MELBOURNE RAIL YARD ARTEFACT DEPOSIT
30 DYNON ROAD, WEST MELBOURNE
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Statement of Significance
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MELBOURNE RAIL YARD ARTEFACT DEPOSIT - History
Analysis of historical maps and plans provides information about the post-contact history of the place. The land where the artefact scatter was found was originally on the eastern edge of the West Melbourne Swamp, as shown on the 1866 Port Phillip Hobson Bay map (Cox 1866). Dynon Road was formed by 1866 and the section that crosses what is now the Melbourne Rail Yards at its eastern end, had a different alignment in the 19th century. It is shown in its original alignment in the 1866 map at the eastern end, curving up to the north-east to cross a rail line that runs from the CBD to the north-west, past North Melbourne. The railway line from Spencer Street and the centre of Melbourne passing by North Melbourne is present, as are what looks like a railway cutting and many small buildings or sheds along the railway line. The Artefact Deposit is located right beside Dynon Road, where the road runs downhill and flattens out at the edge of the swamp. Dynon Rd, or Swamp Road as it was originally known, crossed over the swamp and the Moonee Ponds on a purpose-built causeway (Sornig 2018: 52). By 1879, at the location of the scatter there was a small pond present which may be the remains of water from the swamp and the Moonee Ponds. The swamp was in the process of being drained at this time and a drainage canal is shown encircling the perimeter of the swamp. The artefact deposit location is shown within or on the edge of this pond or pool, and the railway line passing by North Melbourne is indicated. Interestingly, Dynon Road is not shown in the map. (see1879 Melbourne Harbour Trust map, Figure 4). Tenders for the reclaimation of the swamp were awarded by 1877 (Sornig 2018:42), and the 1879 map confirms that the late 1870s were the beginning of the drainage of the swamp. A Harbor Trust map from 1893 demonstrates the development of the rail yard by that time (Figure 5). The rail lines up to North Melbourne had been substantially increased, and the rail lines heading northwest beyond Dynon Road had tripled. The North Melbourne Locomotive Maintence yard area and the Coal Canal had both been established by that time. A 1910 map of West Melbourne Swamp area shows two allotments marked up in this location and no indication of the 1876 pond remaining (1910 SLV). This map shown that Dynon Road has a new alignment of its eastern end, connecting up with Munster Street, North Melbourne, and that the Artefact Deposit is located right beside Dynon Road. North Melbourne Station is marked on the map, indicating that the rail yard was being developed by that time. A map from c.1920s (Figure 7) from an archive of miscellaneous plans from the Victorian Railways, shows that the Melbourne Rail Yards were fully developed by that time and confirms the new alignment of Dynon Road over the rail yards to North Melbourne. Later aerial photos confirm that this was a new road bridge built over the railway lines and new rail yard. An aerial photo from 1951 shows further rail lines added to the Melbourne Rail Yard area, with several lines for train stabling had been added in the location of the artefacts scatter. In 1968 aerial photo, the eastern end of the Dynon Road alignment has been moved to the north-east with a new roadbridge added across the rail yard. In summary, this review of historical maps and archival aerial photos demonstrates that the location of the Artefact Deposit was on the edge of, or within the eastern part of the West Melbourne Swamp or Saltwater Lagoon in the mid 1800s, until the railway yards were established in the late 1888s-1890s. The Swamp was used a dumping ground for waste from at least the 1870s if not earlier (Sornig 2018: 45, 48). Although the central and western sections of the Swamp were used for landfill refuse disposal by the Victorian Railways and Harbour Trust, and more formally by the City of Melbourne from the late1880s (Sornig 2018: 48-53), the location at the eastern edge of the Swamp was more informally used for rubbish dumping by nearby local businesses and residences in North Melbourne and West Melbourne. Access was via convenient streets such as Dudley Street, West Melbourne, and Dynon Road.MELBOURNE RAIL YARD ARTEFACT DEPOSIT - Interpretation of Site
Based on the land use history evidence from archival maps and plans, the preliminary artefact analysis and the archaeological information, the Artefact Deposit must have been laid prior to the formation of the Melbourne Rail Yard and laying of railway lines and rail ballast in the 1880s-1890s. It seems most likely, given the depth of the deposit (2 to 3m below rail ballast and crush rock fill) that the artefacts are the result of discard from domestic or commercial premises, such as hotels or restaurants. The artefact assemblage is representative of activities such as food preparation and consumption, personal health and hygiene. The location of the deposit, right beside Dynon Road, and on the eastern edge of the West Melbourne Swamp, also supports this idea of informal rubbish disposal. The location is the point of the Swamp that is most easily accessed from North Melbourne, heading down Dynon Road. The subsequent expansion and development of the area for the Melbourne Rail Yards, saw the draining of the remainder of the Swamp and Moonee Ponds, and the filling of the area with crushed rock and ballast to create a level and stable substrate for railway lines.
Heritage Inventory Description
MELBOURNE RAIL YARD ARTEFACT DEPOSIT - Heritage Inventory Description
The site is a concentrated deposit of 19th century artefacts located within the Melbourne Rail Yard, located just below the Dynon Road bridge over the rail yard. It is currently in use with live rail lines for Melbourne train lines heading north and west from Southern Cross Station and North Melbourne Stations. The ground surface currently covered by crushed basalt and rail lines as well as rail-related infrastructure for signalling etc.. The site is not publicly accessible. The presence of a concentrated deposit of historical artefacts was discovered during boring for a large diameter (from 0.9 – 1.5m diameter) bridge piles within the rail yard. The artefact-bearing deposit appeared below the 2m thick surface deposit of basalt ballast and crushed rock, in a deposit of fine to medium grained dark brownish grey silty clay with a pale grey sand component. The artefact-bearing deposit was found at 2m depth down to about 8m depth. The deposit was moist, and the upper portion contained traces of building rubble including brick and concrete fragments. The deposit became darker grey from about 3.9 or 4.0m depth and numerous 19th century artefacts were present, down to the base of the deposit at about 8m depth. The thickness of the artefact bearing deposit varied from 1m – 4m. The artefacts included 19th century glass bottles, glass fragments, ceramic tablewares, metal objects and fragments, animal bones, shells. Below the deposit, from about 8m depth, a dark grey silty clay was present that was soft to firm and contained trace fragments of shells. This deposit appeared to be natural and was present from 8m to 15m depth. The documentation of the stratigraphic units and the deposit was done via borehole cores and photos recorded by a geologist, as site constraints of working in the live rail yard at night prevened archaeological investigation. The spoil from the artefact-bearing deposit from each borehole was stockpiled separately and then sorted through by archaeologists. All artefacts from the spoil were collected. A very large assemblage of artefacts was recovered from the spoil of each bored pile, confirming the significant size and depth of the artefact deposit in this location. The amount of artefactual material collected is included in the attached Preliminary Artefact Analysis Summary. Preliminary analysis of the artefacts indicates that the assemblage comprises whole and fragmentary bottles, including alcohol and medicinal bottles, domestic ceramics including teacups, saucers and plates as well as larger servingware items such as platters. Decorative techniques include moulded, gilded and transferware with identifiable patterns including Asiatic Pheasants and Willow. Also oyster shells and animal bones, and a small amount of metal. See attached Preliminary Artefact Analysis Summary, including photographs of selected items from the assemblage. Based on a preliminary survey, the assemblage appears to date from the late 1880’s to early 1900’s (likely not later than 1915-20). It appears to be mixture of domestic and commercial refuse (i.e. from a hotel). A proposed VHI site extent has been supplied and attached which is based on the locations of bored piles where artefacts were found, and then a 10m buffer was added to create the site extent. This site extent is an estimate only of the likely extent of the artefact deposit, which could be larger.
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