PORTLAND CLUB
35 PERCY STREET PORTLAND, GLENELG SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
What is significant?
The Portland Club was erected in Percy Street, Portland in 1860 as auction rooms and wool warehouse for Crouch and Fethers, reportedly to a design by local architect, Daniel Nicholson. George G. Crouch was an early settler in Portland, who arrived in Australia in about 1835, and probably began business in Portland in 1842. He was appointed the second post-master there in 1844, ran a general store and auctioneering business and was one of the seven members elected to Portland's first Municipal Council in 1855. He purchased the Percy Street site from the original owner, William S. Sutherland and by 1856 had constructed a large iron building to accommodate his auctioneering business. This was replaced by the existing building in 1860. Crouch died in 1876 and the building became an engineering establishment of George Jarrett until 1887 when the Salvation Army occupied the building. The Portland Club acquired the building in 1919. Established in 1877 as a gentleman's club, this was their fourth home.
From its beginning as a trading port for the whaling industry in the 1830s, Portland developed rapidly through the 1840s, due to settlement of the rich pastoral hinterland, with wool becoming an important staple export. In the 1850s and 1860s, Portland became established as a prosperous urban settlement as the gold rush period attracted people and wealth to the town. It became a municipality in 1855 and access improved with the establishment of the Portland Roads District in 1856, a Cobb & Co. service to Melbourne via Geelong and an electric telegraph service in 1857. As a result, by the mid-1860s the city contained a fine collection of public, private and commercial buildings.
Like other buildings erected in the 1850s and 1860s, Crouch and Fethers? building was constructed in local basalt, with a fine axed front facade, made possible by the nature of the extremely fine grain black basalt of the region. It is a rectangular building containing a main hall, lit by a roof monitor light down its length, and ancillary rooms at front and rear. The symmetrical, classically conceived front facade incorporates an entablature supported by Doric pilasters and a parapet with a simple triangular pediment and side scrolls. A pediment, containing the date 1842, accentuates the central arched entrance, which itself is flanked by two arched openings. Loading platforms, a stone archway over the driveway to the north, and Crouch's residence at the rear of the property have been demolished.
How is it significant?
The Portland Club is of historical and architectural significance to the State of Victoria.
Why is it significant?
The Portland Club is of historical significance due to its association, as commercial premises, with the era when Western District wool was exported from this important port. The building was erected at the height of Portland's prosperity by one of its early settlers, George G. Crouch, and together with a number of other bluestone buildings in Portland, built in the 1850s and 1860s, it is illustrative of this important period.
[Online Data Upgrade Project 2004]
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PORTLAND CLUB - History
The Portland Club was erected in Percy Street, Portland in 1860 as auction rooms and wool warehouse for Crouch and Fethers, reportedly to a design by local architect, Daniel Nicholson. George G. Crouch was an early settler in Portland, who arrived in Australia in about 1835, and probably began business in Portland in 1842. He was appointed the second post-master there in 1844, ran a general store and auctioneering business and was one of the seven members elected to Portland’s first Municipal Council in 1855. He purchased the Percy Street site from the original owner, William S. Sutherland and by 1856 had constructed a large iron building to accommodate his auctioneering business. This was replaced by the existing building in 1860. Crouch died in 1876 and the building became an engineering establishment of George Jarrett until 1887 when the Salvation Army occupied the building. The Portland Club acquired the building in 1919. Established in 1877 as a gentleman’s club, this was their fourth home.
From its beginning as a trading port for the whaling industry in the 1830s, Portland developed rapidly through the 1840s, due to settlement of the rich pastoral hinterland, with wool becoming an important staple export. In the 1850s and 1860s, Portland became established as a prosperous urban settlement as the gold rush period attracted people and wealth to the town. It became a municipality in 1855 and access improved with the establishment of the Portland Roads District in 1856, a Cobb & Co. service to Melbourne via Geelong and an electric telegraph service in 1857. As a result, by the mid-1860s the city contained a fine collection of public, private and commercial buildings.
The draft statement of significance and the above history were produced as part of an Online Data Upgrade Project 2004. Sources were as follows:
Wilson Sayer Pty. Ltd. Portland Urban Conservation Study. Melbourne 1981
J. G. Wiltshire. Portland’s Old Buildings. Undated
N. F. Learmonth. The Portland Bay Settlement. Melbourne 1934
N. F. Learmonth. The Story of a Port. Portland, Victoria. Melbourne 1960
E. W. Harvey & N. F. Learmonth. Portland 1800 to 1920. Portland 1966PORTLAND CLUB - Permit Exemptions
General Exemptions:General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions. Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.Specific Exemptions:General Conditions: 1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object. General Conditions: 2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of works that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such works shall cease and Heritage Victoria shall be notified as soon as possible. Note: All archaeological places have the potential to contain significant sub-surface artefacts and other remains. In most cases it will be necessary to obtain approval from the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria before the undertaking any works that have a significant sub-surface component.General Conditions: 3. If there is a conservation policy and planall works shall be in accordance with it. Note:A Conservation Management Plan or a Heritage Action Planprovides guidance for the management of the heritage values associated with the site. It may not be necessary to obtain a heritage permit for certain works specified in the management plan.
General Conditions: 4. Nothing in this determination prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions. General Conditions: 5. Nothing in this determination exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authorities where applicable. Minor Works : Note: Any Minor Works that in the opinion of the Executive Director will not adversely affect the heritage significance of the place may be exempt from the permit requirements of the Heritage Act. A person proposing to undertake minor works must submit a proposal to the Executive Director. If the Executive Director is satisfied that the proposed works will not adversely affect the heritage values of the site, the applicant may be exempted from the requirement to obtain a heritage permit. If an applicant is uncertain whether a heritage permit is required, it is recommended that the permits co-ordinator be contacted.
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