Point Gellibrand
Nelson Place, Railway Terrace, Kanowna Place & Ann Street, WILLIAMSTOWN VIC 3016 - Property No L10272
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Statement of Significance
Point Gellibrand Landscape is of State historical and cultural significance for its: association with the first permanent European settlement of the Port Phillip District: the development of key Government maritime and communictions infrastructure and facilities in the first decades of the colony; and as the first landfall and primary disembarkation point up to at least the 1850s. The place is also of natural significance as a rare surviving remnant of generally unaltered coastline (in respect of the tidal zone in the Melbourne Metropolitan area. The present open character of the area is a product of the most recent phase of development, i.e. the phase of demolition and clearance which has occurred over the last 20 years. This condition, however, more closely reflects the character of the area during the second half of the nineteenth century and the first few decades of the twentieth century.
This was the same bare, windswept landscape which greeted the earliest explorers and immigrants, and surrounded the government facilities. It was in fact an essential element in the use of the area since isolation was necessary in the maintenance of the convict and quarantine facilities and sight lines had to be maintained between the beacon, flagstaff, time ball, lighthouse, observatory, gun batteries etc. and their respective subjects of view, whether the Flagstaff Gardens mast, ships on the bay, the celestial bodies or potential sea invaders. Point Gellibrand is of particular historical importance for the extraordinary concentration of a diverse range of government acivities in the nineteenth century which has a significant impact on the development of both Williamstown itself and the early development of the state. The combination of such a range of facilities in the one location, particularly in the 1850s and 1860s, was a phenomenon not repeated in any other part of Victoria. Significant surviving features include the Gellibrand and Breakwater Piers, both of which retain much of their mid-nineteenth century fabric and form, the restored Time Ball Tower, Fort Gellibrand, Williamstown Station with its associated rail lines and bridges.
Much of the significance of the Point Gellibrand area lies in its historical association and potential archaeological evidence. All of the significant sites and features have been identified in the Allom Lovell Point Gellibrand Heritage Study, of Kinhill Sterns' Williamstown Conservation Study. This study also describes the historical evidence for potential archaeological remains.
Classified: 03/02/1997
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FORMER MORGUEVictorian Heritage Register H1512
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WILLIAMSTOWN PRIMARY SCHOOLVictorian Heritage Register H1639
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TIME BALL TOWERVictorian Heritage Register H1649
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