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Belmont Heights Heritage Area
LocationBelmont Heights Belmont, Greater Geelong City LevelIncluded in Heritage Overlay |
Statement of Significance
The Belmont Heights Heritage Area has significance as a predominantly
intact residential area of interwar and postwar era dwellings with a
small but important number of Edwardian and Federation houses. Most
dwellings are detached and single storey, having regular front and
side setbacks and garden settings. They are built mainly in timber
weatherboard or brick, having hipped and/or gabled corrugated sheet
metal or tiled roof forms, and front or side verandahs. Initially
subdivided in 1886 as large allotments, it was not until 1913 when the
regular grid allotment configuration was laid out as the Belmont
Heights Estate on land formerly proposed as the Geelong Grammar School
complex. The new streets were named after noted Polar explorers: Raold
Amundsen, Robert E. Peary, Robert F. Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Further subdivisions along Scott Street, known as the Belmont Hilltop
Estate, occurred in 1922, 1923 and 1928, with the subdivision of the
northern side of Regent Street (originally known as Fisher Street)
resulting in the ensuing years. From the 1920s until the mid 1950s,
substantial residential building development occurred in the area as
reflected in the interwar and postwar dwellings, with few houses
constructed immediately after the subdivision of 1913. However, the
original Belmont Heights Estate subdivision is largely intact,
including the side and rear lanes. The Belmont Primary School and the
Belmont Heights Neighbourhood Park form significant non-residential
landmarks in the area. The Belmont Heights Heritage Area is architecturally significant at a
LOCAL level (AHC D.2). It demonstrates original and early design
qualities associated with the residential development of the area,
initially from 1913 and especially from the 1920s until the mid 1950s.
These qualities are expressed in the notable number of interwar and
postwar Bungalows (of varying compositional types) and smaller but
important number of Edwardian and Federation dwellings. Other intact
or appropriate qualities include the predominantly single storey
height, detached compositions, hipped and/or gabled roof forms (with a
pitch between 20 and 35 degrees), wide eaves, projecting chimneys,
timber weatherboard or brick wall construction, corrugated profile
sheet metal or tiled roof cladding, timber framed double hung windows
and front or side verandahs (with detailing matching the style of the
dwelling). The regular front and side setbacks, predominant rear or
side location of garages and carports and low-medium height fences
also contribute to the significance of the place. The Belmont Heights Heritage Area is aesthetically significant at a
LOCAL level (AHC E.1). It demonstrates important visual qualities that
reflect the historical and residential development of the area. These
qualities include the front garden settings to a number of dwellings,
exotic trees and landscaping in the Belmont Heights Neighbourhood
Park, regular grassed nature strips, concrete kerb and channel and
paving, and the graveled rear and side lanes. The Belmont Heights Heritage Area is historically significant at a
LOCAL level (AHC A.4). It is associated with the subdivision of
Belmont Hill in 1886, and especially with the Belmont Heights Estate
subdivision in 1913, on land previously proposed for the Geelong
Grammar School complex. The regular grid layout was created through
the layout of new streets named after noted explorers: Raold Amundsen
(discoverer of the South Pole in 1911); Robert E. Peary (U.S. Admiral
and Arctic explorer); Robert F. Scott (British naval officer and
Antarctic explorer); and Sir Ernest Shackleton (English Antarctic
explorer). Further subdivisions along Scott Street, known as the
Belmont Hilltop Estate, occurred in 1922, 1923 and 1928, with the
subdivision of the northern side of Regent Street (originally known as
Fisher Street) occurring in the ensuing years. Historical significance
of the area is embodied in the surviving and notable number of
interwar and postwar Bungalows, and lesser number of Edwardian and
Federation houses. The First World War curtailed residential
development until the 1920s when a number of affordable houses were
built for the low-middle classes. This continued until at least the
mid 1950s. One of the earliest buildings in the area is the Belmont
Primary School built in c.1885 and whose site is identified on the
subdivision plan of 1886.
Group
Residential buildings (private)
Category
House