FORMER JOHN FOORD BOND STORES

WAHGUNYAH, EAST AND WEST OF THE APPROACH TO THE FOORD BRIDGE

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Victorian Heritage Inventory

Statement of Significance

• Additional Place Information

  • History

    FORMER JOHN FOORD BOND STORES - History

    According to the original site card, the site location accommodated a number of buildings built in the town by John Foord - in the location of the present day Wahgunyah - who originally laid out the site of North Wahgunyah on the NSW bank in 1889.

    The Bond Stores formed a complex that included the wharf and steam mill erected in 1858 (Lloyd and Kennedy 2007:14) on the east side of the John Foord Bridge (Lloyd and Kennedy 2007:15-16) and punt. His other interests included a public house, sawmill and steamers.

    The Bond Stores were built three stories high (see photos) with ladders connecting the floors, and were later used to store wine and other goods. The building was demolished in the 1890s, with only the brick foundations remaining until the latter 20th century.

    The stores have been further demolished since their registration on the heritage inventory. In 1995 the North East Water Authority constructed a new water treatment plant in the location; possibly without Consent to Disturb from Heritage Victoria, possibly because the Heritage Act came into existence at this time and the site may have been placed on the Inventory during its destruction. Signage above the facility, however, records some of the history of the stores and marks the location as being important.

    Interpretation of Site

    FORMER JOHN FOORD BOND STORES - Interpretation of Site

    The artefacts - brick and glass - that remain in the banks below and on the site of the water treatment facility , are most likely the only in remnants of the Bond Store foundations and other material brought to the stores during its operation, from 1889-1890s. The well and the remains of the wharf and mill, are contemporaneous.

    THE WHARF: marked by posts in the river which do not appear to relate to the original bridge as the alignment is different. The original bridge pylons may be seen on the NSW side for example. The posts below the water treatment facility are therefore most likely the remnants of the wharf.

    THE WELL: Local knowledge suggests that the well was an entry point to underground tunnels that connected the customs house, the hotel and John Foord's residence on the east side of the Main Road in Wahgunyah. The extant tunnels are said to have been used by schoolchildren in the 1970s and given the lack of development in this area are probably intact, if they exist.

    Archaeological Significance

    FORMER JOHN FOORD BOND STORES - Archaeological Significance

    The location of the Bond Stores themselves is low due to recent destruction. This site and in particular its in situ elements have been destroyed so that its archaeological significance has been greatly diminished since the original listing.

    However, the presence of other features in association with the stores, add to its significance (medium). The surrounding complex of the remains of the wharf, the well and steam mill located across Foord Street, and the potential for underground tunnels to exist below the surface on both sides of the street add to the sites significance.

    Historical Significance

    FORMER JOHN FOORD BOND STORES - Historical Significance

    The site is of regional importance because of the association with John Foord, and important because of the operation of the river trade along the Murray River during the 1860s river trade boom.

    Heritage Inventory Description

    FORMER JOHN FOORD BOND STORES - Heritage Inventory Description

    The description calls for an expanded listing. The original inventory records the remains of the Bond Stores on the west side of the John Ford Bridge, situated on an embankment adjacent to the Murray River, at Wahgunyah. Today, this embankment is deeply cut to accommodate a Water Treatment facility (built c. 1995). The stores appear to have been destroyed, with loose base bricks and fragments of black glass in the bank cutting being the main evidence for their former existence. Further reference to the stores in this location is marked on signage that has been erected on Foord Street above the embankment. A foot inspection of nearby river banks (within 500 m) also identified a range of other archaeological features connected to the stores through their association with their owner, John Foord. The features include the remains of a well on the east side of Foord Street - allegedly (local knowledge) connected to a series of tunnels leading to other John Foord buildings - and the location of a former mill. Vertical wooden posts protruding from the Murray below the Water Treatment facility are likely to mark the location of the former wharf.

    Base brick foundation remains only.

    Recorded by: S. Kenderdine Date Recorded: 00JUN1993

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