THORNBURY RAILWAY GATEHOUSE HUTTON STREET
23 HUTTON STREET, THORNBURY VIC 3071
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Statement of Significance
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THORNBURY RAILWAY GATEHOUSE HUTTON STREET - History
Thornbury Railway Station opened on the 8th of October 1989 on the original Clifton Hill to Whittlesea railway line (incorporated into the Mernda line today). It was located between Croxton and Bell Railway Stations (VR, n.d.). The station was part of a network connecting Melbourne to the northern suburbs and to regional Victoria. The gatehouse, located on the south west corner of Hutton Street, Thornbury, was built sometime between 1889 and 1908 and was an irregular shaped structure (Figure 3) that was added to between 1909 and 1910 (Figures 4 & 5). The 1908 and 1909 MMBW plans (Figures 3 & 4) also show that there was a water closet located at the rear of the house to the south. As the gatehouse (or gatekeeper’s cottage/residence) was an important building to facilitate staff working the level crossing, it is likely that it was constructed at the same time as the railway station opened in 1889.
A second structure was also built between 1910 and 1945 on the south east corner, as indicated in aerial photographs from 1945 onwards; these show a small square-shaped building (Figures 9 & 10). The engineering plan from 1910 (Figure 5) shows the faint outline of a structure in this position. Photographs of the Hutton Street level crossing from 1967 confirm that this building was a two-story structure and was likely to have been a signal box, as its appearance conforms with engineering plans of Victorian Railway signal boxes throughout the state (Figures 6, 7 & 8: VR, n.d.). The 1967 photographs also confirm that both the gatehouse and the signal box were weatherboard constructions with brick chimneys, enclosed by timber fencing (Figures 6, 7 & 8). The gatehouse also had a double open gable roof facing Hutton Street (Figures 6 & 7). The photograph of the signal box facing west indicates there was a fence on the northern boundary but not on the eastern boundary (Figure 8).
Aerial imagery and photographs from 1945 onwards indicate that the gatehouse was still standing in
the late 1960’s; however, it had been removed by 1984, as seen by the cleared/vacant land on the south west (Figure 11). The signal box was still present in 1984, with a row of trees running north to south on the eastern boundary (Figure 11). Sometime between 1984 and 2020 the signal box and trees were removed, and the carpark which is present today was constructed (Figure 1).
THORNBURY RAILWAY GATEHOUSE HUTTON STREET - Interpretation of Site
Although the exact date is unknown, it is likely that the gatehouse was constructed around the same time as Thornbury Railway Station in 1889 and was expanded in 1910. It was intended to house personnel who were employed by Victorian Railways to operate the level crossing gates from the late 19th century onwards. The exact date of its removal is unknown but it was no longer present in 1984. The signal box on the south east corner of Hutton Street was constructed sometime between 1910 and 1945 but the exact date of its removal is also unknown. Today the south east corner of Hutton Street is partly used as informal carparking along Stott Street. The railway reserve is fenced on both the east and west sides, and the reserve includes underground services and railway related infrastructure (Figures 12, 13 & 14). The level of impact caused by the demolition of the buildings, tree growth and removal, and the levelling of the site is unknown. Underground services and infrastructure installation have likely caused moderate to high level impacts to any archaeological features within the immediate scope of those works. However, as these works may not have affected the entirety of the footprints of both former buildings, there is likelihood that sub-surface features and deposits remain, associated with the signal box, the gatehouse, its outbuildings and cess/refuse pits.
Heritage Inventory Description
THORNBURY RAILWAY GATEHOUSE HUTTON STREET - Heritage Inventory Description
The site is located on the south east and south west corners of the Hutton Street Level Crossing in Thornbury and has an area of 738.95 square metres (Figures 1). Today the site on the south east corner of Hutton Street is covered by a concrete carpark surface for informal carparking, railway fencing and service units (Figure 1). The south west corner is mostly vacant; however, multiple railway services have been installed on the site.
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