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United Friendly Societies (UFS) Dispensary
42A Albert Street, FOOTSCRAY VIC 3011 - Property No 2001001400

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Maribyrnong City
HO16(2) - Undited Friendly Society Dispensary, 42a Albert Street, Footscray.JPG
HO16(2) - Undited Friendly Society Dispensary, 42a Albert Street, Footscray.JPG
HO16(2) - Undited Friendly Society Dispensary, 42a Albert Street, Footscray.JPG
HO16(1) - Undited Friendly Society Dispensary, 42a Albert Street, Footscray.JPG
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Statement of Significance

The United Friendly Societies Dispensary is significant to the Western region because:
- it is the region's most prominent reminder of the friendly societies and their dispensaries which, when it was built, were invaluable to working men and women in the region to alleviate the affects of long hard working days among noxious industries and provide some guarantee against sickness, injury and consequent destitution ( Criterion A4, D2);
- its creation involved some of the area's prominent pioneers and personalities ( Criterion H1);
- it was claimed at the time of opening as 'absolutely the finest specimen of a modern dispensary building to be found in or around Melbourne' ( Criterion E1);
- it is among the most architecturally sophisticated Edwardian-era commercial building in the City of Maribyrnong ( Criterion F1); and
- it is an externally well preserved and successfully designed example of the Edwardian Freestyle which is also uncommon as a style in the metropolitan area ( Criterion B2, F1).

Assessment against Australian Heritage Commission (AHC) criteria

The Australian Heritage Commission criteria consist of a set of eight criteria which cover social, aesthetic, scientific, and historic values. Each criterion has sub-criteria written specifically for cultural or natural values. As this project is for cultural values, the sub-criteria used are identified by their alpha-numeric code and briefly described as follows:

. A.3 richness and diversity of cultural features

. A.4 demonstrates well the course and pattern of history, important historic events

. B.2 rarity

. C.2 research potential

. D.2 good example of type

. E.1 aesthetic importance to the community or cultural group

. F.1 design or technological achievement .

. G.1 social importance to the community

. H.1 association with important person or group

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    • Physical Description 1

      United Friendly Societies (UFS) Dispensary - Physical Description 1

      `Footscray's First Fifty Years' provides an architect's illustration of this building heading the chapter on Footscray's Institutions. It shows a red brick two storey building, with bands of cement render at the parapet line of each level and a quarry-faced stone base to the building.

      Openings on the ground level were arched, with coloured top lights, and the main entry was through a broad archway in the Romanesque Revival manner. Upper level openings had a flat arch form and were grouped as timber framed casements, with coloured glass top lights. An open upper level terrace is shown over the entry. Each parapet level has a scalloped profile.

      The side yard is shown fence in a capped corrugated iron form with mature trees growing there as well as in the street: perhaps and idealised view { FFFY: 100}.

      As in the above etching the buildings is composed in three-dimensions on a prominent corner site. It is a two-storey Edwardian Freestyle building clad with red brick and horizontal bands of smooth render and roofed with slates with unglazed terra-cotta decorative ridging. The hipped and gabled roofline is enclosed by a parapet which follows one major roof form as a gabled parapet or the faceted form of the other main room bay at the corner. The parapet form is scalloped in a distinctive manner and accommodates the balcony over the entry.

      Reference:

      FFFY - Footscray First Fifty Years, Lack ,1991

      Physical Conditions

      United Friendly Societies (UFS) Dispensary - Physical Conditions

      Externally good (partially disturbed, well preserved).

      Integrity

      United Friendly Societies (UFS) Dispensary - Integrity

      Integrity - Externally substantially intact/some intrusions. Signs have been added, openings have been altered in detail, and the balcony enclosed.

      Physical Description 2

      United Friendly Societies (UFS) Dispensary - Physical Description 2

      Context
       Now isolated on the fringe of more recent commercial development and surrounded by car parks and busy roads.

      Historical Australian Themes

      United Friendly Societies (UFS) Dispensary - Historical Australian Themes

      Thematic context
      Australian Principal Theme Developing local, regional and national economies
      PAHT Subtheme Providing medical and dental services
      Local Theme(s) Establishing services

      Conserve and enhance the identified significant fabric, with emphasis on fabric from the early 1900s and its period as a dispensary, with enhancement including reinstatement of missing original elements, colours and finishes (for example chemically removing the paint from the brickwork and use of the architect's perspective to restore missing ground level elements and reinstate balcony).

      Conserve the public view of the significant fabric.
      Promote the continuing original use of the place and its amenity.
      Continue historical research into the place and provide public access to the findings.
      Assess the interior for significant elements.

      Physical Description 3

      United Friendly Societies (UFS) Dispensary - Physical Description 3

      Map (Melway) 42 C5
      Boundary description The extent of the building and title land, with emphasis on fabric from the main
      construction period, and the period of use as a dispensary.
      Heritage Significance Regional
      Creation date(s) 1909
      Local Government Area City of Maribyrnong
      Ownership Type Private

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Maribyrnong - Maribyrnong Heritage Review

      Author: Jill Barnard, Graeme Butler, Francine Gilfedder & Gary Vines
      Year: 2000
      Grading:

Public contributions

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