Remove from your active Pick list Save for later

Smith and Emmerton offices (480) part 480, 482 Bourke Street, Melbourne

Butler, Graeme1985

Record details

Title:

Creator:

Butler, Graeme (Name details)

Date of work:

1985

Reference number:

BIF-CITY 101178 101179

Level of description:

Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)

Type of materials:

Graphic materialsTextual material

Part of:

Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)

Access restrictions:

UnrestrictedOpen access.

Use restrictions:

UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.

General notes:

ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER FOR 480 BOURKE ST:___________________________DATE: 1925 ;ASSOCIATIONS: Smith and Emmerton lawyers;DESIGNER: A & K Henderson, Alsop & Martin;BUILDER: B F VorwergStyle: Renaissance revivalPeriod: Inter-WarNotable features 1985: Relates to 482 and eclectic mode of buildings at 472-478 Bourke Street___________________________CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWSTATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCEWHAT IS SIGNIFICANT480 Bourke Street, built in 1925, is significant.HOW IT IS SIGNIFICANT480 Bourke Street is of local historic and aesthetic significance to the City of Melbourne. It is also arepresentative example of a mid-level commercial building from the interwar period. It is alsosignificant for its association with Melbourne law firm, Smith and Emmerton, and Victorian Premierfrom 1972 to 1981, Rupert Hamer, who was an active partner in the firm. It has research value as anarchaeological site.WHY IT IS SIGNIFICANT480 Bourke Street is historically significant as a reminder of the area known as Law Courts Placebetween Bourke, Little Bourke, William and Queen Streets. This area was occupied by lawyers officesprior to the Law Courts and the focus of the legal fraternity shifting to the William and Lonsdale Streetcorner and serves as a reminder of this activity. Erected in 1925, it is historically significant as purpose-built premises constructed to house barristers' and solicitors' rooms, and used by those professions through until the 1970s. (Criterion A)The site is part of the archaeological resources of the central city and has research value as aninventoried site. These sites have the potential to retain relics and archaeological deposits. It is alsoassumed that such deposits have the potential to yield knowledge not from other sources which maycontribute meaningfully to our understanding of settlement in Melbourne. (Criterion C)480 Bourke Street is an example of a mid-level commercial building from the interwar period whenstructural steel and reinforced concrete framing became popular building materials. It isrepresentative of the commercial development that occurred in Melbourne in the interwar years andretains a high level of integrity at the upper levels. The building is a good example of the InterwarGeorgian Revival style, which was popular for commercial buildings of a modest scale and forprofessional suites or chambers. (Criterion D)480 Bourke Street is aesthetically significant for its formal and symmetrical façade with a decoratedparapet with a deep cornice and dentil row. The integrity of the upper levels is maintained by the threeidentical window openings with moulded architraves and nine-paned steel windows at each floor.Other attributes associated with the style are deep cornice and sill brackets of the mid-level windows.and the separation of the upper level from the ground level façade by the entablature below thewindow line of the second floor. (Criterion E)The building is also significant for its association with Melbourne law firm, Smith and Emmerton, whooperated under that name from 1845 to 1998, and Victorian Premier from 1972 to 1981, RupertHamer, who was an active partner in the firm after his return from World War Two to 1968.(CriterionH)___________________________GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM___________________________CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEW1866 Cox Building on site1880 Panorama 2 storey building1888 Mahlstedt 2 x 1 storey buildings, Registry Office thence Labour Agent.1905/6 Mahlstedt 2 x 1 storey buildings, Registry Office thence Labour Agent.RECOMMENDATIONSRecommended for inclusion in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Melbourne Planning Scheme as an individually Significant place.Extent of overlay: Refer to mapSUMMARY480 Bourke Street is a four-storey Interwar office building designed by A & K Henderson, Alsop & Martin in 1925.HistoryIn 1924, law firm Smith and Emmerton, established in 1845, purchased the land and building at 480Bourke Street. By 1925 the existing structure and foundations had been demolished, and a four storeyoffice building built in its place by B F Vorwerg to the design by architects A & K Henderson,Alsop & Martin (Figures 143-144) (CT V5023 F550; MBAI).On his death in 1927, Harry Sam Emmerton was described in an obituary as 'the oldest practisingsolicitor in Melbourne, and a distinguished member of his profession':Mr Emmerton was born on his father's estate Wavendon, Buckinghamshire (Eng), in 1845,and came to Australia with his parents when he was aged four years. Following thetraditions of his family which, it is stated, had given 'auditors and notaries' to the Court ofHenry VIII. and Elizabeth, as to later generations, he read law, and was admitted as asolicitor in Victoria in 1872. For 55 years he practised as a member of the firm of J. M.Smith and Emmerton, which he joined as a junior clerk. Mr Smith died in 1898, and MrEmmerton directed the firm alone until…joined…by Mr H. R. Hamer in 1901.Mr. Emmerton was a member of the boards of The Trustees, Executor and AgencyCompany Limited and the Alliance Assurance Company. For several years he was amember of the Supreme Court board of examiners and of the council of the Law Institute.He was deeply interested in charities, and he was honorary legal adviser to the Children'sHospital for more than 30 years, and legal adviser to the Talbot Colony for Epileptics. Heassisted in preparing the Hospitals and Charities Act. Mr. Emmerton was one of the oldestmembers of the Melbourne Club…(Argus 20 July 1927:21).Sands and McDougall street directories from 1926-1938 list the building as ‘Selbourne Chambers-Extn’, with Smith and Emmerton leasing the second and third floors to a number of barristers duringthis time (S&Mc 1926). The original Selbourne Chambers had been built in William Street in 1881. On Emmerton’s death in 1927 the property was devolved to his wife Alice, daughter Mabel and fellowproprietor H R Hamer (CT V4293 F858507). Hamer's son, Rupert Hamer, Premier of Victoria from1972 to 1981, was an active partner in the law firm after his return from World War Two to 1968(Parliament of Victoria). The property changed hands within the partnership several times until 1951,when the newly formed Australia and New Zealand Bank (ANZ) purchased 480 Bourke Street for£45,000 (see Figures 145-146) (Argus 25 January 1951:12; CT V5023 F1004550). Smith &Emmerton continued operating from the first floor until c1965, on a long lease agreement with ANZ(Figure 146).In 1967, 480 Bourke Street was sold with vacant possession of the ground and first floors advertised(Age 11 April 1967:13). From 1970 a number of solicitors occupied the building, as well as a chemist,accounting firm and management consultants (S&Mc 1970 & 1974). The Smith and Emmerton lawfirm operated under that name until 1998, when the firm became known as Gadens Lawyers (LawInstitute Journal 1999:20).Today, 480 Bourke Street is occupied by a bakery at ground level, and the offices in the floors abovehouse various corporate services companies.___________________________NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)Construction and Local Government Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1913 - 1930) Wed 27 Aug 1924 Page 18 OPPORTUNITIESB. J. Vorwerg is the successful tenderer for the erection of' Smith and Emmerton's building in Bourke Street. Melbourne.see https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/28162983 re son of John Matthew Smith a significant firm memberThe Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Wed 30 Sep 1925 Page 20 PERSONAL.see https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2145471Mrs. Emily Cock, who died yesterday at Castlefield, Sandringham, was the eldest daughter of the late Mr. John Matthew Smith, one of the earliest solicitors in Melbourne, and founder of the present firm of Messrs. J. M. Smith and Emmerton. With her mother and her younger sister she left England for Victoria in a ship called the Slains Castle, which arrived in 1848. The family resided in a house almost opposite the present site of the Melbourne Hospital. Mr Smith had arrived in Melbourne two years previously. Miss Emily Smith was educated at a school conducted by Miss Ainslie in Swanston street, between Bourke and Lonsdale streets. Her marriage to the late Mr. Charles Cock, barrister, was solemnised at St. Andrew’s Church, Brighton, by Bishop Perry. Mrs. Cock’s husband and father were two of the original trustees in whom was vested the title of the ground on which St. Paul’s Cathedral now stands. Smith street, Collingwood, was named after her father. Mr. John Matthew Smith was a nephew of Miss Linwood, who in the late 18th and early 19th century was celebrated for the remarkable tapestry which she wrought with her needle. Public exhibitions of this work were held. Some specimens are still preserved at Castlefield. Mrs Cock leaves a sister, a son, and several grand- children.

Names:

City of Melbourne

Topics:

Central Activities District Conservation Study 1985Conservation studiesItalianate styleInterwar period

Places:

Melbourne (Vic.)

Form/Genre:

Building Identification Forms (BIFs)

Record types:

Research and reports

Record number:

1188884