Wallace House, 6 Alfred Street, North Melbourne
Butler, Graeme17 Jan 1985
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Title:
Wallace House, 6 Alfred Street, North Melbourne
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Date of work:
17 Jan 1985
Reference number:
BIF-NORTH 617543
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Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
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DERIVED FROM GRAEME BUTLER 1983, CONSERVATION STUDY FOR THE CITY OF MELBOURNE OF NORTH AND WEST MELBOURNEGrading as at 1985 : BPeriod : Mid Victorian (1882-1883)Grantee : H C Brooks 1870History- This house was owned and occupied by three people of interest in North Melbourne's history. Rev. Dr. Archibald Gilchrist owned the house from its construction in 1883 and his first tenant was Samuel Smythe, a tanner. By 1890, Gilchrist sold the house to Albert Mattingley, a teacher, who owned and occupied it until nearly the end of the nineteenth century (sic).The Rev. Dr. Archibald Gilchrist MA LLD was a minister of the Union Memorial Presbyterian Church of Victoria from 1876 until March 1883. [Albert Mattingley ‘The Early history of North Melbourne’ Victorian Historical Magazine Feb – March 1917 p 91] During his ministry the present polychrome brick church was erected in Curzon Street, Rev. Gilchrist lived on church premises until his retirement in 1883.It was considered that Samuel Smythe, a native of Belfast, produced the best boot leather in Melbourne. From the London Tannery in Alfred Street , he supplied leather for the boots of the Imperial Contingent of Australian Bushmen in the Boer War [Australian Leather Journal 15/05/1900] After 1885, he lived in Barwise Street.Albert Mattingley was a teacher and a historian. In his ' Early history of North Melbourne' he claims that his father was the first resident of the area. In November 1852, John Mattingley rented the first house ever built in North Melbourne from Mr Adams in Bendigo Street. [Albert Mattingley ‘The Early history of North Melbourne’ Victorian Historical Magazine Feb – March 1917 p 92] In 1858, Albert Mattingley opened a National School near the corner of Errol and Queensberry Streets; and later headed SS 1402 Errol Street Primary School, which was Victoria's largest for a while. He was also Past Master of the Queensberry Street Masonic Lodge as early as 1863. [Albert Mattingley ‘The Early history of North Melbourne’ Victorian Historical Magazine Feb – March 1917 p 102]Description- A two-storey parapetted house with a balcony and verandah, dichrome brickwork to the façade and stucco to the side walls and parapet. A cornice mould terminates on the first of the two exposed stucco-corniced chimneys on the east face and a piered and arched entablature bears the house name. Ogee profile gutter remain at verandah roof and floor levels and cast-iron brackets, friezes and panels decorate what is a wide, open sided verandah. Segment-arched openings are used in the façade with contrasting brick voussoirs and quoins after the Italian Romanesque manner, although the form is derived from the Renaissance period.Streetscape - The house relates in period to the similarly aged 8 Alfred Street and other house rows to the west but dominates by its greater height.Integrity - Leadlight windows have replaced some of the original glass c1925 and a wire fabric fence of the same period replaced what may have been timber pickets. Colours were also changed at that time.Significance - Architecturally, this is a near original, prominently sited and unusual form of terrace house for the area, with its open-ended timber-posted verandah evading the fire resistance requirements of the Melbourne Building Act, seen elsewhere in the city and the use of timber posts expressing its early date for what became a common type in the 1885-90s period. It is of regional significance.Historically, both Gilchrist and Mattingley were significant in the study area..References:1. RB 1882-83. 4035; RB 1884-5, 4147; RB 1890-91, 4395.2. Mattingley, p.913. D. 1884-854. Australia n Leather Journal5. D. 1884-856. Mattingley, p.927. Mattingley, p.102___________________________NEWSPAPERS (TROVE):1904https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/189432322.From his home in Alfred Street Mattingley,writes his letter to the Age 1904 on national parks.`TO THE EDITOR OF THE APE, Sir,— Mr. F. Geach, in his letter of 16th inst;, admits the necessity of a national park, and what place is more suitable than Wilson's Promontory? As mentioned in my previous letter, it is fenced in by nature. If the park were situated on an inland site it would have to be in time surrounded by a fence to prevent the game from straying on to and destroying adjoining property, beside which the area would be overrun by rabbits, much to the disadvantage of the native game, which would die out, as it has already done in many districts where the native game slowly disappeared as the rodents encroached on their habitat. The promontory is devoid of rabbits and likely to remain so— this portion of Gippsland seeming to be an 'impenetrable harrier to their advancement. Mr. Geach is ill-informed when he states that the national park is devoid of native game, as a little time ago it was thickly populated with wallabies, paddy melons, hears, opossums, &c., whilst the streams teemed with native black fish, which cannot hold their own against the wiles of the angler and the depredations of introduced fish: and it is well known in the surrounding districts that trappers have taken surreptitiously thousands upon thousands of pelts from its forest, and l have beard-that during one year a party obtained 7000 wallaby skins alone.— Y ours, &c..A. H. E. MATTINGLEY . 6 Alfred-street, North Melbourne'
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 617543 | 1 PDF : 1.09 MB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |