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Pilots' Row Precinct

Location

St. Andrews Street and King Street and Hesse Street QUEENSCLIFF, QUEENSCLIFFE BOROUGH

File Number

Original Hermes No: 120867

Level

[1/3]
Pilots' Row from Black Light
[2/3]
The Fort, c.1890 showing the
[3/3]
The Leading Light, Obelisk and

Statement of Significance

The area is of significance as the centre of the development of community facilities and service groups including the Pilots Service, the Military and the lighthouses. These facilities and groups were the reason for the town's existence initially and over a long period provided work and occupations for its residents. While not as obviously cohesive at a visual level as other precincts the area is a strong social and historic base linking the physical elements. Essentially the area is considered to be of significance for these and the following reasons:

(j) the historic association of many of the buildings and structures with the social development of the town and with individual residents.

(ii) the impact of the Fort as a key element of the townscape

(iii) the relationship of the Fort to the Pilots' Rowand their associated operations

(iv) the architectural significance of the most important government buildings in the town and the oldest still standing

(v) the position of the Fort at the end of King Street, the main road into the town, and the sense of approach along Gellibrand Street

The Fort

The Fort is currently the subject of a major conservation study in its own right and the individual buildings within the complex are not included in detail in this study. The most important aspect of the Fort visually is the impact of the wall and keep, and the various buildings rising above them including the black lighthouse, the old telegraph station and lighthouse keepers' quarters and the signal tower. These buildings are an essential part of this precinct and their immediate visual surrounding should be preserved uninterrupted. In the case of 'all' buildings of historic and architectural interest within the Fort it is recommended that they should be conserved and a program far long term preservation be developed.

Group