MALVERN TRAM DEPOT
21 COLDBLO ROAD ARMADALE, STONNINGTON CITY
-
Add to tour
You must log in to do that.
-
Share
-
Shortlist place
You must log in to do that.
- Download report
Statement of Significance
-
-
MALVERN TRAM DEPOT - History
Construction of the P&MTT depot in Coldblo Road at Armadale (which was called the Malvern Tram Depot) and of their electric tram lines began in 1909. By 1910 the P&MTT had built a line along High Street from Prahran to Tooronga Road, and a branch line south along Glenferrie Road to Wattletree Road, where it turned east to terminate at Burke Road. The depot with offices and a workshop were built on the south side of Coldblo Road, just off Glenferrie Road. The building was designed by the Trust's architect Leonard John Flannagan in conjunction with the Trust's electrical engineers, Noyes Bros Pty Ltd. It was built by W Sim and Co, who also laid the tracks. Malvern Tramway depot opened in 1910. It was the first and the largest of the depots constructed by Melbourne's municipal tramway trusts prior to the formation of the M&MTB. Electricity was supplied by the privately-operated Melbourne Electrical Supply Company in Richmond and transmitted to the substation on the west end of the Coldblo Road Depot, where it was converted to 600 volt DC current to operate the trams. With war breaking out in the Pacific in 1941, the Board of the M&MTB took action to protect its staff by constructing a series of air raid precautions. Slit trenches were dug at the Preston Workshops, Carlton substation, Victoria Parade and the Royal Park meal rooms, and within the yards of the Coburg, Brunswick, Essendon, Glenhuntly, Hawthorn and Malvern Tram Depots. Other preparations were made where it was not viable to excavate slit trenches, such as at the Hanna Street (South Melbourne), Kew, Camberwell and Footscray Tram Depots (Jones, 2004).MALVERN TRAM DEPOT - Interpretation of Site
There is one area of archaeological potential within the Malvern Tramway Depot site, comprising three, parallel, Zig-Zag Air Raid Slit Trenches (Figure 4-1). The area east of the former school (Figure 1 1) does not seem to have been adversely impacted yet has been disturbed since the construction of the tram depot buildings in the southern section of the site. The area primarily appears to have been a dirt surface, into which three parallel zig-zag air raid slit trenches were excavated during World War II. Sometime before or in 1945 three zig-zag air raid trenches (slot/slit trenches) has been excavated in the northern portion of the Project area. Aerial imagery dating from 1951-1968 suggest that this area was primarily used for stockpiling and was levelled off in 1968 by adding darker sediment. It was used as an unpaved carpark from 1978 to 1984, with evidence of bitumen having been added in 1987. The ground would have been prepared for the formalised bitumen surface which probably required fill to create a flat and stable foundation (1968 aerial image – Appendix B). The carpark has remained in place since its construction and has provided protection for the underlying archaeological deposits. As such, it is likely that the historical ground surface, and the three zig-zag air raid slit trenches, may still be present under the introduced fill. The Malvern Tramway Depot Zig-Zag Air Raid Slit Trench site meets the definition of archaeological site under the Heritage Act, as a site that is likely to contain artefacts, deposits or features 78 or more years old, that would provide information relation to the former use of the site, that requires archaeological methods to reveal such information. While there are no surface features, due to the asphalt of the extant carpark covering the site, there is aerial imagery showing that the three zig-zag air raid shelter trenches were extant in 1945. Photographic evidence of the Malvern Tramway Depot from the 1950s shows the zig-zag slit trench has been filled-in. The site has subsequently been levelled, possibly through the introduction of fill, and archaeological features associated with the slit trench are likely to still be in situ underneath the current carpark. The area has been used for carparking since approximately the 1960s and was formalised with a bitumen surface sometime before 1978 (Appendix B). This is likely to contribute to an understanding of how Malvern Tramway Depot staff, and possibly the wider Malvern community, responded to the threat of World War II. As such the Malvern Tramway Depot Zig-Zag Air Raid Slit Trench site meets Threshold A (archaeology). As there is limited historical information about the three Malvern Tram Depot Zig-Zag Air Raid Slit Trenches, archaeological investigation and detailed recording could provide information not available elsewhere, particularly in relation to the construction and use of the slit trench. The limited historical information suggests that Malvern Tram Depot was one of the open areas around Melbourne utilised in this fashion, although, while it was built for the depot employees, it is currently unknown as to whether the Brunswick community would also have had access to these slit trenches in a time of crisis. Archaeological investigation could provide information about other slit trenches and their usage across suburban Melbourne. The site is significant in a local context under the ‘defending Victoria and Australia’ (Theme 7.4) in Victoria’s Framework of Historical Themes (Heritage Council of Victoria 2010 (Heritage Council of Victoria 2010). As such, the three Malvern Tram Depot Zig-Zag Air Raid Slit Trenches site meets Threshold B.
Heritage Inventory Description
MALVERN TRAM DEPOT - Heritage Inventory Description
The Malvern Tram Depot is a complex of brick buildings on a large site lying on both sides of Coldblo Road, off Glenferrie Road at Armadale. On the south side of Coldblo Road are the large 1909-10 tram shed and abutting it to the north the impressive Federation Free Classical style building of red brick with stucco dressings containing offices, workshops, and storage; the two-storey triangular-plan office building in a similar style; and on the west end of Coldblo Road the 1929 Stripped Classical style substation, which is not now in use but retains much of its original equipment. On the north side of Coldblo Road is the 1929 tram shed, which is a clear-span structure with a Stripped Classical style facade to the south; a tall garage in a similar style; and to the north is the former school building, which is a Federation Free Classical style brick building with a gabled slate roof and with decorative terracotta panels on either side of the arched entrance. The school building is used as a tram museum and has a large collection of objects associated with the history of Melbourne’s tram system. The site includes tram tracks leading from Glenferrie Road to Coldblo Road and into the two tram sheds. In 1929 the M&MTB increased its land holdings by purchasing from the Roman Catholic Trusts Corporation the De La Salle School, fronting Stanhope Street to the north of the depot buildings. This had been the site of the large nineteenth century house, Coldblo (which gave its name to the street), which was built in 1855 and appears on the 1902 MMBW plan extending from Coldblo Road to Stanhope Street. The site had been purchased by the Catholic Church in 1905, and the single storey school, with four classrooms and a hall, was built in 1912 fronting Stanhope Street. It was designed by the architect A. A. Fritsch, Victoria’s leading Catholic church architect at the time. Coldblo was demolished in 1926 and by 1929 the school moved to a new building on another site. The Board removed the ecclesiastical details from the gables and added a double storey rear wing on the west side of the south elevation. The building was used as a recreation hall for Board employees and later as a tram museum. In 2014 it continues to house the Tramway Museum. The current layout includes a bitumen surfaced staff carpark west of the former school (now the Tramways Museum).
-
-
-
-
-
NORTH MELBOURNE POTTERYVictorian Heritage Inventory
-
STONY CREEK SLIPWAYVictorian Heritage Inventory
-
SEASONING WORKS SITE AND TERRACOTTA LUMBERWALLVictorian Heritage Inventory
-
-