Matlock Street Precinct
99-151 Prospect Hill Road and 39-57 Spencer Road and 36-72 Spencer Road and 1-5 Bow Crescent and 2-12 Bow Crescent and 1-43 Matlock Street and 29-37 Myrtle Road and 3-17 Marden Street and 2-14 Marden Street and 1-87 Warburton Road and 2-42 Warburton Road
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Statement of Significance
What is Significant?
Matlock Street Precinct incorporating Prospect Hill Road; 39-57 & 36-72 Spencer Road; 1-5 & 2-12 Bow Crescent; 1-43 & 2-30 Matlock Street; 29-37 Myrtle Road; 3-17 & 2-14 Marden Street; 1-87 & 2-42 Warburton Road; 1-11 & 2-18 Carinda Road; 1-17 & 2-16 Maling Road, is significant.
How is it significant?
Matlock Street Precinct is of local historic, aesthetic and social significance to the City of Boroondara.
Why is it significant?
Matlock Street Precinct is historically significant for its association with the Outer Circle Railway Line originally constructed in sections in the 1890-1 and progressively opened and closed according to demand until the 1920s. The land reserved for the railway line is now part of the Anniversary Trail of linear parkland. Planned near the East Camberwell Station the Prospect Hill Estate were part of the trend to market land in close proximity to the railway.
Matlock Street Precinct is historically significant for its demonstration of a middle ring suburb's growth adjacent to the railway line with groups of small attached buildings in Bow Crescent and Warburton Street close to the line, the attached groups illustrating the first residential development in the area.
Matlock Street Precinct is historically significant as an area originally subdivided as part of the Prospect Hill Estate in 1885 and as two subsequent extensions. Despite allotments being offered from the late 1880s development in the area was slow as a result of the economic recession and the varied ability of developers and estate agents to promote a suburban lifestyle. Historically Matlock Street Precinct demonstrates; in common with other Estates released during the Boom years, the time taken for development to be fully realised. Matlock Street Precinct, in particular the shop at 35 Matlock Street is associated with the long running television series 'The Sullivans'.
Matlock Street Precinct represents a large area with predominantly small allotments and modest suburban housing within garden settings. Although mixed in character it does provide a high level of Edwardian residential development with some Interwar examples. Predominantly constructed of timber, there is also some distinctive rows of attached brick residences built as groups at 2-12 Warburton Road and 10-12 Bow Crescent. The type of development (modest scale) and period (predominantly Edwardian) Matlock Street Precinct is comparable to Union Road Residential Precinct (HO534), Surrey Hills North Residential Precinct (HO535) and Canterbury Hills Estate Surrey Hills (HO536). Matlock Street Precinct is distinguished by its relatively large area and high degree of integrity and a low level of alterations. Carinda Road is a good example with a number of representative weatherboard Federation houses in good condition and with consistency of material, form and detailing. Matlock Street Precinct is distinguished by its relatively large area, high degree of integrity and relatively low levels of alteration to individual places.
Matlock Street Precinct is aesthetically significant for the parkland and recreation area related to the former Outer Circle Railway Line, now the Anniversary Trail; and its associated landscaping including several palm trees along the parkland easement
along Myrtle Road.
Matlock Street Precinct is aesthetically significant for the group of attached dwellings at 2-8 Bow Street that are built as two pairs of small brick residences with rendered upper
walls and projecting gable fronts with large sash and sidelight window. Small timber porches to each side are well detailed in timber. Another group of brick and render houses at 7-15 Warburton Road are unusual in the precinct and provide a consistent Edwardian streetscape. These houses feature a combination of arch-headed windows in rubbed brickwork, and more conventional square -headed windows with leaded toplights. Timber strapping is applied to the render finish of the upper walls and gable ends. Some small late Victorian houses occupy 6-10 Warburton Road and are distinguished by their consistency and use of large bay windows. Bow Street is also distinguished by some late Victorian di-chrome brick houses with typical cast iron frieze verandahs.
Marden Street is a fine and intact streetscape with small Edwardian houses on the low side of the street and set close to the front boundary and a picturesque juxtaposition of roof forms. Slightly larger residences in timber with ornate verandahs, box windows and timber strapping to gable ends re typical of the period. A particularly unusual house at 41 Matlock Street has a large recessed porch with timber fretwork and balustrade, a diagonal box window and a simplified hip roof form. A late Victorian house at 15 Matlock Street is a fine example of di-chrome (cream and brown) brickwork and with a return verandah with cast iron frieze.
Carinda Road has a consistency of material, form and detailing and is a good example of a number of representative weatherboard Federation houses in good condition.
Matlock Street is aesthetically significant for its modest but intact Interwar houses in timber and red brick. 43 and 57 Spencer Street are intact examples of a timber Californian Bungalow and 149 and 151 Prospect Hill Road are fine and intact examples of the style in brick with timber shingle gable ends. Matlock Street Precinct is aesthetically significant for its centrally located parkland bisecting the area, and providing both open space and views from Marden Street and Myrtle Street.
The parkland associated with the Outer Circle Railway may hold social value for the residents of the area, however this has not been addressed in this assessment. The local community and the wider tourist community with connections to 'The Sullivans' television series socially value the 'A & J Sullivan' store. This series developed a strong following both in Australia and abroad during the 1970s and the 1980s through its depiction of Australian suburban family life during World War II. These communities have continued their connection to the property since this time, evidenced through regular community visits and expressions of connection in the public sphere.
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Matlock Street Precinct - Physical Description 1
This precinct covers an area bounded by Warburton Road to the north, Prospect Hill Road to the south, and extending east from the railway line and Griffin Street towards Maling Road. Generally, it could be described as typical of the middle ring suburbs developed in this area in the early part of the twentieth century. These middle ring suburbs reflected a certain prosperity in the early years after Federation, and the aspiration for a comfortable middle class life.
The streets in this precinct are wide and lined with established street trees. The 'Anniversary Trail' runs through the centre of the precinct. This landscaped easement was once the location of the 'Outer Circle' steam railway line and more recently has been converted to a cycle and walking pathway. Several established palm trees are located along the edge of the easement. A second landscaped pathway forms a green thoroughfare between Matlock Street and Warburton Road. These well maintained landscaped elements make an important contribution to the overall character of the precinct.
Housing stock is generally of a high quality and largely intact and well maintained. Houses are typically set well back from the street behind well-established gardens and low timber picket fences. While a small number of Victorian houses were built in the north east corner of the precinct soon after it was subdivided, Federation era houses predominate. There is a consistency in the age, style and quality of housing in the precinct. While not large and elaborate as in other parts of the suburb, houses in this precinct are well-built and solid.
Typically, houses in the precinct could be described as asymmetrical in form with verandahs or porches arranged across the front or returning to one side. Roofs are generally high hipped and complex in arrangement, with projecting gabled forms common. Roof cladding is mostly corrugated iron with some examples of terracotta tiles or slate roofs. Weatherboard cladding predominates, with a few examples of brick houses, particularly in Warburton and Bow Streets. Roughcast rendering is used frequently in the precinct either as a single material or more commonly, in combination with timber or brick finishes. Gable detailing is sometimes timber shingles but mostly half-timbered in combination with painted or roughcast render. A range of patterns to the half timbering can be noted in the precinct.
Timber detailing to verandah post, balustrades, friezes and frieze brackets varies within the precinct. Verandah supports are sometimes turned timber posts and at other times, half timber posts on masonry piers. Timber friezes run straight across verandahs in some cases and curved timber valances are also common. Verandah brackets are often quite decorative and sometimes incorporate the more sinuous curved lines of the Art Nouveau.
Box bay windows can be seen on front elevation a number of houses, occasionally with a canopy. Corner bays occur but are less common. Timber casement and double hung windows predominate in the precinct. Leadlight can be seen to some windows but is not particularly elaborate when it occurs.
35 Matlock Street has been a commercial property since 1912. Members of today's community still remember when it operated as the '4 Square Store' grocer and confectioner, run by Mr and Mrs Williamson from the 1930s to the 1970s, where locals would buy such goods as milk, eggs and biscuits (M Gornalle 2015 pers. comm.). It was informally known as 'Willy's Store' after its owners (F Barrett 2015 pers. comm.).
Between the 1970s and 1980s the property became a focal point for the filming of 'The Sullivans' television series. Local community members today still remember gathering outside the store to watch these shoots. 'The Sullivans' received much acclaim - it was sold to over 30 countries worldwide, received numerous awards, and enjoyed a run of 1114 episodes. As well as becoming a mainstay in Australian living rooms, it was also the longest running and most successful overseas daytime series in the UK (Crawfords & Only Melbourne [2] 2015). Further information is provided in an individual citation.
While the precinct is dominated by houses of the Federation era, built around 1900/1910. a small group of houses in the north east of the precinct were built in the late Victorian period, corresponding with the earliest subdivision of land within the precinct boundary.
Areas of note in this precinct include:
Marden Street
This small street bounded by parkland at either end has a number of intact Federation housing to both sides of the street. Houses are mostly single storey, double fronted timber houses with high hipped corrugated iron or terracotta tiled roofs and detailing in timber or rough cast rendering. Both the setting and the consistent style of housing in this small street typify the characteristics of the precinct and the suburb generally. Recent second storey additions are notable to numbers 2, 9 and 13.
Typical examples of the Federation era housing found in the precinct include:
Carinda Road
A number of typical Federation features can be noted on this double fronted timber house at 8 Carinda Road. including, steep corrugated iron roof, decorative half timbering/roughcast detail to the gable end, canopy over a boxed bay window, verandah enclosed under main roof line with simple timber fretwork with decorative brackets below. Brick chimneys with rendered detailing to top. Carinda Road comprises a number of weatherboard Federation houses with a consistency to their design. Whilst most have had some form of extension or new fence, these have been done in a sympathetic manner.
11 Maling Road
This house is characterised by variety and irregularity to the main form of the house. A complex and steeply pitched roof includes both gabled ends and hipped sections. Entry is from a side verandah. A boxed bay window sits below a jettied half-timbered gable with curved timber brackets.
43 Spencer Road
This house is an example of a simple and modest Californian bungalow. A transverse gabled roof runs parallel with the street and is clad in terracotta tiles. A smaller gable sits perpendicular to the main roof and encloses a wide verandah with half timber post set on masonry pillars. Decorative timber brackets are the only decorative elements on the house.
Other properties of note in the precinct include:
41 Matlock Street
This timber house, built in 1910, displays characteristics typical of both the Victorian and the Federation styles. It is of interest as it demonstrates the transition between the two styles. It was possibly designed by an architect although none has been identified as yet.
The flatness of the main face is typical of the Victorian period, while features such as the angled bay window across one corner and the deep entry porch are more closely associated with the Federation style. While the main roof is a simple hipped form characteristic of the Victorian period, it is pitched at a higher angle than would be expected and suggests a transition to the more steeply pitched roofs of the Federation era. Detailing to the windows is typically Victorian with a curved valance below a highlight panel. Detailing to the front porch, the gable over the corner bay, the terracotta roof tiles and ridge tiles, and the chimneys is more typical of the Federation period. In particular, the arched timber fretwork over the entry porch represents a deviation from the decorative cast iron detailing so representative of Victorian era houses.
149 and 151 Prospect Hill Rd
These two brick houses from the 1920s match in style and quality. Both are well kept and intact and have fine 'soldier course' brick work to areas on the front facade.
2 - 8 Bow Crescent
A row of four brick houses, in two sets of pairs (4 and 6, and 8 and 10). Located close to the railway line, the houses may have been built for railway workers. The small terraced houses are more typical of housing in the inner suburbs than these middle ring suburbs. A similar row is located at 7-15 Warburton Road.
Victorian houses
Victorian houses in the precinct are located in the north east corner of the precinct, close to the railway line. While not the predominant style in the precinct, they are important as they represent early development of the precinct, in the years directly following subdivision in the closing decade of the nineteenth century.
4 - 10 Warburton Road
It is likely that the four houses in this row were built by builder Gustav Landmann. Number 4 was completed first, and the row numbered 6-10 were completed soon after. All four houses have a timber block facade and an angled bay window with decorative timber brackets below the window frame. Identical rosette mouldings can be noted between eaves brackets on all four houses. The row 6-10 have distinctive detailing to the verandah. A scalloped timber moulding runs along the top of the timber verandah frame. Slender posts have decorative detailing above a cast iron capital and turned below the capital. A cast iron frieze remains on numbers 8 and 10. Chimneys on all four houses are identical - brick with rendered moulding at the top edge and base. Rounded moulded chimney tops are an addition on number 2.
10 and 12 Bow Street
Located close to the Warburton Road houses, these two brick houses were built around the same time as typical cottages for the era.
15 Matlock Street
A fine and intact example of a double fronted Victorian era residence.
35 Matlock Street
The timber shop used for the filming of the Sullivans has a scrolled stuccoed parapet wall, a cornice moulding and a gable-end of the roof behind, as a half-timbered pediment to the facade. Sited behind this rather grand facade is a prosaic weatherboarded house with a corrugated steel roof and corbelled red brick chimneys. The shopfront has vertical lining boards to the stallboards and a recessed entry with glazed and panelled door appear original.
Matlock Street Precinct - Integrity
Precinct Integrity
Generally, the precinct has a high level of intactness with houses and gardens well-kept and retaining many original features. Second storey additions have been added to a number of houses. At times second storey additions are sympathetic and recessed so as to minimise the impact on the character of the precinct. In other areas (eg the middle section of Warburton Road) second storey additions are set towards the front of the existing house with a tendency to visually dominate and detract from the integrity of the precinct. Two commercial premises at 1 Warburton Road and 35 Matlock Street are distinctive additions to the precinct.
Heritage Study and Grading
Boroondara - Municipal-Wide Heritage Gap Study: Vol. 1 Canterbury
Author: Context
Year: 2018
Grading: Local
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FORMER ROBIN BOYD HOUSEVictorian Heritage Register H0879
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CANTERBURY MANSIONSVictorian Heritage Register H0869
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EYRE COURTVictorian Heritage Register H0817
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"1890"Yarra City
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"AMF Officers" ShedMoorabool Shire
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"AQUA PROFONDA" SIGN, FITZROY POOLVictorian Heritage Register H1687
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