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Commonwealth Munitions House; 18 Yewers Street, SUNSHINE

Location

18 Yewers Street, SUNSHINE VIC 3020

File Number

2582

Level

Stage 2 study complete

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18 Yewers.JPG

Statement of Significance

Precinct statement of significance:

This Commonwealth Munitions Housing Estate is of national historical significance as part of a Federal Government-initiated housing scheme for workers in the munitions industry in the Maribyrnong-Footscray area, the largest concentration of defence production establishments in the whole of Australia, when World War Two began.

It was one of the first major Commonwealth war housing schemes to be undertaken and was one of the few large-scale housing schemes undertaken in Victoria during World War Two. This part of the estate included the main recreational and community area, serving the whole estate of 234 houses. The estate is historically significant as a demonstration of the co-ordinated State and Commonwealth wartime effort on the home front, to build up defence production capabilities during the period of national emergency.

The estate is of architectural significance as an unusual example of planned suburban development, reflecting the Garden City principles and therefore can be seen as a continuation of the historical precedent established in McKay's Sunshine estates.

The precinct also has aesthetic significance for the distinctive styles of solid brick and concrete houses, built in a variety of forms but still maintaining a visual cohesion, and set in part, on curving streets with large garden allotments. Architecturally these houses are quite plain, but they are important for their innovative use of concrete and evidence of a modern design aesthetic.

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