Police Headquarters & former Police Barracks, 372-376 Russell Street & 47-61 MacKenzie Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
Archives
Total copies: 1
Title:
Police Headquarters & former Police Barracks, 372-376 Russell Street & 47-61 MacKenzie Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 108562
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:
RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2022:__________________________________________________DATE: 1888;ASSOCIATIONS: Victorian Colonial Government;DESIGNER: Bastow, Henry - Chief Architect Public Works Department;BUILDER: Corley,ThomasPeriod: VictorianNoted: Asymmetry of roof mansard evident without 'twin; at La Trobe Street..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites source 77___________________________DARYL JACKSON EVAN WALKER ARCHITECTS PTY. LTD 1976 FOR HISTORIC BUILDINGS PRESERVATION COUNCIL; MELBOURNE: THE AREA BOUNDED BY VICTORIA, SPRING, LONSDALE AND SWANSTON STS (source 77)Police Property OfficeCorner Russell and Mackenzie StreetsDate Built c. 1880...Police HeadquartersPresent UsePolice Property Office...IntactnessExterior completely intact.Interior is intact apart from timber partitions.Construction Materials2 Storey stone building, with timber floor and roof structure. ....Other ReferencesEnvironmental Area No. 4Recommended ...That the building be included on the Historic Buildings Register.1 HistoricalThe only remaining building of the original police barracks. (See Report No' G11). ·Built on a site partly occupied' by a pair of terraces and partly vacant (1)'.Apparently used as police headquarters offices (2) until replaced by the new headquarters in 1943. Now occupied by the Police Property Office.2 'Architectural2.1 Built c. 1880, probably to the design of the Public Works Department.2.2 On a rock faced blue stoned plinth, cement rendered above. 2 storeys high, heavily detailed. Horizontal window heads supported on consoles and cornice supported on foliated modillions. The' base cement work is all rusticated with deep raked cement joints. The entrance on the north side is interesting with an arched elliptical fan light fairly coarsely worked in timber.2.1 A very accomplished example of the Renaissance manner The strong horizontal expression is heightened by the translation between the two frontages of the corner site. The building is also' important as a scale complement to the buildings opposite, described as Streetscape No. 1. 3RecommendationThat the building be included on the Historic Buildings Register on the basis of architectural importance. The shell only of the building need be specified.Footnotes1 View of Melbourne from north c. 1880, Latrobe Library.(2) Mahlstedt 1910 plan.___________________________NATIONAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA (VIC) B0425Statement of SignificanceThese two-storeyed Italian Renaissance Revival former Police Offices are of State significance being the only portion left of a large 19th century complex which once consisted of offices and bluestone police barracks with verandahs opening onto a central parade ground. These offices on the corner of Russell and McKenzie Streets were built in 1888-89 by the contractor, Thomas Corley, for the Public Works Department. This large complex, begun in 1857, once stretched along the east side of Russell Street from La Trobe Street to McKenzie Street.The former Police Offices originally housed an Inspector's Room, Clerk's Room, Detention and Muster Rooms and survives with relatively few alterations. Of great importance as one of the few 19th century public buildings surviving in the Central Activities District, the Police Offices illustrate the evolution of a major police complex on an historic site used from the 1850s for police purposes. This evolution culminated in the construction of the present Russell Street Police Headquarters in 1940-41, following the demolition of most of the earlier buildings on the site.Architecturally, the elevation is typical of the style used for public buildings in central Melbourne, specifically the Parliament and Treasury Place complex, and retains many internal elements such as stairs and ceiling details.Classified: 'Local' 31/07/1968Revised: 14/10/1992See also B6372.______________________________________________________NEWSPAPERS:1940BYGONE DAYSBy A. W. GREIGhttps://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/12437656Russell St. Police BarracksA recent Press notice naively records that portions of the police barracks in Russell street, now about to be demolished, were erected "more than 50 years ago."Actually, they were built in 1858, and occupied early in 1859.1941https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8196993OLD POLICE BARRACKS TO GODwarfed already by the new central block of the police headquarters erected alongside, the old bluestone police barracks on the south-western corner of the block In Russell st. will soon join the long list of vanishing city landmarks.Tenders for the removal of this 80-year-old building are now being called by the Public Works Department. This work is preparatory tothe calling of tenders for the erection of the second section of the HQ block.
Related material link:
Topics:
Places:
Form/Genre:
Record types:
Research and reports
Record number:
1262534
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 108562 | 1 JPEG : 726 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |