Chimney, Sandhurst Rolling Stock Works (former)

The significant components of the site can be summarised as follows:

Feature Date (s) Significance Management

Chimney c1886, altered c1900? Primary - reflects major visible feature associated with Sandhurst Rolling Stock Co Works. Should be retained and conserved

West wall c1886 or earlier, minor changes in 1920s-30s Primary - oldest surviving fabric relating to Sandhurst Rolling Stock Co Works. Should be retained and conserved

Roof structure & remains of timber wall frames Possibly 1890s, reclad in 1940s, Contributory - may be of late date, but provides main context for other features and retains industrial character of the site. Could be altered or replaced, but new structure to remain within current building envelope and respect original finishes, forms and designs.

Facade 1960s No significance apart for providing structural integrity to rest of building New development should ensure facade design to historic character.

Archaeological remains 1876 on Primary - relates to origin of the works on this site, and potential structural remains of former buildings and structures. Protection under heritage inventory listing with appropriate conditions for monitoring/excavation in any future planning approvals

The present building at 25 Myers Street appears to be an amalgam of several periods. The main structure is of early 20th century date (1920s-40s, but incorporates earlier elements such as the west wall with its arched openings, and the push pole structure along the east wall. This is probably of late nineteenth century date and may be the external wall of the former adjoining structure originally on the petrol station site. An 1886 painted birds-eye-view (Meadows 1886) shows a long, two storey, gable roofed building running along the north side of Williamson Street frontage to the corner of Myers Street. This building also appears in a photo in the Bendigo Library and Museum Victoria collections, (probably from around 1890), which also shows "STEAM CARRIAGE WORKS" painted on the roof. It is likely that the dividing wall between this and the structure to the north east was brick, at least for the ground floor. Some hand made bricks in this wall may also relate to an even earlier structure. The existing low pitched gable roofs are similar in form to those shown in the c1890 photograph. The asbestos cement is of c1940s date, probably involving the recladding of an earlier corrugated iron roof.

Other single storey buildings further west along Williamson Street, include signage on the parapet identifying the carriage works showrooms. It is unclear if these survive, although the extant buildings at 61-65 Williamson Street are of a suitable age for such an association.

A chimney is shown (in about the location of the existing chimney) in the 1886 painting and the c1890 Bendigo Library / Museum of Victoria photograph. However, this appears to be of a slightly different form to the existing chimney and somewhat taller. It is possible that this taller chimney was subsequently reduced in height and remodelled. Another shorter chimney is located to the north at the rear of 61-65 Williamson Street.

The Bendigo Water Board Sewerage connection plan for 1924 shows a boiler located at the rear of 25 Myers Street, oriented across the block near the eastern boundary. This would conform to a location immediately south-west of the present chimney.

The chimney is therefore most likely of late nineteenth century date (c1886) but having been altered in the early twentieth century but no later than 1940. There is therefore a period of at least a decade of association between the operation of Sandhurst Rolling Stock Works operation and the construction of the chimney and substantial parts of the present building.

The main elements of the building and chimney would accord with a date of c1886 or possibly c1900 (when the rate books show a substantial increase in value from an average NAV of £10 to £45). However, several elements are clearly later, such as the 1940s roofing and 1960s facade.

There is almost certainly archaeological evidence association with the former boilers and engine foundations to the south and/or west of the chimney. Other sub-floor evidence across the site may also survive, particularly on to the north of the block where leveling the natural slope has probably resulted in former floor levels and the waste products of manufacture) being buried (the original factory floor was probably packed earth). Listing of the whole site on the Heritage Inventory would therefore be appropriate.

Historically the site of Pickles Carriage Works and the Sandhurst Rolling Stock Works, is significant as a major part of Bendigo's manufacturing industry which grew in response to the needs and revenue generation of the gold rush period, and went on to establish Bendigo as a major regional industrial city.

The site represents the once prolific, but now almost obliterated industrial character of the areas south and east of the commercial centre of Bendigo. From an historical viewpoint the chimney is also highly significant as an example of the contribution of this local industry to the development of Bendigo and perhaps the State.

The surviving elements of the site are associated with one of the few private railway locomotive or rolling stock manufacturers in Victoria (in comparison with Wright and Edwards and P Bevan in Melbourne and Phoenix Foundry in Ballarat). It is the only surviving evidence relating to a private rolling stock works in Victoria, which was one of largest individual employers in Bendigo in the late nineteenth century with up to 300 employed in 1891 (McKay 1868) and was described as "the largest carriage factory on the Australian continent" in 1890 (Bendigo Advertiser 2.1.1890). The works was responsible for significant number of rail carriages including passenger carriages, brake vans, open wagons, explosives wagons, horse boxes, guard vans, goods vans, providing an important part of the Victorian railways rolling stock at a time when Bendigo was the second most important terminus on the railway system.

The brick chimney is a rare surviving factory chimney, architecturally notable for is specialized construction using shaped (tapered and curved bricks) and the simple decorated cap employing stringcourse and vertical ribs. As such it reflects a time when tall smoking factory chimneys dotted the skyline of Bendigo as symbols of prosperity and growth. It is a notable landmark in the commercial centre of Bendigo providing a visual reference to the former manufacturing district.

Only a handful of brick chimneys survive in Bendigo, other examples being found at the Webb flour Mill, Bendigo Gas Works, North Deborah Mine, T & S Scott's steam powered roller mill of 1887 and the School of Mines, although none of these were related to manufacturing in the sense of the Rolling Stock Works. A search of comparable brick factory chimneys (including mines) reveals about 40 relatively intact chimneys and perhaps 100 remains of fallen or demolished chimneys throughout Victoria. Of these fewer than 20 are comparable either in function or form.

The gable roofed building is of interest in that it reflects the later evolution of the site, while retaining the industrial character. The bricked up archways demonstrate the former connections between this and other buildings associated with the works, and hint at the much greater former extent of the factory.

Group

Transport - Rail

Category

Other - Transport - Rail