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605 SUNBURY ROAD SITE
605 SUNBURY ROAD, SUNBURY VIC 3429
605 SUNBURY ROAD SITE
605 SUNBURY ROAD, SUNBURY VIC 3429
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Victorian Heritage Inventory
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Statement of Significance
The site is historically significant as it could represent the early rural development of the Sunbury area. The remains located at the site are close to a weatherboard structure that was previously documented in the probate papers as being built prior to the 1860s (Mills, 2019). The site represents small scale rural settlement of the mid to late 19th century. The basalt path, wood fence remains, and drystone walls could be associated with the early weatherboard structure or stone outbuildings. No structural remains are visible from either the weatherboard structure or the stone outbuildings. The site has been abandoned since 1950 and has been used as a dump site by previous owners. Objects and debris from later periods can be found across the site, including the metal drums, plastic, glass and red bricks. Animal grazing and ploughing has likely disturbed the area. No artefact deposits were identified. The site could offer a broader insight into the rural settlement and development of Melbourne’s inner western suburbs.
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605 SUNBURY ROAD SITE - History
The subject site (Lot 2 Section 27 Parish of Bulla Bulla) was first purchased Thomas Grant at a Crown land sale in 1854. In September 1878, under the instruction of Thomas Richards (Thomas Grant’s son-in-law), Lot 2 Section 27 was offered for sale. The property included a “substantial” weatherboard house, stabling, outhouses, and “all the necessary accommodation and appliances for working the farm” (Argus, 7 September 1878:2). This indicates that the Grants built the infrastructure on the property before it was sold in 1878. This is also suggested by Martin Dillon’s (who rented the land) 1900 probate papers, in which the weatherboard house is described as being built before 1860 (Martin Dillon probate papers). Martin Dillon drowned on the property in June 1900 when crossing the ford over Jackson’s Creek (SN&B&MA, 30 June 1900:2; Argus, 4 August 1900:15). The inventory in Martin’s probate papers shows that on Lot 2 Section 27 there was a four-roomed weatherboard house containing six rooms and kitchen “erected over 40 years ago”. There was also an iron-roofed and weatherboard stable with nine stalls, a coach-house, cow sheds, pigsties, weatherboard dairy with iron roof and a weatherboard men’s hut. The property was fenced partly with post and rail and partly with stone walls. In 1953 Andrew Sloan, the new landowner, hosted a demonstration of a new type of forage harvester on his Bulla Road property, indicating that he was farming the subject land (Figure 6; Kilmore Free Press, 19 November 1953:4). Andrew was likely residing at Rockliffe Park, which may account for the deterioration of the homestead on the subject land. The only substantial building visible in the old Clonpett/Dillon’s Farm homestead area on a 1959 aerial photograph appears to be the homestead, which appears to be in a state of collapse (Figure 8).605 SUNBURY ROAD SITE - Interpretation of Site
• Squatters Run; • Grazing land for livestock, historically and present; • Weatherboard house and associated rural structures; and • Debris site.
Heritage Inventory Description
605 SUNBURY ROAD SITE - Heritage Inventory Description
The site comprises a red ‘Hoffman’ brick wall remains (Photo 1 and 2) that are in a degraded and destroyed state. These red bricks are most likely no older than 1960s. There is a basalt path, measuring approximately 3 meters in length (Photo 3). The path does not lead to the red brick remains nor does it lead to any identifiable structures or structural remains. 2 large metal drums are located to the east of the path (Photos 4 and 5). The metal drums are rusted and damaged by prolonged exposure to the elements. Drystone walls are scattered across the area (Photos 6 to 9). The drystone walls have been heavily affected by vegetation growth and are all in a degraded state, consisting of no more than 2 or 3 courses of stone and measuring less than 1 meter tall. Glass fragments and pottery fragments and scattered across the area (Photos 10 to 12). No artefact deposits were identified. There was modern debris scattered across the area that included plastic, a glass microwave plate and modern beer bottles.
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