Shops & Residences, later Chinese National Club (109), 107-109 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Title:
Shops & Residences, later Chinese National Club (109), 107-109 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne
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Date of work:
1985
Reference number:
BIF-CITY 105833 105834 1
Level of description:
Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
Type of materials:
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:DATE: 1903-4, c1921;ASSOCIATIONS: Cheong, Cheok Hong; Chinese National Club (109);DESIGNER: Barnet, Nahum; W.B. Griffin c1921;BUILDER: Atkinson, J.W. 1903-4.GRAEME BUTLER 1989, LITTLE BOURKE STREET PRECINCT CONSERVATION STUDYStatement of SignificanceShops and Residences107-109 Little Bourke StreetHistoryBuilt: 1903-4C. H. Cheong commissioned the well known commercial architect, Nahum Barnet, to design a pair of shops and dwellings at this Market Lane corner, in late 1903. Barnet obliged with one of his typical Romanesque revival warehouse designs (see 4 Bank Place) and his builder was John W. Atkinson, of Richmond. Number 107 was Wong Hang Shing & Company's cook shop and 109 was occupied by the importer, P.N. Hong Nam (q.v.) in 1910. Ten years later, 107 was a grocery, but occupied by the same firm and 109 had a European tenant, William M. Young. Soon after this date, in 1921, the Chinese National Club (formed in 1916) commissioned American architect, Waiter Burley Griffin ('of Sydney, Chicago. Melbourne'), to redesign the facade and in a highly stylized fashion provide an appropriate Eastern front to the north facade, (Unfortunately, some of this fanciful plaster was removed in 1978), Despite its ornate appearance, Griffin’s design had little impact on the original shop, exchanging the entrance from the side to the centre. Just inside the door was an entrance screen, blocking wind and vision into the space beyond.This building is symbolic of the factions which were created around the time of the Boxer Rebellion amongst the hitherto regionally unified Melbourne Chinese. The streets near the building were the scenes of battles among rival groups, the Yee Hing secret society and Bo Leong, a subgroup of the Sze-Yap society, in 1904.C.H. Cheong, was a successful merchant with many financial interests in Chinatown but also a villa well away, in Gore Street, Fitzroy. Cheong claimed to be the earliest Chinese convert to Christianity in Australia and one of the first missionaries in Little Bourke Street. His view of the much touted poor sanitary conditions in Chinatown was that its state owed much to lax administration of the city's health regulations in the area, allowing the pollution of the streets by an unsanitary minority.2DescriptionA former Romanesque revival three-storey warehouse pair, of red brick, which has since been altered in part, to the design of Waiter Burley Griffin. Prismatic elements in cast cement have been added to provide an Aztec character to the upper level of 109, but the Romanesque cushion capitals remain, as do the three major facade window elements. Similarly, prismatic cast cement motifs are used in a frieze at ground-level, which appears to ml pre-existing openings. The warehouse fronts on to a side lane where a more austere but original Romanesque revival is implied by the tall Italian arched motifs on the upper two levels.External Integrity(Given Griffin's 1921 alteration to 109)An intrusive illuminated sign added, general addition of signs, new joinery at ground-level, windows blocked in at ground level (onto lane), and air units added to the upper Ievel fronting the lane. The Griffin pressed cement detailing to the upper level spandrels has also been removed and the overall colour is intrusive (blue). The front ground level piers and rear elevation brickwork have been painted and an extensive addition made.StreetscapeRelates to 105 Little Bourke Street and general two storied scale of the Little Bourke Street elevation.Significance:An originally architecturally undistinguished pair which was built for and occupied by Chinese, in Melbourne's Chinese quarter, and (in part) further embellished (109) by the notable architect, Waller Burley Griffin, when it became a Chinese club house. Hence, its Eastern expression was enhanced visually and. in fact, beyond the original European design. It was also the focus of street fighting among local Chinese during the Boxer uprising in China and associated with one of Melbourne's more prominent Chinese merchants.Contributes to precinct..GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATIONS -Property numbers 105833 105834.VICTORIAN HERITAGE INVENTORY H7822-15291888 - one storey building on site. Nos. 107 and 109 are a pair of shops and residences designed by Nahum Barnet for merchant CH Cheong and built by JW Atkinson 1903-04. No.109 originally occupied by cafes and importers. 1905 - three-storey building. 1921 occupied by Chinese Nationalist Club, alterations by architect W Burley Griffin.LEWIS, M- AUSTRALIAN ARCHITECTURE INDEX:Record 73205 Barnet, N; Cheong, C H Melbourne VIC Houses; Shops Atkinson, John W - 87 Church St Richmond 1903 11 5 9153, MCC registration no 9153 [Burchett Index]. Fee 5.0.0-two shops & dwellings, Little Bourke & Market LaneSee also Cheok Hong Cheong77054 Web & Nettle; Cheok Hong Cheong Melbourne VIC Factories Kinsman Bros - 31 Mayfield St Coburg 1908 01 31 72577064 Webb, R G; Cheong Hong Cheong Melbourne VIC Factories Stahl Bros - Hopetoun Ave Brunswick 1914 07 14 5066.HERITAGE BRANCH, MINISTRY FOR PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT 1987 CITY OF MELBOURNE CENTRAL CITY NOTABLE BUILDINGS CITATIONSSTATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCEThese three storey pair of face brick buildings illustrate the utilitarian buildings that are essential elements of the Chinatown character. The pair were constructed early this century; the design emphasised the vertical nature of the building by recessing the windows between two storey pilasters terminating in round headed arches. Number 109 was later refaced by Walter Burleigh Griffin but part of that decorative scheme has been demolished..NATIONAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA (VIC)109 Little Bourke StreetA brick warehouse from c1903 designed by Nahum Barnet (matching the one adjacent at 107). Re-faced to a design by Walter Burley Griffin in 1921 for the Chinese Nationalist Club (Kuomintang). The design covered over most of the red-brick walls and piers with angular layered render, and added Griffin's distinctive crystalline geometric features above the arches, either side of the central door, and an elaborate crystalline grill between the piers, covering the windows and spandrel. The latter was removed in the late 1970's.Classified: 06/06/1994Revised: 27/02/2008.
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 105833 105834 1 | 1 JPEG : 479 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |