Commonwealth Munitions Housing Estate

Devonshire Road and Duke Street SUNSHINE, Brimbank City

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Brimbank City

45839 Commonwealth Munitions Housing Estate

Statement of Significance

• Additional Place Information

  • Physical Description 1

    Commonwealth Munitions Housing Estate - Physical Description 1

    Description

    Part of an estate of concrete houses and brick semi-detached houses built by the Commonwealth to house munitions workers, a total of 234 houses. The development extends across Duke Street with a substantial number of houses in Braybrook, now the City of Maribyrnong (58%).

    The Brimbank precinct (98 houses) comprises houses in Baker Street, Nixon Street, Yewers Street, Cobrey Street, Duke Street, Devonshire Road and around Lowe Crescent. A characteristic design element of the area is the use of concrete roads and the curving Lowe Crescent on a small irregular shaped square with landscaping of contemporary date and also later periods. The houses themselves are generally hipped roof with overhanging eaves. The Nixon Street, Baker Street, Yewers Street and Lowe Crescent houses are concrete-walled, while the others are generally red brick, with a series of long duplexes in Duke Street and Cobrey Street.

    The War Workers Housing Scheme estate appears to have survived virtually intact, with only two houses demolished and replaced by modern dwellings. A number of the houses are brick, most of them semi-detached residences or 'maisonettes', quite different in design from anything else in the municipality. The brick houses are mainly on the western side of Duke Street, the eastern side of Cobrey Street and a section of the south side of Devonshire Road. Most of the remaining houses are concrete, detached residences, especially in Yewers Street, Lowe Crescent, Baker Street and Nixon Street. All the houses have tiled roofs. It appears that a total of 97 houses are remaining out of the original 98). The houses are as follows:- 47-77 Duke Street, west side (16 houses) - brick 2-22 Cobrey Street, east side (11 houses) - brick 112-138 Devonshire Road, south side (14 houses) - some brick, some concrete 2-32 Nixon Street, south side (16 houses) - some brick, some concrete 1-27 Lowe Crescent, north side (14 houses) - some concrete, some brick 2-16 Yewers Street, east side (8 houses) - concrete 1-7, 11-15 Yewers Street, west side (7 houses) - concrete 1-15 Baker Street west side (8 houses) - concrete 14-16 Baker Street (2 houses) - concrete 10 Monash Street (1 house) - brick.

    The houses are largely intact, with the primary change seen being the replacement of original timber windows with aluminium units (at 1, 11, 13, 14 Baker St; 12, 14 Cobrey St; 112-116A, 122, 128, 130, 134 Devonshire Rd; 57, 65 Duke St; 1, 3, 7, 11, 13, 19, 21, 27 Lowe Cr; 10 Monash St; 4, 6, 10, 14, 16, 22 Nixon St; 3, 4, 5, 6, 10-16 Yewers St). A number of the small front porches have also been enclosed or otherwise altered (at 9, 11 Baker St; 8, 16 Cobrey St; 122, 128, 134, 138 Devonshire Rd; 57, 63, 65, 75, 77 Duke St; 3, 9-13 Lowe Cr; 4, 6, 16 Lowe Cr; 26 Nixon St; 2, 3 Yewers St).

    A number of the houses retain one of the two original front fence types, both of them quite low in height. Some brick houses retain a low clinker brick wall (at 126 & 132 Devonshire Rd, 47, 53, 67, 69-73 Duke St, 28, 32 Nixon St). Concrete houses generally have low pipe and cyclone wire fences (at 1, 3, 11 Baker St; 112-116A Devonshire Rd; 7 Lowe Cr; 2-12 Nixon St; 2, 5-7, 6-10, 13, 16 Yewers St), as do some of the brick houses on the east side of Duke Street.

    The surviving houses that are contributory to the precinct include the following:

    ADDRESS, DATE, DESCRIPTION

    1 Baker Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    3 Baker Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    7 Baker Street, 1942, Concrete detached house - clad with fake brick fibre cement panels

    9 Baker Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    11 Baker Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    13 Baker Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    14 Baker Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    16 Baker Street, 1942, Concrete detached house - dual occupancy with 2000c rendered two

    storey

    2 Cobrey Street, 1942, brick duplex

    4 Cobrey Street, 1942, brick duplex

    6 Cobrey Street, 1942, brick duplex

    8 Cobrey Street, 1942, brick duplex

    10 Cobrey Street, 1942, brick duplex

    12 Cobrey Street, 1942, brick duplex

    14 Cobrey Street, 1942, brick duplex

    16 Cobrey Street, 1942, brick duplex

    18 Cobrey Street, 1942, brick duplex

    20 Cobrey Street, 1942, brick duplex

    22 Cobrey Street, 1942, brick duplex

    112 Devonshire Rd., 1942, Concrete detached house

    114 Devonshire Rd., 1942, Concrete detached house

    116 Devonshire Rd., 1942, Concrete detached house

    116A Devonshire Road, 1942, Concrete detached house

    118 Devonshire Rd., 1942, Concrete detached house

    120 Devonshire Rd., 1942, Concrete detached house

    122 Devonshire Rd., 1942, Concrete detached house

    124 Devonshire Rd., 1942, brick duplex

    126 Devonshire Rd., 1942, brick duplex

    128 Devonshire Rd., 1942, brick duplex

    130 Devonshire Rd., 1942, brick duplex

    132 Devonshire Rd., 1942, brick duplex

    134 Devonshire Rd., 1942, brick duplex

    136 Devonshire Rd., 1942, brick duplex

    138 Devonshire Rd., 1942, brick duplex

    47 Duke Street, 1942, brick duplex

    49 Duke Street, 1942, brick duplex

    51 Duke Street, 1942, brick duplex

    53 Duke Street, 1942, brick duplex

    55 Duke Street, 1942, brick duplex

    57 Duke Street, 1942, brick duplex

    63 Duke Street, 1942, brick duplex

    65 Duke Street, 1942, brick duplex

    67 Duke Street, 1942, brick duplex

    69 Duke Street, 1942, brick duplex

    71 Duke Street, 1942, brick duplex

    73 Duke Street, 1942, brick duplex

    75 Duke Street, 1942, brick duplex, recently rendered

    77 Duke Street, 1940s, brick detached house

    1 Lowe Crescent, 1942, Concrete detached house, brick veneer at rear - No 12 Baker Street.

    3 Lowe Crescent, 1942, Concrete detached house

    5 Lowe Crescent, 1942, Concrete detached house

    7 Lowe Crescent, 1942, Concrete detached house

    9 Lowe Crescent, 1942, Concrete detached house

    11 Lowe Crescent, 1942, Concrete detached house

    13 Lowe Crescent, 1942, brick duplex

    15 Lowe Crescent, 1942, brick duplex

    17 Lowe Crescent, 1942, brick duplex

    19 Lowe Crescent, 1942, brick duplex

    21 Lowe Crescent, 1942, brick duplex

    23 Lowe Crescent, 1942, brick duplex

    25 Lowe Crescent, 1942, brick duplex

    27 Lowe Crescent, 1942, brick duplex

    10 Monash Street, 1942, brick duplex

    2 Nixon Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    4 Nixon Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    6 Nixon Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    8 Nixon Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    10 Nixon Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    12 Nixon Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    14 Nixon Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    16 Nixon Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    18 Nixon Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    20 Nixon Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    22 Nixon Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    24 Nixon Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    26 Nixon Street, 1942, brick duplex

    28 Nixon Street, 1942, brick duplex

    30 Nixon Street, 1942, brick detached house

    32 Nixon Street, 1942, brick duplex

    2 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    3 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    4 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    5 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    6 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    7 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    8 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    10 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    11 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    12 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    13 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    14 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    16 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house - dual occupancy with c2000 brick veneer at

    rear

    17 Yewers Street, 1942, Concrete detached house

    A number of places, which formerly contributed to the historical significance of the precinct, have been demolished or extensively altered in the last decade or so. These include the following:

    5 & 5A Baker Street, now modern semi detached brick veneers, 2000s

    12 Baker Street, dual occupancy with rear of 1 Lowe Crescent rendered two storey brick veneer

    2000c

    15 Baker Street, dual occupancy at the rear of 116A Devonshire Road.

    16A Baker Street, dual occupancy at the rear of 16 Baker Street.

    59 Duke Street, vacant

    61 Duke Street, vacant - new development

    8 McGrath Street, dual occupancy at the rear of 7 Yewers Street.

    1 Yewers Street, mock colonial brick veneer units, 2000c

    9 Yewers Street, 2 storey brown brick veneer, 1980s

    15 Yewers Street, dual occupancy at the rear of 17 Yewers Street

    2/16 Yewers Street, dual occupancy at the rear of 16 Yewers Street.

    There are also two blocks which appear to have been originally part of the proposed Commonwealth estate but have houses of different period and style. These are not contributory to the precinct.

    43 Duke Street, brick veneer, 1950s, Typical

    45 Duke Street, brick veneer, 1950s, Typical

    
    
    
    

    Physical Conditions

    Commonwealth Munitions Housing Estate - Physical Conditions

    In good condition and retaining much of the original character of the area due to the retention of original fence, concrete roads and planting. Typical alterations include the replacement of original timber windows and frames with aluminium units, the enclosure of the small, open entrance porches, installation of external window blinds and security shutters, and the removal of brick front fences. The face brick generally remains unpainted.

    Historical Australian Themes

    Commonwealth Munitions Housing Estate - Historical Australian Themes

    4 Building settlement, towns and cities
    4.1 Planning urban settlements

    Heritage Study and Grading

    Heritage Study and Grading

    Brimbank - Brimbank City Council Post-contact Cultural Heritage Study

    Author: G. Vines
    Year: 2000
    Grading: State

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