BALLARAT CITY FIRE STATION
702 STURT STREET, BALLARAT CENTRAL - PROPERTY NUMBER 2031171, BALLARAT CITY
Sturt Street Precinct

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Statement of Significance
No SoS provided in this citation. Please refer to the History and Attachments sections in this place record for further information.
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BALLARAT CITY FIRE STATION - Physical Description 1
The Ballarat City Fire Brigade was formed in 1859. In 1860 H.R.Caselli prepared plans and called tenders for the Western Fire Brigade House, Sturt Street, and the foundation stone was laid on 15 June 1860. The station comprises a two store building housing an engine house. with a mess room. This is finished with a castellated top. A five storey octagonal tower projects as a bay from the centre facade. Whilst the entire building is constructed of bluestone, it has been surf ed with rough cast at a later date. The tower is of particular importance - it t thin windows on each face at each floor level. Although the glazed corbelled loc out at the fourth storey has been removed, the open work covered lookout at the fifth 'storey remains. This also houses the massive fire bell. The building is virtually intact other than the rough cast finish, the removal of the corbelled lookout and the insertion of windows into the engine room doors. An addition to the rear of the two storey section has maintained the same form as the earlier .sect This building would appear to be the most intact early Fire Station in the State, and is comparable only with the East Ballarat Station, which has a stepped brick tower.
BALLARAT CITY FIRE STATION - Intactness
INTACTNESS: bluestone roughcast substantially intact
BALLARAT CITY FIRE STATION - Physical Description 2
The Ballarat City Fire Brigade was formed in 1859. In 1860 H.R.Caselli - prepared plans and called terlders for the Nestern Fire Brigade House, Sturt Street, and the foundation stone was laid on 15 June 1860. 3
The station comprises a two storey building of bluestone with a castellated top with a central five storey towp,. The two storey building comprised the engine house at ground floor level and a mess room above. The whole structure has been covered with rough cast; the quoin dressings and architraves have been finished in smooth cement.
The Station has maintained the original openings, although the diagonally braced engine house doors have had. windows inserted. An extension at the rear has c~ntinued the basic form down Raglan Street. The tower is of particular importance; it is an octagonal section with thin windows in each face at each floor level. The corbelled glazed gallery at the fourth storey has been removed, but above this the open work covered lookout-remains. This has timber posts, strut corner brackets with pointed trefoil infill, and a bracketted cornice following around-the octagon. A lower pitched octagonal roof above this supports the prominent flagpole.
The tower is also of interest internally, the stairs up to the first floor follow around the octagon,-and the balustrade is in straight sections simply bending at each corner. Then there is a narrower stair, and in the upper levels the stone is left rough faced inside and there are crude stone corbels carrying the timbering. There seems to be traces of the original brown paint.
On the lookout deck, reached by a trap doer, the massive original fire bell is still in place. This was cast in steel in 1860 by Naylor Vickers and Co. of Sheffield, on E.Riepe's patent No.2013.
It is unlikely that Victoria possesses another fire station of this period as intact as this building. (The only comparison can be made with the East Ballarat Station which has a later engine room of a different style, and the tower is of brick and is stepped in with successive storeys. The different form and construction materials makes comparison difficult.
The building is of considerable importance historically as it represents one of the earliest and most intact surviving substantial buildings in Ballarat.
This building is externally intact, other than rough cast render, the removal of the glazed corbelled lookout, the changes to the doors and the addition at the rear.
Heritage Study and Grading
Ballarat - Ballarat Conservation Study
Author: Jacobs Lewis Vines Architects
Year: 1978
Grading:
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