Union Road Residential Precinct HO534

Union Road South Residential Precinct, Surrey Hills, is located between Canterbury Road to the north and Riversdale Road to the south, Union Road to the west and The Avenue to the east. The precinct, in two main areas, comprises 'significant' and 'contributory' dwellings from the 1880s through to early 1940s, and has a comparatively high level of intactness. Properties included in the precinct are concentrated along and to the east side of Union Road in the northern section of the precinct. In terms of the topography, the precinct slopes down from the north to the south with, as a general pattern, larger and older houses at the north end and smaller and more modern dwellings further south. In the higher areas of Union Road, houses are also often elevated off the ground, which enhances their presentation and prominence. A large number of dwellings are of timber, a building material which is characteristic of Surrey Hills; there are also brick buildings in the precinct. In terms of the eras and styles of development, there are two main periods albeit with intervening bursts of building activity. They are the late Victorian and Federation periods of development, following the initial land sales of the 1880s which resulted in houses being built from the 1880s (a limited number) into the 1890s to 1910s; then the second major phase of development following World War One with houses in the precinct dating from the 1920s through to c.1940 (and effectively the early years of World War Two, prior to the 1942 ban on non-essential construction).

How is it Significant

The Union Road South Residential Precinct is of historical and aesthetic/architectural significance to the City of Boroondara.

Why is it Significant

The Union Road South Residential Precinct is of historical significance, as a long-standing residential area in Union Road, Surrey Hills, which demonstrates aspects of the growth and consolidation of Surrey Hills from the latter decades of the nineteenth century through to the later interwar period. Development generally commenced in the 1880s after extension of the railway line to Lilydale and the construction of the railway station in 1882. However, as with other areas of Surrey Hills, the 1890s economic Depression stymied development, which then picked up again after the extension of the Riversdale Road tramway through to Wattle Park in 1916 and the cessation of World War I, with development intensifying and consolidating in the interwar period. Land in the precinct was promoted in early estate subdivisions as being especially 'picturesque', a result of the topography of the precinct, and the elevated siting of the east side of Union Road in particular. The precinct is also notable for a concentration of larger scaled houses on generous allotments in the northern section, which in turn reflects a pattern which is common in Boroondara, of establishing substantial properties on main or principal roads.

Union Road South Residential Precinct is also of aesthetic/architectural significance. Victorian houses are generally in the Italianate manner with L-shaped plans; iron verandah friezes; verandah roofs separated from the main hipped and slate-clad roofs; corniced chimneys; and some timber ashlar fronts on weatherboard examples. Federation architecture is represented in houses at the north end of Union Road and in The Avenue, and displays some typical characteristics of the genre including a dominant main roof often with an integral verandah roof; diagonal planning; return verandahs; and an accentuated corner bay or tower bracketed by two or more wings projecting at right angles. More numerous in the precinct are Bungalow designs and later interwar housing, which also display typical characteristics such as horizontal proportions; square plans with a corner 'cut outs' to provide for a porch-verandah; side entries set well back on the site; and main transverse gable roofs, sometimes with a gabled wing to the front. Later interwar houses in the precinct have simplified Tudor elements in clinker and tapestry brick, with some cement render; brick gable fronts with boxed eaves; steeper roof pitches than seen with the Bungalows; slender chimneys with no pots and often without verandahs.

Grading and Recommendations

Recommended for inclusion in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Boroondara Planning Scheme as a precinct.

For a full list of individual place gradings within the precinct, please refer to the attached PDF citation, or individual child records attached to this parent record.

Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

House