FORMER BRUNSWICK CABLE TRAM DEPOT PRECINCT

807-823 SYDNEY ROAD BRUNSWICK, MORELAND CITY

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Victorian Heritage Inventory

Statement of Significance

• Additional Place Information

  • History

    FORMER BRUNSWICK CABLE TRAM DEPOT PRECINCT - History

    
    In the 1906, 1908 and 1931 plans, the cable tramway entrance into the tram sheds were situated at the centre of the tram shed facing on Sydney Road. A sketching found on the 1931 plan (Figure 26) shows the rough positions of the extant Traffic and Revenue office, to the south of the entryway, and the extant depot shed being generally aligned with the track and pit on the north side of the entryway.
    
    

    
    This would be situated in the vicinity of the wall between the extant Traffic and Revenue office building and the extant car shed. The tracks connected to the eastern set of Sydney Road cable tram tracks opposite the pavement on the west side of Donald Street, and to the western set of tracks approximately halfway along the building at 824-834 Sydney Road. However, both plans have a slightly different curvature to the tracks leading from the tram shed to the Sydney Road tracks, so the locations of any subsurface infrastructure or tunnels associated with the tram entryway are approximate.
    
    

    
    The 1906, the 1908 and the 1931 plans show how the tram shed grew over time since 1906. The tram shed in 1906 comprises a large, irregularly-shaped shed, adjacent office building, toilet block, with a small shed behind the toilet block. Plans dating to 1908 show the tram shed as a square building. This included an L-shaped extension and included the area that would later be the paint shop. The ancillary buildings do not appear to have undergone any changes. The 1931 plan shows the greatest number of changes, with the tram shed having been extended to the boundary of the property in the south, with further extensions to the west, although the paint shop section was not extended. The stores were also added to the north wall of the tram shed. The shed behind the toilet block also appears to have been extended. In all three plans, tracks run from the tram entryway on Sydney Road into the shed. A tram turntable and pit were sited within the building on these tracks. A single pit was noted in the northwest corner of the tram shed on the 1908 plan, with two in this area by 1931. Other features shown on the 1931 pit appear to be drainage pits at regular intervals across the floor of the site, between the tram tracks.
    
    

    
    The whole area covered by the tram sheds, the office building, toilet block, and the shed, as shows in 1931 plan, appears to comprise the full extent of the earlier Brunswick cable tram depot as no plans show any structures at the rear of the property. While it is possible that there may have been buildings adjacent to Cameron and Peveril Streets (as visible in aerial imagery), these have not been mapped in the plans and may thus not be permanent structures, but may instead be photographic artefacts (localised islands of distortion) due to the low quality nature of the available 1931 aerial imagery. As such, the possible structures noted in the 1931 aerial imagery do not inform the archaeological potential for the pre-1936 cable tram site, but their potential presence cannot be entirely discounted.
    
    

    
    The area to the south (apart from the construction of a bicycle shelter) and west of the Traffic and Revenue office does not appear to have undergone significant works since the construction of the tram shed and Traffic and Revenue office in 1936. The area primarily appears to have been a slightly sloped dirt surface, into which a zig-zag air raid slit trench was excavated during World War II. This was subsequently filled in by 1956. The area, outside of the office compound, has since been used for car parking. In 2006, the area was surfaced with asphalt for carparking, with painted car parking spaces, handicapped carparks, and two gardens at the east end of the carpark. The area appears to have been levelled through the addition of a layer of fill at the east end of this area, rather than the excavation of the land. As such, it is likely that the historical ground surface, and the zig-zag air raid slit trench and the original asphalt tram shed surface, may still be present under the introduced fill.
    
    

    
    The areas of archaeological potential within the Brunswick Tram Depot site have been divided into three categories (depicted in Figure 3). These comprise:
    
    

    ·       Areas of high archaeological potential:

    -             The location of the former cable tram tracks along Sydney Road

    -             The location where the former cable tram tracks entered the non-extant tram sheds

    -             The location of the non-extant tram sheds to the south and west of the Traffic and Revenue office

    -             The location of the former World War II zig-zag air raid slit trench

    
    

    ·       Areas of low to moderate archaeological potential:

    -             The location of the former cable tram tracks along Sydney Road

    -             The location where the former cable tram tracks entered the non-extant tram sheds

    -             The current footprint of the bicycle shed to the south of the Traffic and Revenue office

    -             The land between the former shed and the extant workshops along Peveril Street

    -             Land to the southeast of the extant 1936 tram shed surrounding the zig-zag air raid slit trench

    ·       Areas of little to no archaeological potential:

    -             The current footprint of the extant tram shed, shopfronts and workshops

    -             The current footprint of the extant Traffic and Revenue office

    -             The current footprint of the tram tracks behind, and adjacent to, the tram shed

    -             The locations of the tanks behind the Traffic and Revenue office.

    
    A full-sized version of the areas of archaeological potential figure can be found in the attached Brunswick Tram Depot site cards updates memorandum (see Section 4).
    
    

    
    The Brunswick Tram Depot Zig-Zag Air Raid Slit Trench site meets the definition of archaeological site under the Heritage Act, as a site that is likely to contain artefacts, deposits or features 75 or more years old, that would provide information relation to the former use of the site, that requires archaeological methods to reveal such information. While there are no surface features, due to the asphalt of the extant carpark covering the site, there is aerial imagery showing that the slit trench was extant in 1945. Additionally, photographic evidence of the Brunswick Tram Depot from the 1950s shows the outline of the filled-in zig-zag slit trench. The site has subsequently been levelled through the introduction of fill, and archaeological features associated with the slit trench are likely to still be in situ underneath the carpark. This is likely to contribute to an understanding of how Brunswick Tram Depot staff, and possibly the wider Brunswick community, responded to the threat of World War II. As such the Brunswick Tram Depot Zig-Zag Air Raid Slit Trench site meets Threshold A (archaeology).
    
    

    As there is limited historical information about the Brunswick Tram Depot Zig-Zag Air Raid Slit Trench, archaeological investigation and detailed recording could provide information not available elsewhere, particularly in relation to the construction and use of the slit trench. The limited historical information suggests that Brunswick Tram Depot was one of the open areas around Melbourne utilised in this fashion, although, while it was built for the depot employees, it is currently unknown as to whether the Brunswick community would also have had access to this slit trench in a time of crisis. Archaeological investigation could provide information about other slit trenches and their usage across suburban Melbourne. The site is significant in a local context under the ‘defending Victoria and Australia’ (Theme 7.4) in Victoria’s Framework of Historical Themes (Heritage Council of Victoria 2010 (Heritage Council of Victoria 2010). As such, the Brunswick Tram Depot Zig-Zag Air Raid Slit Trench site meets Threshold B (place history). 

    Archaeological Significance

    FORMER BRUNSWICK CABLE TRAM DEPOT PRECINCT - Archaeological Significance

    The tracks and engine houses of the Melbourne cable tram network were constructed by the Melbourne Tramways Trust (MTT) during 1885-91. It was considered to be the world's largest cable tramway network under single ownership. The cable tram car sheds were built by the Melbourne Tramway & Omnibus Company which leased the lines from the MTT between 1885 and 1916 and operated the tram services.

    The former cable tram sheds have potential to contain evidence of significant 19th century archaeological remains such as parallel tram tracks, and an associated traverser to move the vehicles between the tracks, a turntable, and inspection and access pits for maintenance and repair of the trams.

    The archaeological remains of the former building site are highly significant as they display how Melbourne's cable tram system operated.

    Heritage Inventory Description

    FORMER BRUNSWICK CABLE TRAM DEPOT PRECINCT - Heritage Inventory Description

    Extant carpark The ground surface visibility was 0%, except in the raised garden beds which are above the level of the asphalt. While there is no surface physical evidence of the zig-zag air raid slit trench or the earlier tram shed, archaeological evidence may still exist as the foundation for the carpark is unlikely to have caused major ground disturbance, as the carpark appears to have been formed by the addition of fill to form a level surface. Traffic and Revenue office compound The ground surface visibility was 0% across the Traffic and Revenue office compound area. No archaeological features were identified within this section of the Brunswick Tram Depot site. It is possible that remnants of the earlier tram shed building may be present underneath the modern asphalt, and possibly under the bicycle and motorbike shelter depending on the level of disturbance required to erect the structure, if the original footings and features of the building were not removed prior to the construction of the current Traffic and Revenue office. Additionally, it is possible that the subsurface remains of the cable tram network may be partially extant underneath the footpath and Sydney Road near the tram depot wall opposite Donald Street, where it has not been impacted by the installation of subsurface services or by nearby tree roots. Tram shed and surrounds The ground surface visibility was 0% around the tram shed and surrounding area. No archaeological features were identified within this section of the Brunswick Tram Depot site. As YT has advised that the tram tracks and fans are reworked every 10-15 years, it is unlikely for any archaeological potential to be identified under the tram formation. However, there is the possibility that archaeological features, such as the brick wall of the tram pit and possible infrastructure dating from the mid-1930s, and those associated with the former toilet block and starter’s office near Cameron Street, may still be present in a subsurface context. Additionally, there may be archaeological evidence associated with the earlier toilet block and shed, and evidence of their use, situated in the carpark between the workshop and the substation found under the asphalt. (According to YT, the cherry picker is associated with works on the tram shed windows, as the lintels are deteriorating; no excavations are taking place within this area.)
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