T I i CRESWICK SHIRE HERITAGE t^[ STUDY t^ ] I ki lt.i I ^.. -'-ii ;'' i,nk Ir- I II I T I I I I report I a on Creswick's Built and Environmental Heritage t- I - ':i': CRESWICK SETRE EERITAGE STUDY CRESWICK SHTRE, VICTORTA A STUDY OF IIIE BUILT AND EM/TRONMENTAL EERITAGE OF CRESWTCK SBIRE Prepared for NATIONAL ESTATE COMMITTEE (vrcToRrA) and SETRE OF CRESWICK By LESTER TROPIIAII & ASSOCIAIES WENDY \'ACOBS CERTS McCo!IVILLE RICSARD ATTKEN DECEMBER 1990 t t t t CRESWICK SBIRE EERITAGE STUDY t Contents I AcknowJ.edg'ements T Introduction Sumnary of Recommendations t Section 1 Creswick Eistory T Section 2 Bui1t Eeritage t Section 3 Landscape Eeritage Section 4 Bibtiography I t schedule one proposed additions to or retention on the Eistoric BuiJ.dings Reg,ister, or the Governnent Buildings negiiter. I Schedule Two proposed additions to tbe Register of tbe National Estate I Building Citation Index Volunes 1 E 2 T Appendix A - Volumes 1 & 2 (seperate documents) I t t I I -l I I Acknowledgenents T The creswick Shire Heritage study team consisted of r,ester I Tropman' wendy ,Jacobs, chris Mcconville and Richard. Aitken. The historicar anarysis was undertaken by chris Mcconvirle. The T built heritage analysis was undertaken by wendy .Tacobs and Mary Grant with assistance from Lester Tropman and Richard Aitken. t The Landscape assessment and. anarysis was und.ertaken by Lester Tropman with assi-stance from Richard Aitken. Co-ordination and management of the study was undertaken by Lester Tropman and T Associates. I The study team would rike to acknowledge the input received from the following: I Steering Committee Members: Cr Jim Elsworth - Chairperson cr Pearl Mj.lrane T - chairperson and shire president 19g9 Cr Brendan Rayner - Shire president 1990 Cr Roger Cossar Cr Bil-l Rofe I Cr George Sanders Mr Bruce crago - shlre secretary and secretary of the Steering Commj-ttee. T Dr David Dunstan - Nationar Estate committee. Mrs ,.Toy McCann - National Estate Committee. I Mr Bruce Andrews - Shlre Englneer. Mrs Jean Baker - Librarian, School of Forestry. Meldrum Burrows p/L - planning Consultants. T The late Mr Harry Barclay - Resident. Mr Peter Butters - secretary Ballarat Historicar Society. Mr Tom Evans - Resi.dent. Mrs Kate Kell_y - City of Ballarat Library. I Mr Ben Lockyer - Resident. Mr D Ritchie - Resident. Mr .Iack SeweLl - Resident. T Ms Alice Stafford. Mr ,.Iohn Vernon - Architect,, Ballarat. Mr Andrew Ward - Architectural Historian. T t t I I I fntroduction T This study was commissioned by the vj-ctoria National Estate committee and i.s part of the Nationar Estate program LggT /eg. I j-s rt written in accordance with the study brief as adopted by the steering committee on 15th Aprir 1999 and confirmed by I council on 8th May L989. The study area is the shire of Creswick, Victoria. I This study aims to identify, evaluat,e and document the built T and environmental heritage of the shire of creswick and to place it within the context of the hj_story of victoria, and to assess the importance of the shire r s heri.tage and its I integration into the general planning framework of the shire. I The work was undertaken through detaj-led thematic historical analysis with lnput from 1oca1 hj.storians; site inspections of T the shirers buj-ldlngs, landscape and context; research.Lng council records and mappj-ng resources; researchlng fires of the T Ministry of planning and Environment; and wlth considerable discussi-ons with various local resi.dents. T This report firstly presents a succlnct summary of reconmendatj_ons detaiLed in the study ; then details the I hj-story of Creswick Shire (Section 1.0); fol_lowed by a detailed anarysis of the built heritage of creswick through a proposed. breakdown of Conservati-on Areas into identifiable precincts I (section j-ncl-udj-ng 2.0) , an existing condj_tions survey of 605 buildings (Appendix A - vols 1 & 2l; and concludes with an I assessment of the landscape heritage of creswick and appropriate Landscape planning Guidelines to conserve this I (section 3.0). This report also incrudes proposed. additions to or retention on the Historic Buildings Register or the I Government Buildings Register (schedule one), and, proposed additions to the Register of the National Estate (scheduLe T Two) . I I Surnmary of Recommendations That Planning controls be placed on'Historic Buj-ldings not t on the Register of Historic Buildings ' I That any demolition, alteration or additions to scheduled buildings within designated Heritage Precincts require I permits. That broad guidelines similar to those developed for other I historic shires be developed to guide the administration of these controls for each Heritage Precinct and buildi'ng I type. I That new bulldings within Herltage Precincts be carefully assessed to minimise impact on the character of the area' I That landscape planning guidelines shouLd respect the rural and past mining activities and be concerned with; the siting of buildings or earth works; the design of works; the relationship to existing buildings of landscape elements; bullding elements; landscape works; devel-opment of land for Hobby Farms; on-site waste disposal' That Development controls be developed for particular I indivldual townships or areas for the continuation and retention of their special landscape characteristics. It is recommended that a heritage adviser be apppointed to advise council on building and landscape development control in sensitive areas of heritage significance. I I T Section 1 Creswick Eistory I I t I I T t T i I T t I I T I I i I t I I Section 1 t Creswick Eistory Contents T Ilistorica]. Themes 1 T Synopsis L Chapter 2 4 t Squatters 4 Fi.rst arrivals .t John Hepburn 5 The reminders pastoralism I of o Cbapter 3 7 I GoId rushes 7 GoId and grazing 7 The miner's llfe 9 I The minlng envlronment 10 Cb,apter 4 13 Deep leads 13 T The deep lead economy 13 From alluvj-aI to deep lead mining L4 The Berry system 15 I Mines and politics 16 The great mining disaster L7 Deep lead mines and Creswj.ck L9 T Cbapter 5 2L Farmers 2L The farming I landscape 21, Creswick and land selection 22 Farming settlements 22 Agrj-cultural change 24 I Farm buildings 25 Chapter 6 27 T The forests 27 Timber splitters and the diminshing forests 28 The state and forest protecti-on 29 T A forestry science 31 Tourism 34 Summary 35 T I .j I T Chapter 7 Urban Cb,aracter 36 Town buildings 36 t The housj-ng stock 36 PubIic buildings 38 Creswick town 39 Commercial buildings 4L I Buildings and social life 4L Politics 42 Local politics 45 t Creswj-ck and the mining landscape 45 Chapter 8 48 t Creswick and the outsi-de world 48 Creswick and Ballarat 48 Railways 50 I Conclus ion 54 History and the materj-al- worl-d 54 I T t I I I I I I I I I I t t I Eistorical Tbemes Synopsis I Although best known as a gord.-mining town the history of creswick is a product of severar other aspects of economic I life. As well the modern-day Creswick reflects additional- and i-mportant social and polit,ical themes. Many of these are registered t in one way or another in the buildings and l_and-use patt,erns stil1 visible in the shire. T Gold mining remains a key force shaping the present appearance of creswick but more especiarly the rater stages of gold I mining through deep lead systems and then through reworking of ord fields have created the shire $re see today. The decrine of t mining coincided with ploneering efforts in woodland management and the forest sci.ences, acti_vities important in the area from the middre of the nineteenth century. The town I of creswick ltself is a model smalr town and the buildlngs express a strong social and community life datlng from the I years after the initial gold rushes. The rai.lways and transport routes through the shire refrect the rinks with a I wider Victoriar €rs does the attempt to create a rocal tourist i-ndustry. Local streams have been dammed and diverted and I their water used for domestic, farming and industrial activities. More recently the shire has had a role as a part of the urban fringe of Ballarat. rn poritical history the area t has had strong connections with earry attempts to organise trade unions and branches of the Australian Labor party. There I are also some rennants of the pre-gord phase of land use in grazing. After the decline of alLuvial gold, creswick became t one part of victoria in which i-ntensive smal_l-scale agriculture hras practised.. As an agriculturar area it stirl has much of the character of successful intensive smarl- T farmi-ng; climate and soi-l gave creswi.ck a stronger base for an agri-cu1tural economy than existed in otd nining areas further T north. T t I t To the north of Ballarat the Dividing Range declines into small-er groups of hi11s. The highest of these rise to where' I occasionally, peaks are dusted by winter snows. These ranges are still forested, Sometimes with native vegetation at other I times with ptanted pine forests. Purther away from these central peaks the hi1ls are bare and rounded with sing1e rows t of cypress or hawthorn running towards each smoothed height. Between such peculiar rounded hills the agricultural land of I Creswick is divided into sma]I farms each again marked by stands of exotic trees and lines of hedges.