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CASTERTON TOWNSHIP

Other Name Casterton Township Precinct Location HENTY STREET, CASTERTON, GLENELG SHIRE Level Recommended for Heritage Overlay

[1/1] 53005 Casterton Commercial

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
Casterton began in the 1840s with an inn located where the Melbourne, Portland and Adelaide Roads crossed the Glenelg River. The Casterton Township begins at the Glenelg River crossing and is located along Henty Street (the Glenelg Highway) and includes the cross streets: Tyers Street, Clarke Street, McPherson Street, and McKinlay Street and, at the Railway Reserve, Wathen Street. The precinct extends to include most of the places on the south side of Murray Streetand thenorth side of Jackson Street between Typers andMcKinlay Street. It is adjacent to the Church and Residential precinct to the north-east. A wide range of commercial, civic and industrial buildings, along with some residential buildings, is represented in the precinct. There is a mixture of single-storey and double storey buildings, dating from the 1860s through to the 1960s, many of which were designed by distinguished private architects and government departments. Key buildings in Henty Street for their function and scale include: the Post Office (1908), the former Court House (1875), the former Shire of Glenelg Town Hall (1936), Electra House (1936), the three surviving hotels, and the various banks. Although smaller and in side streets, other civic buildings are important such as those associated with the Police and Ambulance Service. Key industrial buildings include the former Electrical Light Company Building (1936), a butter factory and a cordial factory, and the various components of the Casterton Railway Station complex. Several mid-twentieth century buildings mark the arrival and increasing importance of the automobile, the most notable of which is probably the Glenford Sales car showroom at the entrance to the precinct beside the river. However, shops are the predominant building type. The precinct boasts an excellent collection of substantially intact shopfronts, facades and verandahs from all periods. Particularly important are the former Williams The Shoeman shop and the row of shops called the Electra Building, both excellent examples of the Art Deco style. The earlier nineteenth century buildings mark the beginnings of the township. The later nineteenth and twentieth century buildings, which represent the various boom periods, give the precinct a sense of almost continuous prosperity, with only a brief intermission during the Great Depression. The integrity of most of the buildings within the precinct is very high and their condition is generally good if not excellent. Overall, the precinct is in very good condition and retains a very high degree of integrity.

How is it significant?
The CastertonTownship is of historic, cultural, social and architectural significance to the Glenelg Shire.

Why is it significant?
The Casterton Townshipis of historic significance because it shows through its built form the growth and development of the town of Casterton from the mid 1860s to the mid twentieth century and beyond. Of further historical significance is the town's role as a major commercial and professional focus for the surrounding area, being the second largest township in the Shire. The precinct is of cultural significance particularly for its range of civic buildings, including the Post Office, the Town Hall, the former Court House, and the Police Station. It is of social significance as the focus for the community's civic and needs. The architectural significance of the precinct lies in range of buildings of different types and periods, many designed by important architects.