Page | 1 Recommendation of the Executive Director and assessment of cultural heritage significance under Part 3 of the Heritage Act 2017 Current Name Stone Mileposts Proposed Name Stone Mileposts – Glenelg Highway Location Glenelg Highway; Smythesdale, Smythes Creek and Delacombe Date Registered 20 August 1982 VHR Number VHR H1701 VHR Category Registered Place Hermes Number 1014 Stone Mileposts, Glenelg Highway (June 2020) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION TO THE HERITAGE COUNCIL: That the Heritage Council amends the existing registration of VHR H1701 in accordance with s.62 of the Heritage Act 2017 by: 1. Including additional land under s.49(1)(d)(ii). 2. Determining categories of works or activities which may be carried out in relation to the place for which a permit is not required (permit exemptions), under s.49(3). STEVEN AVERY Executive Director Recommendation Date: 13 July 2020 Advertising Period: 17 July 2020 – 15 September 2020 This recommendation report has been issued by the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria under s.37 of the Heritage Act 2017. 1 Current Name: Stone Mileposts VHR number: VHR H1701 Hermes number: 1014 Page | 2 REASONS FOR REGISTRATION IN 1982 The State level cultural heritage significance of the Stone Mileposts was recognised in 1982 by their inclusion in the Register of Government Buildings. This registration recognised the place’s association with the development of Victoria’s road networks and modes of travel in the nineteenth century. It also recognised the significance of the mileposts as good examples of the stonemason’s art and their rarity as a group of surviving mileposts. AMENDMENT APPLICATION MADE ON 26 JUNE 2020 On 26 June 2020 the Executive Director made and accepted an application to amend the registration of the Stone Mileposts (VHR H1701) by including additional land and permit exemptions to ensure that they are consistent with current practices under the Heritage Act 2017. AMENDMENT RECOMMENDATION REASONS The Executive Director recommends that the Heritage Council amend this registration in accordance with s.62 of the Heritage Act 2017 because under s.32(1) of the Act he considers that— b) the proposed land for inclusion in the Register is important to the protection or conservation of the place and contributes to the understanding of the place. WHO ARE THE TRADITIONAL OWNERS/REGISTERED ABORIGINAL PARTY FOR THIS PLACE? Under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006, the Registered Aboriginal Party for the land on which the Stone Mileposts are located is the Wathaurung Aboriginal Corporation. 2 Current Name: Stone Mileposts VHR number: VHR H1701 Hermes number: 1014 Page | 3 RECOMMENDED EXTENT OF REGISTRATION All of the places shown hatched on Diagram 1701 (a-e) encompassing parts of the road reserves for Glenelg Highway, and Smythes Road. 3 Current Name: Stone Mileposts VHR number: VHR H1701 Hermes number: 1014 Page | 4 The extent of registration of the Stone Mileposts – Glenelg Highway in the Victorian Heritage Register affects the whole place shown on Diagram 1701 including the mileposts and their foundations, land, roads, trees, landscape elements and other features. The recommended extent is the same as the nominated extent. AERIAL PHOTO SHOWING RECOMMENDED EXTENT D E C B A 4 Current Name: Stone Mileposts VHR number: VHR H1701 Hermes number: 1014 Page | 5 A: B: C: D: E: 5 Current Name: Stone Mileposts VHR number: VHR H1701 Hermes number: 1014 Page | 6 RATIONALE FOR EXTENT The recommended extent of registration comprises each of the five known mileposts plus a buffer of land around each milepost. This land comprises a section of road reserve measuring 20 metres either side of each milepost. This will enable each milepost to be clearly identified. Including this land in the extent of registration is important to the protection and conservation of the place (s.32b). CHANGE OF HERITAGE CATEGORY No change of category. CHANGE OF NAME It is recommended the name of the place in the Victorian Heritage Register is changed from ‘Stone Mileposts’ to ‘Stone Mileposts – Glenelg Highway’ to more clearly distinguish it from the other collections of stone mileposts included in the VHR. CONDITION Overall, the place is in fair condition. Individual mileposts vary in condition. Most are in good condition with limited evidence of damage and weathering. A few are in poor condition having been damaged, evidenced by chips and knocks (June 2020). BACKGROUND WHAT IS AT THE PLACE? The Stone Mileposts – Glenelg Highway comprise five stone mileposts located along the Glenelg Highway between the town of Smythesdale and Delacombe on the outskirts of Ballarat. The mileposts are constructed of basalt and are uniform in size and shape. All are approximately 1200mm high with substantial foundations of quarried bluestone, a roughly dressed triangular post and sloping top. The rear of the posts is rounded. Distances to Ballarat are marked in miles on the angled top of the mileposts while distances to Scarsdale, Smythesdale and Linton are inscribed according to the direction of travel. Most are painted white with letters picked out in black. The locations and inscriptions of individual mileposts are as follows: Identifier Location Inscription A Within road reserve, opposite the junction of Lords Ballarat 13 - Scarsdale 2 - Linton 8 – Road. Smythesdale 1 B Within road reserve, in front of 5 Sebastopol- Ballarat 12 - Smythesdale 0 - Smythesdale Road, approximately 65 metres north Scarsdale 3 - Linton 9 of the junction of Sebastopol-Smythesdale Road and Glenelg Highway. C Within road reserve, in front of 1439 Glenelg Ballarat 11 - Smythesdale 1 - Highway. Scarsdale 4 - Linton 10 D Within road reserve, on the west side of exit to Ballarat 4 - Smythesdale 8 - Scarsdale Delacombe Town Centre car park, Glenelg Highway, 11 - Linton 17 Delacombe. E Within road reserve, on the corner of Panorama Ballarat 3 - Smythesdale 9 - Scarsdale Drive and Smythes Road, Delcombe. 12 – Linton 18 6 Current Name: Stone Mileposts VHR number: VHR H1701 Hermes number: 1014 Page | 7 WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THE PLACE? Victoria’s road network expanded following its separation from New South Wales and the gold rushes of the 1850s. Shires or local district road boards were largely responsible for building and maintaining local roads across Victoria. In the 1860s, the Shire of Grenville managed roads south-west of Ballarat. While the railway came to Ballarat in 1862, travel by coach was critical for travel between and beyond railway stations into more remote areas of western Victoria. In May 1864, the Victorian Roads & Bridges Office requested that the Shire of Grenville erect milestones along its major shire roads including the road to Hamilton which was a popular coach route. In 1866, the Shire called for tenders for the mileposts and appointed local mason James Overend to produce mileposts for the section of the road between Pittong and Sebastopol. Many mileposts, including these, were removed or buried on Government order in preparation for a possible Japanese land invasion following the entry of Japan into World War II in 1942. Some of the mileposts were re-erected following the war. While the mileposts were initially unpainted, they were painted by the Country Roads Board toward the end of the twentieth century. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT? The five nineteenth-century basalt mileposts located along the Glenelg Highway between Smythesdale and Delacombe. HOW IS IT SIGNIFICANT? The Stone Mileposts – Glenelg Highway are of historical significance to the State of Victoria. They satisfy the following criteria for inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register. • Criterion A Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria’s cultural history. • Criterion B Possession of uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of Victoria’s cultural history. • Criterion D Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural places and objects. WHY IS IT SIGNIFICANT? The Stone Mileposts – Glenelg Highway are historically significant for their association with the development and use of the road transport network in Victoria in the mid-nineteenth century. Road construction accelerated in Victoria following the gold rushes of the 1850s and the mileposts, likely erected in the 1860s, represent a rationalisation of the road system in a rapidly developing area of the colony. They are significant for their ability to demonstrate a popular coach route and requirements of travel by road in the era. As a collection of mileposts, they allow the use of the road network in mid-nineteenth century Victoria to be better understood than most other places or objects with the same association. They are a highly visible and intact reminder of the experience of travel by road in rural Victoria in the mid-nineteenth century. (Criterion A). The Stone Mileposts – Glenelg Highway are historically significant for their association with the preparations in Victoria for a potential land invasion during World War II. After the fall of Pearl Harbour in 1942, most of the mileposts were buried a few metres behind their original location to limit navigation and wayfinding information available to a potential invading force. Most of the mileposts were subsequently re-erected following the war. (Criterion A) The Stone Mileposts – Glenelg Highway are significant as a rare surviving example of a group of 1860s mileposts that follow a popular nineteenth-century transport route. Stone mileposts were once common throughout western Victoria but were gradually replaced by cast iron and cast concrete alternatives, or 7 Current Name: Stone Mileposts VHR number: VHR H1701 Hermes number: 1014 Page | 8 otherwise lost or damaged. Although there are other individual examples of stone mileposts, there are few examples of roads that retain multiple mileposts (Criterion B). The Stone Mileposts – Glenelg Highway are a notable example of roadside mileposts. Demonstrating construction techniques and materials of the 1860s, they encapsulate a key evolutionary phase in the development of the class. They are fine, being substantial and highly visible.