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HARCOURT RAILWAY PRECINCT (MURRAY VALLEY RAILWAY, MELBOURNE TO ECHUCA)
SYMES ROAD HARCOURT, MOUNT ALEXANDER SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Register
HARCOURT RAILWAY PRECINCT (MURRAY VALLEY RAILWAY, MELBOURNE TO ECHUCA) SOHE 2008
HARCOURT RAILWAY PRECINCT (MURRAY VALLEY RAILWAY, MELBOURNE TO ECHUCA) SOHE 2008
HARCOURT RAILWAY PRECINCT (MURRAY VALLEY RAILWAY, MELBOURNE TO ECHUCA) SOHE 2008
1 harcourt railway precinct harcourt side view apr1998
H1785 harcourt plan
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Statement of Significance

[See also H1433 Rail Bridge over Barkers Creek Harcourt]

What is significant?
The Harcourt railway precinct forms part of the Murray Valley Railway (Melbourne to Echuca line). Opened in five stages from February 1859 to September 1864, the Murray Valley Railway was the largest of the Colony's first two main trunk lines. The inability of the line's original private promoters - the Melbourne, Mount Alexander and Murray River Company - to raise sufficient funds to construct the line, led to the government purchasing the company and embracing a public railway system. The Government's decision to construct the line in 1856 was accompanied by the formation of the Victorian Railways Department. The building of the line during the early 1860s reflected the strategic economic issues of the day: servicing the important goldfields of Castlemaine and Bendigo, and capturing the Murray River and Riverina trade for the Port of Melbourne. With a labour force of more than 6,000 men, the Melbourne to Echuca line was the Colony's largest capital works project of its time. The line is still used today for public transport and freight services and comprises a very large number of structures and facilities of varying ages, conditions and degrees of operational and business significance.

How is it significant?
The Harcourt railway precinct is of historical and scientific importance to the State of Victoria.

Why is it significant?
The Harcourt railway precinct (comprising the Midland Highway rail-overbridge, Vicks viaduct and associated embankment) is historically and scientifically significant as an integral part of the railway and is an important representative sample of one of the earliest and grandest capital works projects in Victorian history. The identified features comprising the precinct are all substantially intact and provide a crucial reminder of the adoption of English engineering and architectural standards and the role of the Victorian Railway Department in developing the Colony's engineering expertise.

Vicks viaduct has three main spans and is characterised by its deep arches and substantial abutments. Constructed of local quarried stone, Vicks viaduct is a rare example in Victoria of the use of granite for bridge building. The viaduct is a significant community landmark and its aesthetic qualities have made it the subject of many sketches, photographs and postcards. The solid granite structure is characteristic of the Harcourt section of the line, and the widespread use of local granite (from quarries on nearby Mount Alexander) on the line was a pioneering force behind the development of Harcourt's quarrying industry.

Vicks viaduct, along with the associated embankment and adjoining rail-overbridge,
are excellent examples of the range of materials, building techniques and design types used on the Kyneton to Bendigo section of the line. The precinct makes an important contribution to defining the character of the Victorian railway network.

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    • Permit Exemptions

      HARCOURT RAILWAY PRECINCT (MURRAY VALLEY RAILWAY, MELBOURNE TO ECHUCA) - 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:

      General Conditions:
      1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object.
      2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of alterations that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such alteration shall cease and the Executive Director shall be notified as soon as possible.
      3. If there is a conservation policy and plan approved by the Executive Director, all works shall be in accordance with it.
      4. Nothing in this declaration prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions.
      5. Nothing in this declaration exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authority where applicable.


      Rail-track: repairs to and replace of track and sleepers are permit exempt
      Signalling Equipment: repairs to, replacement of, renewal of and alterations to any electric or electronic signalling equipment along the track is permit exempt.
      Tunnels & Culverts: Repairs to the existing structure where material is replaced like for like is permit exempt. Emergency work occasioned by collapse, flooding or collision is permit exempt provided that the work reinstates to the pre incident condition.
      (Note; The re-lining of culverts and tunnels by cementing is not permit exempt)

      Permit Exemption Policy

      HARCOURT RAILWAY PRECINCT (MURRAY VALLEY RAILWAY, MELBOURNE TO ECHUCA) - Permit Exemption Policy

      Permit Exemptions Policy
      Permit Exemptions are granted on the basis that the works exempted do not affect the cultural significance of the site.

Public contributions

Note: Developments may span multiple time periods
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