HAYMARKET STREET SOUTH SITE

Haymarket Street South comprises a block of land wherein numerous residential, commercial and industrial occupants are attested between 1864 and 1949. Historical documents, plans and aerial photographs indicate that the site was occupied over this timeframe by at least 12 townhouses (some of which were later repurposed into commercial buildings) and three factories.

Haymarket Street South is of local historical and archaeological significance.

The site is of historical significance due to it representing an early residential development in the inner northern suburbs of Melbourne, with the earliest residential structures in the site likely dating to 1864. The subsequent early 20th century industrial redevelopment of much of the site also represents a notable step in the industrialization of south-west Carlton, superseding the market-adjacent industries which formerly dominated the area. Finally, the 1937 M Shearer factory is of historical significance due to it having advertised for ex-servicewomen to work there in 1945, thus representing an example of the increasing role of working-class women in previously male-dominated industries in the aftermath of World War II. 

The site is of archaeological significance due to the likelihood of archaeological deposits remaining at the site. The probability of archaeological deposits ranges from ‘low’ to ‘high’ across the site (Figure 37), being lowest towards the deepest sections of the 1980s cut, within the section of the site overlapping with the Elizabeth Street Reserve, as well as where a communications tower has been recently installed. In contrast, the archaeological footprint has been rated as ‘high’ within the footprint of the 1937 M. Shearer due to its footings remaining intact, with there being a high likelihood of footings and associated deposits relating to the 1864-1937 townhouses remaining intact beneath this layer of concrete. This hypothesis is supported by the location of several probable historical artefacts on an exposed section of ground towards the eastern end of the former 1937 factory. The locations of water closets on the 1896 MMBW plan have also been assigned a high level of archaeological sensitivity, due to the possibility of earlier cesspits and their associated backfill deposits remaining at these locations. 

The areas to the immediate south and west of the former 1937 factory have been assigned as ‘moderate’ archaeological potential. While these areas were subject to commercial redevelopment associated the City Ford complex in the mid to late 20th century, the fact that the modern surface remains level with Berkeley Street and the lack of any cuts or basement levels associated with the later redevelopment means that there remains the potential for archaeological features and deposits (both associated with the mid 19th to early 20th century townhouses as well as the 1939 D.M Hull and Co. factory) surviving in these locations. Most of the area immediately fronting Elizabeth Street was also assigned a ‘moderate’ level of archaeological sensitivity, due to the surface of this area being slightly raised above the adjacent street level. 

Archaeological deposits at the site are likely to relate to a range of different activities, modes of occupation and periods. For example, any archaeological deposits associated with the townhouses and associated cesspits are likely to shed light on everyday domestic activities and subsistence patterns of the residents who occupied the site between the mid 19th century and early 20th century. Street directories and newspaper articles indicate a rapid turnover of occupants throughout the occupation of these buildings, indicating that they were likely rented on a short term basis by low-income residents. This aspect would allow any archaeological investigations to shed light on the lives of people of a lower socioeconomic status, a subject which has been often neglected in histories of the development of Melbourne. 

Likewise, any early 20th archaeological deposits associated with 28 and 30 Sydney Road may relate to the commercial operation and stock of the confectionary and Chinese laundry which occupied these buildings respectively. Similarly, if any archaeological deposits remain in association with the 1937 and 1939 factories, they may shed light on the operation of textile factories during and in the aftermath of World War II.