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BRUNSWICK PLASTER MILLS PTY LTD SILOS (FORMER)

Other Name

Brunswick Plaster Mills Pty Ltd (non-fibrous plaster works), Factory

Location

20-24 TINNING STREET, BRUNSWICK, MORELAND CITY

Level

Included in Heritage Overlay

[1/2]
Silos - 20-24 Tinning Street
[2/2]
Silos - 20-24 Tinning Street

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The concrete structure at the edge of 20-24 Tinning Street comprises an attached pair of cylindrical silos (each about 10 metres diameter by 25 metres tall), an attached rectilinear chute containing the materials handling equipment, and a roof-mounted head house. The silos were built in 1952 by Brunswick Plaster Mills Pty Ltd, manufacturers of Plaster of Paris and other building products, which had occupied the original building factory on the property (a large galvanised iron shed, now no longer extant) since 1926.

How is it significant?
The silos are of historical and aesthetic significance to the City of Moreland.

Why is it significant?
Historically, the silos are significant for associations with the expansion of industry in Brunswick in the post-war period (AHC Criterion A.4). As such, they demonstrate the ongoing development of a theme that has played a significant part in Brunswick (and, more broadly, in the entire City of Moreland) since the mid-nineteenth century. More specifically, the silos provide evidence of the local presence of the building product industry, which, apart from the celebrated brick kilns and chimneys, is not well demonstrated by surviving built fabric in Brunswick (AHC Criterion B.2). They also stand as the last surviving remnant of a plaster factory that operated from this site (under various proprietors) between 1917 and 1966. At that time, the complex was one of only a few nonfibrous plaster factories in the metropolitan area. Although there was a number of fibrous plaster factories in Brunswick and Coburg, most have since been demolished, leaving these silos as a rare (and readily interpreted) evidence of this specific industry within the City of Moreland (AHC Criterion B.2).

Aesthetically, the silos are significant for their distinctive form and appearance. A unique surviving example of its type in the City of Moreland (AHC Criterion B.2), the structure exhibits almost sculptural qualities in its massive scale, its bold cylindrical form and its stark concrete finish (AHC Criterion F.1). The silos are a prominent local landmark that is visible from many parts of the area, and also forms an important element along the major vista of the Upfield railway line (AHC Criterion E.1).

Group