Tombs & Howcroft Pty. Ltd. warehouse, 369-371 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Tombs & Howcroft Pty. Ltd. warehouse, 369-371 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
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Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIG-CITY 105846
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Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
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Graphic materialsTextual material
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Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
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UnrestrictedOpen access.
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RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2022:__________________________________________________Period: Inter-WarSigns: 'The Old Tin Shed' Allan W. Taylor Pty LtdDATE: 1918;ASSOCIATIONS: Warburton, Thomas trustees; Tombs & Howcroft Pty LtdDESIGNER: Gibbs & Finlay;BUILDER: Taylor, J R.GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM.LOVELL CHEN 2017. GUILDFORD & HARDWARE LANEWAYS PRECINCT -369-371 Little Bourke Street Grill’d Healthy Burgers C Contributory Two storey interwar retail premises - - Also contributory to Warburton Lane..CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONSIndex cardhttps://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/60672/images/44777_349576-006231918 April 1277 ₤1400 Erection of factoryminor works to 1986.REFER TO CONTEXT (WITH GJM HERITAGE) 2020, HODDLE GRID HERITAGE REVIEWSUMMARYThe former Thomas Warburton complex comprises 384-386 Bourke Street and 365-367 Little Bourke Street, 2-6 and 8-14 Rankins Lane, built in 1865, 1887 and 1912 respectively, for Thomas Warburton Pty Ltd, a prominent ironmongery business. The Thomas Warburton ironmongery occupied many of the buildings in the complex and 384-386 Bourke Street for 100 years, from 1865 until 1965..SITE HISTORYThe former Thomas Warburton complex comprises 384-386 Bourke Street and 365-367 Little BourkeStreet, and 2-6 and 8-14 Rankins Lane, Melbourne. The subject land is part of Crown Allotment 6,Block 20, originally purchased by George Lilly (CoMMaps). It is likely that, by 1850, a boarding housewas built on the land (Fels, Lavelle and Mider 1993, Inventory no 436).The buildings at 384-386 Bourke Street and 365-367 Little Bourke Street, and 2-6 and 8-14 RankinsLane were erected in 1865, 1887 and 1912 respectively for Thomas Warburton Pty Ltd, a prominentironmongery established on land between Bourke and Little Bourke streets, between Rankins Laneand Warburton Lane; the latter named after the company.Thomas Warburton, ironmonger, had established his business in Little Bourke Street c1858. In 1864,Warburton moved to larger premises, buying a block running from Bourke Street through to LittleBourke Street (Figure 1), on which the Warburton family gradually developed an extensive complexcomprising more than 11 buildings at one point.The block bound by Bourke, Elizabeth, Queen and Little Bourke streets was known for horse bazaars,ironmongery and hardware merchants from the 1840s. The area’s distance from the main commercialareas to the south and east enabled development of these industries because of relatively cheaperland values.In 1865, T Warburton lodged a building application with the City of Melbourne to erect two two-storeyshops in Bourke Street West, on the site currently known as 384-386 Bourke Street. The work wascarried out by Overent & Robb, builders (MCC registration no 792, as cited in AAI record no 73592).The building, originally known as 23-25 Bourke Street West, comprised a pair of semi-detached fourroomed shops and residences. In 1866, the net annual value (NAV) of number 23 was £100 andnumber 25 was £80 (RB 1866). Each shop had approximately 16-foot (4.87 metre) frontages to Bourke Street. Figure 1 shows the premises in c1870. ‘Warburton’s … Warehouse Established 18...’was written on the building’s parapet in c1880 (see Figure 2).The shop and residence on the western side was occupied by the owner Thomas Warburton and hisfamily’s business from 1865 until 1965. Between 1865 and 1925, the other shop and residence on theeastern side was leased out to different tenants including D Altson’s saddle and harness factory(1880s) and Nutting and Young’s saddle factory (1920). From 1925 to 1965, Thomas Warburton‘sbusiness occupied both shops fronting Bourke Street (S&Mc 1866-1965).Figure 1. Extract of a c1870 photograph showing the premises of Thomas Warburton outlined in red (thenaddressed as 23-25 Bourke Street West). (Source: Nettleton c1870, SLV)Figure 2. Extract of a c1880 photograph showing the principal elevation of 384-386 Bourke Street (then known as23-25 Bourke Street West). ‘Warburton’s __ Warehouse Established 18__’ was written on the building’s parapet.(Source: Donald c1880, SLV)After Thomas Warburton’s death in Fiji in 1871, Martha Warburton managed the business until 1896when she died. Their children Thomas William and Ada Minnie (Arkins) Warburton, with other siblings, carried on the business until 1908, when the youngest son, Alfred Ernest G F Warburton,assumed control (Regan 2005).In late 1886, ‘J Warburton’ applied to erect a new three-storey ‘store and warehouse’ on the northernsection of Warburton’s land today known as 365-367 Little Bourke Street (MCC registration no 2459,as cited in AAI 73335; Butler 2011:404). The 1887 store and warehouse building was completed by1887, by builder William Radden of Rae Street, Fitzroy, to a design by architects Twentyman &Askew, who specialised in warehouse architecture in the late Victorian period (MCC registration no2459, as cited in AAI 73335). A two and three storey (internally separate) warehouse was erected atthe rear of the 1887 building at the same time, and became known as 367a and 367b Little BourkeStreet (S&Mc 1910 & 1922). Twentyman & Askew went on to design two more buildings for MrsWarburton in 1887 (a hotel in Bourke Street) and 1889 (a seven-storey building at 380-382 BourkeStreet).Throughout the late-nineteenth and early twentieth century, 365-367 Little Bourke Street wasoccupied by various engineers and manufacturers. Thomas Warburton Pty Ltd’s storage occupiedpart of the warehouse space known as 367a Little Bourke Street by 1900 through to the 1930s (S&Mc1900, 1930 & 1935). By the mid-1920s, the building functioned as the rear part of Warburton’smerchandising business in Bourke Street, with the ground level shops and parts of the rearwarehouses being leased to other businesses (Butler 2011:404; Mahlstedt Map section 1, no 13,1925). Warburton’s main shop was still operating at 384 Bourke Street and had expanded to the newseven-storey building at 380-382 Bourke Street, which has since been demolished (Butler 2011:404;S&Mc 1896, 1910, 1925, 1942).In 1912, Thomas Warburton Pty Ltd’s complex was further expanded. A three-storey brickwarehouse, currently connected to the rear (north elevation) of 384-386 Bourke Street and asymmetrical pair of warehouses at today’s 8-10 Rankins Lane were built in 1912 by Lockington &Sinclair to a design by architects Gibbs & Finlay. These warehouses were once part of a group of fivewarehouses built at the same time and to the same design, on the land held by Warburton’s estate.These new 1912 brick warehouses were shared by Thomas Warburton Pty Ltd and other businesses(Age 24 March 1933:11; AAI).Thomas Warburton Pty Ltd (later Thomas Warburton & Co Pty Ltd) was associated with 384-386Bourke Street for 100 years between 1865 and 1965. The two shops were merged into one for thecompany between 1910 and 1925, with openings introduced to the party walls and a new singleentrance point constructed from Bourke Street (Mahlstedt Map section 1, no 13, 1910 & 1925; MBAI).An infill was constructed in c1965 between the 1865 main building and the 1912 warehouse (seeFigure 3.Between the mid-1920s and the mid-1930s, at its largest extent, the Thomas Warburton enterpriseextended over the following properties, as seen in Figure 3:• 376-378 Bourke Street (demolished),• 380-382 Bourke Street and a warehouse at the rear (demolished),• 384-386 Bourke Street and a warehouse at the rear (subject building),• 365-367 Little Bourke Street and two warehouses at the rear (subject building),• 2-6 and 8-14 Rankins Lane (subject buildings),• 369-371 Little Bourke Street (built in the 1920s), and• 17 Warburton Lane (likely built in the mid-Victorian period but not directly used by thebusiness).Figure 3. Thomas Warburton’s estate comprised more than 11 properties. The subject properties at today’s 384-386 Bourke Street, 365-367 Little Collins Street and 2-6 and 8-14 Rankins Lane are shaded in red. (Source:Mahlstedt section 1, map 13, 1925).In 1965, William Drummond & Co Ltd acquired the property at 384-386 Bourke Street, and between1966 and 2002 operated jewellery making and retail sales from 384-386 Bourke Street (Age 16 March1966:8; 24 January 1987:140). At this time, major alterations and additions were carried out to thesubject building fronting Bourke Street at a total cost of £38,400. The works involved £5000 for thealteration of the shop fronts and £8400 for the installation of a mechanical ventilation system (MBAI37840, 37841 & 37843). William Drummond & Co was renowned for its fine jewellery, fine china andcrystal supplied to a number of well-known clients including royalty, entertainers, politicians, andpastoralists.365-367 Little Bourke Street currently contains six residential properties, a shop and a food and drinkoutlet. From 2002, 384-386 Bourke Street has contained various retail outlets in the ground floorshop, and currently houses a business (CoMMaps).Thomas Warburton & Co Pty LtdThomas Warburton, mechanical engineer from Altringham, near Manchester, England, and his wifeMartha (née Frost), from Derbyshire, arrived in Melbourne in January 1853, at ages 23 and 24.During the first years, Martha supported the household by making tents, which were then in hugedemand during the gold rush (Thomas Warburton n.d.).Once settled in Melbourne, T Warburton entered an unsuccessful and short-lived business inpartnership. In 1853, he began a small iron and zinc spouting and guttering works at 11 Little BourkeStreet West, which set the foundations of Thomas Warburton Pty Ltd, a wholesale ironmongerybusiness. The company had moved to 384-386 Bourke Street by 1866 and they remained there for100 years (Thomas Warburton n.d.). A quarter-page advertisement in the 1867 postal directorydescribed his business as 'Galvanised Iron and Zinc Spouting Manufacturer, Importer of Plain andCorrugated Iron, Cast Iron, OG, and Ornamental Gutters, &c'. Warburton began speculating insalvaged goods obtained from wrecks he purchased. He also began trading in the Pacific Islands(Regan 2005).The business survives today as Thomas Warburton Pty Ltd, owned by the multinational Wurth Group.The company is based in Mulgrave, with branches at Sunshine, Kilsyth, Ballarat and Campbellfield(Butler 2011:404)..REFERENCESAge, as cited.Age 10 July 2002, https://www.theage.com.au/, accessed 31 March 2019.Argus, as cited.Australian Architectural Index (AAI), as cited. Copyright Miles Lewis.Butler, G 2011, Central City Heritage Review 2011, prepared for the City of Melbourne.City of Melbourne Interactive Maps (CoMMaps) 2017, http://maps.melbourne.vic.gov.au/, accessed 3May 2019.City of Melbourne Municipal Rate Books (RB), as cited.Context Pty Ltd 2012, ‘Thematic History: A History of the City of Melbourne’s Urban Environment’,prepared for the City of Melbourne.Dingle, Tony 2008, ‘Manufacturing’, eMelbourne, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, TheUniversity of Melbourne, http://www.emelbourne.net.au, accessed 13 March 2019.Donald, M D c1880, ‘Bourke Street, looking east – Melbourne’, State Library of Victoria (SLV) Imaging19th Century Victoria Digitising Project H841, H26072, accessed online 24 April 2019.Fels, M, Lavelle S, and Mider, D 1993, ‘Archaeological Management Plan’, prepared for the City ofMelbourne.Herald, as cited.Land Victoria, Certificates of Title (CT), as cited.Howe, Renate, Nichols, David & Davison, Graeme 2014, Trendyville: the battle for Australia's innercities, Monash University Press, Clayton.Lemon, Andrew 2011, ‘Icon in the Archives’, University of Melbourne Collections, Issue 9, December2011, pp 39-42.Mahlstedt and Gee 1888, Standard plans of the city of Melbourne, Mahlstedt and Gee, Melbourne.Mahlstedt, G 1905-06, Index to City of Melbourne detail fire survey Section 1, Mahlstedt, Melbourne.Mahlstedt, G 1910, Index to City of Melbourne detail fire survey Section 1, Mahlstedt, Melbourne.Mahlstedt's Pty Ltd 1925 City of Melbourne detail fire survey. Section 1, Mahlstedt Pty Ltd,Melbourne.Mahlstedt's Pty Ltd 1948 City of Melbourne detail fire survey. Section 1, Mahlstedt Pty Ltd,Melbourne.Marsden, Susan 2000, Urban Heritage: the rise and postwar development of Australia’s capital citycentres, Australian Council of National Trusts and Australian Heritage Commission, Canberra.Melbourne Building Application Index (MBAI), retrieved from Ancestry.com 2015, Victoria, Australia,Selected Trial Brief and Correspondence Registers and Other Images, 1837-1993 [database on-line],http://ancestry.com.au, accessed online March-April 2018.Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) Detail Plan, as cited, State Library of Victoria.1615National Gallery oNational Gallery of Victoria, ‘William Drummond & Co., Melbourne’, http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au,accessed 31 March 2019.Nettleton, Charles c1870, ‘Bourke Street west’, State Library of Victoria (SLV) Imaging 19th CenturyVictoria Digitising Project H841, H865, accessed online 24 April 2019.Obituaries Australia 2010-2019, 'Drummond, Andrew (1880–1957)', National Centre of Biography,Australian National University, http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/, accessed 31 March 2019.Regan, A 2005, ‘Thomas Warburton, Iron & Zinc Spouting Works, Melbourne, Victoria’ MuseumVictoria Collections, http://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/, accessed online 24 April 2019.Sands & McDougall, Melbourne and Suburban Directories (S&Mc), as cited.Thomas Warburton n.d., ‘The Thomas Warburton History’ Thomas Warburton,http://www.warburtons.com.au, accessed online 24 April 2019.Tsutsumi, Jun and O’Connor, Kevin 2006, ‘Time series analysis of the skyline and employmentchanges in the CBD of Melbourne’, Applied GIS Vol 2 No 2:8.1–8.12. DOI:10.2104/ag060008.Young, John and Spearritt, Peter 2008, ‘Retailing’ eMelbourne, School of Historical & PhilosophicalStudies, The University of Melbourne, http://www.emelbourne.net.au, accessed 13 March 2019.Weekly Times, as cited.NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)1920EDISON STORAGE BATTERIES.Car Lighting, Ignition, High-grade, Non-AcidAccumulator.TOMBS and HOWCROFT PTY. LTD.,369 Post Office Place. (Little Bourke St)1924https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/160062529Metropolitan . Switchgear Pty., Ltd., mftrs. of electrical switchgear and apparatus. Regd. Nov. 5. Objects: To acquire as a going concern the manufacturing business of Tombs & Howcroft Pty., Ltd. Regd. office: Melbourne. Capital: £7500 in £1 shares.Directors: Charles Downing, Raymond Leslie Tombs, Arthur Stanley Howcroft..DIRECTORIES OF VICTORIA, MELBOURNE-SANDS AND KENNY, SANDS & MCDOUGALL1920369-371 Tombs & Howcroft Pty Ltd, meth &electrcl engnrs1925369-371 Tombs & Howcroft Pty Ltd, meth &electrel engnrs1930Warburton La369 Peabody , H. W., & Co, merchants369 Septene Sewerage System Pty Ltd, san requisites369-371 Tombs & Howcroft Pty Ltd, mechanical &electrical engineers369-371 Metro Swith gear Pty Ltd, meth engineers
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 105846 | 1 JPEG : 515 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |