ABERFELDIE STREET & WAVERLEY STREET

The Aberfeldie Street and Waverley Street precinct, which comprises the houses at 1-53 & 4-30 Aberfeldie Street, 229-237 Buckley Street, and 2-58 Waverley Street, Aberfeldie, 1-21 Waverley Street, Essendon, and 60-74 Waverley Street, Moonee Ponds, is significant.

The following features contribute to the significant of the precinct:

. The pattern of development in the precinct which comprises mixed streetscapes of Victorian, Federation and interwar era houses, and the original form, siting, materials and detailing characteristic of their respective styles.

. The clarity and legibility of the three key phases of the precinct's development.

. The notable group of Victorian houses, at 6, 12, 18, 20 and 26, and 3 and 15 Aberfeldie Street, and at 2-8, 9, 14-16, 52 and 72 Waverley Street.

. The individually significant places as listed below.

. Original and early front fences at 3, 4, 10A, 14A, 22, 23, 28A, 29, and 53 Aberfeldie Street and 10 Waverley Street are significant.

. Original garages to the interwar houses at 10A, 14A and 53 Aberfeldie Street are significant.

. The bluestone kerb and channels to Aberfeldie Street.

. The bluestone drainage channels that line the footpath on the east side of Aberfeldie and Waverley streets,

. Rear lanes paved with bluestone pitchers.

. The street tree plantings of Canary Island Palms (Phoenix canariensis) on the Alma Street extension.

The houses at 3 (HO143), 18 (HO144) and 20 Aberfeldie Street (HO145), 46 Waverley Street, and 229 Buckley Street (HO170), are of individual significance within the precinct. Resurrection House, at 6 Aberfeldie Street (HO30), is also significant to the precinct.

The houses at 237, 235, 233 and 231 Buckley Street, 4, 10A, 12, 14A, 16, 22, 24, 26, 28A, 30 and 5, 7, 9, 11, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53 Aberfeldie Street, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 26, 30, 38, 40, 40A, 42, 44, 46A, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 66, 68, 70, 74 and 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, and 21 Waverley Street are Contributory.

Non-original alterations and additions to the Significant and Contributory houses are not significant.

The houses at 8, 14, 28, 1A, 1, 13, 15, 39-43 Aberfeldie Street, 32, 36, 64, 72 Waverley Street, and 128A Park Street are Non-contributory to the precinct.

How is it significant?

The Aberfeldie Street and Waverley Street precinct is of local historical, representative and aesthetic (architectural) significance to the City of Moonee Valley.

Why is it significant?

Historically, the Aberfeldie Street and Waverley Street precinct is significant for the evidence it provides of the extent to which speculative subdivision progressed into the remoter areas of Moonee Valley during the nineteenth century land boom, in this instance into Aberfeldie and western part of Essendon. It illustrates how this resulted in isolated pockets of housing on large estates that were subsequently developed in stages, in the Federation era, before World War I, then fully developed in the interwar period. The pattern of development in the precinct demonstrates the different phases of accelerated growth in the municipality, in response to the land boom of the 1880s then improvements to public transport, beginning with the inauguration of the electric tram services in 1906, and, later, with the extension of tram services in 1923. (Criterion A)

The Aberfeldie Street and Waverley Street precinct is notable for the group of Victorian houses, which are not found elsewhere in Aberfeldie. These are located at 6, 12, 18, 20 and 26, and 3 and 15 Aberfeldie Street, and at 2-8, 9, 14-16, 52 and 72 Waverley Street. (Criterion A)

The Aberfeldie Street and Waverley Street precinct is significant as a representative area of late nineteenth century and early to mid-twentieth century housing in this part of the municipality, at some distance from the main transport corridors of Mt Alexander Road and the railway. The mixed streetscapes of Victorian, Federation and interwar era houses, which retain key features and detailing characteristic of their respective styles, contributes to the clarity and legibility of the three key phases of the precinct's development. The precinct is enhanced by the four Canary Island palms in the Alma Street extension which provide important evidence of Federation era street tree plantings. (Criterion D).

3 and 18 Aberfeldie Street, and 'Renfrew' at 20 Aberfeldie Street, Aberfeldie, are important as surviving villas representative of the development spawned by the Aberfeldie Estate subdivision of 1888. This importance is enhanced by the intact state of the Victorian Italianate villas at 18 and 20 Aberfeldie Street, and by the intact condition of the facade and the arched window treatment at 3 Aberfeldie Street. (Criterion A)

46 Waverley Street has aesthetic (architectural) significance as a fine example of a Federation Queen Anne dwelling of high architectural quality that incorporates fine Art Nouveau timber detailing and retains a high degree of original fabric, including ornamental timber friezes, a prominent arched window and curvilinear Art Nouveau ornament above in smooth render to the projecting front bay, an ensemble of roof shapes to the terracotta tile roof with terracotta finials, dormer window echoing the main gable, and three tall, roughcast render chimneys with red brick detailing visible from the street. (Criterion E)

'Braeside' at 229 Buckley Street is important as a substantial Federation era villa of the period, recalling the earliest phases in the development of Buckley Street (Criterion A), and is distinguished by its use of slate and bluestone, both materials being suggestive of its quite early date in the evolution of the Australian Federation style. (Criterion E)

Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

Residential Precinct