Church of Christ
81 Hampshire Road, SUNSHINE VIC 3020 - Property No 124
McKay Housing Estate - Durham Rd
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Statement of Significance
Architecturally, a well-preserved example of its type and period and style for the area, as well as having the distinction of being a church where the main section (of timber ) was 'built in a day' by local Church of Christ members. Historically, significant to the Sunshine area as a reflection of the growth of Sunshine in the 1930s and of the range of religious denominations in the population during the inter-war years.
Precinct statement of significance::
This McKay housing subdivision is of national historical and social significance as a part of a suburb created by Australia's leading industrialist and as a milestone in the development of the industrial suburb under the influence of the Garden City movement. Sunshine became a yardstick for planning and housing reformers, with H.V. McKay being regarded as an expert on planned industrial housing. The McKay estate is of regional architectural significance as it marks a crucial phase in the development of Sunshine, housing the resident work force which promoted further industrial development.
The group of houses in the precinct represent the type of houses built either by or for company employees and managers during the period of H V McKay's dominance of Sunshine's economy and development. Most of the remaining commercial premises, which formed the nucleus of the suburb west or the railway line, have been included in a separate precinct centred on the corner of Sun Crescent and City Place. While a number of original houses have been demolished, the remaining stock provides a representative sample of homes that are generally typical of the period, with several distinctive architectural designs, some of which can be ascribed to J Raymond Robinson, who might be considered the defacto company architect for the McKay Sunshine Harvester Works.
Characterised generally by steep gabled corrugated iron clad roofs (with hipped roofs on some of the earliest examples), weatherboard cladding and timber trimmed verandahs, the houses are also set on generous allotments, often with deep setbacks. These elements contribute to the garden suburb character that was intended in the original town planning designs, and perpetuated in the perceptions of Sunshine's character. It should be remembered that in the early 20th century, Sunshine's generous suburban estates were atypical of working class housing of the period.
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Church of Christ - Physical Description 1
Description
This clinker brick church compares favourably with the Methodist Church further north, with its medieval styling and brickwork but predates the other church by over 30 years. The composition, with two Saxon towers either side of a gabled nave, is unusual while the tripartite window group in the front is traditionally-based. The fence is also original. Another unusual aspect of the design is the weatherboard sides, filling in between the brick ends. The erection of the timber section of the church in one day is one of the distinctive aspects of Churches of Christ, with only a small number of churches built in this manner documented.At the rear is a small gabled timber building which was built as a 'Kinder Room'.. It has identical tripartite, Tudor windows as the sides of the church.
Church of Christ - Physical Conditions
Condition/integrity
Generally an original exterior. The link between the Kinder Room and later Youth Hall is of poor quality and design.Church of Christ - Historical Australian Themes
8 Developing Australia's cultural life
8.6 WorshippingHeritage Study and Grading
Brimbank - Brimbank City Council Post-contact Cultural Heritage Study
Author: G. Vines
Year: 2000
Grading: Local
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MASSEY FERGUSON COMPLEXVictorian Heritage Register H0667
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HV MCKAY MEMORIAL GARDENS AND CHURCHVictorian Heritage Register H1953
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HV MCKAY OFFICESVictorian Heritage Register H1966
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1 Fordham CourtYarra City
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10 Fordham CourtYarra City
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