Griffiths Bros Pty Ltd building, 26-30 Flinders Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Griffiths Bros Pty Ltd building, 26-30 Flinders Street, Melbourne
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Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 104033
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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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UnrestrictedPlease contact City of Melbourne Libraries about obtaining permission to reproduce images.
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RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2021:Period: EdwardianDATE: 1899-1900;ASSOCIATIONS: Griffiths Brothers, tea merchants;DESIGNER: Ward & Carleton;BUILDER: Henningsen, H Hawthorn.GRAEME BUTLER & ASSOCIATES 2011, CENTRAL CITY (HODDLE GRID) HERITAGE REVIEWStatement of SignificanceWhat is significant?Griffiths Bros Pty Ltd building was designed by architects Ward & Carleton in 1899 and built by H Henningsen of Hawthorn for this firm of tea and coffee merchants in 1900. It was a new store and sales room for teas, coffees and cocoas.Three years later Edwards, another tea merchant, commissioned the architect McCormack, to deign a similar styled warehouse which with other examples like Ball & Welch and the Commercial Travellers Association buildings presented a group of innovative Edwardian-era buildings eventually fronting the new railway station (1910). City plans of 1910 show the building as on five levels, divided with six compartments on either side of the ground level, a stair and a lift. A six stall stable was at the rear and beside it was the Australian Church.James Griffiths migrated to Australia in 1873 and founded this successful tea business. Griffiths and his wife were committed to Christian missionary work and in 1902 Mrs Griffiths was appointed President of the Women’s Missionary Council. St. Hilda’s (Victorian Heritage Register, Clarendon St., East Melbourne) was built in 1907 by R.S. Phillips for James Griffiths as a Church of England Missionary Training Home. The architects were also Ward and Carleton. The Griffiths family lived at The Basin in Ferndale during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, James being a leading local resident. However Griffiths was killed accidently with his wife and two others at the Bayswater railway crossing in 1925.The Griffiths brothers built `…one of the great tea, coffee and cocoas importation firms in Australia with the head office at 28 Flinders Street and with branches in at least four other Australian States (N.S.W., Queensland, South and Western Australia). `The firm's advertising was scattered throughout Australia, particularly along train lines, telling the distance, say, from Sydney and where you could have a refreshing cup of tea…'. Registered in Victoria in 1898 as Griffiths Brothers Pty Ltd., the company was re-registered in 1913, and in 1920 was converted to a public company. In the 1960s the business was taken over by the Robur Tea Company Limited.More recent history of the buildings includes a lease to Verona Press in the 1940s, being close to the Herald and Weekly Times Building. It was acquired in the mid 1960s by the Herald and Weekly Times who renamed it Gravure House and was occupied by various subsidiaries including Colorgravure Publications, United Press and Home Beautiful. It was leased as a billiard and snooker centre, from 1973 to 1988, by Dolly Lindrum and named after her famous uncle Walter Lindrum. The Hotel Lindrum opened here the 12th of July 1999 after conversion by Swaney Draper Architects.Elevated in red brick with pressed cement Arts & Crafts ornament, the façade follows the American tall-arched Romanesque revival manner that had evolved in Melbourne during the late Victorian-era into a distinctive style for warehouses built in the Edwardian-era. Framed by foliated bartizan motifs, the middle façade has a series of oriels windows projecting out over the street above a secondary set of broad arches to give it a great richness of form and materials. Down the side lane the austere brick façade is well-preserved but has been painted over. The ground level has been modified (originally had two stairway entries and windows either side) but has some generously sized polished stone plinths, columns and moulded cement capitals framing the new entry.How is it significant?Griffiths Bros Pty Ltd building is significant historically and aesthetically to the Melbourne Capital City Zone.Why is it significant?The Griffiths Bros Pty Ltd building is significant historically for its close link with a tea and cocoa marketing firm that was nationally known in the early 20th century and specifically to James Griffiths who was active in charity and evangelistic works. Aesthetically it is superb and relatively well-preserved example of the Tall Arched American Romanesque revival which with other similar sites located in Flinders Street and Lane provides one of Melbourne's key architectural characteristics..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORMCity of Melbourne online mapsHotel Lindrum:A five storey brick former warehouse with a basement. Designed by Ward & Carleton in the American Romanesque style and built for the coffee and tea merchants Griffiths Brothers by H Henningsen in 1900. Originally known as Griffiths Brothers Teahouse it was sold to Herald and Weekly Times Limited in 1949 for 35,000 pounds. From 1973-1978 it was utilised as Lindrum's Billiard Centre. In 1999 it was refurbished and converted to a hotel of 59 rooms and suites to a design by Swaney Draper.City of Melbourne i-Heritage:Central Activities District Conservation Study - Graeme Butler, 1984Notable features include side wall elevation. Alterations / Recommendations: Bricks painted (inappropriate - remove by approved method), ground level rebuilt (inappropriate - reinstate original design or sympathetic alternative).CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONSBuilding Permit Application 20 Nov 1899,7723 ₤6 fee, builder, owner, architect(Building Permit Application 1903, 9135 Edwards, RC tea merchants A=McCormack, P similar company, location and building style)Mahlstedt fire insurance plan seriesMahlstedt 1910-1923 Plan 3: show the building as on five levels, six compartments on ground level, a stair and a lift. A six stall stable was at the rear and beside it was the Australian Church.Australia Postal History websiteGriffithshttp://www.auspostalhistory.com/articles/1611.shtml`The brothers built one of the great tea, coffee and cocoas importation firms located at 28 Flinders Street, Melbourne, with branches in at least 4 other Australian Colonies (N.S.W., Queensland, South and Western Australia), in addition to the main base in Melbourne, Victoria. … the firms advertising was scattered throughout Australia, particularly along train lines, telling the distance, say, from Sydney and where you could have a refreshing cup of tea…'`The Guide to Australian Business Records describes the company of Griffiths Bros Limited (1898-1960s) as follows: Location Melbourne, Victoria. Registered in Victoria in 1898 as Griffiths Brothers Pty Ltd. The company was re-registered in 1913, and in 1920 was converted to a public company. In the 1960s the business was taken over by the Robur Tea Company Limited. Founded by Griffiths, James ( ? - 1925), …'James Griffiths had migrated to Australia in 1873 and founded the successful tea business of the same name. Both Griffiths and his wife were committed to Christian missionary work and in 1902 Mrs Griffiths was appointed President of the Women’s Missionary Council. St. Hilda’s (in Clarendon St., East Melbourne) was built in 1907 by R.S. Phillips for James Griffiths. The architects were Ward and Carleton. Almost immediately (when) the house was completed it was given in trust to the Christian Missionary Society to become a Church of England Missionary Training Home'.' Nestled in the foothills of Mount Dandenong (33km to the east of Melbourne), the Basin is a mixture of outer suburban and rural landscapes. Land purchases in The Basin began in 1866. James Griffiths (Tea Merchant famous for ‘Griffith Teas) lived on the property Ferndale in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century. A leading local figure in The Basin, Griffiths was killed with his wife and two others at the Bayswater railway crossing in (December) 1925'.'After the First World War, there developed in Melbourne the strongest, the best-organised, and the most determined network of lay evangelicals in Australian History. Names that come readily to mind include ……..James and John Griffiths (tea importers).'By the mid 1940s the Griffiths building was leased to Verona Press and became a printing headquarters. From 1973 to 1988 the building was used as the Melbourne billiard and snooker- playing establishment, leased by Dolly Lindrum, named after her famous uncle Walter Lindrum. The building is now the home to ‘Hotel Lindrum’, which displays items from the ‘Griffith Bros’ occupation in memory of its history. The building site is seen in Figure 4.'VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTER1-19 CLARENDON STREET EAST MELBOURNE, Melbourne CityVictorian Heritage Register (Victorian Heritage Register) Number H0481Statement of SignificanceWhat is significant?St Hilda's was built in 1907 by R S Phillips for James Griffiths. The architects were Ward and Carleton. Griffiths had migrated to Australia in 1873 and founded the successful tea business of the same name. Both Griffiths and his wife were committed to Christian missionary work and in 1902 Mrs Griffiths was appointed President of the Women's Missionary Council. Almost immediately the house was completed it was given in trust to the Christian Missionary Society to become a Church of England Missionary Training Home.Missionary zeal was still an important component of the Anglican faith at the turn of the twentieth century, and missionaries trained at St Hilda's could find work in many parts of Asia, as well as at Aboriginal missions in Victoria and other parts of Australia. In 1907 it seems that St Hilda's was used exclusively for training women missionaries, as a separate facility for men existed in North Melbourne. When St Hilda's was finished in 1908 the Sister-in-Charge was Miss Clara Odgers, and three women were accepted for training. Thirty-three missionaries were already working both overseas and at the Aboriginal Missions at Lake Condah and Lake Tyers.In the 1930s the house changed use to become the St Hilda's Church of England Deaconess House. In the 1960s it was sold and converted into apartments. From 1982 until 2001 the building was an office of Bates Smart, architects. Bates Smart restored the house, retaining much of the original fabric and fittings, and researched and reproduced the original paint scheme.St Hilda's is a two storey house constructed of red brick relieved by panels of terra cotta with large areas of the exterior of the first floor covered in roughcast. The building possesses elements derived from the English Elizabethan, Romanesque and Norman periods of architecture. Half-timbered gables, arcading and cushion column capitals express these influences, whilst the corner tower with its flared eight sided spire and walls and the roof terracotta grotesques (... eagle) are typical of the grander so-called Queen Anne style residences of the Federation period.Internally the British Arts and Crafts movement inspired the tiled mantels, foliated leadlight patterns, fretted decorative trusswork and stained timber wainscoting. Extant elements include the linoleum floor in the hallway; the main bathroom, complete with pressed metal dado, glazed tiling, bath and washbasins; the built-in linen cupboards at the top of the rear stairs; and the stencilled Evangelical inscriptions on the walls of the dining room and reception room.A modern two storey rear addition with open-plan studio space is linked to the main house via a two level glass-walled walkway. This building does not form part of the registration.Why is it significant?St Hilda's is architecturally significant as a fine example of the Arts and Crafts style of architecture. Its picturesque approach is a variation of the so-called Queen Anne style, which was dominated by red brick, terracotta and asymmetrical planning. Additionally, in the execution of detail, the design draws on the influence of Art-Nouveau. It is significant for its essentially intact interior, including both layout and fittings. The timber wainscoting, the robust pressed metal dado in the dining room and the coloured leadlight glass representation of plants and foliage contribute to an impressive and highly intact Arts & Crafts interior.'St Hilda's is historically significant both within the history of the Church of England and within the context of female employment at the turn of the twentieth century. As a training home for missionaries it was one of the few places to provide vocational training for women.LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEX:Photos of work shown at RVIAExhibition includes Griffiths Bros.Warehouse. Royal Victorian Institute of Architects Journal Jan. 1908 p 179Partnership formed between J V T Ward and A E H Carleton.Royal Victorian Institute of Architects Journal Mar 1936 p 19Tender accepted for erection of Presbyterian Church in Rathmines Road, Auburn.Building Engineering and Mining Journal 2.2.1901 spJ.W.Atkinson is to erect a brick warehouse & factory in Little Bourke Street at a cost of £5500.Building 12.6.1911,p 27Tenders accepted for erection of two 3-story factories cnr. Francis Street and Church Lane, Melbourne. Building Engineering and Mining Journal 1.9.1900 spTwo storey brick factory in King Street, Melbourne.Bade and Co., £1,836. Building 12.12.1911,p 109Additions to Austin Hospital, Heidelberg. Rose and Wales, Richmond, £868.Building 12.1.1911,pp 87-88RVIA exhibition includes St. Hilda's Missionary Training Home, East Melbourne.(1 Clarendon St., n.w. cnr. Albert St.- Historic Buildings Register ) Royal Victorian Institute of Architects Journal Jan. 1908 p 179Tenders accepted for erection of brick warehouse in Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, for M. Abrahams & Co. Building Engineering and Mining Journal 5.1.1901 spRVIA exhibition includes Massey Harris Co's. warehouse.Royal Victorian Institute of Architects Journal Jan. 1908 p 179Brick warehouse and factory, Melbourne. J. Watkinscon, £5,500.Building 12.12.1911,p 94(P. McCormack, architect of offices & warehouses of Edwards & Co., Cotton millers, Flinders St.(Julie Selmon, The use of Arcaded Facades in the Design of Melbourne warehouses 1890-1910) Research report1974, p 22 ref.) (Smith, Cyclopedia of Vic III,p 78 (copy held) & Clements Langford Photograph in M.U.archive).NEWSPAPERS (TROVE)1899The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954)Saturday 14 October 1899 - Page 1https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/241266658FLINDERS STREETTHE EASTERN END, BUSINESS EXTENSIONS.ANOTHER GREAT FACTORY.Among the evidences of business expansion in Melbourne, which have been ob servable of late, none have been more noticeable than the erection of business premises in Flinders street east. Before "The Herald" office was removed to that locality, the street east of Swanston street was practically deserted. In the last few years, however, there has been a steady improvement, and the thorough fare is now an important business one. A noteworthy addition to the business premises in the street is about to be erected by Messrs Griffith Brothers, the well-known tea merchants. Nearly two years ago the firm purchased a portion of the vacant land next to the Australian Church, and they arc now having plans prepared for a large factory and ware house combined which they intend to build upon it. The plans are nearly completed and tenders for the building will he called for almost immediately. The position of the land purchased by Messrs Griffiths Bros, adjoins the Australian Church, and has a frontage of 53 feet to Flinders street by a depth of 150 feet. The buildings to be erected com prise a factory and warehouse, 53ft, x 90ft., containing a basement and five stories. The front erection will be an imposing one. There will also be at the rear other buildings and stores, stables, vehicle shelters, and men's quarter, so that the contract will be an extensive one. The main building will be divided by a wall with fireproof doors, and one side will be used as a factory and the other as warehouse and sale rooms. The firm has important branches in the other colonies, and a good deal of its intercolonial trade has been done hither to from Sydney. With the prospects of early federation, however, it is recognised that Melbourne will be more central and it is intended to concentrate the machinery and business here as much as possible. The preparations of cocoa and chocolate, and the coffee business employ a good many hands in the manufacturing processes. Hence the necessity for the factory in Flinders street.1949https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/131236637Sale of propertiesGRIFFITHS BROS. PROPERTY SALESGriffiths Brothers Ltd. realised for its Gawler place building £30,000, and £35,000 for the Flinders street, Melbourne property. Stating this at the annual meeting, the deputy chairman (Mr. A. H. Outhwaite) added that the amount was used to reduce bank overdrafts.Part of the tea sales were greater than the past years. However, the fixed profit mar gin made it extremely difficult to earn adequate profits. The company's profit on tea was 42d. Per pound. .….`The Argus':Saturday 31 January 1903`…GRIFFITHS BROS.PROPTY. LTD. .HAVE REMOVED THEIR CENTRAL SALES ROOMFrom Flinders-laneTo66 ELIZABETH-STREET,… Teas, Cocoas, Coffees.Wednesday 26 August 1908Advert for machine sale care of 30 Flinders StSaturday 13 May 1916advert Boy wanted for chocolate dept apply 30 Flinders.14 Nov 1929GRIFFITHS BROS. LTD.Improved Position… chairman of directors JM Griffiths told general meeting at Flinders St offices of start on upward grade… rest of Australia affected by depression. Wm Roberts reappointed as a director..DIRECTORIES OF VICTORIA, MELBOURNE-SANDS AND KENNY, SANDS & MCDOUGALL1939, 1935, 1930, 1924, 1920, 1915 Griffiths Bros Ltd tea and coffee merchants1910 Griffiths Bros Pty Ltd tea and coffee merchants1905-1901 26-30 Griffiths Bros Pty Ltd tea merchants1900 24 Australian Church
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 104033 | 1 PDF : 775 KB ; A4 | Group of Items (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |