WAREHOUSE

The warehouse building at 61-69 A'Beckett Street was built in 1870-71 for McClure, Valantine & Co, wholesale grocers and wine and spirit merchants, who had been in business in A'Beckett Street since the 1850s. In the second half of the nineteenth century Melbourne was the main centre of trade in the Australian colonies, and a large number of warehouses were constructed in and around the city centre to provide for the handling, redistribution and export of goods. These city warehouses were prestigious buildings and were often designed by prominent architects, but no architect has been found for this building. Warehouses of the 1850s and 1860s were mainly of bluestone, but from the 1860s higher quality bricks were becoming more readily available, and their use for all building types increased. This coincided with the introduction of and the increasing popularity of constructional polychromy in Victoria. Inside this warehouse is the only known surviving example of a nineteenth century operational hydraulic goods lift, which was until recently used to move goods between the two floors of the building. It was powered by mains pressure water, and is thought to have been in the building since it was constructed.

The warehouse is a symmetrical two-storey building of hand-made bricks, with a rendered parapet and curved pediment above the entrance, and with bi-chrome voussoirs above the door and window openings. Internally the original open spaces of the ground and first floors have been retained. The first floor is supported by cast iron posts with timber corbel pieces supporting the timber beams. The first floor has timber trusses and a timber-lined ceiling. The building is generally intact, though the original front vehicle doors have been replaced with a metal roller door, and one of the openings has been partially bricked up to form a window. In the 1940s the original timber staircase in the north-west corner was replaced with a reinforced concrete stair.

The hydraulic lift comprises a vertical hydraulic cylinder, with a bore of approximately 18 inches (457 mm) diameter and approximately 5 inches (1524 mm) stroke, which is mounted on two vertical timber columns. The piston rod is attached to a pulley and there are four cable sheaves. The cylinder is located near the back wall of the warehouse and the cables run across the roof to the lift,which has internal dimensions of 5'3" x 5'3" (1.6 m x 1.6 m). There is also a cable from the lift back to the regulating valve allowing control from the lift. There are no markings on any of the parts to indicate the name of the maker. The hydraulic lift is intact and operational and predominantly original castings and timber is present. The bolts and nuts have been replaced in more recent times. The mains water pipe to the hydraulic cylinder also appears to have been replaced.

How is it significant?

The warehouse at 61-69 A'Beckett Street is of architectural and historical significance to the State of Victoria. The hydraulic goods lift is significant for historical and scientific (technical) reasons at a State level. The building with the lift is significant at a State level.

Why is it significant?

The warehouse building is architecturally significant as a fine and intact warehouse building of the 1870s. It is significant for its intact facade and for its large open interior spaces, typical of warehouse buildings, with the original cast iron columns supporting the first floor and timber trusses supporting the roof. It is an early example of the use of polychromy for a commercial building. The building makes an important contribution to the A'Beckett Street streetscape.

The warehouse building is historically significant as a reflection of the importance of Melbourne as a centre of trade in the second half of the nineteenth century and of the associated prosperity of the city. It is also a reflection of the development of industry from the 1860s, with bluestone buildings giving way to brick as high quality bricks became more readily available.

The hydraulic lift is of scientific (technical) significance at a state level as the only known intact example in Victoria of an early hydraulic lift powered by mains pressure water, pre-dating the later use of pressurised water. It is a typical example of the lift installations used in Melbourne prior to the establishment in 1889 of the Melbourne Hydraulic Power Company. It demonstrates the innovation of the application of water pressure to lift goods and people, and the evolution of the provision of motive power to lifts via the application of hydraulic principles. Its significance is enhanced by still being in operational condition.

The hydraulic lift is historically significant as a unique example of the new technology which was to have a major influence on the skyline of Melbourne, as the use of hydraulic lifts allowed for the construction of much taller buildings, particularly following the advent of the public hydraulic power supply in 1889.

The building with the hydraulic goods lift is significant at a state level as the only example in Victoria of a warehouse building with its original nineteenth century hydraulic lift in situ.

Group

Commercial

Category

Warehouse/storage area