Mortlake Bluestone Heritage Walk
A self-walk/drive guide to the historic bluestone buildings of Mortlake which is proudly presented by the Mortlake & District Historical Society.
The significance of the Shaw Street, Mortlake precinct derives from its group of nineteenth century bluestone buildings which were erected predominantly for civic or commercial use. They reflect an important phase of Mortlake's urban development in the two decades of the 1860's and 1870's. This was a period when the region's rural economy was consolidating and stabilising after the expansion of the squatting and gold eras. Also of significance is the fact that the integrity of the precinct reflects the availability of public land, as a result of a lay-out found in only three towns in Victoria and representative of a town plan widely used in South Australia with its separation of town centre and suburbs by an area of public parklands. (National Trust File Number B7254).
The Settlement of Mortlake
The original settlers of this area were the native Kirrae people who were less nomadic than the tribes in other parts of Australia as they often constructed their houses from stone, clustered together to form small villages.
1837/38 Major Thomas Mitchell views Mount Shadwell during an expedition and names it after his friend Major Thomas Henry Shadwell Clerke.
1839 David Fisher, accompanied by Major William Mercer and David Anderson, take up the Mount Shadwell run of 78,000 acres on behalf of the Derwent Company.
1840 Two ex-merchant marines, Captain James Webster and Captain William Adam, came in from Van Diemen's Land to take up the Mount Shadwell run. Webster settled at Mount Shadwell on two freshwater lakes south of the mount and Adam settled at the present site of Hexham, where they had a woolshed and a shop.
1845 Robert Burke, an Irishman, arrives with his family from the Chetwynd run to work at Mount Shadwell.
1848 Webster surveyed the run and applied for a pastoral lease for his share, which he called Mount Shadwell and Adam applied for a pastoral lease on his share, which he called Parasia.
1849 Webster sold his lease to Robert Burke and Adam sold his lease to Flora and Alexander Wallace Dunlop who renamed it Hexham Park. Webster returns to his native Scotland with his wife Elizabeth and their three children.
1853 Robert Dunbar Scott surveyed the township of Mount Shadwell and soon after, the first land sales occurred.
1854 Mount Shadwell Inn was built and soon after William Brumley built a slab but where the Pagan family ran their store and Alexander McDonald, the shoemaker, built another slab hut, both in the vicinity of Dunlop Street.
1856 George Bostock built a wind powered Mount Shadwell Flour Mill on the slopes of the mount.
1857 Mortlake Shadwell Flour Mill was purchased by Hamilton & Co. of Warrnambool who converted it to steam power and later built a stone chimney and mill cottages. James Bonwick in passing through described Mount Shadwell as it having land of the richest description especially on the slopes of the volcano where about 50 families had settled on farms where corn was being grown in abundance.
1858 Mount Shadwell was renamed Mortlake probably after its namesake in London. 1859 Mac's Hotel was built by the McDonald family on the site of their shoemakers shop in Dunlop Street and the first postal agency was opened in Pagan's Store.
1860 The Mortlake District Road Board was formed and three years later became the Mortlake Shire Council with Thomas Shaw of Wooriwyrite as the first President.
Map of Route
FROM THE MORTLAKE INFORMATION CENTRE TURN EAST DOWN DUNLOP STREET
1. Penrose's: Nicholas Penrose, a Cornishman and a local blacksmith, erected this residence in 1867, probably to the design of Alexander Hamilton. In 1888 Penrose's widow sold it to Samuel Brookman, another local blacksmith, and in 1910 ownership passed to Catherine Cameron, the widow of the local saddler, and then to her children until 1944 when it was then owned by James Cameron, the local Stock & Station Agent (later to become James Cameron & Son) until 1978 when it was purchased by R.B.F. Allen & Associates Pty. Ltd. It is constructed from half-coursed rock-faced basalt with fine axed quoins, architraves, string course and eave cornices with copings in a symmetrical Italianate design (National Trust of Australia (Victoria) B2266).
CROSS NORTH OVER DUNLOP STREET TO OFFICER STREET
2. Mount Shadwell Hotel: Situated adjacent to one of the main routes to the diggings (Great Western Road) and originally built from tufa stone obtained from a local quarry, this inn did great trade after it was first licensed in 1855. At that time it contained three sitting rooms, several large reception rooms, fourteen bedrooms, a bar and two taprooms. In 1863 a bluestone addition, probably built by local architect Andrew Kerr, increased the size of the hotel to 23 rooms which included a detached billiard and ballroom, kitchen, servants' apartments, laundry, storeroom, a 12 stall stable, out-office and a stock yard for travelling cattle. The present hotel, with its 1928 brick rendered facade, has had an almost uninterrupted licence since 1855 (National Trust of Australia (Victoria) B5032).
3. Mount Shadwell Stables: The first Mount Shadwell Stables were built by William Brumley in 1863 to the design of Andrew Kerr and in 1873 were leased to Archibald McIntyre who hired out buggies, express wagons, and saddle horses. The stables were ravaged by fire in 1898 and again in 1909 wheh they were rebuilt to the design of Arthur G. Pleydell consisting of eight stalls with roomy loose boxes, a harness room, feed room, loft and a buggy shed which housed a dozen vehicles. Today a five-roomed motel stands between the hotel and the stables, designed in the 1990's by local architect Noel McConnell who incorporated part of the old stables wall into the building.
4. Mount Shadwell Store: In 1863, after John Grieve of Warrnambool and his partner Henry Benn purchased this general store from Rea & Robertson, it became known as Grieve & Benn or the Mount Shadwell Store. In 1866 an office and a bedroom were added to the building and in 1869 a further addition was made by Andrew Kerr which still remains today even though the facade of the building has been greatly altered over the years. John Grieve was active in local government and was twice Shire President. From 1886, A. Stewart & Co. ran a business from here until the early 1950's when it became Peters' Stores. With its doors now open for more than 150 years, it now operates as Bates' IGA Supermarket.
NORTH SIDE OF OFFICER AND TOWNSEND STREETS
5. Willow Cottage: This cottage, with its ornate wrought iron verandah, and believed to have been built in the 1860's, could have been the work of Andrew Kerr. John McWilliam arrived in this country as a boy of seven from Little Greenoch in Scotland and worked for eleven years as a farm manager for Rev. Hamilton on Mount Shadwell before purchasing a local butchery around 1877. In 1874 he married Margaret Louttit, whose parents had emigrated from the Orkney islands, and they lived all their married life in this cottage where they raised six children. John McWilliam died here in 1944 aged 97 years and his wife Margaret in 1951 aged 99 years. Two of their unmarried daughters lived at this cottage until their deaths in the 1960's.
CONTINUE EAST UP TOWNSEND STREET AND TURN LEFT INTO THE SHAW STREET BLUESTONE PRECINCT
6. Mortlake Museum: In 1892 Thomas Shaw offered his collection of stuffed birds and other specimens to the town with the proviso that the community provide a building to exhibit them. In 1893 Shaw laid the foundation and the building was opened in the same year at a cost of 1,630 pounds with A. D. Pleydel I as the architect. Over the years the museum was visited by many thousands of people from home and abroad but by 1910 the exhibits had begun to deteriorate and the decision was made to close the museum with some of the remaining exhibits returned to their donors and others sold to the Warrnambool Museum. The building re-opened again as the Shaw Recreation and Billiard Room after which it was occupied by the R.S.L. and the Scouts until it became the clubrooms of the Western Plains Spinners and Weavers Group.
7. Mortlake Mechanics' Institute: The foundation stone was laid by Thomas Shaw in 1869 and the Mortlake Public Library was transferred to here from the National School. In 1880 it became the Mortlake Mechanics' Institute and Free Library after two rooms were added to the rear of the building and it became the scene of many lectures and fundraising concerts. In 1891 it was enlarged with a bluestone extension to the footpath and in 1901 Ford's Cinematograph Company showed pictures of the African Boer War in the hall. In 1922 the committee acquired the rights to "Pictures" and a biograph plant was purchased. After a further two rooms were added in 1923 it was renamed the Mortlake Soldiers' Memorial Hall. A mobile electricity plant was installed around 1932 to screen talking movies and in 1952 the hall was severely damaged by a freak storm. The current facade was added to the building in the 1970's.
8. Distance Indicator: In 1870 the Mortlake Shire Council adopted a design from Andrew Kerr to make cast iron distance indicators for the local roads and one, indicating 'Mortlake 0', is still on its original site in Shaw Street. Most of the original posts were removed but a few can still be seen on certain roads in the district.
9. Mortlake Post & Telegraph Office: Erected in 1863, this building was Mortlake's first official Post & Telegraph Office. The first postal service which began in 1859 operated from Jonathon Pagan's small wooden slab store in Dunlop Street. In 1863 an eight-mile branch telegraph line from the Hexham Post & Telegraph Office to Mortlake was built using poles and wire at a cost of 500 pounds. In 1864 the local postal business was transferred from Pagan's Store to this building when it then became the first official post and telegraph office with J. Hayes, a line repairer, as the postmaster. It was closed in 1912 when a new post office was erected in Dunlop Street on the site of the present post office which was built in 1970 (National Trust of Australia (Victoria)Group Classification B2275).
10. Mortlake Court House: In 1861, when the Court of Petty Sessions was transferred from Hexham to Mortlake, it sat at one of the town's hotels and the old Presbyterian Church on Boundary Road until this building was erected in 1864 at a cost of 1,328 pounds. The timber and the water tank were supplied by Hamilton & Co of the Mount Shadwell Steam Flour Mill under the supervision of James Aikman, a house carpenter, who most likely constructed the timber furnishings. It served the town and the surrounding district until its closure in 1982 when it became the clubrooms of the Mortlake and District Historical Society until 1990. At that stage the furnishings were removed from the building and it was subsequently purchased by the Abbeyfield Aged Care Facility (National Trust of Australia (Victoria) Group Classification B2275).
11. Mortlake Shire Offices: In 1876 the Mortlake Shire Council decided that the original shire office in Boundary Road was too small and reserved land for a new building adjoining the Mortlake Court House. The building contract was given to George Buckley at a cost of 1,057 pounds for what was described as a substantial and commodious stone office building. It was occupied by the Mortlake Shire Council in March 1878 and in 1880 a further room was added for a Shire President's office. This building served as the Mortlake Shire Offices until 1964 when the present Shire Offices were erected in Jamieson Avenue. Today the building is the administration wing for the Abbeyfield Aged Care Facility (National Trust of Australia( Victoria) Group Classification B2275).
12. St Andrew's Uniting Church: Built in 1861 this church has been described as "a satisfyingly crisp bluestone building" and "a perfect model of a country church". It is reputed to have been designed by Alexander Davidson with Thomas Geddes and Alexander Gemmell as the stonemasons, James Aikman as the carpenter and John Grieve and Thomas Ellis as slaters and plasterers. This church which opened in 1862 took seven months to build at a cost of 767 pounds. Many stained glass memorial windows have been added to the building, including one to the memory of Rev. McBride which is situated behind the pulpit. This building served Mortlake as St Andrew's Presbyterian Church until 1978 when it merged with the local Methodist Church to become St Andrew's Uniting Church (National Trust of Australia (Vic) File No. B 59).
13. St James' Anglican Vicarage & Sunday School: This vicarage of brick was designed by diocesan architect W. H. Chandler, erected by J. Birch of Ballarat and supervised by E. Pellow the Mortlake Shire Engineer at a cost of 1,790 pounds. It was opened by the Bishop of Ballarat in 1919 to replace the first four-roomed bluestone vicarage in Wagg's Lane. The Sunday School Hall which was erected in 1878 to the design of Andrew Kerr at a cost of 300 pounds remained in its original form until 1940 when a new kitchen was added by the Ladies' Guild. In 1956 renovations and additions were made comprising of a main hall, cloak room and toilets. Today the only original part of the building is the western MOM.
14. St James' Anglican Church: This church, with its raking buttresses, four nave-by-nave vestry, prominent bell-cote and windows with trefoil heads, was opened in 1865. It was designed by the diocesan architect Leonard Terry with Geddes and Gemmell as contractors for the nave and Henry Bineham as the stone cutter. James Aikman of Hamilton & Co. most likely completed the carpentry work and John Grieve and Thomas Ellis would have carried out the slating and plastering. The sanctuary was completed the next year and the cost of the entire building was 1,490 pounds. Hamilton & Co. who supplied the timber for the pulpit, contracted J. Wyatt and R. Humphrey to build the pews. The fresco around the sanctuary was later painted by local artist William AresAlen. The glass doors to the church were added in 1962/3 when the porch was added (National Trust of Australia (Vic) File No. B58).
TURN INTO BROOK AVENUE, RIGHT INTO HYLAND STREET AND LEFT INTO MILL STREET TO VIEW THE PRESBYTERIAN MANSE AND THE MILL COTTAGES AND LEFTAGAIN TO VIEW THE MORTLAKE MILL, CHIMNEY AND COTTAGES.
15. Presbyterian Manse: This site was purchased from Robert G. Armstrong for 300 pounds in 1883 and the Manse, set back from the road, was completed in 1884. The architect was Andrew Kerr and the first resident minister was Rev. W. M. Alexander. The Presbyterian Church sold the property in 1953 and today it is privately owned.
16. Moffatt and Pullenboon Mill Cottages: These residences were probably erected as cottages as part of the Mount Shadwell Steam Flour Mill and are most likely to the design of Alexander Hamilton. Moffatt, probably built for James Aikman, was later owned by the Stewart family and Pullenboon, probably built for Alexander Hamilton, was owned by the Armstrong family of the Pullenboon Estate who named it Mearlie Cottage. Both cottages have been added to over the years and are now private residences.
17. Mount Shadwell Flour Mill: This rubble bluestone building was built by George Bostock in 1856 as a wind-powered flour mill and purchased by Messrs Hamilton & Co. in 1857, who converted it to steam power and re-opened as the Mount Shadwell Steam Flour Mill. In the 1860's, as well as milling grain, the partners procured contracts to erect homestead extensions, woolsheds, churches, public buildings .and private houses. They also undertook surveying and engineering, conducted funerals and were involved in road making. When Hamilton retired in 1870, his partners William Aikman and James Geddes continued to operate, but milling slowed as wheat growing moved further northwards. However, sporadic milling could still have occurred. After the death of James Geddes in 1878 James Aikman became sole owner and it remained in the Aikmans' possession until 1945. The Soldier Settlement Commission purchased the Mill in 1967 and then in 1968 it was purchased by the local plumber Samuel Hesper. In 1996 the Mortlake Community Development Committee Inc. obtained a grant to purchase the building.
18. Mount Shadwell Flour Mill Chimney: This impressive square-plane bluestone chimney was built around 1862 by Robert Knights and is described by Heritage Victoria as of "architectural significance as a carefully detailed, finely finished and well proportioned example of a nineteenth century industrial chimney and one of the few chimneys remaining of a mid-nineteenth century flour mill, particularly of bluestone construction" (National Trust of Australia (Vic) File No. B3010).
19. Mount Shadwell Mill Cottages: Situated behind the mill and built in the 1850s as two workmen's cottages, these dwellings were probably lived in by Alexander Hamilton and James Geddes. In 1864 James Geddes' wife died of consumption in one of the cottages and Alexander Hamilton's first wife was most likely living in the other cottage when she died from typhoid in 1866. The cottages were converted into one dwelling when owned by the Aikman family from around 1870 until 1945.
SHAW STREET BLUESTONE PRECINCT EAST SIDE
20. St. Stephen's Lutheran Church: The foundation stone for the Wesleyan Church was laid by Thomas Shaw in 1867 and in the same year an architect named Doane (perhaps Alexander Davidson) was engaged to design a new church beside the existing wooden church and George Botterill of Skipton was contracted to build it for 935 pounds. This church has five fine lancet windows, slender corner pinnacles and freestone dressings. After the Wesleyan and Presbyterian churches united in 1978, the building was sold and became St. Stephen's Lutheran Church (National Trust of Australia (Victoria) File Number B 3078).
21. Shaw Street Bluestone Residence: This residence was most likely built in the 1870s as the townhouse of Thomas Shaw and to the design of Andrew Kerr, but this has not been proven.
22. Mount Shadwell Masonic Lodge: In 1889 Boorook Lodge No. 140 was formed in Mortlake with 19 members, holding meetings at Mac's Hotel. In 1882 the Lodge was disbanded but reformed in 1896 as Mount Shadwell No. 178 and consecrated at the Temperance Hall. This site was purchased in 1909 for 100 pounds and the building was erected in 1911 by local builders Fiddes & Morgan for 788 pounds. Very Worshipful Brother James Wagg PGC laid the foundation stone and the temple was dedicated in 1912.
23. Temperance Hall: In 1870 the Mortlake Temperance Society applied to the government for land to build a hall and it was opened by Thomas Shaw in 1873. Over the years the hall has served many purposes including temperance society functions, lodge meetings, dance classes and was used as a glove factory during World War Two. It was purchased by the Returned Soldiers League in 1947, which later added a billiard room and a foyer.
TURN LEFT INTO TOWNSEND STREET AND RIGHT INTO BOUNDARY ROAD
24. Original Presbyterian Church: This bluestone building was erected in 1857 by the church members at a cost of 190 pounds on a site donated by the Rev. William Hamilton who had come to this district in 1847. It was used as a church, a school and a courthouse until a new church and a courthouse were built in Shaw Street and a school in Dunlop Street. It then served as the Mortlake Shire Offices until 1878 and since then has been in private ownership.
TURN RIGHT INTO JAMIESON AVENUE
25. War Memorial: In 1922 the Mortlake Shire Memorial Committee erected this memorial to the memory of the forty-two district men who died from injuries received during the First World War. It was built to the design of Wooles & Carpenter of Warrnambool at a cost of 450 pounds and the Shire President Cr G. L. Dennis presided over the opening ceremony and invited the Premier of Victoria to unveil it. In 1955 a memorial tablet in memory of the fallen serviceman of the Second World War was erected by E. Wooles & Sons again at the request of the Mortlake & District Soldiers' Memorial Committee and unveiled by Lt-Gen. Sir Horace Robertson, K.B.E. Further memorial tablets have been added in memory of serviceman who served in the Korean and the Vietnam Wars.
26. Flanders Bros: Before 1910 a small bluestone building stood on this site, set back from the footpath and occupied by Flanders Bros/Noall & Flanders' grocery and drapery. In 1910 the business changed from W. H. Flanders to Radclyffe's and then to Flanders Bros in 1924, who sold it to L. L. Scorer, it becoming 'The Economic Store'. Today only some of the original building remains, part of which can still be seen on the western side.
CONTINUE UP DUNLOP STREET EAST SIDE TO WEBSTER STREET
27. Mac's Hotel: This was the site of the single-storey bluestone Mac's Hotel built in 1859 by the shoemaker Alexander McDonald and erected from local stone quarried by George Giddens and Charles Goodall. In 1869 the licence was transferred to Abel Jones who later sold his licence to Andrew Fogarty. By 1885 John Quiney had purchased the hotel and transferred the licence to his son Harold who demolished the front of the building in 1910 and replaced it with the present brick hotel erected by local builders Fiddes & Morgan with A. D. Fellow and Mr Laird as the architects. Extensive blasting was done to create a new cellar before the new Mac's Hotel was opened in August 1910. Parts of the original bluestone hotel can still be seen, especially in Webster Street and in the Commercial Room in Dunlop Street.
45 Dunlop Street - Bineham Cottage: This part-stone, part-timber cottage with its detached bluestone kitchen was built by quarryman Henry Bineham from Monmouthshire in Wales who arrived at Mount Shadwell in the mid-1850s and who quarried stone for many of the local buildings. In 1865 he married Mary Page and they had eight children probably all born in the stone section of the cottage. Around 1885 a timber facade was attached to the front of the building. Bineham died here in 1923 at 89 years and his wife in 1931 aged 96 years and their unmarried daughters, Martha and Mary, lived in this cottage until their deaths in 1962.
Location
103 Dunlop Street, Mortlake 3272 Map
Web Links
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