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Iron Houses

Location 181-189 Brunswick Road, BRUNSWICK VIC 3056 - Property No B4613 File Number B4613 Level State

[1/1] B4613 Iron House Brunswick Rd

Statement of Significance

Two pairs of iron cottages erected in 1854 by James Blackburn, Jnr., the son of the designer of Melbourne Water Supply, still stand at 181/183 and 187/189 Brunswick Road and proved a unique link with Brunswick's earliest history. These buildings have world significance as rare survivals of the iron sheeting prefabricated houses which were so popular in the last century.
Imported from England, the sheets were bolted together in Melbourne. These structures appeared first in this city in 1853. The pairs of iron cottages have a local and State significance also because of their connections with the Rev. William Jarrett, the founder in 1852 of one of Brunswick's two earliest colleges and, at least from the 1870s, with John Glew, pioneer colonial brickmaker. Glew's brickworks produced the first white bricks in Melbourne which were used to build the Independent Church in Collins Street.
Classified: 04/12/1980
Revised: 03/08/1998
See also: H1152, H1153 &H0665