Huddart Parker Ltd Building, 464-466 Collins Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
Archives
Total copies: 1
Title:
Huddart Parker Ltd Building, 464-466 Collins Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 102120
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:
Period: Edwardian.ASSOCIATED RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER:,BRYCE RAWORTH PTY LTD, 2002 REVIEW OF HERITAGE OVERLAY LISTINGS IN THE CBDHistory and DescriptionThe building at 464-466 Collins Street, was constructed c.1910 as a three storey office building. The principal tenants of the new building were steamship owners, Huddart, Parker and Co while the Orbost Shipping Co maintained offices on the second floor 1. The designer and builder of the building are not known.This distinctive symmetrical street façade is partitioned into bays by elegant fluted pilasters rising through the full height of the building. The entry is surmounted by … and reiterated over the windows to either side. At the first floor, an unusual-ox-bow device trict arrangement of windows with bevelled mullions sat above decorative sills while windows with curved sills on the level above were integrated into a highly modelled cornice. The parapet and pediment above are of particular interest, featuring foliation and tendril designs derived from Art Nouveau sources. The ground floor entry and windows appear to have been enlarged and now accommodate large expanses of glazing and a modern portico, but the building nonetheless remains in good and largely original condition.Statement of SignificanceThe building at 464-466 Collins Street is of aesthetic significance at a local level for its unusual façade composition, combining a variety of contemporary decorative elements into an uncommon and well resolved composition. The façade, drawing on Art Nouveau and other sources, is unusual within Melbourne's CBD..GRAEME BUTLER & ASSOCIATES 2011, CENTRAL CITY (HODDLE GRID) HERITAGE REVIEWStatement of SignificanceWhat is significant?The building at 464-466 Collins Street, was constructed 1908 by FE Shillabeer, as a three storey office building for the land owner, St James Church of England trustees. The old St James Church of England (1839-) stood near this site at the corner of Collins and William Streets, and served as Melbourne's Anglican Cathedral until St Paul's Cathedral was consecrated in 1891. In 1913-14 it was moved to a new site on the corner of King St and Batman Street, allowing development of the land by the Trust.The principal tenants of the new building and their head office were steamship owners, Huddart, Parker and Co., while the Orbost Shipping Co maintained offices on the second floor. The company's initials may still survive on the shield held by the scrolls over the central ground level window (covered by a Makers Mark `M.M.' panel)Founded in the 1870s, Huddart Parker & Co, coal importers from Newcastle and merchants, entered the Sydney Melbourne trade in 1882 and inaugurated the Melbourne-Adelaide shipping service by 1886. They were one of the seven major coastal shippers, when this was the principal means of interstate transport. Their steamers including the `Ulimaroa', were household names along with the more famous and glamorous Port Philip Bay steamers, including the `Ozone', `Hygeia' and `Weerona', at their height from the 1880s to 1920s. By 1910 Huddart Parker had grown to rank 24th of the top 100 companies in Australia by asset value. More recently the building was associated over a long period with Meldrum & Partners architects.This distinctive symmetrical façade was partitioned into bays by elegant fluted pilasters rising through the full height of the building. The entry was surmounted by an ox-bow moulded cement motif reiterated over the window on the other side. At the top floor is an unusual moulded cornice as a series of connected segmental arches. Façade windows are set out in a Tudoresque manner with bevelled mullions and decorative sills at the lower level. The parapet and pediment above are of particular interest, featuring foliation and tendril designs derived from Art Nouveau or Arts & Crafts sources.The ground floor openings have been changed and enlarged, with large expanses of glazing and an unrelated but simple modern portico, and the upper level spandrel finishes altered (painting of tile and brickwork) but the building nonetheless remains in good and largely original condition. Early images of the building allow easy restoration.Charles D'Ebro was one of the City's more creative designers showing an early interest in the tempering of classical architectural influences with those of medieval Europe, introducing an early Queen Anne Revival design in the Oxford Hotel and the Gothic revival Gothic Chambers in Bourke Street. This theme developed after the Great Depression of the 1890s into the Arts & Crafts influenced and highly significant Gollin & Co Building, another firm associated with trade and shipping.How is it significant?The Huddart Parker Ltd Building is significant historically and aesthetically to the Melbourne Capital City ZoneWhy is it significant?Huddart Parker Ltd Building is of aesthetic significance for its unusual façade composition, combining a variety of contemporary decorative elements into an uncommon and well resolved composition. The façade, drawing on Art Nouveau and other sources, is unusual within Melbourne's Capital City Zone.Historically the building has a long association with the nationally prominent shipping firm, Huddart Parker & Co., built in an era when shipping was the only form of international commerce transport and a major source of local recreation which is underscored today by the building's relatively high external integrity..LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEXRecord 74674 D'Ebro, C E St James Church of England - Trustees Melbourne VIC Office Buildings Shillabeer, F E - 74 Buckey St Footscray 1908 06 13 923, MCC registration no 923 [Burchett Index]. Fee 6.0.0 office building Collins - 464/6.University of Melbourne Archiveshas Huddart Parker company files:.Wikipedia, the free encyclopediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huddart_ParkerHuddart Parker`Huddart Parker Limited was an Australian shipping company trading in various forms between 1876 and 1961. It was one of the seven major coastal shippers in Australia at a time when shipping was the principal means of interstate and trans-Tasman transport. The company started in Geelong, but in 1890 shifted its offices to Melbourne. By 1910 Huddart Parker had grown to rank 24th of the top 100 companies in Australia by asset value.The company was founded on August 1, 1876 in Geelong as Huddart, Parker & Co. Pty. Ltd, by James Huddart, T.J. Parker, John. Traill, and Captain T. Webb. Earlier, in the 1850s, James Huddart's uncle, Captain Peter Huddart had made his fortune importing coal for use in the Victorian goldfields. He was the first major operator handling coal from the port of Geelong. Mr. T.J.Parker, was a merchant who arrived in Geelong from London in 1853. The trading activities each built up through the gold-rush era and beyond led to a linking of the businesses of their descendants and successors, to become Huddart Parker & Company.After 1876 Huddart Parker expanded rapidly. By 1886 it had inaugurated the Melbourne-Adelaide shipping service and in 1882 entered the Sydney Melbourne trade. During the early 1890s its steamers were running to the principal ports of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania, and in 1893 it was also trading with ports in New Zealand.One of the original directors, John Traill, had survived the other directors by 1886, and remained chairman until his death at 92, in 1916.By 1890, Traill had moved the company from offices on the wharves at Geelong to 466 Collins Street, in the heart of Melbourne.The company registered in Victoria in 1889 as a proprietary company and converted to a public company in 1911.In 1921 Huddart Parker came to an agreement with the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand to establish a joint venture operation on the Bass Strait where both companies owned a 50% stake in the company Tasmanian SteamersDuring World War I five of the company's vessels were requisitioned for the war. The SS Wimmera was sunk on 26 June 1918 following collision with a German mine north of Cape Maria van Diemen, New Zealand, killing 26 passengers. Then again in World War II three of the company's passenger ships, Zealandia, Westralia and Wanganella were pressed into war service.Huddart Parker was finally taken over by Bitumen and Oil Refineries Australia Limited in October 1961'Cites:Barker, Anthony (2001), What Happened When: A Chronology of Australia from 1788, Allen & Unwin, ISBN 1-86508-426-3Merrett, David (2000), Business Institutions and Behaviour in Australia, Routledge (UK), ISBN 0-7146-4994-5Plowman, Peter (2004), Ferry to Tasmania, Rosenberg Publishing, ISBN 1-877058-27-0Australia's Merchant Navy: Huddart ParkerSerle, Percival (1949). "Huddart, James". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson..State Library of Victoria collection: (part)Exterior of Huddart Parker offices at 466 Collins Street, Melbourne] [picture] / Lyle Fowler.* Author/Creator: Lyle Fowler 1891-1969, ;* Contributor(s): Commercial Photographic Co., photographer ;* Date(s): [1962]* Terms of use/Copyright: This work is in copyrightCite as: Harold Paynting Collection, State Library of Victoria.* Description: 1 negative : flexible base ; 20.3 x 25.4 cm. approx.* Identifier(s): Accession no(s) H92.20/7350* Subjects: Collins Street (Melbourne, Vic.) ; Film negatives ;* Contents/Summary: View of offices from across street. Located north side of Collins Street between William and King Street. National Bank of Australasia visible to right. Signs for adjacent businesses visible to left: McKinnon Nicholls Pty. Ltd., Australian, Paterson & Reade, McCulloch Carrying Company Limited, Agents for Wright, Heaton and Co. Limited Sydney, Watt, Brown & Co. Pty. Ltd., and William Kibby & Co.* Related works: Series: Harold Paynting collection. H series..DIRECTORIES OF VICTORIA, MELBOURNE-SANDS AND KENNY, SANDS & MCDOUGALL1905 Edmiston & O'Neill electrical engineers etc..1910, 1915, 1920, 1924 Huddart Parker Ltd steamship owners etc 2nd floor…1910 Huddart, Parker & Co prop Ltd, steam ship owners2nd fl.. The Orbost Shipping Co Prop Ltd1915 Huddart, Parker & Co prop Ltd, steam ship owners2nd fl.. The Orbost Shipping Co Prop LtdGippsland Steamers, Pty Ltd1920 Huddart Parker & Co prop Ltd, steam ship owners2nd fl.. Gippsland Steamers, Pty Ltd1924 Huddart Parker & Co prop Ltd, steam ship owners2nd fl.. Gippsland Steamers, Pty LtdTasmanian Steamers Pty Ltd1930-1955 Huddart Parker& Co prop Ltd, steam ship ownersTasmanian Steamers Pty Ltd1930 Huddart Parker Ltd steamship owners, Tasmanian Steamers P/L1974 Crosby HouseMeldrum & Partners architects
Related material link:
Names:
Topics:
Places:
Form/Genre:
Record types:
Research and reports
Record number:
1195723
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 102120 | 1 JPEG : 270 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |