JACOBS RESERVE & SCOUT HALL
180E MELVILLE ROAD, and 14A JOLLEY STREET, BRUNSWICK WEST, MORELAND CITY
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Statement of Significance
Jacobs Reserve and Scout Hall, at 180E Melville Road and 14A Jolley Street, Brunswick West.
How is it significant?
Jacobs Reserve and Scout Hall, at 180E Melville Road and 14A Jolley Street, Brunswick West is of local historic, aesthetic and social significance to the City of Moreland.
Why is it significant?
Of historic significance, for its associations with Donald Melville, for whom Melville Street was named, and as an original part of his property Melville Manor. (AHC Criterion H.1)
Of social significance, for its continual use as a recreational area since the 1920s and as the meeting place for the scout (and later girl guides) since 1946. Also, for its aim to give local children exposure to nature and culture, firstly when the World War Two-era shed was altered to give children a sense of the 'great outdoors' and then later when the Koori Garden was created with an aim to educate young children of the traditional uses of native plants in Koori culture. (AHC Criterion G.1)
Of aesthetic significance, for its retention of 1920s plantings, park layout and hard landscaping, including its entry gates. Also for its Scout Hall, a World-War Two era shed which was remodeled to suit the scout movement and to evoke the sense of being in nature. (AHC Criterion E.1)
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JACOBS RESERVE & SCOUT HALL - Physical Description 1
Jacobs Reserve is a public park located on the east side of Melville Road, north of Albion Street. It slopes substantially from south to north, reflecting its location on a slope in the broader landscape which is most noticeable as a downhill section of the adjacent Melville Road.
The Reserve is roughly symmetrical in layout, bisected by two main diagonal paths connecting the opposite corners of the park. A further, east-west path forms the formal park entrance midway on the Melville Road frontage. The entrance includes a decorative stone wall and slate-lined steps which lead onto the main paths.
The paths are asphalt or Lilydale toppings, with bluestone edging. Walls, steps and path landscaping work appears to be relatively recent in terms of fabric, although the layout probably dates to the establishment of the Reserve. The entrance stone wall and steps in particular are either new or may have been remodelled from an unknown earlier form.
Vegetation includes mature avenues lining the main paths and individual specimen trees, plus smaller, more recent plantings, especially in the eastern part of the site. The main paths are edged with specimens of Deodar Cedars (Cedrus deodara). A row of twelve Bhutan Cypress (Cupressus torulosa) - possibly remnants of a hedge - extends along the southern boundary of the Reserve and forms a clear delineation of the parkland boundary. Other specimen trees in the main part of the Reserve include Atlantic Cedar (Cedrus atlantica f. glauca) and Ash (Fraxinus oxycarpa).
Trees adjacent to the scout hall include oak (Quercus sp.), eucalypts and poplar species, as well as a Swamp Paperbark (Melaleuca styphelioides) and Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara). More recent shrubby plantings include both exotic conifers and Australian natives.
The Jacobs Reserve Scout Hall is a rectangular building of timber construction with a hardwood floor, Lilydale limestone fireplace and chimney and corrugated iron roof. The building has been faced on the exterior with split logs up to about one metre level to give the building a 'rusticated' appearance. The building is set in the south-eastern portion of the Jacobs Reserve.
The Reserve also includes a children's playground and an adjacent small Koori garden with narrow crushed rock paths.JACOBS RESERVE & SCOUT HALL - Physical Conditions
Good
JACOBS RESERVE & SCOUT HALL - Integrity
Minor Modifications
Heritage Study and Grading
Moreland - Moreland City Council: Local Heritage Places Review
Author: Context Pty Ltd
Year: 2004
Grading: Local
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WHITBY HOUSEVictorian Heritage Register H0546
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LYNDHURST HALLVictorian Heritage Register H0964
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NAPIER PARKMoonee Valley City
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