City of Melbourne Fishermans Bend In-Depth Heritage Review and Stakeholder Engagement Summary Report February 2021 Prepared by Helen Lardner, Architect, Director HLCD Pty Ltd Total House L8, 180 Russell St Melbourne VIC 3122 With Dr Peter Mills Historian Prepared for City of Melbourne Project Owner: Ms Tanya Wolkenberg Project Manager: Ms Molly Wilson Contents 1 Executive Summary ......................................................................................................... 1 2 The Study .......................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................. 3 2.2 Scope .......................................................................................................................... 4 2.3 Mechanisms Available to Protect Heritage ................................................................. 5 3 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 5 3.1 Review of Existing Studies and Strategies ................................................................. 5 3.2 Historical Research ..................................................................................................... 6 3.3 Site Inspections ........................................................................................................... 7 3.4 Further Analysis .......................................................................................................... 8 3.5 Reporting and Deliverables ......................................................................................... 8 3.6 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................................... 9 4 Summary Tables of Recommendations ......................................................................... 9 4.1 Overall Recommendations .......................................................................................... 9 4.2 Recommended Site Extents...................................................................................... 10 5 APPENDIX: Heritage Place Citations ........................................................................... 14 5.1 Government Aircraft Factory (Now Boeing) Citation ..................................................... 5.2 Commonwealth Aircraft Factory (Now Boeing) Citation ............................................... 5.3 Kraft (Now Bega) Citation ............................................................................................. 5.4 SEC Substation Citation ................................................................................................ 5.5 GMH Complex Citation ................................................................................................. 5.6 Shed 21 Citation ............................................................................................................ 5.7 West Gate Bridge Citation ............................................................................................. 5.8 West Gate Service Centres Citation ............................................................................. HLCD Pty Ltd Total House L8, 180 Russell St Melbourne VIC 3000 T +614 08 300 911 www.hlcd.com.au 2 1 Executive Summary Following the completion of the Southbank and Fishermans Bend Heritage Review (Biosis, 2017) the City of Melbourne identified six complex industrial sites and two bridges for further study. The purpose of the project was to engage with relevant stakeholders, conduct further research as required, and undertake comprehensive site visits to determine which parts of the complex sites and bridges warranted heritage protection under the heritage overlay (HO) in the Melbourne Planning Scheme, and/or potential nomination to the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). The outcome, shown in the table below, was three places to be recommended for nomination to the VHR (the former Government Aircraft Factory, the former General Motors-Holden factory, and West Gate Bridge), and four places to be recommended for the HO, except for the Commonwealth Aircraft Factory, which did not meet the threshold for heritage protection. It was decided that Bolte Bridge would not be examined further at this time. During the course of the study, five additional places were identified by the City of Melbourne for assessment. Only one of these five, being the West Gate Service Centres, was recommended for inclusion in the HO. For all complex industrial sites, the extent of the area recommended for heritage protection was reduced and defined compared to the 2017 assessment, which was undertaken from the public realm only. Summary Table of Recommendations Site HLCD 2017 Biosis Reason for Recommendations Study change in level Level of Extent of Whole site recommended protection site 1 Government Aircraft HO, VHR Part HO Further historical Factory (now Boeing) analysis. Extensive surviving fabric, greater integrity and intactness evident when 2018 site visit undertaken 2 Commonwealth Aircraft none n/a HO Extensively altered, Corporation lack of integrity (now Boeing) evident when 2018 site visit undertaken 3 Kraft Factory HO Part HO, VHR Further historical (now Bega) and comparative analysis undertaken in 2018, site visit 2020 with some altered areas evident HLCD Pty Ltd Total House L8, 180 Russell St Melbourne VIC 3000 T +614 08 300 911 www.hlcd.com.au 1 Site HLCD 2017 Biosis Reason for Recommendations Study change in level Level of Extent of Whole site recommended protection site 4 Electricity Substation HO Part HO as above 5 GMH Complex: HO, VHR Part HO, VHR as above - Plants no. 3 & 5, HO, VHR Included HO, VHR as above Tech Centre - Engine and none n/a HO Partially Manufacturing Plant demolished since the 2017 assessment - Head Office HO, VHR Included HO, VHR - Administration HO, VHR Included HO, VHR Building - Social Centre HO, VHR Included HO, VHR 6 Shed 21 HO Part HO 7 West Gate Bridge VHR Bridge, VHR Memorial Plaque, Memorial Park 8 Bolte Bridge Not assessed further at HO, VHR Not applicable this point in time, due to multiple local government areas & relatively recent construction. 9 West Gate Service HO Whole of Identified as Not applicable Centres both sites a place for further assessment HLCD Pty Ltd Total House L8, 180 Russell St Melbourne VIC 3000 T +614 08 300 911 www.hlcd.com.au 2 2 The Study 2.1 Introduction The Heritage Review analysed six sites and two bridges in Fishermans Bend in order to determine their level of cultural heritage significance and recommend appropriate heritage protection mechanisms. The selected sites were identified for in-depth review following the Southbank and Fishermans Bend Heritage Review 2017. The sites are critical elements of Melbourne’s industrial heritage, and part of a State-designated National Employment and Innovation Cluster. During the course of the work, City of Melbourne officers requested the assessment of five additional sites (refer to figure 1). The team of Helen Lardner, architect and Director HLCD Pty Ltd and Dr Peter Mills, historian, brought to the study extensive experience in the assessment of complex industrial sites, and a practical approach to the revitalisation and reuse of industrial places in order to achieve better quality heritage outcomes. The consultants are particularly grateful to Tanya Wolkenberg, Molly Wilson and Helen Knight from the City of Melbourne for their dedication and assistance. HLCD Pty Ltd Total House L8, 180 Russell St Melbourne VIC 3000 T +614 08 300 911 www.hlcd.com.au 3 2.2 Scope The sites selected for investigation as part of the Review are shown in figure 1: Figure 1: The locations of the sites and bridges that were assessed in Fishermans Bend. (City of Melbourne) The scope of the project was varied from that set out in the initial brief. Due to budgetary constraints, an adaptive reuse report that formed part of the original brief was excluded prior to the consultant team commencing its work. The Bolte Bridge was originally part of the project but was not included in the final scope due to it spanning over a number of municipalities and authorities; local heritage protection would require inclusion in the heritage overlay of a number of planning schemes. As the bridge is only 20 years old, some aspects of its significance would be difficult to assess. Given these difficulties and, because the bridge is not under threat, it was judged unlikely to be a priority at either local or state government level for heritage protection. The scope was increased to include the additional sites listed in the table below. Of these, only the West Gate Service Centres made the threshold level for heritage protection in the planning scheme. A supplementary report entitled ‘Fishermans Bend HLCD Pty Ltd Total House L8, 180 Russell St Melbourne VIC 3000 T +614 08 300 911 www.hlcd.com.au 4 Further Research Places (HLCD, 2020) summarises the research into the remaining four sites, outlined in the table below: 1. Stewarts & Lloyds 704-744 Lorimer St, Port Melbourne 2. International Harvester Factory 748-766 Lorimer St, Port Melbourne 3. SEC Workshops /SP AusNet 90 Turner St, Port Melbourne 4. SEC Electricity Switching Yard /SP AusNet 108-130 Turner St, Port Melbourne 5. West Gate Service Centres (North and South) 1 and 2 West Gate Freeway 2.3 Mechanisms Available to Protect Heritage This project was initiated to ensure