained a self-contained residential flat along with male and female toilets serving the rest of the building. The refurbished and modernised AMF Building was occupied by a succession of tenants, including the American Bag Stores from 1920 to 1923 and Thompson Silk Stores from 1923 until 1927, followed by Sellor’s Silk Store.22 The advent of retailing on this site clearly indicated the relocation of business activity that was taking place in the City of Sydney following World War I, as retailing consolidated between King and Market Streets.
22 Sands Sydney and suburban directory, 1920 to 1932-33 editions.
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Figure 2-12 142-144 Pitt Street while occupied by Sellors Silk Store, circa 1929 (Source: SL, Hall & Co photograph, Home and Away 34891).
On 29 January 1935 the building was sold to Saunders Limited, jewelers. It was something of a minor record, being the largest single real estate sale to have taken place in Sydney for three years,23 although the transfer of title did not take place until the end of March.24 Saunders Ltd was owned by Polish-born Adolph Basser (1887-1964), a trained optician who migrated to New South Wales In 1908 and became a traveling salesman selling spectacles in country areas. By 1910 he had set up an optician’s business in Sydney and by 1921 had established Deller & Basser, manufacturing jewelers. Basser formed a proprietary company to buy out one of his major customers, Saunders Ltd, at the end of 1928. Three years later he acquired a rival firm, opening branch stores at the intersection of Liverpool and Pitt Streets (1933) and at 142-144 Pitt Street (1935). The company prospered in the ensuing decades, merging with Angus & Coote (Holdings) in 1960. Adolph Basser was knighted in 1962. Apart from his business interests Basser was a generous benefactor, endowing money to organisations such as the Royal College of Physicians and Sydney University as well as many individuals and charities. His donation to the University of Sydney assisted in the building of its first computer while his generous benefactions led to the foundation of Basser College at the University of New South Wales.25
In May 1935 plans for alterations to 142-144 Pitt Street, once more to the design of Robertson & Marks, were lodged with the City Council.26 Work commenced on 4 June and Saunders moved in on 31 July. The works did not proceed without incident, as at some stage a fire broke out on the first floor.
23 “Property Sale”, Sydney Morning Herald, 30 January 1935, p.13. 24 Land and Property Management Authority, Certificate of Title Volume 4614 Folio 179. 25 Andrew Lemon, “Basser, Sir Adolph (1887-1964)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/basser-sir-adolph-9447/text16611, accessed 16 August 2011. 26 City of Sydney Archives CRS 126 Building Application Plans 0356/35.
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Figure 2-13 An outbreak of fire during the 1935 alterations was recorded by prominent photographer Sam Hood (Source: SL Home and Away 04939).
The works, undertaken by contractor William Hughes & Co, involved some major structural changes:
“The dividing walls were removed from the ground floor, as well as four stone piers … and replaced by steel stanchions sufficiently strong to support the superstructure. This required careful engineering and architectural skill, as the old stone is very heavy. The mezzanine floor around the banking chamber was removed, and a gallery constructed. New and modern display windows were installed. The stone facades of the superstructure were steam cleaned with excellent results.”27
The documentation describing the proposed works included ground floor modifications to form a large shop occupying most of the ground floor with exposure to both streets and a central void in the mezzanine floor, alterations to the shop in the adjoining property at 146 Pitt Street, minor works to the first and second floors and alterations and an addition to the third floor.
27 “New Jewellery Shop”, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 August 1935, p.3.
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Figure 2-14 Sectional drawing forming part of the documentation associated with the 1935 modifications (Source: City of Sydney Archives CRS 126 Building Application Plans 0356/35).
Over the following years the building was subjected to a series of minor alterations. Of these, the largest were further works documented by Robertson & Marks during 1938,28 and building applications submitted for the construction of soundproof walls on the second floor and shop front modifications during 1954.29
A variety of tenants occupied the building over the years, the most notable of which may have been Grahame’s Bookstore. The City of Sydney’s heritage listing for the building remembers this name.
142-144 Pitt Street was owned by Saunders Pty Limited until 1987, when it was acquired by Portmans Consolidated Pty Ltd.30 Adjoining properties that Saunders Pty Limited had acquired were sold separately. Major modifications to the building were documented by Architecture Oceania during 1989. The development proposal included gutting the entire building, adding three extra levels and adapting the building for retail and restaurant use.31 The works did not proceed.
142-144 Pitt Street was purchased by the Gwynvill Syndicate in 1990. The following year retailer Country Road Clothing, which had been a tenant in the building since 1983, lodged building
28 City of Sydney Archive CRS 126 0654/38. The drawings describing these works do not appear to have survived. 29 City of Sydney Archives CRS 126 0084/54 and 0193/54 30 Land and Property Management Authority, Certificate of Title Volume 15332 Folio 102 31 City of Sydney Archives CRS 126 1028/89.
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ATTACHMENT B 142-144 PITT STREET, SYDNEY – CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN applications for the refurbishment of the first and second floors and alterations to the ground floor and shop fronts. Country Road undertook another refurbishment in 2002-2003 to the design of Geyer Design with the external awning works and shop fronts documented by Tanner Architects. Internal works comprised substantial remodelling of the interiors at ground, mezzanine and first floor levels for the retail store and some modification to the second and third floors to accommodate the stock rooms, offices and staff amenities. The external works comprised minor repairs to the sandstone façade and a new awning and ground floor shop fronts to the Pitt and King Street facades.
A comprehensive program of conservation works to the sandstone facades was completed in the second half of 2011.
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3 PHYSICAL ANALYSIS
3.1 BUILDING EXTERIOR
The former AMFIS Building is a monumentally scaled example of the Victorian Free Classical style. This style made use of the elements of classical architecture in an imaginative and at times unrestrained manner that tended to disregard classical architecture’s academic propriety. During the second half of the nineteenth century the style was considered appropriate for commercial and civic buildings, reflecting the booming economic conditions of the later Victorian period: “The style was ebullient and self confidence and expressed society’s growing prosperity”.32
Characteristics of the style that are evident in the facades of the AMFIS Building include rich modeling and a varied repertoire of classical elements combined in a liberal fashion. The building is carefully related to its corner site by means of the splayed corner and distinctive detailing that emphasizes the corner, including the segmental pediment at parapet level, broken cornices. Originally the corner was further emphasized by an arched doorway with a balconette above that was supported off consoles and embellished with a pair of urns. These features were removed in 1919. The King Street façade is divided into seven equal bays, the Pitt Street façade into five. Rich classical detailing across both facades includes pediments (including open crown and open bed pediments) at parapet level and above window openings, dentilated cornices, fluted attached columns and pilasters with Composite order capitals, balustrades and aedicule-like windows is applied consistently and symmetrically to the principle facades and the splayed corner. This wealth of detail is augmented by swags and cartouches. Curiously, the date “1878” is mounted beneath the open bed pediment above the splayed corner section and may commemorate the acquisition and initial occupation of the site by AMFIS. The stonework is in very good condition, having been the subject of conservation works undertaken during 2011. Fabric at ground level, including shopfronts, wall linings and the awning, is recent.
Figure 3-1 142-144 Pitt Street viewed from the north west. Shopfront fabric and the awning were installed during the second half of the first decade of the twenty first century.
The roof of the building is covered with a membrane system. Riveted steel beams at the street corner once supported the tower. The 1919/1935 third floor addition is lined with cement render (understood to be part of the 1935 works) and early windows replaced with aluminium famed
32 Richard Apperly, Robert Irving and Peter Reynolds, A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture, p.59.
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As part of the recently completed conservation works to the stone facades parapet walls were braced for seismic purposes, copings were over-flashed with lead and repairs carried out to the steel beam supporting the 1935 addition.
Figure 3-2: The third floor addition that was constructed in 1919 (left) and extended in 1935 (right) The concrete encased steel riveted beam that extends between the extension and the parapet supports the addition above the timber structure of the roof.
Figure 3-3 Massive steel beams that originally supported the tower remain in place at the north western corner of the building. Seismic bracing attached to parapets and lead over-flashings were installed during 2011.
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Figure 3-4 Air conditioning units and timber Figure 3-5 Membrane over the roof of the third walkway on the roof of the third floor floor addition. addition.
3.2 BUILDING INTERIOR
142-144 Pitt Street has undergone substantial internal change during several periods of time so that there is relatively little original or early internal fabric remaining in place other than the principal building structure.
The building has five levels consisting of a ground floor, mezzanine and three upper floors. It is entirely occupied by Country Road. The ground floor, mezzanine and first floor are all devoted to retailing while the second and third floors are used for administration and storage. A single lift and stair linking all levels are situated at the eastern end of the building. Separate access to the upper levels of the building is located at the eastern end of the King Street façade.
The ground floor has slate-like tiles on the floor, flush finished ceiling and wall linings, plus purpose designed shop fitments. A stair with steel stringers, open timber treads, tubular metal handrails and tensioned wire open balustrade links the ground, mezzanine and first floor levels. This aesthetic is echoed by the stainless steel lift doors. An interpretive device has been installed at the rear of the retail area. The fabric in the mezzanine is similar to the ground floor, which also contains a small office area. Bulkheads traversing the space conceal air conditioning ducts.
Figure 3-6 General view of the ground floor (left) and view towards the lift (right).
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Figure 3-7 Steel and timber stair linking the ground, mezzanine and first floors (left and middle) and interpretation panel attached to the wall at the side of the lift well (right).
Figure 3-8 General views of the Mezzanine level.
The retailing fit-out on the first floor is similar in character to the ground and first floor levels. However, original or early building fabric is also in evidence and includes timber framed window sashes and early hardware and timber skirting boards. Timber floor boards beneath later floor linings in the service room near the lift may also be original or early.
The second floor is occupied by offices, meeting rooms and work areas, along with spaces used for storage. New walls and ceilings are lined with plasterboard. Original or early building fabric that has survived on this level includes masonry walls associated with the central corridor on this level, timber skirting boards, architraves around doors and windows, window hardware, mounting blocks, doors in the central corridor. The original timber structure below the third floor addition remains in place. It shows evidence of lath and plaster ceiling linings (since removed).
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Figure 3-9 General view of the first floor (above) and balustrade around the stair well at first floor level (right).
Figure 3-10 Original or early timber architraves around windows and timber skirting boards on the first floor. Window hardware such as sash lifts is also early, if not original. The window in the right-hand photograph is in the service room near the lift shaft and faces the light well in the south eastern corner of the site.
Figure 3-11 General views of the second floor showing the simple detailing associated with the fit out. Original doors opening into the central corridor (left) have been retained.
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Figure 3-12 Original or early fabric in the central corridor includes doors, architraves and skirting boards. Doors have highlights over, but these have been blocked off. An aluminium framed window has been installed in the light well (right). An early sash lock can be seen mounted on the window joinery in the foreground of the photograph.
Figure 3-13 Detail of early timber joinery skirting Figure 3-14 Original or early roof floor structure is board and architrave. still in place, with evidence of lath and plaster ceilings visible on the bottom of joists.
The third floor has been modified in a similar manner to the other levels. Some early fabric remains in place, notably the multi-paned timber framed casement sashes with obscured glazing at the north eastern corner of the building, which were installed during the 1935 alterations. Lavatories have been totally refurbished, although windows with louvred highlights may date to 1935.
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Figure 3-15 General views of the third floor. The multi-paned window sashes are part of the fabric associated with the 1935 alterations to the third floor.
Figure 3-16 Corridor leading to Figure 3-17 Lavatory fit outs are relatively recent. Windows appear to the lavatories on be earlier fabric and feature louvres providing permanent the third floor. ventilation.
Vertical access throughout the building consists of the lift and stair in the north eastern section of the building. The lift shaft was installed as part of the 1919 works but the lift car has either been replaced or completely refurbished. The stair is constructed of reinforced concrete, replacing the timber stair shown in early architectural drawings. Between the King Street vestibule and the mezzanine floors and stair are lined with tiles that are similar to those in the ground floor retail area. The stair is lined with marble on the flight between the mezzanine and first floor level, then with terrazzo in the upper levels. Although there is no available documentary evidence confirming when the marble and terrazzo linings were installed, the detailing of metal balustrades is consistent with an installation date during the 1930s and may have been included in the building application that was lodged with Council in 1938. It is also possible that the works included replacement of the original timber stair with a concrete stair. Ante-rooms with terrazzo floors give access to the light well at the landings between ground and first floor and first and second floor levels. Steel framed windows and a steel door open into the light well.
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Figure 3-18 Stair finishes vary on different levels: slate-like tiles from ground floor to mezzanine (left); marble from mezzanine to first floor (middle); and terrazzo to upper levels (right).
Figure 3-19 Details within the stair well: 1930s wrought steel balustrade (left), 1930s ante room with door giving access to the light well and steel framed window (middle) and steel framed window at the top of the stair (right).
3.3 SETTING AND CONTEXT
Despite the high level of change that has taken place in this section of Sydney, the subject site remains part of a precinct of Victorian and Federation era buildings that define much of the architectural character of an architecturally significant and active precinct in the City of Sydney.
The intersection of King and Pitt Street boasts three fine buildings from the late 1870s/early 1880s, one of which is 142-144 Pitt Street. The other two buildings are the former Liverpool Arms Hotel, 181 Pitt Street (architect not ascertained), completed circa 1882, and the former Trickett’s International Hotel at 138-140 Pitt Street, Sydney, designed by architect J J Davey and completed in 1879. The towers of Trickett’s Hotel and the AMFIS Building were important landmarks in this part of Sydney for several decades. The three buildings are crucial elements of the streetscape.
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Figure 3-20 The circa 1890 photograph at left demonstrates the striking relationship between the towers associated with the AMFIS Building and the former Trickett’s Hotel (foreground), as well as the relationship between the two buildings and the former Liverpool Arms Hotel, on the right hand side of the image. The photograph at right shows the present relationship between the former Trickett’s Hotel and the AMFIS Building (Source: NLA – Charles Bayliss photographer, nla.pic- vn4217767).
Other late nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings are part of the visual context of 142-144 Pitt Street. Those in the section of King Street between Pitt and Castlereagh Streets include:
• The pair of buildings consisting of the circa 1882 building at 104 King Street and 106 King Street; • The former Daily Telegraph Building (Cornelius Court) at 147 King Street, designed by Mansfield Bros and completed circa1888; • Culwulla Chambers, 149 King Street, designed by Spain, Cosh & Minnett and completed in 1912; • The former Surrey Hotel, 153 King Street, designed by Prevost, Synnot & Ruwald and completed circa 1929. The façade of the building at 133 King Street, although having a Victorian appearance, is of recent origins and bears no resemblance to the late nineteenth century building that formerly occupied the site. The former Sydney Arcade at 97-103 King Street, to the west of Pitt Street, also forms part of 142- 144 Pitt Street’s visual context. It was designed by Thomas Rowe, commenced in May 1881 and completed about a year later. It was considered to be the first shopping arcade in Sydney.33
33 “City Improvements”, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 June 1881, p.7.
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Buildings in Pitt Street that form part of 142-144 Pitt Street’s visual context include:
• The Strand Arcade at 193-195 Pitt Street, designed by John B Spencer and Charles E Fairfax and opened on 1 April 1892.34 It was the last arcade to be constructed in Sydney during the Victorian era; • 152-154 Pitt Street; • 156 Pitt Street; • The W H Soul (Pattinson) building at 1886 158-160 Pitt Thomas completed around May 1887 and attributed to the Mansfield Brothers; • 162 Pitt Street, erected circa 1903; • The former City Bank of Sydney at 164-166 Pitt Street designed by George Allen Mansfield and completed at the end of 1893;35 • The former Way & Co store at 213 Pitt Street, designed by Sulman & Power around 1891 and extended in 1921.
These substantial and ornate buildings are interspersed with recently completed buildings, some of which, such as the Sydney Arcade development, manage to integrate contemporary design into a Victorian context. Later development, such as the former Proud’s building on the north western corner of King and Pitt Streets (completed circa 1973) and the MLC Centre (completed in 1977) disrupt the early architectural character of the locality while the pedestrian bridge linking the MLC Centre to the Glasshouse development is an intrusive streetscape element that obscures views of 142-144 Pitt Street from the east. The setting of 142-144 Pitt Street is described in the following photographs.
Figure 3-21 Views to 142-144 Pitt Street from the Figure 3-22 142-144 King Street viewed from the east are obscured by the bridge linking east, in the context of Victorian era the Glasshouse and MLC Centre. buildings and recent development on the southern side of King Street.
34 “The Strand”, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 April 1892, p.5. 35 “City Bank of Sydney”, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 December 1893, p.6.
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Figure 3-23 The northern side of King Street east Figure 3-24 142-144 King Street viewed in its of Pitt Street. The Victorian context of context from the west. Victorian and 138-140 Pitt Street and 104-106 King early twentieth century buildings Street gives way to the massive scale punctuate the large scale of late of the MLC Centre. twentieth century development.
Figure 3-25 142-144 King Street viewed from the Figure 3-26 142-144 Pitt Street viewed from the north along Pitt Street. south. The building is obscured by trees planted in Pitt Street Mall.
Figure 3-27 Façade of 1882 Sydney Arcade. Figure 3-28 Pitt Street section of Sydney Arcade development, opposite 142-144 Pitt Street.
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Figure 3-29 Culwulla Chambers and Cornelius Figure 3-30 Group of Victorian era buildings at Court, 147 to 149 King Street. 152-158 Pitt Street.
Figure 3-31 158-166 King Street – Soul Pattinson Figure 3-32 213 Pitt Street – former Way & Co Building at left and former City Bank, department store. Building at right.
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4 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
4.1 INTRODUCTION
This section of the CMP analyses the historical and architectural context of 142-144 Pitt Street in order to establish its relative significance in terms of its historic, aesthetic and scientific values.
4.2 THE GROWTH OF NINETEENTH CENTURY INSURANCE
From the middle of the 1860s until the beginning of the 1890s New South Wales enjoyed a relatively stable period of prosperity and growth, both economically and in terms of population. By the 1870s
“The climate in New South Wales was propitious for launching financial enterprises. The … economy had steadied after the heady days of the gold rush. There had been a succession of good seasons. Railways were being extended and the country opened up. New South Wales then relied mainly on its pastoral industry, and this was being stimulated by an influx of capital that was enabling much more land to be fenced and watering facilities to be developed. There had been great improvement in the fleeces, and the overseas price for wool was high. The acreage under crop was also rising, and the whole expansion was greatly assisted by increasing migration.”36
This fortunate period was accompanied by the growth of the insurance industry, which rose from small beginnings in 1831 with the establishment of the Australian Marine Assurance Company by several Sydney merchants for the express purpose of effecting marine insurance.37 This was followed in 1835 by the arrival of an agency of the London-based Alliance British and Foreign Life Assurance Company.38 The first local fire and life assurance office to be established in the colony was the Australian Fire and Life Assurance Co, in 1836. However, conditions were not propitious for home grown insurance, and of the seven colonial companies set up between 1831 and 1843 six were dissolved. By the time the Australian Mutual Provident Society was founded in 1849 there were seven other insurance companies represented in Sydney.39 By contrast, in the second half of the 1860s there were well over twenty.
The 1870s, the decade in which AMFIS was founded, witnessed something of an eruption of new insurance companies. Amongst them were Mercantile Mutual Fire Insurance Company, formed at the end of 1877 and City Mutual, established during 1878, a year in which eighteen new insurance companies were formed.40 In 1883, while 142-144 Pitt Street was in the course of erection, two American companies, New York Life and the Equitable Life Assurance Society of New York, set up offices in Sydney.41 In the second half of the 1880s there were more than 90 insurance companies with local representation.42
The Equitable Life Assurance Society is particularly significant because it is credited with initiating a particular image of the office building in America at the end of the 1860s that consciously used architecture to symbolise the character and goals of a business concern. The American insurance industry enjoyed its first era of spectacular growth in the 1860s and early 1870s, which was
36 P C Wickens, The City Mutual Story, p.1. 37 “Marine Assurance Company”, The Sydney Monitor, 18 May 1831, p.3. 38 The Cyclopedia of New South Wales, pp.561-562. 39 Ibid, pp.563-566. 40 H Mayfield, Servant of a Century, p.14. 41 The Cyclopedia of New South Wales, p.587. 42 Sands Sydney and suburban directory, Trades and Professions section, 1888 edition.
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From the middle of the 1880s New South Wales’ economic expansion began to falter after a peak in the years 1882-1885. Major public works projects came to an end, resulting in the loss of many jobs. The economy continued to deteriorate into the 1890s and culminated with bank failures and crises in the London money market during1893.44
4.3 A CONSTRUCTION BOOM
The insurance companies that were such a feature of commercial Sydney during the second half of the nineteenth century were also destined to make an impact on the city’s architecture.
As might be expected, the advent of the insurance companies in Sydney was accompanied by the construction of new buildings to house their activities and advertise their presence. The architectural style of the buildings promoted and reinforced the aims of owners, projecting a sense of tradition, wealth, stability and respectability to customers and those passing on the street.
The construction of the insurance offices coincided with the emergence of the office building as a distinct building type. Before this buildings used for business purposes, such as the ES&A Bank at the corner of King and George Streets (architect Edmund Blacket, 1857-58) had combined commercial space with residential accommodation above it. However, during the 1860s large commercial buildings in Sydney were being designed without residential accommodation. For instance, in 1864-65 the Pacific Insurance Co built elegant new premises in Pitt Street at Bond Street, which were fully devoted to office functions and bore a striking resemblance to Blacket’s ES & A Bank, while the AMP Society built impressive headquarters in Pitt Street to the north of Spring Street, the result of a competition won by the Melbourne firm of Reed & Barnes45 Completed towards the end of 1864, the building was solely devoted to commercial functions, with a chamber and other spaces intended for use by the AMP Society. Lettable office space was available on the first and second floors. There was also a detached residence for the “house- keeper”.46 Whist the polite and restrained exterior of the Pacific Insurance Co’s building was characteristic of the late 1850s and early 1860s, the AMP Building’s façade, with its colossal columns and rusticated base, boldly announced the presence of the company in Pitt Street.
Evidence for the remarkable growth of the AMP Society is reflected in the company erecting a second building to the south of its 1864 offices, at the intersection of Pitt and Bond Streets. The three storey building was designed by the Mansfield Bros, prominent architects who designed a number of banks and insurance company buildings in the second half of the nineteenth century. The foundation stone was laid on 23 January 1877. The building exterior was constructed of Pyrmont sandstone and designed in what was termed the “Renaissance, or revived Italian style of architecture”. The building contained a basement and three upper levels; the AMP Society occupied the part of the basement, ground floor, part of the first floor and the second floor while the rest of the building was available for letting.47 The building served the company for many years, although it was greatly enlarged in the first two decades of the twentieth century and has since been demolished.
43 Kenneth Turney Gibbs, Business Architectural Imagery in America,1870-1930, pp.21-28. 44 Beverley Kingston, A History of New South Wales, pp.61, 88-90. 45 Morton Herman, The Architecture of Victorian Sydney, p.30. 46 The Australian Mutual Provident Society’s New Office”, Sydney Morning Herald, 21 November 1864, p.5. 47 “Australian Mutual Provident Society”, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 January 1877, pp.2-3.
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Figure 4-1 The Pacific Insurance Co’s building in Figure 4-2 The 1864 AMP Building (Source: ML Pitt Street (Source: ML image number Charles Bayliss photograph SPF 481). a089580r).
Numerous banks and insurance companies erected substantial buildings during the 1880s and early 1890s, before the worst effects of depression were felt. All were characterised by a confident and free use of classical architecture and a rich repertoire of decoration. Some insurance companies that undertook building works include:
• Commercial Union, which completed major works to their premises to the design of Mansfield Bros in 1884. The building, slightly old-fashioned in appearance, was located at the north west corner of Pitt and Hunter Streets;
• Colonial Mutual, which erected a large building at the intersection of Pitt and Hunter Street during 1885-1886 to the design of John Kirkpatrick.48 It was a four storey edifice with a fine tower rising above the intersection;
• United Insurance Company, Fire and Marine, which engaged Morell & Kemp to design premises at the intersection of George and Hunter Streets. The building was constructed by contractor Alexander Dean and completed in 1887;
• Mercantile Mutual Insurance. Mansfield Bros designed a building at the intersection of Pitt and Rowe Streets, the foundation stone of which was laid in May 1885;
Buildings began to become larger around 1890. The Mutual Life Association, which engaged the architectural firm of Sulman & Power to design their new six storey building at the intersection of George and Wynyard Streets. It was completed at the end of 1890. The ground floor was intended for occupation by a bank, the insurance company occupied the first floor and the rest of the building was available for letting.49 It was the most elaborate of the insurance companies to be erected by an insurance company during the 1880s, although some banks could be just as richly decorated.
48 “Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society”, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 September 1887, p.9. 49 “Mutual Life Association of Australasia”, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 March 1888, p.6.
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During the economically stressed 1890s major incursions into Sydney’s architectural scene were made by the American insurance companies. The American architect Edward Raht’s Equitable Life Assurance Building in George Street was completed at the end of 1894 and officially opened at the beginning of January 1895. Its bold Romanesque style exterior and extensive use of trachyte marked a clear divide between the elaborate buildings erected during prosperous times and the leaner architecture of the 1890s and 1900s. At about the same time the Mutual Life Insurance Co of New York’s new building at the corner of Martin Place and Pitt Street was completed. It was designed by Sydney architect John Kirkpatrick. Its rather ponderous exterior presaged the large Commercial Palazzo style buildings that were to emerge at the end of the 1900s.
Figure 4-3 The Commercial Union Building, Pitt Figure 4-4 The Colonial Mutual Building, Pitt and and Hunter Streets, Sydney, 1884 Hunter Streets, Sydney, 1886 (Source: (Source: ML SPF 591) ML Kerry & Co photograph).
Figure 4-5 Morell & Kemp’s United Insurance Building, George and Hunter Street, above, and the Manufacturers Mutual Building prior to demolition circa 1930, right (Sources: ML SPF 591; City of Sydney Archives SRC 487).
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Figure 4-6 The Mutual Life Association’s building on the corner of George and Wynyard Streets, right, was just as elaborately detailed as architect Varney Parkes’ Australian Joint Stock Bank at the intersection of King and George Streets, above, built during 1884-85 (Sources: ML Hall & Co photograph, Home and Away – 34740; NLA nla.pic-vn4469751-s28-v).
Figure 4-7 The Equitable Building in George Figure 4-8 The Mutual Life Building at the Street (Source: ML SPF 1901). intersection of Pitt Street and Martin Place (Source: ML Hall & Co photograph, Home and Away – 34911r).
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Figure 4-9 Portion of the 1888 map of the City of Sydney published by the Sydney and Suburban Map Publishing Co. The AMFIS building is depicted at middle right and Morell’s Her Majesty’ Theatre at top left. Both appear to have been Sydney landmarks (Source NLA http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-rm722 , 29 August 2011).
4.4 ADAPTIVE REUSE
As might be expected, since the close of the nineteenth century many of the buildings that proudly announced the presence in Sydney of insurance companies, along with banks, hotels and other commercial buildings, have either been demolished to make way for larger structures or modified to accommodate new uses for which they had not been designed. The adaptive works undertaken to 142-144 Pitt Street in 1919 demonstrate how quickly these processes could happen.
Buildings that are contemporary with 142-144 Pitt Street rarely serve their original functions at the beginning of the twenty first century. Its near neighbours, the former Trickett’s International Hotel at 138-140 Pitt Street and the former Liverpool Arms Hotel at 181 Pitt Street are both used for retailing and other commercial purposes, as are the other nineteenth and early twentieth century bank buildings in the vicinity of the subject site.
There are a number of nineteenth century insurance and bank buildings still standing in the City of Sydney that demonstrate comparable changes, demonstrated by the following examples.
365 George Street was originally built in 1857-58 as the ES&A Bank’s New South Wales head office, to the design of architect Edmund Blacket. It was three storeys in height, occupying the north western corner of George and King Streets. Two additional floors and an onion-domed tower were added around 1890 to the design of William Wardell. Internal alterations were carried out during 1907-08 and in 1925, after the adjoining site on King Street had been acquired by the Bank, Robertson & Marks were commissioned to document extensive alterations and additions. The ANZ Bank owned the building until 1999, after which the building was adapted for use as
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Figure 4-10 Evolution of 365 George Street: 1858, left; circa 1890, middle; 1925, right (Sources: Mitchell Library Small Picture File SPF/8; ANZ Group Archive EH3-574; ANZ Group Archive EH3-295).
The building at 122 Pitt Street, Sydney, known for many years as Millions House, was built in three stages between 1886 and 1929. In December 1886 the Commercial Bank of Australia began trading in its newly completed building on the corner of Pitt and Rowe Streets, Sydney. The building was designed by the architectural partnership known as the Mansfield Brothers, one of whom was the prominent architect George Allen Mansfield. However, the Bank had vacated the premises by 1893. The building was in private hands by the time it was acquired by the Royal Bank of Australia in October 1918. The Royal Bank engaged architect John Burcham Clamp to document alterations to the building, which included a partial fourth floor addition, and commenced trading in March 1919. The assets of the Royal Bank were subsequently acquired by the ES & A Bank in March 1927. It sold the building to the Millions Club the following August. The Club’s Honorary Architect, Donald Morrow, designed alterations and additions that converted the banking chamber into shops, introduced a mezzanine level and added two storeys to the building. The Club moved into the building in December 1929. Over the next seventy years the building was modified internally to suit the Club’s needs. In 1963 it was renamed the Sydney Club.50 The building has since been sold and refurbished, with a bar at ground floor level and commercial space on upper levels.
The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York’s building at 16 Martin Place was completed in 1895. It was purchased by Mercantile Mutual in July 1914 and eventually became the property of Colonial Mutual in 1926. Four floors were added to the design of the architectural firm of Hennessy, Hennessy & Co. and completed in 1929. Between 1974 and 1976 the four additional levels were demolished and the building was gutted, leaving only the original facades. These were incorporated into a large office building that was constructed to the immediate north.
50 John Alpen, From Millions to Sydney, pp.23-27, 52.
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Figure 4-11 The Commercial Bank of Australia after the 1919 additions, left, after alterations and additions carried out for the Millions Club, middle, and in 2011, right (Source: Alpen, pp.25-26; Tanner Architects).
Figure 4-12 Evolution of 16 Martin Place. The photograph at left shows the building as originally completed in 1895. The middle photograph shows the building after the late 1920s additions were completed. The photograph at right shows the building after the removal of the 1920s additions and incorporation into the 1970s office development (Sources: photograph at left and middle - ML Hall & Co photographer, Home and Away – 35129 and Home and Away – 34936; photograph at right – http://www.sydneyarchitecture.com/cbd/cbd5-05.htm, 19 December 2011).
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5 ASSESSMENT OF HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE
5.1 PREVIOUS ASSESSMENTS OF HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE
5.1.1 State Heritage Register
The following Statement of Heritage Significance is included in the State Heritage Register inventory entry for 142-144 Pitt Street:
The building is a fine example of a Victorian office building with a richly detailed, classically influenced stone facade above awning level. The building has aesthetic significance for its ornate craftsmanship and streetscape contribution to a group of late nineteenth century retail buildings near the intersection of Pitt and King Streets, an important civic area in the city. The splayed corner detail gives special landmark prominence to this building marking the entrance to the Pitt Street Mall. The townscape qualities of the Pitt and King Street Group have historic significance and reflect Sydney's commercial development in the 19th century and changing consumer patterns after WWI. (Tanner 2002:18). This area of Sydney has historic importance to the state as examples of the wealth and grandeur of 19th century commercial buildings utilising classical styles, which were headquarters for statewide companies.
5.1.2 City of Sydney Local Environmental Plan Listing
The following statement of significance has been extracted from the City of Sydney’s Heritage Database entry for 142-144 Pitt Street:
The former Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Building is of historic and aesthetic significance a fine example of a neo-Classical Victorian office building. It has aesthetic significance for its streetscape contribution as part of a group of Victorian and Federation retail buildings near the intersection of Pitt and King Streets, that form part of an important civic area in the city.
5.1.3 Australian Heritage Council
142-144 Pitt Street is included in the Register of the National Estate. The Australian Heritage Database entry for the building includes the following statement of significance:
A fine example of a Neo Classical Victorian office building which as been a prominent city landmark for over 100 years. Its location and its ornate sandstone facade, reinforce the townscape qualities of the remaining adjacent Victorian buildings in Pitt and King Streets.
5.1.4 National Trust of Australia (NSW)
142-144 Pitt Street is classified by the National Trust of Australia (NSW). It was classified by the National Trust in April 1980.
A fine example of a neo-classical Victorian office building which has been a prominent city landmark for over 100 years. Its ornate and mellow sandstone decorated façade is a welcome relief to the concrete and glass monoliths nearby and its location seems to reinforce the townscape qualities of the remaining adjacent Victorian buildings in King and Pitt Streets.
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5.2 ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
5.2.1 Introduction
The following assessment uses the framework for the assessment of heritage significance advocated by the NSW Heritage Office in the guidelines included in the NSW Heritage Manual. In this framework places are assessed in accordance with the defined criteria set out below.
5.2.2 Assessment against Criteria
Criterion A An item is important in the course, or pattern, of NSW’s cultural or natural history (or the cultural or natural history of the local area).
• 142-144 Pitt Street reflects the emergence and rapid rise of locally established financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies in New South Wales during the Victorian era. It also provides evidence of the economic prosperity that New South Wales enjoyed for much of this period;
• 142-144 Pitt Street is historically significant because it provides evidence of the important role that insurance companies played in the growth and development of the City of Sydney between the 1860s and 1890s, constructing large and impressive buildings in prominent locations and transforming the physical character of the place;
• The building provides evidence of Sydney's ongoing and evolving commercial development. The building demonstrates the process whereby buildings were adapted from office to retail use and indicates the shifts in commercial use that parts of the City of Sydney underwent during the first third of the twentieth century.
Criterion B An item has strong or special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance to NSW’s cultural or natural history (or the cultural or natural history of the local area).
• The building was designed by prominent Victorian architect and engineer Gustavus .Alphonse Morell, who designed a number of significant theatres, commercial buildings and residential buildings in metropolitan Sydney during the 1870s and 1880s. 142-144 Pitt Street is a rare surviving example of his commercial work and, although modified, provides ample evidence of Morell’s skill as an architect.
Criterion C An item is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or and high degree of creative or technical achievement in NSW (or the local area)
• The building is a fine example of the Victorian Free Classical style, demonstrating many of its characteristics in a convincing and confident manner despite the loss of significant fabric such as the tower and statuary. The building is a well resolved response to a prominent corner site;
• 142-144 Pitt Street demonstrates the ways in which commercial institutions made use of classical architectural forms to promote a positive image of a company and its business activities. The use of classical forms implied that a company was responsible and respectable and thus one that the public could be confident in utilising;
• 142-144 Pitt Street is an important component of a group of Victorian and Federation era buildings at and near the intersection of Pitt and King Streets. The visual associations between this building and the former hotels at 138-140 Pitt Street and 181 Pitt Street are particularly important in defining the historical and aesthetic character of the intersection.
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Criterion D An item has strong or special associations with a particular community or cultural group in NSW (or the local area) for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
• 142-144 Pitt Street does not fulfill this criterion. There was no evidence uncovered during the preparation of this CMP that suggested the building has strong or special associations with a particular community or cultural group.
Criterion E An item has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of NSW’s cultural or natural history (or the cultural or natural history of the local area).
• This criterion is not fulfilled. The extent of change that the building has undergone since first completed precludes any potential to reveal information.
Criterion F An item possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of NSW’s cultural or natural history (or the cultural or natural history of the local area).
• 142-144 Pitt Street is an uncommon example of a richly embellished Victorian Free Classical insurance office building in the City of Sydney.
• The building is an important component of a rare streetscape/precinct of Victorian era commercial buildings in the City of Sydney.
Criterion G An item is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of NSW’s (or the local area’s) cultural or natural places; or cultural or natural environments.
• The former AMFIS Building is a fine and representative example of a Free Classical style Victorian office building and has been a city landmark for over 100 years. The building also demonstrates the change that took place in the city after the First World War because of its adaptation to retailing functions in 1919.
5.3 SUMMARY STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
142-144 Pitt Street has cultural significance for a variety of reasons. The building is historically significant as a record of the role that insurance companies played in the growth and development of the City of Sydney during the second half of the nineteenth century. It reflects the emergence and rapid rise of locally established financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies in New South Wales during the period 1860 to 1890, a time of unprecedented economic prosperity in New South Wales..
142-144 Pitt Street is a fine and uncommon example of Victorian Free Classical style commercial architecture in the City of Sydney. It demonstrates many of its characteristics in a convincing and confident manner, is a well-resolved response to a corner site, and shows how architectural forms were exploited for commercial gain during the nineteenth century. It is a fine and rare example of the work of the significant architect and engineer Gustavus Alphonse Morell. The building is an important component of a defining group of Victorian and Federation era buildings at and near the intersection of Pitt and King Streets and has strong visual associations with contemporary buildings at 138-140 Pitt Street and 181 Pitt Street.
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The building also provides evidence of Sydney's ongoing and evolving commercial development, demonstrated by its conversion from office to retailing use in the post World War I era. The building has continued to serve retailing use since that time.
5.4 RELATIVE SIGNIFICANCE OF SPACES, ELEMENTS AND FABRIC
The key elements of a place may make a different relative contribution to its heritage significance. Loss of integrity or poor condition may diminish relative significance. Understanding the importance that the contribution of key elements makes to the heritage significance of a place assists in the determination of appropriate future actions.
The NSW Heritage Office has formulated gradings of significance to facilitate this process. The following table sets out these gradings, which have been adjusted to suit 142-144 Pitt Street.
Table 5.1 Significance Grading for Spaces and Building Fabric
Grading of Justification for Grading Significance Exceptional Element (or space/component/fabric of an element) that makes a direct and irreplaceable contribution to the overall heritage significance of 142-144 Pitt Street. It will exhibit a high degree of integrity with any alterations of a minor nature and generally reversible. Demolition/removal or inappropriate alteration would substantially diminish the heritage significance of 142-144 Pitt Street. High Element (or space/component/fabric of an element) that makes a substantial contribution to the overall heritage significance of 142-144 Pitt Street. It has alterations that do not detract from its significance. Demolition/removal or inappropriate alteration would diminish the heritage significance of 142-144 Pitt Street. Moderate Element (or space/component/fabric of an element) that makes a moderate contribution to the overall heritage significance of 142-144 Pitt Street. It has undergone considerable alteration that detracts from its heritage significance. Demolition/removal or inappropriate alteration may diminish the heritage significance of 142-144 Pitt Street. Low Element (or space/component/fabric of an element) that makes only a minor contribution to the overall heritage significance of 142-144 Pitt Street. It has undergone substantial and irreversible alteration and is difficult to interpret. Demolition/removal would not diminish the heritage significance of 142-144 Pitt Street. Neutral An element that could remain or be removed with little impact on 142-144 Pitt Street. Intrusive Element (or space/component/fabric of an element) that adversely impacts on the overall heritage significance of 142-144 Pitt Street. Demolition/removal would enhance the heritage significance of 142-144 Pitt Street.
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The assessments of the relative significance of fabric and spaces in the following section is based on a physical inspection of the building and comparative analysis of extant building plans from 1919, 1935 and 2002. It is possible that early fabric is concealed behind later linings, and if this is the case evaluation of its relative significance will need to be reviewed.
5.4.1 Exceptional significance
Fabric and spaces evaluated as being of exceptional significance include:
• The overall configuration of the building;
• The sandstone facades, including decorative carved embellishments and the fenestration pattern of the first and second storeys. Although sections of stonework were replaced in the recent conservation works, the architectural integrity of the facades is intact;
• Original sections of masonry walls extending along the east and south site boundaries. The exact extent of original wall fabric has not been determined because of later fit-outs and fabric in these parts of the building;
• The steel structure at roof level that originally supported the tower;
• Early internal joinery architraves and sills associated with windows in external walls;
• Early timber skirting boards, particularly along external walls;
• Internal panelled timber doors, fanlights, architraves and skirting boards on the second floor corridor and associated corridor space;
• Remaining original timber floor structures and flooring.
5.4.2 High Significance
Fabric and spaces evaluated as being of high significance include:
• Intact remaining fabric from the 1919 alterations and additions to the building at all levels;
• Original sections of the lift shaft;
• Timber framed double hung windows in the Pitt Street and King Street facades - the exact age of this joinery has not been determined, although it may be original. If this were the case it would have exceptional significance;
• 1935 fabric on the northern side of the roof level, including timber framed obscured glazing at the north eastern corner of the building and the associated corridor space.
5.4.3 Moderate Significance
Fabric and spaces evaluated as being of moderate significance include:
• 1930s additions at roof level, including the north wall above the façade. and the addition at the south western end of the roof;
• Anterooms attached to the southern end of the stair;
• Windows opening into the light well;
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• Open roof space on the western side of the building;
• The enclosing walls associated with the light well at the first and second floor levels;
• The two stock rooms on the southern side of the second floor. The spaces have been modified to some extent but are understood to have a similar configuration to what was documented in 1919;
• The steel beam supporting the 1935 roof addition.
5.4.4 Low Significance
Fabric and spaces evaluated as being of low significance includes:
• The shop fronts to the Pitt and Kind Street facades;
• The awnings above shop fronts on the Pitt and King Street facades;
• Lavatory fit-outs on the roof level (third floor).
5.4.5 Neutral Significance
Fabric evaluated as being of neutral significance includes:
• All fabric associated with the 2002 internal fit out, on all levels;
• The external steel stair on the roof;
• Plant, equipment and associated access paths at roof level;
• The lift car
• Tile linings on the stair between the ground floor and mezzanine levels.
5.4.6 Intrusive Elements
Fabric evaluated as being intrusive includes:
• The awning type window sashes at second floor level on the splayed corner of the facades.
The following diagrams indicate the relative significance of building fabric and spaces on each level of the building.
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5.5 HERITAGE CURTILAGE REVIEW
5.5.1 Background
Heritage curtilage is defined in the NSW Heritage Office publication Heritage Curtilages as:
The area of land (including land covered by water) surrounding an item or area of heritage significance which is essential for retaining and interpreting its heritage significance.
It can apply to either:
- land which is integral to the heritage significance of items of the built heritage; or - a precinct which includes buildings, works, relics, trees or places and their setting.
The term “heritage curtilage” is also used by the Heritage Council of NSW to describe the area listed on the State Heritage Register (SHR) or on a local environmental plan.
The heritage curtilage should contain all elements contributing to the heritage significance, conservation and interpretation of a place including (but not limited to):
• historic site boundaries; • buildings and structures and their settings; • functional and visual relationships between buildings and structures; • important views to and from the place; • any identified archaeological resources; • historic and visual spatial relationships between buildings, structures and grounds.
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The NSW Heritage Office guidelines describe four different types of heritage curtilages:
• Lot Boundary Heritage Curtilage, where the lot would adequately contain the heritage significance of the place, including buildings, gardens and other significant features such as walls, fences and driveways that contribute to the heritage significance of the place; • Reduced Heritage Curtilage, where the significance of the place does not necessarily relate to the total lot area but to a lesser area of land; • Expanded Heritage Curtilage, where an area larger than the lot boundary is required to retain the heritage significance of the place, including its landscape setting or visual catchment; and • Composite heritage curtilage, which applies to conservation areas.
5.5.2 Heritage Curtilage for 142-144 Pitt Street
The heritage curtilage must satisfy the following general principles:
• The significance of the original relationship of the heritage item to its site should be conserved; • An adequate setting for the heritage item should be provided that enables its heritage significance to be maintained; • Adequate visual catchments or corridors should be provided to the heritage item from major viewing points and from the item to outside elements with which it has important visual or functional relationships; • Ideally, adequate buffer areas should be provided to screen the heritage item form visually unsympathetic development or to provide protection from vibration, traffic noise, pollution or vandalism.
Although a Lot Boundary Heritage Curtilage, determined by the land title of 142-144 Pitt Street, is appropriate to the site it does not include the building’s context and visual connections. Therefore an Expanded Heritage Curtilage is more appropriate. The setting of 142-144 Pitt Street is integral to its heritage significance. The building contributes to the quality of the streetscape at the intersection of King and Pitt Streets and forms a link in the continuity of the streetscape because of its visual relationships to other Victorian and federation era buildings in its immediate vicinity and to the north, south, east and west of the site. The heritage curtilage for 142-144 Pitt Street is considered to incorporate not only the immediate boundary of the site but its visual relationship with King and Pitt Streets. Because of this an Expanded Heritage Curtilage encompassing adjacent nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings in both streets would apply.
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Figure 5-1 Curtilage Diagram
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6 HERITAGE MANAGEMENT CONTEXT
6.1 INTRODUCTION
Conservation policies and recommendations for their implementation are developed from an understanding of:
• The heritage significance of the place and the contribution that key components make to that significance; • The physical condition and integrity of the various site components; • The owner’s requirements; • Uses for the place that are both feasible and compatible with the retention of major aspects of heritage significance; and • Statutory obligations and non-statutory considerations. • The opportunities and constraints associated with the above are discussed in the following section of the CMP.
6.2 HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE
142-144 Pitt Street is a place of great heritage significance requiring that it be managed in accordance with accepted best-practice conservation principles.
Opportunities and constraints arise from the cultural significance of 142-144 Pitt Street. Generally it is important to respect and enhance the building’s streetscape contribution to Pitt and King Streets and its general architectural composition. As well, the significant envelope, spaces, fabric and elements of the building should be retained, conserved and enhanced. These include:
• The stone facades; • Timber window and door joinery from the original building and the modifications to the building that took place in 1919 and 1935; • The steel structure that originally supported the tower; • Stair fabric, including marble and terrazzo linings and wrought metal handrails and balustrades from the 1930s.
6.3 CONDITION AND INTEGRITY OF THE BUILDING
Physical and documentary evidence shows that the building is not substantially intact. Physical evidence bears out the origins of the building as a purpose-designed insurance office. It is still possible to understand the nineteenth century building type through the evidence provided by the extant facades and structure, which is assisted by evidence contained in documentary records.
The building’s structural adequacy is good and the general condition of the external fabric is very good. Interiors are also in good condition. However, continued maintenance will be required to sustain this level of condition. Adequate financial resources should be allocated for the repair of future deteriorating fabric and ongoing conservation and maintenance.
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6.4 NEW USES
The following principles should apply to the adaptation of the building to new uses:
The preferred new uses for the building are those that will:
• Enhance appreciation of its cultural significance; • Ensure conservation of identified significant building elements, fabric, spaces and context; • Accommodate the activities, services and fittings that are essential to the new use, without damaging significant fabric, elements or spaces.
Future uses for 142-144 Pitt Street may be considered as compatible if the following criteria are met:
• The cultural significance of the building, including facades and significant spaces and fabric, is not compromised;
• The integral relationship of 142-144 Pitt Street and its context is retained;
• The proposed new use is sympathetic with the original use and does not detract from the cultural significance of the building;
• .Significant fabric, elements and spaces are not damaged or destroyed;
• The nature of the new use would not result in an unacceptable level of wear and tear on significant fabric;
• Required services (for instance, fire safety provisions, lift, air conditioning) for a potential new use will not cause damage, destroy or compromise the building or any interior spaces, elements and fabric of significance;
• Fixtures and fittings required as a part of the new use would not damage or compromise significant fabric or spaces.
Proposed uses that achieve the stated outcomes of the conservation policies are preferred to those that necessitate greater change and intrusion. Occupants should be selected on the basis that they “fit” the building’s extant spaces. The reverse approach, whereby significant fabric is altered or demolished to suit the requirements of the occupants, is unacceptable.
General constraints relating to fabric, elements and spaces of significance include:
• Retention of the original configuration of intact significant spaces and fabric that reflect historically significant uses of the building;
• Locating new services and ancillary spaces in areas of little significance to minimise impacts on the building.
Inappropriate uses could lead to confusion or obscure the historical associations of the place.
Lack of use and the consequent lack of maintenance may be as equally damaging as the introduction of an incompatible use.
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6.5 OWNER’S REQUIREMENTS
The owners have undertaken extensive conservation works to the building’s exterior and have maintained the interior in good condition. They are intending to make an application to the City of Sydney for the award of Heritage Floor Space.
6.6 STATUTORY CONTEXT
6.6.1 Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979
The Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) (the EP&A Act) provides for the preparation of planning instruments to guide land use management at state, regional and local levels. Of particular relevance to heritage matters are the mechanisms for inclusion of heritage conservation provisions in planning instruments and the assessment of development proposals.
6.6.2 Heritage Council of NSW State Heritage Register
The State Heritage Register is a list of places and items of State heritage significance endorsed by the Heritage Council of NSW and the Minister for Planning. The Register replaces the previous system of Permanent Conservation Orders as a means of protecting items of State significance.
142-144 Pitt Street was included in the State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 (Listing Number 00736).
Listing on the State Heritage Register means that the item:
• Is of particular importance to the State and enriches our understanding of the history of NSW;
• Is legally protected under the NSW Heritage Act;
• Requires approval for the Heritage Council of NSW for certain kinds of work; and is eligible for financial incentives.
Application to undertake such works are made under Section 60 of the NSW Heritage Act and are made as part of an Integrated Development Assessment (IDA) application.
Under Section 57(2) of the Heritage Act the Minister may make exemptions from approval otherwise required under Section 57(1) for works to State Heritage Register items. Such exemptions are intended to streamline the approvals process. The Heritage Council’s Standard Exemptions apply to 142-144 Pitt Street. Standard exemptions apply to all State Heritage Register items and cover maintenance and cleaning, repairs, painting, excavation, development endorsed by the Heritage Council or Director, minor activities with no adverse heritage impact, non- significant fabric, change of use, new buildings, temporary structures, landscape maintenance, signage, burial sites and cemeteries, compliance with minimum standards orders, safety and security and moveable heritage items.
Minimum Standards of Maintenance and Repair
Section 118 of the Heritage Act provides for the regulation of minimum standards for the maintenance and repair of State Heritage Register items. These standards were regulated in 1999 and apply to all State Heritage Register items. The minimum standards cover the following areas:
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• Weatherproofing; • Fire protection; • Security; • Essential maintenance;
An inspection to ensure that the item is being maintained in accordance with the minimum standards must be conducted at least once every year (or at least once every three years for essential maintenance and repair standards). Failure to meet the minimum standards may result in an order from the Heritage Council to do or refrain from doing any works necessary to ensure the standards are met. Failure to comply with an order can result in the resumption of land, a prohibition on development or fines and imprisonment.
6.6.3 City of Sydney Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2005
142-144 Pitt Street is listed as item 337 (CSHI No. 4059) on Schedule 8 Part 1 of the SLEP 2005 and the Heritage Streetscape map in SLEP 2005. It is referred to as Grahame’s Corner.
SLEP 2005 Part 4 clauses relate to floor space ratio but also cover Heritage Floor Space. Clause 60 outlines the objectives for the award and allocation of HFS, Clause 61 contains provisions for the award of HFS and Clause 62 relates to the allocation of HFS.
SLEP 2005 Part 6 Clauses 67-75 contain Heritage Provisions. Several are relevant to the consideration of the potential development of 142-144 Pitt Street. Clause 71 addresses floor space ratio of heritage items, Clause 72 addresses development that would materially affect a heritage item and Clause 73 has provisions governing processes for major changes to heritage items. Clause 74 contains provisions for development within the vicinity of a heritage item.
SLEP 2005 listed heritage items in the immediate vicinity of 142-144 Pitt Street are:
• 104 King Street (former Diamonds Today Building);
• 106 King Street (Bruce & Walsh Building);
• 147 King Street (Cornelius Court);
• 138-140 Pitt Street (Sugar House);
• 158-160 Pitt Street (Soul Pattinson Building);
• 181 Pitt Street (former Commonwealth Bank/American Shoe Store);
• 413-414 George Street (Strand Arcade).
Clause 75 contains provisions for the development of potential archaeological sites.142-146 Pitt Street is identified as an Area of Archaeological Potential in The Central Sydney Archaeological Zoning Plan.
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An Area of Archaeological Potential is described in the following terms:
An allotment of land or feature that has been identified in the field survey as being an area of high archaeological potential due to limited physical disturbance (usually due to the most recent building development). This category includes both above and below ground archaeological features such as remnant structures, significant fabric of extant buildings / structures, as well as below ground sites. Most areas identified will contain sites of former occupations / activity and buildings. These sites may be known through historic documentation (not undertaken as part of this project), or may become evident during the fieldwork. An example of the latter is within currently vacant allotments (generally development sites and car parks), where the shadows or outlines of the most recently demolished structures are evident on the walls of adjoining buildings.
Areas of Archaeological Potential are indicated by dark grey shading on the field survey plan. Where specific above ground features have been identified, they have been noted as part of the building allotment / street on which they are located in the schedule of sites.
This report has considered the possibility of the conservation of some relics within the site. However, these are likely to be in a potentially fragmentary state of preservation and of limited cultural value. In this circumstance, if excavation was planned on the site an appropriate strategy would be making application for an exception to Section 139 of the Heritage Act, which describes the circumstances for which an excavation permit is required,
City of Sydney Draft Local Environmental Plan 2011
The City of Sydney Draft LEP 2011 is presently under review and consideration after receipt of submissions, preparatory to reference to the Department of Planning for consideration and gazettal. 142-144 Pitt Street is included in Schedule 5 Environmental Heritage where it is listed as item I1924.
Sections of Draft LEP 2011 that may relate to 142-144 Pitt Street include (but are not necessarily limited to) the following clauses:
• Part 4 Principal Development Standards includes clauses relating to the height of buildings, floor space ratio and the calculation of floor space ratio and site areas (Clauses 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 respectively);
• Clause 5.10 Heritage Provisions incorporates subclauses that deal with objectives, requirements for consent, requirements for statements of heritage impact and conservation management plans, archaeological sites, conservation incentives and demolition of state significant items;
• Clause 6.8 Heritage Floor Space contains provisions covering objectives, creation of HFS, trading HFS and extinguishing HFS.
City of Sydney Heritage Development Control Plan 2006
The City of Sydney Heritage DCP 2006 provides objectives and provisions for the development of buildings with heritage significance, either individually or as part of a street or area. The intentions of the Heritage DCP 2006 are stated in its aims and objectives.
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The DCP provides general principles but little detailed guidance for major refurbishments or alterations and additions to commercial buildings in Sydney’s commercial business district.
Any development application for proposed works to 142-144 Pitt Street should be accompanied by a Statement of Heritage Impact referenced to a current Conservation Management Plan.
Central Sydney Development Control Plan 1996
The Central Sydney DCP 2006 (Amendment No. 20, May 2011) Section 2.9 provides the following strategy and objectives for extensions to heritage Items:
Strategy:
Heritage items are usually best conserved in their entirety. Refurbishment, extensions and new development adjoining a heritage item should be designed in respect and complement its style, form, proportions, materials and colours. In a few cases and subject to a Conservation Plan, new development may incorporate a heritage item. In this situation, substantial setback to the new development will be required. The setback should be sufficient to enable the heritage item to appear complete as a separate building, not a façade when viewed from the street.
An incentive for conserving heritage buildings which are not incorporated into a development is provided through the Award and Allocation of Heritage Floor Space. This award is available to heritage buildings on Schedule 1 of the Central Sydney 1992 - Conservation of Heritage Items [sic] only if the heritage building is conserved in its entirety or with minor extensions consistent with a Conservation Plan.
Objectives:
• To conserve heritage items in their entirety and use them in a manner appropriate to their heritage significance.
• To ensure that any extensions to or new development adjoining a heritage item complement its style, form, proportions, materials and colours
Section 7 of the DCP outlines the provisions for Heritage Floor Space (HFS). HFS is an incentive for the conservation of heritage items to be provided through the regulated award and allocation of floor space potential from heritage buildings listed in the Central Sydney Local Environmental Plan 1992 – Conservation of Heritage Items.
City of Sydney Draft Development Control Plan 2010
The City of Sydney Draft DCP 2010 is presently under review and consideration after receipt of submissions. Council will adopt the DCP to take effect on the gazettal of City of Sydney LEP 2011.
Sections of Draft DCP 2010 that may relate to 142-144 Pitt Street include (but are not necessarily limited to) the following clauses:
• Clause 2.12 Heritage and Pre 1950 Buildings includes sub-clauses with provisions for heritage objectives, requirements for statements of heritage impact and conservation management plans, archaeological assessments, development on sites of state heritage significance and heritage items;
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• Section 6 is devoted to Locality Statements. 142-144 Pitt Street is located within the Central Sydney locality and specifically falls within the Pitt Street Mall. Subclause 6.1.8 contains provisions for the Pitt Street Mall, including a character statement and principles that embrace conservation and enhancement of the area. Attention is given to nineteenth and twentieth century commercial buildings and their setting.
6.7 NON-STATUTORY HERITAGE CONSIDERATIONS
6.7.1 Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate (RNE) provides an inventory of places of cultural significance that contribute to our national heritage. The RNE is a list of more than 13,000 heritage places around Australia that has been compiled by the (former) Australian Heritage Commission and now managed by the Australian Heritage Council (AHC).
142-144 Pitt Street was included on the RNE on 1 November 1983 (Place File 1/12/036/0268).
Inclusion of the property on the RNE does not place any direct legal constraints on the actions of owners of private property. The RNE will no longer exist from February 2012.
6.7.2 National Trust of Australian (NSW)
The National Trust of Australia (NSW) maintains a register of places and items of cultural significance, including buildings, sites, items and areas that the Trust has assessed to be: places which are components of the natural or the cultural environment of Australia, that have aesthetic, historical, architectural, archaeological, scientific, or social significance, or other special value for future generations, as well as for the present community.
142-144 Pitt Street is included on the National Trust Register.
The National Trust is a non-statutory, non-government organisation; however, it has significant influence based on community support.
6.7.3 The Burra Charter
The Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter 1999 (The Burra Charter), is widely acknowledged as the principal guiding document for managing places of cultural significance. The Burra Charter defines the basic principles and procedures that should be followed in the conservation of places of heritage significance.
The Burra Charter has been adopted as the standard for best practice conservation of heritage places in Australia. The aims of the Burra Charter are to:
• resolve an understanding of the place; • involve the communities associated with the place; • care for the culturally significant fabric and other significant attributes and its setting; • provide an appropriate use; • provide security; • use available expertise; • record the place and changes made to it; and
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• interpret the significance of the place.
These principles are addressed through a number of Articles within the Burra Charter.
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7 INFORMATION FOR CONSERVATION POLICY
7.1 INTRODUCTION
Conservation can be regarded as the management of change. In such instances it seeks to safeguard what is significant about a place within a process of change and development. It is essential to establish principles, policies and recommended actions for the conservation and ongoing use of a place to ensure best-practice heritage management. Within this framework owners and managers of the place will be best able to formulate suitable proposals for change and consent authorities will be able to assess those proposals against the site-specific policies.
The conservation management policies provide an overall guiding framework for the conservation and retention of the cultural significance of 142-144 Pitt Street and its relationship to its surroundings. The policies provide for courses of action in the consideration of future incremental change, increased public uses, appropriate development and maintenance management activities for the site.
The policies are based on the relevant Articles of the Burra Charter and the sections of this Conservation Management Plan which fundamentally underlie each policy. The policies are presented as Primary Conservation Policies, which provide over-arching guidance for the overall management of the place - the attitudes, processes and advisory resources necessary for the proper and efficient management of change - and Operational Conservation Policies, which provide specific guidance for the conservation and uses of the place.
7.2 PRIMARY CONSERVATION POLICIES
Principle
As stated above, these policies provide the necessary general guidance for the proper and efficient management of change at 142-144 Pitt Street, which is a place of exceptional heritage significance that requires best-practice heritage management.
Policies
Policy 1 The CMP should be adopted as the basis for the effective management of the heritage significance of 142-144 Pitt Street.
Policy 2 The CMP should be submitted to the Heritage Council of NSW for endorsement.
Policy 3 The CMP should be submitted to the City of Sydney Council for its information and consideration.
Policy 4 The Statement of Significance in Section 5.3 of this CMP should be adopted as the basis for heritage management. All decisions should consider and seek to retain the values identified in the Statement of Significance.
Policy 5 The management of 142-144 Pitt Street should be in accordance with best-practice heritage management principles and guidelines. Heritage objectives should be fully integrated into the management structure of 142-144 Pitt Street.
Policy 6 Proposals for change at 142-144 Pitt Street should be subject to an assessment of the potential impacts (both positive and adverse) on the heritage significance of the place.
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The heritage impact assessments should be undertaken in accordance with Heritage Council of NSW guidelines and use appropriate heritage management expertise.
Policy 7 Development consent for all works at 142-144 Pitt Street should be sought in accordance with relevant statutory planning instruments.
Guidelines
• A management plan is only effective if its provisions are implemented. It is important to ensure that administrative and financial management arrangements, resources and processes allow for and contribute to the effective implementation of this CMP.
• Management staff and other site users should be made aware of the heritage significance of the place and the key objectives of heritage management. Roles and responsibilities for heritage management should be clearly established.
• The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance 1999 (The Burra Charter); and the guidelines produced by the Heritage Council of NSW form a widely recognised basis for the management of 142-144 Pitt Street’s heritage significance.
• Any proposals for 142-144 Pitt Street should be assessed to ensure that they are consistent with the management recommendations contained within this CMP. The assessment should include an evaluation of the potential impacts of proposals on the heritage significance of the place.
• Upgrading of the building to comply with the requirements of the BCA and the aims of the Disability Discrimination Act should be undertaken in ways that do not damage the cultural significance of the building.
• The CMP should be reviewed and amended when new or different circumstances relating to the place occur and if new directions are to be considered. CMP reviews and amendments should be undertaken in a manner that is consistent with Burra Charter principles and Heritage Council of NSW guidelines using appropriate heritage management expertise.
• The Heritage Council’s Fire, Services and Access Advisory Panel can provide valuable guidance on means of compliance with the Building Code of Australia and the Disability Discrimination Act while preserving the historic fabric of the building. A fire engineering approach may be needed to develop a fire safety strategy to avoid damage to significant spaces, elements and fabric.
• The relevance of the Earthquake Code may also need to be examined. AS 1170.4 states that the resistance to seismic forces must not be lessened by any alterations to the structure of a building. Even if the Code does not require it, seismic strengthening may be considered to be appropriate for other reasons such as the safety of users or the long term survival of a very important heritage building. An assessment of the risk of a seismic occurrence will be a factor in making decisions about strengthening, as will an understanding of the performance of the building in such an occurrence.
The parapets of both facades have already been braced for seismic loads. There is the potential to undertake further seismic bracing should structural changes be proposed
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inside the building. Should the decision to further strengthen the building be taken then the effect on the culturally significant fabric of the building should be considered.
7.3 OPERATIONAL CONSERVATION POLICIES
7.3.1 Conservation of Significance: General Policies Principle
Future conservation, adaptation and maintenance of 142-144 Pitt Street should be approached with the overall principle of changing “as much as is necessary but as little as possible.” The following policies provide general guidance for the care and management of building fabric and management of change to the place.
Policies
Policy 8 Extant significant building elements, spaces and fabric, both internally and externally should be retained and conserved in accordance with the levels of significance identified in Section 5.4 Grading of Significance and in accordance with particular actions outlined in specific policies of this CMP.
Policy 9 Extant significant building elements, spaces and fabric should be maintained at least to the minimum standard required under the NSW Heritage Act.
Policy 10 Unless dangerous to occupants and visitors, any significant fabric that has been worn through use should be retained and any associated risks reduced by compatible means.
Policy 11 Appropriate conservation skills and experience should be used to document and supervise conservation works.
Policy 12 All conservation works should be undertaken in consultation with qualified and experienced conservation professionals acting within the guidelines of the CMP.
Implementation guidelines
• One of the key objectives of contemporary conservation practice is that as much of the significant fabric of a building as possible should be retained and conserved in order to preserve the essential integrity of the heritage resource for future generations.
• While any conservation activity will affect the building in some way, the aim, which is consistent with responsible re-use or management aims, should be to minimize the necessary work. In this way the authenticity of the building will be retained as far as possible within a process of evolutionary change and good maintenance practice. Article 3 of the Burra Charter indicates that conservation is based on a respect for the existing fabric of a place and should therefore involve the least possible physical intervention in order not to distort the evidence provided by the building fabric.
• The Statement of Cultural Significance sets out the reasons why 142-144 Pitt Street has cultural significance. The more detailed assessments of relative levels of heritage significance in Section 5.4 are an important factor to be considered when planning for
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future action. Understanding of the different levels of heritage significance helps to provide flexibility that is necessary for the management of change.
• Where it is clear that original or significant fabric has been removed it is considered appropriate (if proposed) to adaptively reconstruct this fabric based on documentary evidence.
• 142-144 Pitt Street should continue to be conserved and used for purposes that are compatible with its significance. The significant fabric of the building’s exterior should be maintained and conserved while the use and adaptation of its interiors should have the utmost regard for conserving significant fabric and any remaining evidence of the building’s past uses.
7.3.2 Appropriate Conservation Skills and Experience Principle
The conservation of particular building materials may require due consideration and the expertise of appropriately experienced personnel. The skills and experience required and creative approaches taken in the context of a conservation project are quite different from those applied to the design and construction of new buildings. The Burra Charter encourages the use of skilled and appropriate professional direction and supervision from a range of disciplines for conservation activities.
Policy
Policy 13 Appropriate conservation skills and experience should be employed for documentation and supervision within project teams to deal with any future programs of conservation and upgrading of the building components of 142-144 Pitt Street.
Guidelines
• The conservation of significant fabric associated with this building will require the expertise of professionals. The coordination and briefing of these professionals is a task of great importance and is a task that should be performed by a suitably qualified person such as a conservation architect.
• Under no circumstances should decisions relating to conservation work be left in the hands of tradesmen acting alone. On the other hand, once decisions are made that will require intervention into building fabric, the best available craftsmen and conservators should be engaged to carry out the works.
• Appropriate professional skills and experience assembled to work on the detailed conservation of the building could include, as appropriate, researchers, archaeologists, conservation architects, structural engineers, building code compliance advisors, materials conservation specialists and cost planners.
• Building contractors, project managers and trades personnel who are experienced in working on historic buildings should be selected to work on projects.
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7.3.3 Conservation of Building Fabric and Spaces Principle
It is important that appropriate actions are undertaken for the future conservation and development of 142-144 Pitt Street. Spaces and fabric of exceptional and high significance require special consideration, while there is more latitude for change in spaces and fabric having lesser heritage significance. The schedules of relative heritage significance for building fabric and spaces are located in section 5.4 of this report.
Policies
Policy 14 Individual elements and fabric identified as having a particular level of significance should be treated in accordance with the corresponding conservation actions outlined in the table attached to this policy.
Policy 15 Respect the architectural qualities of the King and Pitt Street facades.
Policy 16 Respect and enhance the building’s streetscape contribution to King and Pitt Streets.
Policy 17 All work affecting the external form and architectural detailing of 142-144 Pitt Street building should respect its heritage significance.
Policy 18 Retain, conserve and enhance external and internal fabric and components of the building in accordance with the guidelines included in Table 7.1 of this CMP.
Policy 19 Retain, recycle, add compatible new construction and/or remove in part or in full external fabric and elements of the building of low heritage significance.
Policy 20 All external and internal surfaces originally intended to be unpainted should remain unpainted. New contemporary interior and exterior colour schemes are permissible.
Implementation guidelines
The following table provides the recommended conservation treatment for the identified levels of significance associated with individual spaces, elements and fabric (refer also to Section 5.4 above).
Table 7.1 Recommendations for Management of Significant Fabric and Components
Significance Recommendations for Management Exceptional Retain, conserve (restore/reconstruct) and maintain. Intrusive elements and fabric should be removed. Adaptation is appropriate provided that it is in accordance with Burra Charter principles and with the specific guidance provided in this CMP. High Retain, conserve (restore/reconstruct) and maintain. Intrusive elements and fabric should be removed. Adaptation is appropriate provided that it is in accordance with Burra Charter principles and with the specific guidelines provided in this CMP. There is generally more scope for change than for components of exceptional significance. Moderate Retain, adapt and maintain. Demolition/removal is acceptable provided that there is
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Significance Recommendations for Management no adverse impact on the heritage significance of the place. Retention in some cases may depend on factors other than assessed heritage values, including physical condition and functionality. Little Retain, alter or demolish/remove as required provided there are no adverse impacts on the heritage significance of the place. Sensitive alteration or demolition/removal may assist with enhancing the heritage significance of components of greater heritage significance. Intrusive Demolish/remove when the opportunity arises while ensuring there are no adverse impacts on the heritage significance of other more significant components. Components that are actively contributing to the physical deterioration of components of higher heritage significance should be removed as a matter of priority.
• Intervention into any building fabric, element or space should respect the integrity of the extant material, be carefully controlled and be limited to that required by the proposed works.
• Consider replacing the second floor window in the splayed corner with an appropriately detailed window similar in for to the other windows in the facades.
7.3.4 Setting Principle
142-144 Pitt Street is a highly important townscape element at the intersection of King and Pitt Street and is one of a number of Victorian and Federation era buildings in this section of the City of Sydney. It is essential to maintain this contribution and its relationship to other significant buildings.
Policies
Policy 21 Respect and enhance the building’s streetscape contribution to King and Pitt Streets, which should not be altered or compromised.
Policy 22 Preserve the setting of 142-144 Pitt Street by allowing the building to remain prominent when viewed from the west and east along King Street and from the north and south along Pitt Street, and by retaining visual links to nearby nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings.
Implementation Guidelines
• There should be no intrusive elements applied to the facades of 142-144 Pitt Street.
• Future shop front modifications should maintain the present standard of design as a minimum and should enhance the building and its setting.
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7.3.5 Managing Change Principles
The fundamental principle of the Burra Charter is one that requires the least intervention into building fabric as possible, while still achieving the desired results. It is a minimalist approach that attempts to retain as much of the original and highly significant building fabric as possible. The approach recognizes and respects the intrinsic value of the building fabric and its ability to tell an important story, and facilitates intervention in a sensitive way.
Internal alterations and renovations are acceptable within the context of compatible use. Historically the building has undergone internal modification as uses have changed over time. However, future works should not impact on the heritage significance of original and significant internal building fabric and spatial qualities, or on the building’s external presentation.
Policies
Policy 23 The long-term management of the building including its adaptation for new uses should continue to be undertaken with a full appreciation of the building’s significance.
Policy 24 While recognising the need for change, the approach to the building fabric should be one of minimal intervention – changing as much as necessary but as little as possible.51
Policy 25 External and internal fabric and spaces of exceptional or high heritage significance should be carefully recorded prior to changes taking place.
Policy 26 Intervention for purposes other than conservation of building fabric should occur in parts of the building of lower heritage significance.
Policy 27 There should be no further vertical additions to the building.
Policy 28 The upgrading of services within the building should comply with the following approach:
• Minimise impact of significant fabric; • Locate services in areas designed for, or previously damaged by service installations; • Locate services in areas that are not visible; • Use fixings that do not damage significant fabric.
Implementation Guidelines
• A policy of retention, enhancement and retrieval of the cultural significance of the place shall be adopted, to be implemented when and as the opportunities arise, and taking into consideration the differing needs of the various future uses.
• The history of the development of the building demonstrates that major reworking is part of its heritage, and has included demolition of the tower and removal of sculptural elements. Despite these losses, the building is a powerful element in the streetscape and
51 Burra Charter Article 3
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has strong visual associations with contemporary buildings on other nearby street corners. Additions to the roof of the building have the potential to intrude on these aspects of the building’s significance. The only major new elements at roof level should be a reconstructed tower and statuary.
• Future uses should be compatible with the nature and significance of building components and should enable the building to remain a vital and important component of the King and Pitt Street precinct.
• The adaptive re-use of all building components is acceptable. Compatible new uses should be selected that will utilise the original character of the building or permit a creative and responsible re-use of its fundamental architectural, spatial and functional characteristics.
• The owner shall ensure that any new uses selected for the building shall adopt the notion of “loose fit”, where the new use is adjusted as necessary to work within the available architectural and spatial configuration.
• Future adaptation of the building’s interior should ensure that original fabric and significant architectural and spatial features are retained and interpreted as far as possible.
• The detailed requirements of future new uses should not generate undue changes to the existing fabric that cannot be reversed in the long term, or which do not respect and work within the existing architectural framework.
• Future subdivision of internal spaces should continue to be undertaken in a secondary manner, using items such as partitions that can eventually be removed, and which do not impact on existing finishes or structural details.
• Limited external changes to the King Street and Pitt Street facades to suit new uses may be permitted, provided changes are subservient to the primary architectural features and composition of the existing facades and structures. There shall be no changes to stonework and the configuration of fenestration.
• The introduction of new services and associated fittings as part of approved re-use programs should be carried out with the minimum of disruption to fabric and spaces.
• Future uses that require an unacceptable level of intervention for upgrading to achieve ordinance compliance are to be avoided.
• When decisions are made requiring changes to building fabric, elements or spaces of exceptional or high heritage significance a process of recording those changes should be instituted. If it is conceded that the building fabric can tell an important story, it should be recognized that any changes to the fabric should be carefully recorded to ensure that the story is not lost or diluted. One appropriate standard for recording is the NSW Heritage Council’s Guide to Archival Recording. Copies of the recording should be distributed to appropriate repositories to ensure ready availability and guard against loss.
7.3.6 Archaeology Principle
Sites of historical archaeological potential are protected under the Heritage Act 1977 (NSW).
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The site of 142-144 Pitt Street is identified as an area of Archaeological Potential (AAP) in The Central Sydney Archaeological Zoning Plan. It is possible that relics with archaeological potential remain on the site and may be uncovered in future works to the building.
Policy
Policy 29 Any potential archaeological resources on the property should be conserved in accordance with the requirements of the NSW Heritage Act.
Implementation guidelines
• Any excavation works that may be required at the site shall be carried out with care.
• Any findings during excavation must be reported to the Project Manager immediately and not be disturbed until formal instructions are issued by the Heritage Architect.
• An archaeological assessment by a qualified archaeologist should be made of the remains. Based on this assessment, it may be necessary to gain approvals from the Heritage Council of NSW.
7.3.7 Interpretation Principle
Interpretation of the cultural heritage significance of a place is generally considered to be an important conservation action. It reveals long-term connections and associations that can underpin our cultural identity. Interpretation can increase the public’s understanding and because of this enhance their perceptions of the significance of the place.
Well-designed interpretive devices have been installed in two of the retailing levels of 142-144 Pitt Street.
Policy
Policy 30 Maintain the interpretation devices that have been installed within the building.
Implementation Guidelines
• Retain the interpretation panels in their existing locations for as long as practicable.
• The panels may be relocated to other parts of the building should their present location affect the needs of future tenants. A suitable location would need to be selected that allows the panels to be viewed and appreciated by visitors to the building.
7.3.8 Signage Principle
Signage is an important adjunct to the existing retail tenancy and will be an important consideration for tenants into the future. It is therefore necessary to ensure that the needs of tenants are met, at the same time ensuring that new signage does not impact negatively on the building’s heritage significance.
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Policy
Policy 31 New external signage is acceptable provided it is subservient to existing building fabric and is executed with complementary and sympathetic materials, design and typography.
Implementation Guidelines
• New signage on the exterior of the building is acceptable only if is designed in sympathy with the King and Pitt Street facades. A Signage Strategy should be prepared for the building and should be undertaken by a consultant with experience in writing this type of document.
• The design of signage should be compliant with the requirements of the City of Sydney Signage and Advertising Structures Development Control Plan 2005.
• New signage within the building is acceptable, particularly in retail areas.
7.3.9 Care and Maintenance of Building Fabric
Principle The nature of any place is that its fabric will deteriorate due to the effects of age, weathering and use. Ongoing cleaning, maintenance and repair are required to offset deterioration of significant fabric and are best achieved by preparing and implementing a program that incorporates these actions. A regular program of maintenance is an important tool when conserving items of heritage significance. Managed maintenance, by initiating regular inspection, remedial action, repair and refinishing, minimises the need for extensive conservation work, facilitates the planning of expenditure and is generally cost-effective.
As a place of State heritage significance, 142-144 Pitt Street is also subject to the statutory requirements under the Heritage Act 1977 (NSW) to meet specified minimum standards of maintenance and repair.
Policies
Policy 32 Adequate financial resources should be made available for the ongoing conservation, repair and maintenance of significant fabric, elements and spaces.
Policy 33 The building should be protected in accordance with a planned maintenance and repair program that is based on extensive knowledge of the building and its materials, regular inspections and prompt preventative action.
Policy 34 Qualified and experienced trades people only should be employed to work on the building elements, in particular those identified as being significant. Remedial work should be appropriately supervised.
Policy 35 Previous maintenance and repair using unsuitable materials or detailing should be replaced as necessary using materials and detailing that do not detract from the significance of the fabric.
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Policy 36 Services should not be permitted to emit waste products in a manner that will give rise to undue deterioration of building fabric.
Policy 37 Systems that prevent water penetration into the building should be especially well maintained.
Policy 38 The maintenance program should be implemented in accordance with the following principles:
• Attend to building repair work regularly to maintain the condition of the building fabric between repair cycles; • Work of a similar type should be undertaken as a unified operation, except in the case of urgent repairs; • Minor repairs should be promptly attended to, so as to avoid needles expense arising from further damage; • The maintenance program should endeavour to preserve significant building fabric wherever possible, with the aim of undertaking repair rather than replacement.
Implementation Guidelines
The maintenance of the building should continue to be regulated and enforced in accordance with the existing maintenance program regardless of potential change in building owners or managers. The maintenance program should be informed by the Conservation Management Plan:
• No conservation or maintenance work should alter or negatively impact on the elements of external or internal fabric and spaces that have been identified as elements being of Exceptional or High significance.
• Significant fabric worn by processes of use over time provides evidence of the building’s history, which contributes to an understanding of the place. .
• All structural elements should be retained as they exist, with appropriate maintenance taking place. No original structural members should be removed unless it is essential for the reinstatement of significant architectural elements. All original or significant doors, windows, floors, ceilings, balustrades, staircases and associated landings, lifts, vaults, industrial artifacts and interpretative signage, where they may occur, should be retained and appropriately maintained.
The minimum standard of maintenance to be undertaken is to prevent deterioration of building fabric, ensure weather tightness and keep vermin out of structures:
• Standards that must be met to ensure compliance with the provisions for minimum standards of repair and maintenance in the Heritage Amendment Regulation 1999 under the Heritage Act are Inspection, Essential Maintenance and Repair, Weather Protection, Fire Protection and Security;
• Establish a maintenance plan. The maintenance plan will reference publications such as the NSW Heritage Branch document Minimum Standards of Maintenance and Repair;
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• In addition to regular maintenance activities, prompt preventative action and repair should be taken as necessary and is a cost effective way to achieve conservation. Prevention of continuing deterioration should take priority over widespread repair or reconstruction;
• Inspection and maintenance works should only be conducted by those with professional knowledge and demonstrated experience with buildings and materials of this nature;
• Aged fabric, which is not likely to be causing on-going deterioration should not be repaired for visual reasons if by doing so the patina of age and ability to successfully interpret various stages of use is degraded;
• Where repairs are required, new material should closely match original or adjacent materials. However, evidence of change should be identifiable on close inspection;
• Fabric, which is of exceptional or high significance but is hazardous, should be replaced with a suitable modern material to match existing profiles;
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8 MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
This Conservation Management Plan has been prepared to provide guidelines for the conservation, re-use, development and management of 142-144 Pitt Street, Sydney, to ensure that the heritage value of the place is maintained and enhanced into the future.
This section sets out the guidelines for managing maintenance and conservation works.
8.1 CONSERVATION WORKS 142-144 Pitt Street was been completely refurbished and conservation works undertaken to significant building fabric between 2002 and 2011. The works are summarised below.
8.1.1 New Awning
The 1935 awning, which was identified as an intrusive element, was removed and a new awning installed during 2002-2003 that eliminated an awkward change of level in the earlier awning on King Street and concealed an intrusive band of cement render immediately below the lowest sandstone string course. The new awning, although contemporary in character, interprets the design of early awnings. It was intended to be an integrated element with new shop fronts so that the original vertical proportions of the facades could be regained and intended to improve the presentation of the building’s facades with an unbroken horizontal band. The slim profile of the awning minimises its impact on the building.
8.1.2 Shop Fronts
The existing shop fronts replaced earlier shop fronts that had been evaluated as intrusive, and are in keeping with the historical development of the property, where numerous modifications at the ground floor have taken place over time to facilitate changes for retail accommodation. They were designed in consideration of the cultural significance of the site and are modulated and detailed to echo the façade above, in particular its vertical rhythm. Traditional cladding materials are used. This provides a level of continuity with the original building fabric and reinstates characteristics of the building’s original ground floor design.
Figure 8-1 1935 King Street awning and rendered Figure 8-2 Pitt Street shopfronts, 2002. band below sandstone, 2002.
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Figure 8-3 Comparative photographs showing 142-144 Pitt Street in January 2002 prior to conservation and other works taking place (top) and the building after execution of the works and conservation of stonework in 2011.
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Lighting was introduced under the new awning to improve the light levels at night over the footpath. Façade lighting to increase the visibility of the sandstone façade and their presentation at night has also been installed.
8.1.3 Stairs
Marble and terrazzo stair fabric was retained and conserved as part of the program of building works. Wrought metal balustrades were also retained and conserved.
8.1.4 Interpretation
Illustrated interpretive panels have been installed on two retailing levels of the building. The panels provide a succinct and graphically attractive explanation of the building to visitors.
Figure 8-4 Interpretive panel near the lift on the ground floor of 142-144 Pitt Street.
8.1.5 Building Exterior Conservation Works
Generally external conservation works included conservation of stonework, seismic bracing of parapets, conservation of steel beams supporting the 1935 roof addition and the original steel structure that supported the corner tower, and repairs and painting of window joinery.
Specific works associated with stonework repairs included:
• Cleaning of facade stonework above street awning level and rear of facades before commencement of repairs and new works;
• Testing to determining the extent of salt contamination;
• Application of cocoon poultice to desalinate stonework;
• Repairs to stonework, including pediments, cornices, capping stones, string courses, friezes, balustrades, architraves, sills and other stone details;
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• Removal of paint from rear of stone facade walls and parapet balusters at roof level, including removal of painted waterproof membranes from the rear of stone parapets at roof level;
• Removal of metal plugs and patching of stonework where signs and other items that were removed from the facades. This was accompanied by infilling holes with mortar patches to match the existing stone colour;
• Re-dressing stonework where only minor decay has occurred;
• Retooling stone faces;
• Removal of pointing and supply and installation of appropriate new pointing to sandstone joints.
Lead weathering protection was applied to tops of sandstone copings, cornices, pediments, and parapets. Traditional methodologies were employed.
Works to the lift tower included removal of rusting exposed steel members and repainting in an appropriate colour.
8.2 CYCLICAL MAINTENANCE
The following cyclic maintenance schedule outlines the inspection and repair regime that should be implemented by the building’s managers as part of the process of on-going maintenance of 142- 144 Pitt Street. Work that is undertaken and any faults discovered or repairs made to significant fabric should be recorded and the record maintained separately alongside a copy of this maintenance schedule.
Qualified and experienced consultants only should be employed to work on significant building fabric, particularly the façade stone. Remedial work should be appropriately supervised. Expert professional advice should be sought prior to cleaning or undertaking future repair work on significant building features or fabric.
Roof
Building Condition Inspect for When Life Required works Element Expectancy Flashings Good Inspect for loose or raised fixings to Every 2 15+ years Maintenance and metal cappings, cappings that have years and life cycle cappings lifted, slipped or are deformed from replacement wind damage. Roof Good Inspect for lifting joints, surface blisters Every 20+ years Maintenance membrane or physical damage and cracks. year and life cycle Check on hot days and after rain as replacement the membrane surface dries (cracking can be seen wet as the heat draws up moisture). Check water falls across roofs and does not pond. Steel Check for signs of rust. Check that all Every 7 Maintenance elements fixings are secure. years and repair Ensure there are no loose items lying on flat sections of steel or items Weekly propped against steel
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Roof drainage
Building Condition Inspect for When Life Required Element Expectancy Works Sumps Good Clear sumps including guards of 4-12 Maintenance leaves and rubbish. Ensure guards sit months and repair correctly and are clear of debris. Check that downpipes are flowing Every 2 freely and are not blocked. Look for years downpipes that are damaged or
squashed and restrict water flow. Check that downpipes are connected to the stormwater system and whether joints are sound. Check that stormwater drainage is not blocked.
External fabric
Building Condition Inspect for When Life Required Element Expectancy Works Stone Good Inspect for loose, fretted, broken or 5 years 70+ years Conservation missing mortar joints to stone around works required windows, along flashings and on to repair fretted cornices and other projections. Check stonework. if the stone is crumbling or has surface salts; this can indicate a Maintenance moisture problem. Inspect for signs of and repair as delamination that can affect the required. soundness of stone. Is there rising or falling damp? Brickwork Fair Is render cracked or drummy? 5 years 40-75 years Maintenance and repair as required.
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Structure
Building Condition Inspect for When Life Required Element Expectancy Works Masonry Good Are there cracks? Straight and true? 5 years 40-75+ Maintenance and repair as required Timber Good Are members secure and true? 7 years Maintenance and repair as required.
Joinery
Condition Inspect for When Life Required Building Expectancy Works Element Timber Good Inspect for loose or damaged 2 years 10-15 years Maintenance framed mouldings, architraves, decayed stiles and repair as windows at sill level, weathered sills, sashes required. that bind, noisy pulley wheels that need to be oiled, and sash cords that are decayed or broken. Check strength by raising weight by hand and dropping – if cord is sound it will carry weight at bottom of drop. Inspect for loose or decayed sash joints and broken or cracked glass or putty. Check internal facings around windows for stains that can indicate failed flashings. Timber Good Inspect for loose jambs and damage 2 years 10-15 years Maintenance doors from locks being forced. Are and repair as mouldings or stops secure and does required. the door operate satisfactorily? Are door joints firm, mouldings missing or damaged? Is the hardware operational – do catches catch and locks lock? Is the furniture secure or missing and defective? Check if the door requires a stop to prevent damage to the door or walls when opened.
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Internal finishes
Building Condition Inspect for When Life Required Element Expectancy Works Plaster and Good Is the plaster/render cracked or 7 years 40-75+ Maintenance render drummy? Is there bubbling or years and lifecycle cracking of paint? This can indicate a replacement moisture problem Plaster- Good Are there dents or holes? Are there 3 years 20+ years board exposed edge strips or fixings? Ceramic Good Is there decayed or missing grout? 3 years 15-20+ Maintenance wall and Are there drummy, cracked or missing years and lifecycle floor tiles tiles? replacement Resilient Fair to Are there loose edges or seams? Are 1 year 8-10+ years Maintenance floor good there tears or worn areas? and lifecycle finishes replacement
Painting
Building Condition Inspect for When Life Required Element Expectancy Works External Good Inspect for paint deterioration, failure 3 years 7-10 years Maintenance fabric or damage and grime generally and lifecycle replacement Internal Good Inspect for paint deterioration, failure 3 years 10-15 years Maintenance walls and or damage and grime generally and lifecycle ceilings replacement Internal Good Inspect for paint deterioration and 3 years 10-15 years Maintenance window weathering and lifecycle joinery replacement Original Fair to Inspect for paint deterioration, failure 3 years 10-15 years Maintenance joinery good or damage and grime generally and lifecycle doors and replacement frames
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Services
Building Condition Inspect for When Life Required Element Expectancy Works Stormwater Functioning Inspect for drains and sumps 4-12 20- Maintenance service blocked with rubbish or silt. Check if months 25+years and lifecycle water lies in sumps as this can replacement indicate a total or partial blockage or inadequate fall in line. Sewerage Functioning Inspect sumps for damaged grates 2 years 20-25+ Maintenance service and ensure these are not draining years and lifecycle surface water replacement Water Functioning Inspect taps for drips and ease of 2 years 20-25+ Maintenance service operation. Are taps and surface run years and lifecycle pipes secured to walls or supports? replacement Electricity Functioning Check if light globes are blown or 1 year 15-20+ Maintenance service fittings damaged and if fittings are years and lifecycle well secured to walls or standards replacement Fire Functioning Regular inspection as required by 1 year 10 years Maintenance services service law for Annual Fire Safety Certificate and lifecycle replacement
Urgent Maintenance
Building Inspect for When Element Blocked or broken storm water and sewer lines that require clearing or repair; As they occur Clearing of blocked gutters and downpipes; Broken water service or leaking faucets and toilet cisterns; Damaged or defective light fittings and switches; Failed incandescent light bulbs or fluorescent tubes; Storm damage to building fabric; Vandalism or break and enter damage to windows and doors; Broken or defective locks and latches, replacement of keys or lock cylinders.
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9 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Judith Ainge, Alan Davies and Howard Tanner, An Edwardian Summer: Sydney & beyond through the lens of Arthur Wigram Allen, Historic Houses Trust, 2010.
John Alpen, From Millions to Sydney, Sydney Club, Sydney, 1988.
Richard Apperly, Robert Irving and Peter Reynolds, A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1994 edition.
Joseph Fowles, Sydney in 1848: a Facsimile of the Original Text and Copper-Plate Engravings of its Principal Streets, Public Buildings, Churches, Chapels, etc., from Drawings by Joseph Fowles, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1962.
Kenneth Turney Gibbs, Business Architectural Imagery in America, 1870-1930, UMI Research Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1984
Morton Herman, The Architecture of Victorian Sydney, Angus Robertson, Sydney, 1964 (2nd edition).
Graham Jahn, Sydney Architecture, Watermark Press, Sydney, 1997.
Beverley Kingston, A History of New South Wales, Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, 2006.
Sands’ Sydney and suburban directory, John Sands, Sydney, 1877 to 1896 editions.
Sands’ Sydney, suburban and country commercial directory, John Sands, Sydney, 1920 to 1932- 33 editions.
Harry Mayfield, Servant of a Century: The first 100 years of the Mercantile Mutual Insurance, Mercantile Mutual Insurance, Sydney, 1978.
The Cyclopedia of New South Wales: an historical and commercial review, descriptive and biographical, facts, figures and illustrations: an epitome of progress, McCarron, Stewart & Co, Sydney, 1907.
P C Wickens, The City Mutual Story: a century of service to Australians 1878-1978, City Mutual Life Assurance Society, Sydney, 1978.
Journals and Newspapers
“Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society”, Maitland Mercury, 16 June 1883.
“Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society”, Maitland Mercury, 20 May 1884.
“Our Portrait Gallery. The Late Mr. G. A. Morell, Architect and Engineer”, The Builder & Contractors’ News, 6 April 1889.
“Marine Assurance Company”, The Sydney Monitor, 18 May 1831.
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Sydney Morning Herald:
• “The Australian Mutual Provident Society’s New Office”, 21 November 1864 • “Australian Mutual Provident Society”, 24 January 1877 • “The Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Company”, 20 July 1877. • “Old and New Sydney. XV. – A Glimpse of Old Pitt-street”, 12 August 1882. • “Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society”, 8 June 1883.
• “Partnership Notice”, 12 May 1885. • Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society”, 7 September 1887.
• “Mutual Life Association of Australasia”, 7 March 1888, p.6.
• “Company News”, 30 August 1919. • “General Notes”, 3 September 1919.
• “Property Sale”, 30 January 1935.
• “New Jewellery Shop”, 6 August 1935.
Electronic
Gwyneth Dow, 'Terry, Samuel (1776–1838)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/terry-samuel- 2721/text3833, accessed 24 August 2011.
Noel S Hutchison, 'Sani, Tomaso (1839–1915)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/sani-tomaso- 4537/text7433, accessed 23 November 2011.
Andrew Lemon, “Basser, Sir Adolph (1887-1964)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/basser-sir- adolph-9447/text16611, accessed 16 August 2011. www.aviva.com/about-us/heritage/companies/australian-mutual-fire-insurance-society, 18 August 2011.
Land and Property Management Authority
Old Systems Title Book 46 Number 198. Old Systems Title Book 68 Number 115. Old Systems Title Book 1859 Folio 57. Primary Application Search Books - PA 1558. Certificate of Title Volume 4614 Folio 179. Certificate of Title Volume 15332. Other Sources
City of Sydney Assessment Books, Macquarie Ward 1858
City of Sydney Archives CRS 126 Building Application Plans 0414/19, 0356/35, 1028/89
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APPENDIX A BURRA CHARTER
TANNER ARCHITECTS MARCH 2012 ATTACHMENT B ATTACHMENT B ATTACHMENT B ATTACHMENT B ATTACHMENT B ATTACHMENT B ATTACHMENT B ATTACHMENT B ATTACHMENT B ATTACHMENT B ATTACHMENT B 142-144 PITT STREET, SYDNEY – CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
APPENDIX B HERITAGE LISTINGS AND INVENTORY SHEETS
TANNER ARCHITECTS MARCH 2012 Heritage Branch Website - Online Database Page 1 of 7 ATTACHMENT B
About Us Listings Development Heritage Council Publications & Conservation & Forms Technical About Heritage Research Funding
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Grahame's Corner
Item Name of Item: Grahame's Corner Other Name/s: Grahams Corner, AMFIS Building Type of Item: Built Group/Collection: Commercial Category: Insurance company/building Location: Lat:151.20851571 Long:-33.86906489 Primary Address: 142-144 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 Local Govt. Area: Sydney Property Description: Lot/Volume Code Lot/Volume Number Section Number Plan/Folio Code Plan/Folio Number LOT 1 - DP 901185
All Addresses
Street Address Suburb/Town LGA Parish County Type 142-144 Pitt Street Sydney Sydney St James Cumberland Primary 127 King Street Sydney Sydney St James Cumberland Alternate
Owner/s Organisation Name Owner Category Date Ownership Updated Gwynvill Holdings Pty Ltd Private 03 May 99
Statement of The building is a fine example of a Victorian office building with a richly detailed, classically influenced stone facade above awning level. The Significance building has aesthetic significance for its ornate craftsmanship and streetscape contribution to a group of late ninetheenth century retail buildings near the intersection of Pitt and King Streets, an important civic area in the city. The splayed corner detail gives special landmark prominence to this building marking the entrance to the Pitt Street Mall. The townscape qualities of the Pitt and King Street Group have historic significance and reflect Sydney's commercial development in the 19th century and changing consumer patterns after WWI. (Tanner 2002:18). This area of Sydney has historic importance to the state as examples of the wealth and grandeur of 19th century commercial buildings utilising classical styles, which were headquarters for statewide companies. Date Significance Updated: 06 Oct 06 Note: There are incomplete details for a number of items listed in NSW. The Heritage Branch intends to develop or upgrade statements of significance and other information for these items as resources become available.
http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/07_subnav_04_2.cfm?itemid=5045556 10/08/2011 Heritage Branch Website - Online Database Page 2 of 7 ATTACHMENT B
Description Designer/Maker: G.A. Morell Construction Years: 1877 - 1882 Physical Description: STYLE The former AMFIS building is a superbly crafted, monumental scale building with classical temple references. It was designed for its prominent location in the heart of Sydney's business district. The building's style promoted and reinforced the aims of its original owners: to project a sense of established tradition, display wealth, and inspire confidence and admiration in its customers and passersby.
The former AMFIS building is sited at the corner of two main streets, with no setback from the footpath. The four storey sandstone masonry building with mezzanine has been designed in the Victorian Free Classical style, utilising highly modelled sandstone elements around the windows of the first and second floors. The classical detailing: detailed pediments, dentilated cornice, pilasters, and aedicular windows; is applied consistently and symmetrically to both the King and Pitt Street facades and the corner facade.
The building is divided into seven bays on the King Street (north) facade with five bays extending across the Pitt Street (west) facade. The corner facade consists of one bay. Triangular pediments decorate the rooflines on the Pitt and King Street facades, contrasting with an arched broken pediment surmounting the corner facade. The pilaster/column style on the corner bay also contrasts with the sides; the corner having squared pilasters and the main street elevations having rounded pilasters. The date 1878 is on the corner facade.
MODIFICATIONS Above ground floor level there is an awning encircling both facades. The ground floor level exhibits major external modifications, where the original classical detailing and structure was removed. Below the first floor, a plain rendered band of masonry was evident in 2002 above the awning, undoubtedly representing the location of an earlier awning (Tanner 2002).
The building has a mezzanine level between the ground and first floors, accessed from the stair immediately inside the King Street central entrance. Ground floor and mezzanine levels exhibit contemporary fitouts, to function as retail areas. An entrance lobby located at the far east of the King Street faade, provides access to the upper floors which are fitted as office spaces. (Tanner 2002:15).
In 2006 the renovated shopfronts, approved by the Heritage Office, present a street level design and awning with sympathetic reference to the upper storeys. The shop windows are interspersed with golden sandstone coloured stone columns with black bases, and a handsome awning complements the classical grandiosity of the original design.
MATERIALS The building is constructed of sandstone masonry with timber framed windows to first and second floor, and large glass shopfront windows to ground floor. Load bearing brick masonry walls and steel structure provide support. Internal walls are of plastered masonry and timber stud framed walls lined with fibrous plaster and plasterboard. The floor structure is timber at mezzanine, first and second floors, with concrete floor to ground floor. Concrete stairs with marble faced stairs provide access to office component. Plasterboard ceilings are at ground and mezzanine floors. Fibrous plaster and acoustic ceiling tiles to first and second floors. Decorative architraves and skirtings remain on first and second floors. (Tanner 2002:15). Physical Condition "The sandstone façade is in reasonable condition with some deterioration to
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and/or the parapet and pediment capping stones. Earlier repairs to the face of the Archaeological stonework are evident as discoloured patches which relate to fixing points Potential: for signage and services. " (Tanner 2002: 13). Date Condition Updated: 01 Jun 02 Modifications and 1919 - Removal of the corner tower and cupola and also the pediment Dates: statuary at roofline. Construction of an additional upper floor behind roof parapet. Sandstone façade demolished at ground and mezzanine floors. Initial shop fronts for street level, designed with some relationship to upper floors by Robertson & Marks Architects. Upper façade supported by riveted steel girders and columns encased in concrete. Awning added. Lift, fire stairs and toilets added for office conversion. (Tanner 2002:13). 1935 - replacement awning replaces post-1919 awning. Subsequent shop fronts designed without consideration to the Classical sandstone façade above. Internal changes following fire 1934. Ground floor partition walls remodelled to enlarge retail space, and first and second floor office layout modified: larger offices subdivided to form small rooms facing King Street. (Tanner 2002:14). Post 1950 - numerous internal modifications. (Tanner 2002:14). 2003 - new awning, internal works, and external signage in the form of banners hanging from projecting poles (State Heritage File S90/04486). New façade installed to shopfront spaces. Current Use: Commercial: ground floor retail and upstairs offices Former Use: Commercial: head office for Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society.
History Historical Notes: AMFIS HEAD OFFICE The Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society was formed in 1871. Within six years the Society had developed to the point where it was able to buy a site on the corner of Pitt and King Streets (then occupied by the Surry Arms Hotel) and construct its Head Office building in a key position in Sydney's growing CBD (City of Sydney Heritage Inventory, in Heritage Office File). The building was designed by G.A. Morell as an elaborately decorated, five level (including ground level, mezzanine level, first floor, second floor, and tower) brick and stone building. It was constructed between 1877 and 1882. (Tanner 2002:12).
The Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society Building as designed and originally constructed, had ornately modelled facades to each street frontage in the form of pedimented gables supported on Corinthian pilasters. Belted pilasters on the ground floor level contrasted to fluted pilasters on the upper storeys. The splayed corner with an arched parapet connected the two facades. Its corner location was strengthened by an octagonal tower with cupola which once reached to twice the height of the facade. Classical statuary on each of the pediments completed the impressive composition. (Tanner 2002:12). The tower, statuary and ground level pilasters were later removed.
FIRE INSURANCE -- BACKGROUND HISTORY AND PITT STREET Insurance associations proliferated and prospered in Sydney in the second half of the 1800s, following the NSW Legislation "Mutual Fire Insurance Association Act" of 1841. The fire insurance associations were originally cooperative 'mutual societies' formed to protect members from financial loss, following models in England and America. By the end of the century they had moved to a business footing and were consolidating into powerful financial institutions. Around 1900, many companies exited the market or were absorbed by other firms (Keneley, undated).
The Pitt Street area was apparently a hub for fire insurance offices. The 1901 Sands Directory shows six fire insurance companies between Number 78 and Number 144 Pitt Street, including several with similar names: The City Mutual Fire Insurance Company Limited; the Colonial Mutual Fire Insurance Company Limited; as well as the Australian Mutual Fire Insurance
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Society. In the 1901 Sands Directory the side of the AMFIS building at Number 127 King Street (corner Pitt Street) was listed as Australian Mutual Fire Chambers but also housed solicitors, architects and indent merchants. In 1901 a tailor, a hatter, and a boot shop were listed as neighbours on the King Street side. In Sands Directory of 1918, the side of the building at 142-144 Pitt Street (corner King) still listed the Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society, Limited, as the main tenant.
CONVERSION OF USE From the end of the First World War the building was being leased as shops and offices. Major remodelling took place to accommodate the change in use. Occupants of the building from this time included American Bag Stores Ltd, NSW Blinded Soldiers Tea Co. Ltd, Thompson Silk Stores, Californian Chocolate Shop, and Sellor's Silk Store. (Tanner 2002:12)
In the 1970s the building was occupied by the Grahame Book Company, a well known bookshop which in the 1950s was regarded in a class with Dymock's and Angus & Robertson. As well as a retail shop, The Grahame Book Company was also a book publisher in Sydney since at least the 1940s. In the 1970s they applied for development approval to alter the premises for continuing use as shops and offices. The building was listed on the Register of the National Estate in 1983, and had a (NSW) Permanent Conservation Order placed on it in 1990. In 2003 Country Road retail shop and head office submitted proposals for refit and renovations.
Historic Themes
Australian Theme New South Wales Theme Local Theme (abbrev) 3. Economy - Developing Commerce - Activities relating to buying, selling and (none) - local, regional and national exchanging goods and services economies 4. Settlement - Building Towns, suburbs and villages - Activities associated with Creating landmark settlements, towns and creating, planning and managing urban functions, structures and places in cities landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and urban settings - villages
Assessment of Significance SHR Criteria a) The building is historically significant, reflecting Sydney's commercial [Historical Significance] development showing adaptation from office to retail use. The building was designed by prominent Victorian architect G.A. Morell, designer of The Swifts, Darling Point, 1882. (City of Sydney, 1996) (Tanner 2002:17) It indicates the assets and importance of new companies in developing Sydney, including the emergence and rapid rise of the role of insurance companies in the financial sector. SHR Criteria c) The building is aesthetically significant with a richly modelled stone facade [Aesthetic Significance] in Free Classical style with pedimented gables supported on Corinthian columns. The design of the corner elevation is well articulated. Aesthetically significant for its streetscape contribution as part of a group of Victorian and Federation retail buildings near the intersection of Pitt and King Streets, that form part of an important civic area in the city. (Tanner 2002:17) SHR Criteria d) The building has social significance, important to the sense of place of [Social Significance] Sydney's CBD, valued by the local community as well as visitors from outside Sydney. SHR Criteria f) It is a rare example of a highly decorative sandstone late Victorian building [Rarity] forming part of a group or heritage precinct in central Sydney at the corner of King and Pitt Streets (comprising Grahame's Corner at 142-144 Pitt Street; Sugar House 138-140 Pitt Street, also listed on SHR; and
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Commonwealth Bank/ Former Liverpool Arms Hotel at 181 Pitt Street, listed on the Central Sydney HLEP). (City of Sydney 1996) SHR Criteria g) The former AMFIS Building is a fine example of a classically influenced [Representativeness] Victorian office building and has been a city landmark for over 100 years. It illustrates a vital period of Sydney’s and the state's growth. The building demonstrates the change that took place in the city after the First World War with a greater need for retail accommodation on the street in prominent locations (City of Sydney 1996).
Together with the other buildings of the Pitt and King Street Group it constitutes an effective section of streetscape, providing striking contrast with the severity of new elements and helping to preserve a needed human scale for pedestrians (Tanner 2002:8).
Integrity/Intactness: The first and second floors of façade retain almost all original external detailing. First and second floors retain early joinery (architraves and skirtings) on internal face of external walls. Original mezzanine and ground floor facades demolished. Original cupola, pediment statuary and tower missing. Ground floor, mezzanine and first floor retain little original internal detailing owing to fire. (Tanner 2002:13)
Assessment Criteria Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.
Procedures /Exemptions
Section Action Description Title Comments of Act Date 57(2) Exemption to Heritage Act See File For Schedule Jun 6 allow work 1989
Order Under Section 57(2) to exempt the following activities from Section 57(1): (1) The maintenance of any building or item on the site, where maintenance means the continuous protective care of existing material; (2) Change of use. 57(2) Exemption to Heritage Act Record converted from HIS events Jun 8 allow work Order Under Section 57(2) to exempt the following 1990 activities from Section 57(1): * change of use; * maintenance of any items (buildings, works, relics or places) where maintenance means the continuous protective care of existing fabric. * minor repairs where minor repair means the repair of materials and includes replacement of minor components such as individual bricks where these have been damaged beyond reasonable repair or are missing. Replacements should be of the same materials, colour, texture, form and design as the original it replaces. * alterations to the interior of a building which are of a minor nature and will not adversely affect the significance of the building as an item of the environmental heritage. 57(2) Exemption to Standard SCHEDULE OF STANDARD EXEMPTIONS Sep 5 allow work Exemptions HERITAGE ACT 1977 2008 Notice of Order Under Section 57 (2) of the Heritage Act 1977
I, the Minister for Planning, pursuant to subsection 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales, do by this Order:
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1. revoke the Schedule of Exemptions to subsection 57(1) of the Heritage Act made under subsection 57(2) and published in the Government Gazette on 22 February 2008; and
2. grant standard exemptions from subsection 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977, described in the Schedule attached.
FRANK SARTOR Minister for Planning Sydney, 11 July 2008
To view the schedule click on the Standard Exemptions for Works Requiring Heritage Council Approval link below.
Standard Exemptions for Works Requiring Heritage Council Approval
Listings
Listing Listing Gazette Gazette Gazette Heritage Listing Title Number Date Number Page Heritage Act - State Heritage 00736 02 Apr 99 27 1546 Register Heritage Act - Permanent 00736 08 Jun 90 74 Conservation Order - former Local Environmental Plan CSH LEP 4 07 Apr 00 Royal Australian Institute of Architects register Register of the National Estate 01 Nov 83
References, Internet links & Images
Internet Type Author Year Title Links Written Tanner & Associates 2002 142-144 Pitt Street, Sydney, Heritage Impact Pty Ltd Statement, Revision Electronic City of Sydney 1996 Heritage Database: Inventory Report, Inventory No 4059 Written Sands Sydney, Suburban and Country Commercial Directory for 1901 Written Monica Keneley Control of the Australian Life Insurance Industry 1870 - 1945
Note: Internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.
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Data Source
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The information for this entry comes from the following source: Name: Heritage Office Database Number: 5045556 File Number: S90/04486 & HC 891204
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Grahame's Corner
Item Name of Item: Grahame's Corner Other Name/s: Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society Building Type of Item: Built Group/Collection: Commercial Category: Commercial Office/Building Location: Lat:-33.8706440116693 Long:151.207363159796 Primary Address: 142-144 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 Local Govt. Area: Sydney Property Description: Lot/Volume Code Lot/Volume Number Section Number Plan/Folio Code Plan/Folio Number All Addresses
Street Address Suburb/Town LGA Parish County Type 142-144 Pitt Street Sydney Sydney Primary
Statement of Grahame's Corner is of historic and aesthetic significance a fine example of a neo-Classical Victorian office building. It has aesthetic significance for its Significance streetscape contribution as part of a group of Victorian and Federation retail buildings near the intersection of Pitt and King Streets, that form part of an important civic area in the city. Date Significance Updated: 10 Jan 06 Note: There are incomplete details for a number of items listed in NSW. The Heritage Branch intends to develop or upgrade statements of significance and other information for these items as resources become available.
Description Designer/Maker: G.A. Morrell Builder/Maker: Unknown Construction Years: 1877 - 1882 Physical Description: Grahame's Corner is a prominent city landmark and part of an interesting group of late nineteenth century buildings and facades, located around the intersection of King and Pitt Streets which define three of the four corners. It is a fine example of a neo-classical Victorian office building, which forms a contrast to the surrounding 20th century development. Its corner location is strengthened by an octagonal tower with cupola which once reached twice its present height. The top of the tower and statuary above the pediments were taken down in 1919. Category:Individual Building. Style:Victorian Free Classical. Storeys:3. Facade:Sandstone. Side/Rear Walls:Sandstone, Masonry. Internal Walls:Masonry, Plastered Brick. Roof
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Cladding:Corrugated Steel Sheeting. Internal Structure:Load Bearing Walls and Timber Steel Beams. Floor:Timber Joists & Boards. Roof:Timber. Ceilings:Suspect Plasterboard. Stairs:Timber. Lifts:None. Physical Condition Although substantially remodelled internally, the exterior form of the and/or building is largely intact except for the octagonal tower and the early Archaeological ground floor alteration for retail use. Intrusive Elements:Shopfronts. Date Potential: Condition Updated: 10 Jan 06 Modifications and 1877-1882 Dates: Further Information: High Significance:Architectural detailing; corner location; group value. Medium Significance:Surviving original interior structure and detail. Low Significance:Street awning rebuilt.
Heritage Inventory sheets are often not comprehensive, and should be regarded as a general guide only. Inventory sheets are based on information available, and often do not include the social history of sites and buildings. Inventory sheets are constantly updated by the City as further information becomes available. An inventory sheet with little information may simply indicate that there has been no building work done to the item recently: it does not mean that items are not significant. Further research is always recommended as part of preparation of development proposals for heritage items, and is necessary in preparation of Heritage Impact Assessments and Conservation Management Plans, so that the significance of heritage items can be fully assessed prior to submitting development applications. Current Use: Retail, Offices Former Use: Offices
History Historical Notes: The "Eora people" was the name given to the coastal Aborigines around Sydney. Central Sydney is therefore often referred to as "Eora Country". Within the City of Sydney local government area, the traditional owners are the Cadigal and Wangal bands of the Eora. There is no written record of the name of the language spoken and currently there are debates as whether the coastal peoples spoke a separate language "Eora" or whether this was actually a dialect of the Dharug language. Remnant bushland in places like Blackwattle Bay retain elements of traditional plant, bird and animal life, including fish and rock oysters.
With the invasion of the Sydney region, the Cadigal and Wangal people were decimated but there are descendants still living in Sydney today. All cities include many immigrants in their population. Aboriginal people from across the state have been attracted to suburbs such as Pyrmont, Balmain, Rozelle, Glebe and Redfern since the 1930s. Changes in government legislation in the 1960s provided freedom of movement enabling more Aboriginal people to choose to live in Sydney.
(Information sourced from Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani )
The Australian Mutual Fire Insurance Society was formed in 1871. Within six years the Society had developed to the point where it was possible to buy a site and construct an elaborately decorated, five storey brick and stone building in a key position in Sydney's growing CBD. From the end of the First World War the building was being leased as shops and offices.
The building was designed by G.A. Morrell and was constructed between 1877 and 1882. The National Trust describes the building as "(a) richly detailed fenestrated late Victorian sandstone city insurance building of 3 storeys in height and when built in 1878, originally having a corner
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octagonal tower with cupola reaching to twice its present height." The Trust considers it a "prominent city landmark for over 100 years" and as such has a significant presence in the streetscape.
Assessment of Significance SHR Criteria a) The building reflects Sydney's commercial development showing adaptation [Historical Significance] from office to retail use and indicates the asset and importance of new companies in developing Sydney. The building was designed by a prominent Victorian architect G.A. Morrell. Has historic significance locally. SHR Criteria c) Has aesthetic significance locally. Cultural:The building has a fine modelled [Aesthetic Significance] stone facade and well articulated corner elevation design. SHR Criteria d) The building demonstrates the change that took place in the city after the [Social Significance] First World War with a greater need for retail accommodation on the street in prominent locations. Has social significance locally.The building has a fine modelled stone facade and well articulated corner elevation design. SHR Criteria f) It is a rare example of a highly decorative sandstone mid-Victorian building [Rarity] forming part of a group in central Sydney. The building has outstanding facade detailing. SHR Criteria g) The former AMFIS Building is a fine example of a neo-classical Victorian [Representativeness] office building and has been a city landmark for over 100 years.
Assessment Criteria Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.
Recommended General: Grahame's corner should be conserved in its overall current form and as part of its group. Management Exterior: The modern awning should be removed and 1919 awning form re-instated. Original detailing above the awning level should be conserved and maintained in good condition.
Interior: Any extant interior detailing and plan arrangements of the upper levels should be maintained in good condition. Adaptation of the interiors and shopfronts that have been altered is acceptable provided it does not reduce the significance of other parts of the building.
The building should be retained and conserved. A Heritage Assessment and Heritage Impact Statement, or a Conservation Management Plan, should be prepared for the building prior to any major works being undertaken. There shall be no vertical additions to the building and no alterations to the façade of the building other than to reinstate original features. The principal room layout and planning configuration as well as significant internal original features including ceilings, cornices, joinery, flooring and fireplaces should be retained and conserved. Any additions and alterations should be confined to the rear in areas of less significance, should not be visibly prominent and shall be in accordance with the relevant planning controls.
Listings
Listing Gazette Gazette Gazette Heritage Listing Listing Title Number Date Number Page Local Environmental Sydney LEP 337 09 Dec 05 154 137 Plan 2005
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References, Internet links & Images
Internet Type Author Year Title Links Written Megan Jones, Howard 2002 142-144 Pitt Street, Sydney : heritage impact Tanner & Associates statement Written Balint, Emery 1984 Historic record of Sydney city buildings : a review of historic commercial building construction in the Victorian era. Written Land title search: Title Deeds Written Sands Directory Written Anita Heiss Aboriginal People and Place, Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City
Note: Internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.
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Data Source The information for this entry comes from the following source: Name: Local Government Database Number: 2424034
Every effort has been made to ensure that information contained in the State Heritage Inventory is correct. If you find any errors or omissions please send your comments to the Database Manager.
All information and pictures on this page are the copyright of the Heritage Branch or respective copyright owners.
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Place Details
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Grahames Corner, 142-144 Pitt St, Sydney, NSW , Australia
Photographs None List Register of the National Estate Class Historic
Legal Status Registered (01/11/1983)
Place ID 2064 Place File No 1/12/036/0268
Statement of Significance A fine example of a Neo Classical Victorian office building which as been a prominent city landmark for over 100 years. Its location and its ornate sandstone facade, reinforce the townscape qualities of the remaining adjacent Victorian buildings in Pitt and King Streets.
(The Commission is in the process of developing and/or upgrading official statements for places listed prior to 1991. The above data was mainly provided by the nominator and has not yet been revised by the Commission.) Official Values Not Available Description A richly fenestrated late Victorian three storey sandstone building with heavily modelled baroque facades to each street frontage in the form of pedimented gables supported on Corinthian pilasters. A splayed corner with arched parapet connects the two facades. Ground floor has been remodelled but some internal detail survives. History Not Available Condition and Integrity In 1919 the corner octagonal tower with cupola and two groups of statuary above the pediments were removed. About this time the building was converted to shops and offices. Location Part of Pitt/King Streets Group. 123-125 King Street and 142-144 Pitt Street, Sydney. Bibliography SAND'S DIRECTORIES
Report Produced Thu Aug 11 11:15:03 2011
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APPENDIX C ARCHIVAL DRAWINGS
TANNER ARCHITECTS MARCH 2012 ATTACHMENT B 142-144 PITT STREET, SYDNEY – CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
ROBERSTON AND MARKS – 1919
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ROBERTSON AND MARKS – 1935
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COUNTRY ROAD - 1991
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APPENDIX D CITY OF SYDNEY STREET CARDS
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