Heritage Place Name Eastern Market Gates (Former) - Altona Memorial Park Address Dohertys Road, Altona North Heritage Overlay No
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Heritage Place Name Eastern Market Gates (Former) - Altona Memorial Park Address Dohertys Road, Altona North Heritage Overlay No. Not applicable Heritage Precinct(s) Not applicable Significance Local Style & Type Victorian wrought iron gates Significant Dates 1880, 1968 Designer Reed & Barnes Builder Unknown Statement of Significance What is Significant? The Eastern Market Gates (Former), originally constructed in 1880 as part of the Eastern Market complex in the City of Melbourne and relocated to the Altona Memorial Park in 1968, at Dohertys Road, Altona North. How is it Significant? The Eastern Market Gates (Former) are of local historic and aesthetic significance to the City of Hobsons Bay. Why is it Significant? Historically, they are significant as perhaps the only publicly surviving remnant of the famous Eastern Market of Melbourne. They are also of interest for their associations with the notable architectural firm of Reed & Barnes. (AHC criterion B2) Aesthetically, they are significant as fine examples of their style and type and provide an appropriate formal note to the entrance to the Memorial Gardens. (AHC criterion E1) Hobsons Bay Heritage Study Amended 2017 - Volume 3 – Heritage Precinct and Place Citations Part 2 – Heritage Places – Dohertys Road, Altona North (Eastern Market Gates) Page 1 of 4 Page 197 of 1082 History Contextual History The twentieth century trend towards cremation rather than burial, and the increasing lack of space at Williamstown Cemetery led the Trustees of the Williamstown cemetery to move towards establishing Memorial Park at Altona North in the postwar years. Although the Trust took out an option on this land in 1947, the new Cemetery did not open until 1961. The lawns, gardens and inlaid headstones at Memorial Park Crematorium and Lawn Cemetery are a sharp contrast to the nineteenth century layout, design and memorials of the Williamstown Cemetery. History of Place The history of the gates at the entrance to the Altona Memorial Park is provided by a nearby plaque, which states: In 1847 a Hay & Corn Market was established on the south west corner of Exhibition and Bourke Street (also known as the Eastern Market), Melbourne. Within a few months stalls were erected for fruit and vegetables and it became known as the Eastern Market. Due to the effect of the gold rush the market degenerated into a miserable row of shanties which were destroyed by fire in 1855. A temporary building was erected elsewhere for the Hay and Corn Market and in 1877 rebuilding of the Eastern Market commenced and was officially opened in 1880 (sic). By 1956 the market had gradually given way to the Queen Victoria market and in its later days it was used as a garage and taxi depot with only a few businesses remaining. The Eastern Market was demolished to make way for the Southern Cross Hotel and the lower portion of the entrance gates to the Eastern Market were removed and later erected here by the Trustees of the Altona Memorial Park in 1968. The Eastern Market, with its lanterns, domes and arcades, was designed by the noted architects Reed & Barnes whose design was selected by the Melbourne City Council in January 1877. The appointed builders were James Nation & Company. The design was in a stuccoed renaissance revival style typical of commercial buildings of the era. The stall holders in the former market buildings were then moved to the new Queen Victoria Market while construction was underway. It was opened with a great deal of publicity by the Lord Mayor in December 1879. After a period of use as an exhibition space associated with the 1880 Great Melbourne International exhibition, the new market opened on 1 May 1880. The market prospered during the boom era of the late nineteenth century and in 1887 Victoria and Metropolis stated that ‘No evening promenade would be complete without a visit to the Eastern Market'. Hobsons Bay Heritage Study Amended 2017 - Volume 3 – Heritage Precinct and Place Citations Part 2 – Heritage Places – Dohertys Road, Altona North (Eastern Market Gates) Page 2 of 4 Page 198 of 1082 Description This is a pair of large ornate wrought iron gates relocated from the Eastern Market and set in a concrete masonry portal typical of the 1960s. There is a nearby information plaque. External Condition Good External Integrity Moderate Context Situated at the entrance to the park, facing industrial and commercial development but also close to other parklands. Comparative Analysis No other remnants of the gates at the former Eastern Markets survive; directly comparable gates from the Victorian-era within the municipality include the Williamstown Botanic Gardens gates, which, similarly, were relocated there from a mansion in South Yarra (q.v.). Thematic Context Principal Australian Historical Theme(s) Marking the phases of life Associations Eastern Markets, Reed & Barnes Hobsons Bay Heritage Study Amended 2017 - Volume 3 – Heritage Precinct and Place Citations Part 2 – Heritage Places – Dohertys Road, Altona North (Eastern Market Gates) Page 3 of 4 Page 199 of 1082 Recommendations Statutory protection Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme: Yes Heritage Victoria Register: No Register of the National Estate: No National Trust Register: Recommended Management objectives Conserve elements that contribute to the significance of the place and ensure that new development is sympathetic to the historic character of the place in accordance with the relevant articles and conservation principles, processes and practice set out in the Burra Charter. Refer to the relevant Heritage local policy at Clause 22.01 of the Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme. References Hobsons Bay City Council, Hobsons Bay Thematic Environmental History, 2003 Graeme Butler & Associates (2001) Altona, Laverton and Newport Districts Heritage Study Commemorative Plaque on site Cole, Colin. ed (1980) Melbourne Markets 1841-1979 Robertson, EG Ornamental Cast-Iron in Melbourne Hobsons Bay Heritage Study Amended 2017 - Volume 3 – Heritage Precinct and Place Citations Part 2 – Heritage Places – Dohertys Road, Altona North (Eastern Market Gates) Page 4 of 4 Page 200 of 1082 Heritage Place Name Memorial Park Crematorium and Floral Lawn Cemetery Address Dohertys Road, Altona North Heritage Overlay No. Not applicable Heritage Precinct(s) Not applicable Significance Local Style & Type Postwar lawn cemetery Significant Dates 1961 Designer Unknown Builder Unknown Statement of Significance What is Significant? The Memorial Park Crematorium and Floral Lawn Cemetery, established in 1961, at Dohertys Road, Altona North. How is it Significant? The Memorial Park Crematorium and Floral Lawn Cemetery is of local historic, social and aesthetic significance to the City of Hobsons Bay. Why is it Significant? Historically, it is significant as the repository of recent family history from within the city (AHC criterion A4) Socially, it is significant as a place known and valued by the local community (AHC criterion G1) Aesthetically, it is significant as a designed landscape which differs from any other in the municipality in terms of a highly articulated and varied content (AHC criterion E1) Hobsons Bay Heritage Study Amended 2017 - Volume 3 – Heritage Precinct and Place Citations Part 2 – Heritage Places – Dohertys Road, Altona North (Memorial Park Crematorium and Floral Lawn Cemetery) Page 1 of 4 Page 201 of 1082 History Contextual History The twentieth century trend towards cremation rather than burial, and the increasing lack of space at Williamstown Cemetery led the Trustees of the Williamstown Cemetery to move towards establishing Memorial Park at Altona North in the postwar years. Although the Trust took out an option on this land in 1947, the new Cemetery did not open until 1961. The lawns, gardens and inlaid headstones at Memorial Park Crematorium and Lawn Cemetery are a sharp contrast to the nineteenth century layout, design and memorials of the Williamstown Cemetery. History of Place Not unlike many cemeteries across the State, the Williamstown cemetery was in a state of neglect by the end of WW2. The trustees were also faltering, many having retired. The renewal of the cemetery was firmly linked to a renewal of the trustees although the trustee income did not match the cost of maintenance and grave digging, particularly given the large amount of stone in the ground. A crematorium would solve many of these problems. The Williamstown Cemetery trustees had at first investigated placing a crematorium in the cemetery in 1947 but their consulting architect, A Love, urged them to instead acquire a larger site on Geelong Road, to think ahead and plan for 100 years hence. They took three options on the land, the last materialising mid-1948 into an acquisition of the new site for £20,000, much of the money being provided in the form of a government loan. Love suggested the North American Forest Lawn Memorial Park as an example to be emulated in a presentation to the trustees in 1950. The style of burial favoured here was also adopted in the old Williamstown Cemetery where vertical memorials were discarded for slabs set into the ground. During preparation for the opening of the memorial park, in 1960, the new curator appointed for the site was also given the charge of the Williamstown Cemetery.(1) Hobsons Bay Heritage Study Amended 2017 - Volume 3 – Heritage Precinct and Place Citations Part 2 – Heritage Places – Dohertys Road, Altona North (Memorial Park Crematorium and Floral Lawn Cemetery) Page 2 of 4 Page 202 of 1082 Description Although opened in 1961, the park-like landscape development is notable and still developing, with mature exotic and native trees, custom designed memorials, lilly pilly hedges and the former Eastern Market wrought iron gates relocated to the entrance within a 1960s masonry gateway. The buildings are contributory to the period of development although unremarkable architecturally. There are tree groupings and hedges in a variety of geometric forms, circular, polygonal, with pathways following curves or geometrical shapes and centred fountains.