Mornane's Warehouse, later Chinese Cookshop, Chung Wah café, 11-13 Heffernan Lane, Melbourne
Graeme Butler and Associates01/07/1989
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Title:
Mornane's Warehouse, later Chinese Cookshop, Chung Wah café, 11-13 Heffernan Lane, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
01/07/1989
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 104780
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 2021:__________________________________________________Period: VictorianDate of construction: 1891ASSOCIATIONS: Mornane,Michael;DESIGNER: Evans, George de Lacy;BUILDER: Moscrip, S W.GRAEME BUTLER 1989, LITTLE BOURKE STREET PRECINCT CONSERVATION STUDYStatement of SignificanceBuilt: 1891Michael Mornane, (Junior?), the first owner of this warehouse, was a Chancery Lane solicitor who lived at Clonara, Victoria Parade East Melbourne, with (his uncle?) Patrick Mornane. 1Michael Mornane Snr. had died in 1862 and his brother, Patrick, in May, 1888, some two years prior to commencement of the Heffernan Lane warehouse. 2George De Lacey Evans was the architect and S.W. Moscrip, the builder.Described from the start as a brick warehouse of four levels, on land 20 x 60 feet. it was nevertheless first occupied as a 'Chinese cookshop' (the Wing Ching. later Quon Che On) and eventually (c1920) the Chung Wah Cafe, remaining so until the 1970s. 4 Ah Gee and Wing Ching were occupiers of the 1890s..DescriptionA four-storey warehouse building with raised gabled parapet and flanking broken cornice elements. The fenestration has the traditional tall-arched central motif with loading doors at each leveI, the side bays having arched and segment-arched window openings. The cathead remains at the top, as do general openings at ground level.Details include rolled edges to most arch-head reveals in the central bay and side bays at ground level and opening sides have stop-chamfering. The south elevation retains much of its original character with unpainted brick work showing white brick bands at the sill and floor levels, bars to windows and cat-head with roof over at the parapet.External IntegrityBricks have been painted on the Heffernan Lane elevation and the ground level entry obscured with new sign and slatting. New bronze anodized aluminium entry suite at ground. The bluestone plinth has been painted and bluestone steps tiled over with glazed ceramics.Recently the roll mouldings at the ground-level window heads were smashed and the bars and double-hung sashes removed. 5StreetscapeRelates to rear of building to south, and general scale of others to the north and opposite.SignificancePerhaps Melbourne's oldest, near externally complete, Chinese cafe, its origin appears to have been far removed from this use, a warehouse commissioned by a British subject and in a traditional British warehouse form. However, its high external integrity (particularly on the southern R.O.W.) is uncommon and, hence, also historically notable. In the precinct it is the best representation of warehouse use, prior to the move to retailing this century.Contributes to precinct.Notes:1 D1888-92 Morgan, The Old Melboumc Cemetery headstonel3 BA44771 18904 RB1891; RB1892-5, see source 76. pp.13,35, 73S done illegally for Lat’s restaurant renovation, September 19896 BA5163, 28.8.91; RB 1890,401: RB1891; RB1900, 381;RB1905, 3637 RB1885,433; RB1886, 4208 RB1910, 347: RBI930,2759 D1910; D1920: D1940.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites source 76,p13; CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONS 4771.VICTORIAN HERITAGE INVENTORY H7822-13081866 map - building on site. 1888 - one-storey building. Building built 1891 for M Mornane, Solicitor as 4 level brick warehouse. First used as Wing Ching restaurant 1892, run by Ah Gee. Upper floors used as warehouse space. 1905 -four-storey building..LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEX:Record 73314 Evans, G Development Lacy; Mornane, M Melbourne VIC Warehouses Moscrip, S W - 8 Portland Place - Sth Yarra 1890 12 15 4771- MCC registration no 4771 [Burchett Index]. Fee 3.3.0store, Little Bourke near off Little Bourke - Heffernans Lane.NATIONAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA (VIC)The building was erected as the Wing Ching Restaurant in 1891. It appears that the upper floors were used for warehouse space with the gantry protruding from the top floor doorway. The cafe was known as the Quon Che On from 1900 to 1915 and since then until recently was known as the Chung Wah. This cafe was probably the first frequented by Westerners in Chinatown in the 1920's. The building is of unusual proportions being on a narrow site and of fine plain red brickwork. It is an important visual landmark in Chinatown and an essential part of its character.Classified: 06/06/1994.NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)The Argus (Melbourne) Fri 7 Oct 1955 Page 3CHINESE cafe blamed the fact that he did not speak the same language as his staff ; for the state of the cafe. The proprietor, Ming Hai Lin, of the Chung Wah Cafe, in Heffernan lane, Melbourne, told a health inspector: 'I am a northern Chinese. All of the staff are Cantonese, and. use a different dialect. They cannot understand English or my dialect. 'I instruct them to keep everything clean, but they do not under stand me.''The health inspector, Mr. Harry Peter Brown, told the City Court magistrate that the café's dining rooms were clean, but in other rooms he found: dirty flour and stale dough in the pastry room; the vegetable preparation room littered with vegetable scraps; Cauliflowers and cabbages stacked in a shed on dirty shelves. Ming Hal Lin was fined a total of £13 for failing to keep the premises clean and not providing proper refuse bins.Daily Standard (Brisbane, Qld.) Wednesday 28 December 1921 p 6 ArticleCHINESE NATIONALISTS, CONFERENCE IN MELBOURNE, MELBOURNE, WednesdayThe Chinese National party's new premises in Little Bourke-street were gay with bunting and colored electric globes across the street. In front of their club the Chinese hung the Republican flag and the interior of the building was decorated with lanterns and tapestry. The …Chinese Nationalist party convention brought Chinese delegates from the numerous Australian and Pacific Island branches to Melbourne.On Monday the new building was opened by Chun On Yan, who is visiting Australia as the direct, representative of Dr. Sun Yat Sen. Yan gave an address exhorting his countrymen to be patient and do all in their power to help tho leaders now trying to crush militarism and despotic rule in China. With the exception of a dinner in the Masonic Hall to-night, to which prominent Europeans and Chinese have been invited, the proceedings throughout will be conducted In Chinese.Last night a dinner was tended the visiting delegates by the Melbourne branch in the Chung W'ah cafe. Little Bourke-streetTonight and on Friday evening a Chinese theatrical performance is to be given, showing the present situation in China and interpreting the democratic ideals of the party with a vow to educating the Chinese public of Melbourne. It was decided to establish day and night schools at each of the branches. In order to teach the Chinese-born children in Australia the Chinese national Iife and ideals.
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 104780 | 1 PDF : 1,172 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |