Alcock & Co. Steam Saw Mill, 142-154 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
Graeme Butler and Associates01/07/1989
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Total copies: 1
Title:
Alcock & Co. Steam Saw Mill, 142-154 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
Creator:
Date of work:
01/07/1989
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 108582
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 2023:__________________________________________________Period: late Victorian 1876-1899DATE: 1882-;ASSOCIATIONS: Alcock & Co.;DESIGNER: Gall, James;BUILDER: Wright, Robert - 7 St Vincents Place Emerald HillNotable features: Whole tree trunks as columns..GRAEME BUTLER 1989, LITTLE BOURKE STREET PRECINCT CONSERVATION STUDYsee https://issuu.com/graemebutler21/docs/little_bourke_st_precinct_conservatAlcock & Co. Steam Saw Mill and Table Making Factory142-154 Little Bourke StreetHistoryBuilt: 1882 -Close to Melbourne's entertainment centre (Bourke Street), its working population and the Chinese cabinet making fraternity (Little Bourke Street), this building was the steam saw mill and table-making factory of Alcock: & Co.. billiard table maker, saw millers and timber merchants. In a courtyard which separated this from the retail premises in Russell Street, there was a large log storage area (Tasmanian and Mt. Macedon Blackwood) and general timber yard and, to the north, another steam milling plant and turners' shop. The engine room lay between these two building groups.The architect, James Gall, and contractor, Robert Wright, designed and built workshops (the only surviving part of this complex?) in Little Bourke Street, in 1882. Gall has previously designed John Sharp's Jolimont Terrace house in 1877, Sharp being of Australian Saw Mills.Plans published in 1887 show this building labelled as two-storey brick saw mill and 'Billiard Table Manufactory' placed next to 'Log Ground' Log Storage and Engine Room, Ivory Turner's shop and Wood Turner's shop. More saw mills were north of this building. The showroom and offices were al 206-212 Russell Street (now absorbed) and, 20 years later, the Wood Bundle Shop was at 149-153 Lonsdale Street.) Henry Uplon Alcock & Co. boasted an international reputation for their billiard tables, but reminded Melbourne (in 1887) that they were also expert al all types of joinery and furniture. Apart from their superior supply of seasoned blackwood, there was the Castlemaine slate (later it was imported), the pure white, thoroughly dried Bengal ivory (balls) and the fine English Ash (used for cues). Some years later, they claimed to be the oldest billiard table makers in Australia (est. 1852), having started at the same location in Russell and Little Bourke Streets.By 1900 they had branches in Perth and Brisbane and the patronage of the Earl of Hopetoun.DescriptionAn austere two-storey brick factory which is distinguished internally by round trees used for some of its columns and externally by timber bollards at its entrance. The openings are segment arched with replacement multi-paned steel frame windows and the splayed- corner plan is directed towards vehicle entry from Little Bourke Street.Inside the dividing walls of the old complex are still visible.External integrityBricks are painted (splayed wall and pan of west wall); some windows blocked and frames sympathetically replaced in metal. There are also alterations to the entry including a new roller door and assumed new opening in old vertical boarded doors.StreetscapeRelates to the general scale, materials and period of Little Bourke Street.SignificanceThe only remaining and yet the most extensive element in Alcock's large joinery manufacturing factory, a firm which achieved national status as suppliers of billiard tables; also, a large and surprisingly near externally complete factory, with the uncommon provision of round whole tree sections for columns which, in turn, reflect the nature of the business. It is the only surviving site from the 19th century saw-milling activity of the precinct and as such is highly important to its history..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites source 76, Page 16;_________________________________________GRAEME BUTLER 1989, LITTLE BOURKE STREET PRECINCT CONSERVATION STUDYsee https://issuu.com/graemebutler21/docs/little_bourke_st_precinct_conservatcites Mahstedt & Gee. Standard Plans. (1.1888), BAs 9125, 7308; Smith, Vol I. P.336f_________________________________________NIGEL LEWIS DECEMBER 1976, HISTORIC AND ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY OF THE CENTRAL CITY OF MELBOURNE BOURKE STREET, EAST AREA 8 OF THE SURVEY COMMISSIONED BY THE HISTORIC BUILDINGS PRESERVATION COUNCIL source 76, Page 16;_________________________________________LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEX:Record 73371Gall, J; Alcock & Co Melbourne VIC Factories Wright, Robert - 7 St Vincents Place Emerald Hill 1882 03 16 9125, MCC registration no 9125 [Burchett Index]. Fee 3.10.0workshops, Little Bourke near cnr Little Bourke & Brogan Lane_________________________________________NATIONAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA (VIC) B5609https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/65214During the early 20th century no major Victorian hotel or mansion was considered complete without its Alcock billiard table. It was at Alcock's Billiard Factory in Little Bourke Street where these tables were produced. The workshops were designed by architect James Gall for Henry Upton Alcock & Co., the two storey brick factory completed in 1882 being conveniently located near both Melbourne's Bourke Street entertainment district and the Chinese cabinet makers of Little Bourke Street. While in 1984 the Trust successfully fought against the proposed redevelopment of the site, the building's lack of heritage protection resulted in the subsequent issue of a demolition permit by the City of Melbourne ten years later, and by April 1997 the last remaining element of Alcock's factory was lost._________________________________________NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)1917https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/130165571EARLY MELBOURNE. (1867)by Old Chum...The Duke of Edinburgh's Visit—The City Illuminations—Princes-bridge to Little Bourke-street—The ChineseQuarter.….Alcock illuminations - transparency. a billiard table surmounted by the Royal Arms.
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Record number:
1262800
| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 108582 | 1 JPEG : 621 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |