Bradmill

341-351 Francis Street, YARRAVILLE VIC 3013 - Property No 5060029605

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Maribyrnong City

HO125 Bradmills.JPG

Statement of Significance

• Additional Place Information

  • Physical Description 1

    Bradmill - Physical Description 1

    The boiler house, chimney, conveyor and hopper buildings are amongst the earliest structures to be built on the site. The boiler house is built with steel structure framing with a gabled roof clad in corrugated iron (replacing the original asbestos sheeting). The building is clad in red face brickwork detailed in the stream-lined manner of the early Modernist period.

    A freestanding, steel-banded, circular chimney which is located on the south-west side of the boiler house was reduced in height by approximately 12 metres in the 1970s. The coal-fired boiler equipment, though still extant within the boiler house, has been replaced by gas-fired boilers. An elevated conveyor connects the north-western corner of the boiler house to the coal hopper on the ground.

    The boiler house has local landmark qualities within its context and as viewed from the Westgate Freeway.

    The original dye house and proofing building comprises red brickwork walls with a mixture of parapeted and steel framed sawtooth truss roofs covered with cement sheet. In 1958 the dye house was extended by a bay width along the length of the west wall.

    The basement o the dye house reportedly has a substantial intact tunnel system for the reticulation of liquid waste.

    The composite appearance of the original buildings and subsequent additions are primarily legible by variations in the colour of the red brick batches.

    The canteen building is of Modernist design featuring many facets of contemporary styling. The structural design elements include lozenge-shaped fascias, north facing aluminium window wall and vertical louvres for sun control on the western end. The interior contains superior quality fittings and fixtures for the period and type.

    Comparing the types of buildings over the whole site, the earliest manufacturing buildings, dating to the early 1950's reflect a transition phase in factory design, still featuring the large south-lit sawtooth roof design, but with trussed roof able to span greater distances and so avoid the close column spacing of earlier buildings. The later buildings on the site use a clear-span, low pitched gable roof form, which is still current practice in factory design.

    Physical Conditions

    Bradmill - Physical Conditions

    Physical Conditions: In good condition. The boiler house and much of the rest of the plant has been recently clad and repainted (in the last 3-5 years).

    Integrity

    Bradmill - Integrity

    Integrity: The complex is intact to its late 1960s appearance, having been progressively constructed over the first ten years of operation.The Boiler house is now unused although intact with a new small high-preassure boiler plant added in an extension on the eastern end.

    Physical Description 2

    Bradmill - Physical Description 2

    context: Adjacent to the Newport-Sunshine loop line and opposite the similarly scaled James Hardie industrial complex but with a residential area to the north and McIvor Reserve to the east. Also very visible from the West Gate Freeway, particularly in terms of the boiler house.

    Historical Australian Themes

    Bradmill - Historical Australian Themes

    Thematic context
    Australian Principal Theme Manufacturing and Processing
    PAHT Subtheme: Manufacturing and Processing
    Local Theme Industry Pushing Outwards:

    Physical Description 3

    Bradmill - Physical Description 3

    Creation date(s): 1959

    Heritage Significance city

    Map (Melway) 41 F10

    Boundary description

    The extent of the 1950s sawtooth roof factory sheds and boilerhouse complex located in the south east corner of the current allotment, bounded on the south by the railway line, and on the east by the extension of Roberts Street.

    Local Government Area: City of Maribyrnong

    Ownership Type Private

    Physical Description 4

    Bradmill - Physical Description 4

    Additional Report from: Maribyrnong Industrial Heritage Places, Panel Report, Amendment C31, May 2004, Gary Vines

    1.1 Bradmill, Francis Street

    HO 125 Submissions 9 & 9a

    A site visit was arranged by the owner Mr Luke DeLutis, Director, Denim Connections Bradmill, for Council staff and consultants, and a Heritage Assessment was prepared for the owners by Allom Lovell & Associates.

    The submission by the owners objected to the heritage overlay based on the impact on its operation. The heritage appraisal by Allom Lovell claims that the site has no significance at all.

    The site owner has offered to make agreement with Council to record the site prior to changes or re-development.

    Following the site visit it is now apparent that while the scale of the site is still a relevant factor in determining its historical significance, most of the building fabric is not of sufficient significance by way of form or age to warrant inclusion in the overlay. The earliest manufacturing buildings, dating to the early 1950s, reflect a transition phase in factory design, still featuring the large south-lit sawtooth roof design, but with trussed roofs able to span greater distances and so avoid the close column spacing of earlier buildings. The later buildings on the site use a clear-span, low-pitched gable roof form, which is still current practice in factory design.

    The preliminary response to the submission is that the proposed heritage overlay can be reduced to apply to only the oldest buildings. The most significant parts appear to be:

    The boiler house at the rear of the site near Westgate Freeway.

    The elevator and associated buildings.

    The saw-tooth roof/red brick factory in the southeast section of the site. The interior is not significant but the roof structure and external walls are of significance.

    The Canteen (which lies outside the reduced heritage overlay) may be independently of architectural and historical significance for its design, possibly reflecting the zigzag motif of the Southern Cross and MMBW Brooklyn pumping station, and as an expression of the social and amenities facilities provided by the company in the 1960s.

    It is therefore recommended that the overlay be re-drawn to include only the significant buildings, with an appropriate curtilage.

    Heritage Study and Grading

    Heritage Study and Grading

    Maribyrnong - Maribyrnong Heritage Review

    Author: Jill Barnard, Graeme Butler, Francine Gilfedder & Gary Vines
    Year: 2000
    Grading:

• Attachments
  • Maribyrnong Heritage Review 2000, Volume 3
    
  • HO 125 Incorporated Plan
    
• Location map
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