Fishermen's Flat
Wharf Street and Bridge Street and Beach Street and Bay Street QUEENSCLIFF, QUEENSCLIFFE BOROUGH
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Statement of Significance
Statement of Significance as recorded under the Queenscliff Heritage Study 2009
What is significant?
The Fisherman's Flat precinct is significant for its residential building stock, comprising modest fishermen's residences ranging in date from the 1860s and 1870s through to the c.1940s, as well as for its relatively intact subdivision pattern.
Specific significant and contributory buildings within the precinct are identified in the attached schedule.
How is it significant?
This precinct is of historical and aesthetic significance to the Borough of Queenscliffe.
Why is it significant?
The Fishermen's Flat Precinct is historically important as a defined area of the Queenscliff township specifically reserved by the Crown in the 1850s for development as fishermen's residences. Until the 1950s the allotments were all leased from the Crown Lands Department. The largely intact subdivisional layouts date back to 1856 when the Department surveyed the area and - with its dual frontage arrangements - is distinct from the layout of the broader township. The precinct clearly demonstrates the physical and social separation that existed in the nineteenth century between the fishing community and other residents and visitors to Queenscliff and its siting, on low-lying land near the harbour, is also demonstrative of this divide. Despite modifications, many of the fishermen's residences are still broadly intact externally and though modest in their form and fabric, provide a valuable insight into the lives of a community of great importance in the history of the township of Queenscliffe and the Borough as a whole.
The Fishermen's Flat precinct is of significance for its strong historical association with the fishing community in Queenscliff.
While the buildings themselves are simple and modest with no architectural pretension, the precinct as a whole has a particular visual quality that derives from its wide streets, unusual subdivisional pattern, the consistency of scale, form, siting and materials, and the simplicity of detailing of its building stock. The area retains a strong sense of cohesion from the scale and massing of the buildings as well as in the general simplicity of form and detail.
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Fishermen's Flat - Usage/Former Usage
Extract from the 1982 study
Description/Character:
This area was gazetted in 1856 as part of a reserve for fishermen's residences and randomly built upon over the next one hundred odd years, until the land which was leased from the Crown Lands Department was offered for purchase to the various lessees in the I 950s. The majority of building did not take place until the late I860s and early I870s when the railway reserve was created forcing the fishermen living on this area to move to the Flat proper. The majority of the existing buildings were built between the I870s and the 1940s.
Fishermen's Flat - Physical Description 1
Building type:
The area has great uniformity in the scale and type of building. The predominant building type is timber-framed weatherboard and corrugated iron clad with a central front door and a window either side. The building shape is single and double gable or M roofed. Virtually all the buildings have been altered or adapted in some way with the improving lot of the fishermen, or the need to accommodate a larger family.
Extract from the 2009 study
The area is bounded by the south-east side of Hesse Street between Symonds Street and the railway line; the north side of Wharf Street between Hesse Street and the termination of Wharf Street; the south-east side of Beach Street; and the Creek and the north side of Bridge Street. The area is almost entirely residential and retains the bulk of the original subdivision by the Crown Lands Department. Blocks on both sides of Bay Street are effectively double fronted as they extend through to the adjoining streets. In several instances this has resulted in large outbuildings, including garages, and separate dwellings at the rear of these sites.
The majority of the existing buildings were built between the 1870s and the 1940s (with relatively few post WWII buildings). The building stock in the area has a relatively high level of uniformity in terms of scale and type of building. Houses are generally single storey timber-framed weatherboard residences with corrugated metal clad roofs Predominant roof forms include single or double gables (oriented parallel to the street), or simple hipped forms, and brick chimneys (rendered or otherwise). The residences are generally of simple design, with front facades typically comprising an entrance with timber framed sash windows to either side and front verandahs (generally non-original), often with Federation style timber friezes and/or brackets. These forms are varied in the interwar residences, however these too tend to adopt a relatively modest scale and simple forms when compared with others of a similar period.
Virtually all the buildings have been externally altered or adapted in some way, including the replacement or modification of fabric and the construction of additions. As noted above, the majority of the earlier residences (of the 1860s and 1870s) had timber verandahs (both with and without decoration) added in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century or in a later phase in the interwar period. Though it is difficult on brief inspection to determine the origins of the verandahs, many subsequently have been replaced or modified. The post-WWII period also saw the introduction of modern cladding materials to walls, including fake brick skins and veneers; and the replacement of traditional roofing materials with concrete tiles. These works have detracted from the presentation of these buildings and have distorted their origins. In some cases, front windows and doors have been modified or replaced in the twentieth century.
In terms of siting, there is a high level of consistency of setback from the street, and many properties have formal cottage style front gardens. Although almost certainly not original, several buildings have painted timber picket front fences; there are also other examples of wire fencing or low masonry walls. The relatively limited size of the blocks has restricted the level of significant vegetation within the area. However the grass verge between the road and the pavement has allowed for some areas of planting shrubbery. Parking is generally restricted to the road. However, there are some examples on the wider sites where garages or open carports have been added; usually set towards the rear of the main house.
Fishermen's Flat - Physical Description 2
Extract from the 1982 study
Streetscapes:
The streets in this area consist predominently of a central bitumen carriageway with gravel verges, concrete kerb and channel, narrow grassed nature strips and concrete footpaths. Street tree planting is very sparse. In reality, little is left of the rough gravel tracks that existed in the nineteenth century, other than around the wharf area, and the character of the streets is twentieth century suburban. Although there is no historic precedent it would enhance the area and soften the impact of modern road technology to carry out a substantial tree planting programme. The trees should be of the standard tight bushy type found throughout the town and should be planted in the gravel verge on the side of the road in preference to the naturestrips. This would help reduce the harshness of the existing open streetscapes and generally enhance the area. Such a treatment however would not be in keeping with the historic integrity of the area.
Heritage Study and Grading
Queenscliffe - Queenscliffe Urban Conservation Study
Author: Allom Lovell & Associates P/L, Architects
Year: 1982
Grading:Queenscliffe - Queenscliffe Heritage Study
Author: Lovell Chen
Year: 2009
Grading:
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LATHAMSTOWEVictorian Heritage Register H1052
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PILOTS COTTAGESVictorian Heritage Register H1618
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ROSEVILLE COTTAGEVictorian Heritage Register H1148
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