STONY CREEK PIER PILES (PAIRED ROW OF PILES IN STONY CREEK BACKWASH)
HYDE STREET SPOTSWOOD, HOBSONS BAY CITY
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Statement of Significance
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STONY CREEK PIER PILES (PAIRED ROW OF PILES IN STONY CREEK BACKWASH) - History
The history of the site is unknown, but the piles could be associated with the Victorian Meat Preserving Company site, and are visible in a photo tentatively dated from 1910-1920 (PRO, 83571/P1 see above). The piles are small gauge, indicating a pier construction, and appear to be of earlier construction than the other wharf structures in this area.
[These piles were not evident during a site inspection in 2009]
The Stony Creek Backwash is a shallow wetland and mangrove stand, situated at the confluence of Stony Creek and the Yarra River at Yarraville/Spotswood. Stony Creek was used from the 1850s to the late nineteenth century by ballastmen who carried basalt quarried in the environs of Stony Creek to wharves located on the Yarra River, using shallow vessels. In the late 1860s the Victorian Meat Preserving Company established its meat preserving works on the north side of the backwater and built a pier projecting into the backwater.
From 1878 the backwash area came under the control of the Melbourne Harbor Trust. The Trust began to reclaim portions of the backwash in the 1880s. A Melbourne Harbor Trust Plan of the port in 1892 indicates sheet piling extended along the length of the mouth of the backwash, apart from a narrow opening into the creek, effectively separating the backwash from the Yarra. Two lines of what could be piles led from the opening of the backwash, following the course of the creek, to the causeway in line with Hyde Street (MHT General Plan showing River and Port Improvements, 1892). A MMBW plan indicates that a narrow strip of land on the east side of the backwash had been reclaimed by 1894, as had an area on the north east edge of the backwash (MMBW Plan 8, 160 feet to one inch, 1894, Map Collection, State Library of Victoria).
In 1923 the Harbor Trust Commissioners announced their intention to reclaim most of the area covered by the backwash, installing
timber piles and awarding a contract for cement sheet piling (MHT Commissioners' Report 1923, p.20). By 1926 twenty acres had been reclaimed (Argus 13 Feb 1926 p.35).
In 1925 the Trust announced the construction of a timber oil wharf for the use of the Vacuum Oil Company, which established an oil terminal to the north of the site in that year.. The company would go on to occupy much of the land reclaimed on the north side of the backwash, including that which had been occupied by the Victorian Meat Preserving Company's pier.
It is possible that a paired row of piles identified in the MIAP Stage One Report was installed at this time as part of the reclamation process, though it is not evident on any plans or photographs of the Stony Creek Backwash. The paired row of remnant piles (H7822-0421) appears to follow the same course across the backwash as the Stony Creek sewerage main indicated on an 1894 MMBW plan of the area and may have been associated with the installation of the main.
STONY CREEK PIER PILES (PAIRED ROW OF PILES IN STONY CREEK BACKWASH) - Interpretation of Site
The piles may be associated with the former Victorian Meat Preserving Company Pier (H7822-0420), as the northern extremity appears to originate from the locality of that site. It is possible that this pier was constructed when the western extension arm of Stony Creek (built to for the oil wharves railway connection/ bridge) may have caused siltation in the backwater, necessitating jetty access to deeper water. These piles are visible in a photo tentatively dated from 1910-1920. The piles are small gauge, indicating a jetty construction, and appear to be of earlier construction than the other wharf structures in this area.
Nominated for inclusion on the Victorian Heritage Register as part of the Stony Creek Heritage Precinct for its significance as one of the only remaining archaeological examples of the development of a port area.
Heritage Inventory Description
STONY CREEK PIER PILES (PAIRED ROW OF PILES IN STONY CREEK BACKWASH) - Heritage Inventory Description
Approximately 125 m from the western bend of the current Stony Creek Backwater walkway, a set of paired piles (spaced approximately 10 m apart) are visible running NE/SW direction for approx 300 m from the northern end of the backwater to just south of the current walkway. The piles may be associated with the former Victorian Meat Preserving Company Pier.
Pier, piles and possible artefacts associated with the former pier's use.
Archeological Potential: Good
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SEWERAGE PUMPING STATIONVictorian Heritage Register H1555
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CSL (COMMONWEALTH SERUM LABORATORIES) COLLECTIONVictorian Heritage Register H2422
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SPOTSWOOD PUMPING STATIONVictorian Heritage Inventory
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