Nº 526 Kiewa Street, Albury, NSW

The Johnstone Centre Report Nº 188 Nº 526 Kiewa Street, Albury, NSW An Historical Analysis of the Site and an Assessment of its Heritage Values by Dirk HR Spennemann Albury 2003 © Dirk H.R. Spennemann 2003 All rights reserved. The contents of this book are copyright in all countries subscribing to the Berne Convention. No parts of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where per- mitted by law. Spennemann, Dirk H.R. (1958–) Nº 526 Kiewa Street, Albury, NSW. An historical analysis of the site and an assessment of its Heritage Values / by Dirk H.R. Spennemann Johnstone Centre Report nº 188 Albury, N.S.W. : The Johnstone Centre, Charles Sturt University 1v.; 1. Historic Preservation—Australia—New South Wales. PRIVACY NOTICE The historical analysis contained in this volume has been carried out with due con- sideration of the provisions of the The Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW). The information included herein has been compiled for heritage management purposes and provides a documentation of the historic development of the property 526 Kiewa Street, Albury, New South Wales. The information has been collected from records of the Albury City Council, newspapers, personal communications by residents and for- mer owners of the property. Any one person mentioned in this report who may have concerns as to his or her personal information presented herein is invited to contact the author at the following address: Prof. Dirk HR Spennemann The Johnstone Centre Charles Sturt University PO Box 789 Albury NSW 2640 Australia EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For ease of reference, the section numbering d) conduct an examination of the phys- in this executive summary follows that of ical fabric of the structures as far as the main report. As a result of selection, the extant; number sequence of the executive summary e) assess the likelihood of surface and may appear incomplete. subsurface archaeological remains on the property; 1.1. Location and Ownership f) evaluate the cultural heritage signifi- The property is located at 526 Kiewa Street, cance of the property; and Albury, County of Goulburn, New South Wales. g) make recommendations on its management. The property is currently owned by the Albury City Council. The property title is 2.2. Assessment Process Torrens Title B/83168. The assessment process used for the study 1.2. Protective Listings followed the guidelines set out by the NSW Heritage Office. The building is not listed on any of the ap- plicable conservation instruments. 3. History of the Prop- 2. Objectives of the Study erty 2.1.1. Objectives 3.1. Historic Context The aim of this study is to provide an as- The property is located in section 12, which sessment of the cultural heritage value of the historically also contains the key administra- property 526 Kiewa Street by tive buildings, such as the post office, the a) compiling an historic context against court house, the town hall, the Mechanics which the properties can be assessed; Institute (now demolished), the police sta- tion, the telegraph office as well as several b) compiling the history of the various churches. The development area at the cor- structures erected on the property; ner of Swift and Kiewa Street is located in c) compiling and describing property the northwestern part of the section 12. plans and the like to determined the It is unlikely that the development area sequence and appearance of struc- would have been used for habitation pur- ture; poses during pre-European settlement times. —iv— Dirk H.R. Spennemann Nº 526 KIEWA STREET,ALBURY, NSW. AN ASSESSMENT OF HERITAGE VALUES It is likely to have been covered with open and subdivided them privately with a focus woodland and would have served as resource on Kiewa Street. area for food as well as wood and bark re- By about 1881 the first building was erected. sources. Closer to the Bungambrawatha It comprised of a two-storey building with a Creek we can expect permanent or semi- hipped roof and a double-storey verandah permanent habitation sites. facing Kiewa Street. A second building, most The 1839 town grid is set at an oblique angle likely a servant’s quarters, was erected at the to the old Sydney Road. After the creation northern boundary. In the 1910s to 1930s of the grid and letting of town allotments, the property served as a boarding house. the Sydney Road was forced into a zigzag In 1938 the boarding house was converted pattern. The old road alignment ran diago- into a motor garage and accessories outlet. nally through the southern part of section 12. with the town grid, the intersection of In 1949 the servant’s quarters was demol- Dean and Kiewa Streets became a turning ished and a block of flats erected on the point in the zigzag, with the intersection of southern boundary of the property. Various Kiewa and Swift or Kiewa And Wilson extensions were erected in the yard. By 1989 Streets being another. Thus the development the building was converted into a series of area was located at a significant section of shops and offices and the remaining open Kiewa Street. space roofed over. Private subdivision of the formerly north- south oriented allotments into east-west 4. Physical Description aligned lots allowed for the commercial development of the area. A detailed description of the extant fabric is provided. In the 1880s boarding houses as well as caching stables were erected in the development area. The advent of the motor car in 5. subsurface remains the first decade of the twentieth century saw the transition of the area in light industry 5.2. Predicted presence or with a focus on servicing the motor car and absence of subsurface transportation businesses. The realignment of cultural resources the highway through Albury in the 1960ps Given that piped water was available from drew away traffic from Dean and Kiewa 1885 onwards, it is possible that 1860s and Streets. While this improved the local busi- 1870s wells could have been filled in before ness opportunities in Dean Street, it was det- the buildings were extended and thus be lo- rimental to the garage and motor service cated under the extant buildings. If wells ex- businesses in Kiewa Street. Over time they isted, they would have been filled in before were relocated to the new highway the 1920s and thus would provide a high po- alignment and congregated at the outskirts of tential for archaeological material culture in town. their fill and provide a unique insight into the nature of habitation in central Albury 3.2. History of 526 Kiewa during the 1870s expansion period. Street The cesspits would have been decommis- The land was first formally alienated in sioned in 1919 or 1920, depending on the 1851. During the late 1860s James T Fallon exact date the house sewers were connected. acquired allotments 8, 9 and 10 of section 12 As the pits were frequently emptied, the life cycle of an early twentieth century cess pit is —5— Dirk H.R. Spennemann Nº 526 KIEWA STREET,ALBURY, NSW. AN ASSESSMENT OF HERITAGE VALUES short and hence any material culture en- has undergone substantial changes since its countered in the pits would be chronologi- original construction. cally close to 1919. Samples of human ex- The loss of original fabric is deemed to have creta could be analysed for parasite infesta- been altered such that the extant property tion, which might be of archaeological, and has only little significance at the local level. in particular medico-historical interest. The success would depend on the preservation conditions. 6.5. Significance of the subsurface heritage The presence or absence of artefactual remains other than Indigenous depends on the Any material culture derived from the cur- amount of excavation work carried out in rent building either refers to the period of its the course of digging sewer lines and re- construction in the 1880s or to its use as moving existing floors. Overall, however, coaching stables (1886-1919) and as a motor the likelihood that material culture items, garage (1922–1975). If material culture is with the exception of construction refuse, present within the walled confines of the could be encountered is deemed very low. building, it is not likely to comprise of significant items which could illuminate or ex- emplify any of the elements of the structure 6. Heritage Values deemed to have heritage significance. If, however, a well is present, the potential 6.1. Basis of Assessment for insight into 1860s and 1870s Albury is The assessment process follows that set out high. The material culture and faunal remains by the NSW Heritage Office in its various retrieved from such a well most certainly guidelines. significant at the local level (in the absence of other material culture and excavations 6.3. Statement of Signifi- this is a forgone conclusion), and possible cance for above sur- also on a state level in view of Albury’s posi- face heritage tion at the southern periphery of the colony In view of the above discussion, the property and a major border town to Victoria. 526 Kiewa Street is deemed culturally sig- Given the short life cycle of early twentieth nificant at the local level because it: urban cesspit infills, the potential material a) example of small-scale boarding houses culture contained in the decommissioned that illustrates the support network defining cesspit is likely to be no state-level signifi- a thoroughfare town; and cance and only of low local significance.

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