OLD COLONISTS HOMES
20 RUSHALL CRESCENT FITZROY NORTH, YARRA CITY
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Statement of Significance
The Old Colonists Homes complex of 142 self-contained homes and ancillary buildings was established by actor, philanthropist and entrepreneur George Coppin in 1870 to provide accommodation for elderly colonists who, through no fault of their own, had fallen on hard times. A neighbouring development of two houses for Coppin's Old Actors Association was taken over by the Old Colonists Association in 1906. The Old Colonists Association was concerned to record and commemorate the efforts of Victoria's earliest colonists, as well as to 'assist necessitous old colonists' and promote the advancement of 'native-born (European) Victorians', and originally residence in the Homes was restricted to those who had arrived in the colony before 1851. Except for two cottages funded by the Association itself, all the houses in the Old Colonists Homes village were built with funds donated by prominent Victorian citizens, and each building is marked by a memorial stone showing the date and donor. The houses are sited in delightful gardens and cottages were erected in every decade from the 1870s to the present. The Homes continue to be managed for their original purpose by the Old Colonists Association, and the complex remains a remarkable example of 19th century charitable provision of housing for the elderly.
How is it significant?
The Old Colonists Homes are of historical and architectural significance to the State of Victoria.
Why is it significant?
The Old Colonists Homes are of historical significance as an early and remarkably intact example of the provision of housing for the aged in Victoria; for their association with George Coppin and other notable Victorians who donated cottages to the complex; and for their links with Victoria's earliest years.
The Old Colonists Homes are an important example of the development of philanthropic welfare facilities at a time when governments provided few or no such services. They betray the influence of similar philanthropic ventures in the USA and Britain, the unique layout of the complex appearing to derive from early 19th century English experiments in housing the aged poor. The design of Blaise Hamlet in 1810 outside Bristol, the work of the architects John Nash and George Repton, seems particularly relevant. As in the Blaise Hamlet housing, the Rushall Park cottages feature variety in design and the provision of individual garden settings. As well as fitting within the long tradition of almshouses, the cottages also parallel the Utopian model of such company towns as Saltaire and Bourneville in England and planned communities such as Riverside in the USA.
The Old Colonists Homes were founded by George Coppin (1819-1906), an extraordinary character from the earliest days of Melbourne. He was an actor, speculator and philanthropist who had arrived in Sydney from England in 1843. He founded a number of philanthropic organizations, including the Old Colonists' Association, the Australian Dramatic and Musical Associations, the Victorian Humane Society and St John's Ambulance in Victoria. The Old Colonists Homes, which include Coppin's founding donation bluestone cottage, provide lasting evidence of Coppin?s philanthropic activities and of his determination to commemorate the efforts of the early colonists. Besides Coppin, the complex has historical associations with a number of notable Victorians who have funded the construction of cottages over the years.
The Old Colonists Homes are a historical reminder of the early years of the colony's existence. The Old Colonists Association was determined to recognise the importance of the pre-goldrush generation and to establish and record their new society's history, and the Homes are a tangible reminder of these efforts.
The Old Colonists Homes complex is of architectural significance as it contains an exceptional number of remarkably intact buildings that provide examples of a great variety of building styles and materials covering a period of more than 120 years. The Homes show a spectrum of Picturesque taste in Victoria in a variety of buildings each designed with a special feature or motif. The complex is unified by this Picturesque quality, its personal domestic scale and the delightful gardens. The whole complex has a remarkable village quality due to the mature landscaping, the Picturesque planning of the site and the architecture of the cottages. It is the largest and most intact complex of its kind in Victoria, and possibly in Australia. Comparable but less intact examples are the Austin Cottages in Geelong and the Jewish Montefiore Homes in St Kilda Road.
The Old Colonists Homes are of architectural significance for their associations with a number of important Victorian architects. The first stone cottages were designed by George Johnson, possibly the most prolific designer of municipal buildings in late 19th century Victoria, as well as of many theatres and opera houses in Melbourne and other Australian cities and the annexes to the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton. Joseph Crook, who was responsible for a large number of buildings around Prahran, Windsor, St Kilda and Malvern, designed the Jubilee Cottages, Sumner Hall, the caretaker's residence and a number of other components of the complex. Other significant architects to have left their mark on the Homes include George Wharton and James Wood.
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OLD COLONISTS HOMES - History
Associated People: Assoc.People G COPPIN; Joseph Crook, George Wharton, James Wood, Oakley, Cowper, Fick;OLD COLONISTS HOMES - Permit Exemptions
General Exemptions:General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions. Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.Specific Exemptions:Note: The following Standing Permit Exemptions are valid for 12 months, from 22 March 2022 though September 2023, during which time they will be reviewed by a heritage consultant and permanent Standing Permit Exemptions applied for.
General Conditions- All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place.
- Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of works that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place are revealed which relate to the significance of the place, then the exemption covering such works must cease and Heritage Victoria must be notified as soon as possible.
Permit Exemptions
The following permit exemptions are not considered to cause harm to the cultural heritage significance of the Old Colonist’s Homes.
General- Minor repairs and maintenance which replaces like with like. Repairs and maintenance must maximise protection and retention of significant fabric and include the conservation of existing details or elements. Any repairs and maintenance must not exacerbate the decay of fabric due to chemical incompatibility of new materials, obscure fabric or limit access to such fabric for future maintenance.
- Maintenance, repair and replacement of existing external services such as plumbing, electrical cabling, surveillance systems, pipes or fire services which does not involve changes in location or scale, or additional trenching.
- Repair to, or removal of items such as antennae; aerials; and air conditioners and associated pipe work, ducting and wiring.
- Works or activities, including emergency stabilisation, necessary to secure safety in an emergency where a structure or part of a structure has been irreparably damaged or destabilised and poses a safety risk to its users or the public. The Executive Director must be notified within seven days of the commencement of these works or activities.
- Painting of previously painted external and internal surfaces in the same colour, finish and product type provided that preparation or painting does not remove all evidence of earlier paint finishes or schemes. This exemption does not apply to areas where there are specialist paint techniques such as graining, marbling, stencilling, hand-painting, murals or signwriting, or to wallpapered surfaces, or to unpainted, oiled or varnished surfaces.
- Cleaning including the removal of surface deposits by the use of low-pressure water (to maximum of 300 psi at the surface being cleaned) and neutral detergents and mild brushing and scrubbing with plastic (not wire) brushes.
Interiors- Works to maintain or upgrade non-significant existing bathrooms, kitchens and laundries, including installing new appliances, re-tiling and the like, where bathrooms, toilets and kitchens have previously been altered. This exemption does not cover works to original or early twentieth century bathrooms, toilets and kitchens.
- Installation, removal or replacement of carpets and/or flexible floor coverings, window furnishings, and devices for mounting wall hung artworks. This exemption does not cover works to original or early twentieth century features or surfaces.
- Maintenance, repair and replacement of non-original light fixtures, tracks and the like in existing locations. This exemption does not cover works to original or early twentieth century light fixtures, tracks and the like.
- Installation, removal or replacement of existing electrical wiring. If wiring is currently exposed, it should remain exposed. If it is fully concealed it should remain fully concealed.
- Removal or replacement of smoke and fire detectors, alarms and the like, of the same size and in existing locations.
- Repair, removal or replacement of existing ducted, hydronic or concealed radiant type heating provided that the central plant is concealed, and that the work is done in a manner which does not alter building fabric.
- Installation of plant within the roof space, providing that it does not impact on the external appearance of the building or involve structural changes.
- Installation, removal or replacement of bulk insulation in the roof space.
Landscape/ outdoor areasHard landscaping and services- Subsurface works to existing watering and drainage systems provided these are outside the canopy edge of trees and do not involve trenching in new locations. Existing lawns, gardens and hard landscaping, including paving, paths and roadways are to be returned to the original configuration and appearance on completion of works.
- Like for like repair and maintenance of existing hard landscaping including carparks, paving, footpaths and driveways where the materials, scale, form and design is unchanged.
- Removal or replacement of external directional signage provided the size, location and material remains the same.
- Installation of physical barriers or traps to enable vegetation protection and management of vermin such as rats, mice and possums.
Gardening, trees and plants- The processes of gardening including mowing, pruning, mulching, fertilising, removal of dead or diseased plants (excluding trees), replanting of existing garden beds, disease and weed control and maintenance to care for existing plants.
- Removal of tree seedlings and suckers without the use of herbicides.
- Management and maintenance of trees including formative and remedial pruning, removal of deadwood and pest and disease control.
- Emergency tree works to maintain public safety provided the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria is notified within seven days of the removal or works occurring.
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CLIFTON HILL RAILWAY STATION COMPLEXVictorian Heritage Register H1668
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CLIFTON HILL PRIMARY SCHOOLVictorian Heritage Register H1621
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FORMER UNITED KINGDOM HOTELVictorian Heritage Register H0684
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'Boonderoo', House and OutbuildingsGreater Bendigo City
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'Riverslea' houseGreater Bendigo City
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1 Adam StreetYarra City
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Tours involving this place See all tours
13/09/16
Old Colonists Homes - Former North Fitzroy Post Office - Former North Fitzroy Electric Railway Substation - Former United Kingdom Hotel - Anz Bank - York House - Fitzroy Cricket Ground Grandstand - Porter Prefabricated Iron Store
Public contributions
Tours involving this place See all tours
13/09/16
Old Colonists Homes - Former North Fitzroy Post Office - Former North Fitzroy Electric Railway Substation - Former United Kingdom Hotel - Anz Bank - York House - Fitzroy Cricket Ground Grandstand - Porter Prefabricated Iron Store