Early Victorian 1840-1860
Spurred by the discovery of gold in the 1850s and the immense expansion of Australia’s pastoral and agricultural industries, Australia’s cities underwent an enormous and rapid urban transformation. Both Melbourne (Naarm) and Sydney (Gadigal) began as small port towns and expanded into major global metropolises by 1860.
The Georgian and Regency style were the basis of most post-contact architecture in Australia, beginning from the early years of European settlement. The Victorian Georgian style is generally defined by its emphasis on symmetry and sensible proportions. The transition into the Victorian period brought more sophisticated masonry construction techniques and a more widespread use of slate tile and corrugated iron replacing the crude construction style and flammable timber shingle that characterised the Old Colonial Georgian style. Local brick and stone walling was often left exposed and usually painted over in the late Victorian period. The corrugated-iron bullnose verandah became a hallmark of many Georgian residences. The popularity of these materials also stemmed from their portability and ease of construction, which was favorable for Australia’s rapidly growing towns.
The Regency style differed from the Georgian style in its simple, elegant rectangular proportions, with the hipped roofline often tucked neatly behind a raised parapet. Stonework was usually smooth-polished with quoining to the window openings. The skillion concave verandah was tucked neatly under the eaves and supported by slender timber or cast-iron posts. The use of machine tools for shaping timber joinery led to the production of turned verandah posts that resemble colonnades and decorative verandah joinery. Whilst verandah posts were typically timber, the mid 1800s also saw the introduction of delicate cast-ironwork, which peaked in the Late Victorian period. The typical Colonial twelve-pane window (using glass imported from Britain) gradually became a thing of the past by the 1860s, with the increase in local glass manufacturing and growing popularity of stained glass.
The intent of this article is to give a brief survey of some of the noteworthy Early Victorian homesteads, townhouses and worker’s cottages (and the people who lived in them) that defined this period of rapid change in Australia’s history.
The Country Homestead
The country homestead is a valuable chapter in Australia’s heritage. In the early Victorian period the homestead was the home of the local aristocracy and served as a foundation for rural community life and social activity. Sometimes the homesteader would build a church and a school on his extensive property and invite local families to attend, supporting the dispersed population of new settlers in the early phases of colonisation. These wealthy pastoralists in early Victorian Australia were sometimes referred to as “squattocracy” as they initially occupied land without permission, later to become legitimate powerful pastrolists with immense political influence. The pastoral “squatting” rush and the rapid spread of sheep farming in the 1830s had a devastating effect on traditional Aboriginal hunting grounds and agricultural systems, with introduced hard-hooved livestock mowing down native croplands and destroying managed wetlands and irrigation systems.
The style of these homesteads varied greatly, evolving from the temporary shelters of the Colonial period to the elegant masonry structures we see today, fitted out with restrained detailing, turned timber joinery, gas lit chandeliers and staffed by a flock of servants. Gardens showcased exotic plants with formal geometric layouts and meandering paths, contrasting with the unruly Australian bush. Georgian was the most pervasive style used for these early homesteads. The elegant masonry residence was often surrounded by a broad wrap around verandah, incorporated into the sweep of the main roof, which was sometimes punctured by a small dormer and a set of squat chimneys. Fenestration typically consisted of casement or French windows with louvred shutters.
Pewsey Vale was the home of important pastoralist and vigneron Joseph Gilbert, who had planted some of the earliest vines in the Barossa Valley. The Georgian style homestead was built in 1848 and extended in 1861. It is a residence of local stone construction, with a simple symmetrical form and a convex verandah incorporated into the sweep of the main hipped roof. The only form of ornamentation came in the form of timber trellis joinery to the verandah.
Tocal homestead was built around 1840 and constructed of red brick, with sandstone foundations and coining. Internally, cedar joinery, marble fireplaces and four-panel doors signalled the shift to early Victorian style. In typical Georgian style, the twelve-paned windows to the ground floor were fitted with French louvred timber shutters.
Newstead House in Newstead, Queensland built for Scottish migrant Patrick Leslie in 1846, three years following the opening of the Moreton Bay region (Queensland) to free settlers. The structure began as a modest Georgian cottage and transformed into a sprawling homestead with a wide sweeping verandah supported by elegant turned timber posts which overlooks Brisbane river.
Barwon Grange was built in 1856 for merchant J.P O’Brien. This National Trust owned homestead is a fine example of the Picturesque Gothic style which is integrated into the decorative timber gable barge boards, finials and attic dormers.
Housing in the City
Development in the city was heavily influenced by the sudden wealth gained from the Gold Rush of the 1850s. In Melbourne, the wealthy preferred to settle in airy inner city pockets such as East Melbourne, Toorak, Hawthorn and Kew, whereas slums were concentrated in inner city pockets later to be displaced by commercial and industrial development. This period saw the introduction of building regulations, specifically those aimed at preventing the spread of fires. The Melbourne Building Act of 1849 came into effect from the beginning of 1850 and introduced the requirement for party walls between terrace rows. Under the provisions of the Act, wooden or iron buildings could only be constructed with a prescribed set-back from the adjacent buildings and from the street. During the early Victorian period, these building regulations were primarily restricted to inner city suburbs. Suburbs such as Collingwood, Richmond, Port Melbourne and Emerald Hill sought to evade such strict building regulations. The rapid, chaotic growth of the Gold Rush also meant that “jerry building” was common outside of the immediate inner city.
Mansions and Town Houses
A survey of noteworthy early Victorian residences would not be complete without a mention of Como House. This elegant town mansion, owned by the National Trust, was built in 1847 and is an unusual combination of Regency and Classical Italianate style. It is characterised by a stuccoed brick, symmetrical design and a grand two storey verandah with early cast-iron detailing that wraps around the building and a an Italianate parapeted tower. The original owner of the property was Eyre Williams, a lawyer and later Judge of the first Supreme Court of Victoria. The property was subsequntly sold to prominent wool trader Frederick Dalgety in 1852, who added a second storey to the modest four room residence. The residence was then purchased as a “town house” in 1864 by wealthy pastoralist Charles Henry Armytage and remained in the Armytage family for 95 years. The Armytage’s prosperity, is still on full display throughout the residence. Social hierarchy was enhanced through the layout of the mansion, with outbuildings containing a kitchen/servant’s wing and laundry/coach house separated from the main building. Although the estate has reduced singificantly from the original 54.5 acres, much of the original garden layout has been retained and the residence remains one of the most significant mansions in Melbourne.
Ayers House in Adelaide was constructed in 1855 and initially designed by Sir George Strickland Kingston. The mansion is an early example of the transition from Old Colonial into the more sophisticated and embellished Regency style. The homestead was extended by Ayers from a modest brick residence to a substantial bluestone mansion. The residence had opulent, hand-stencilled interiors in many of its rooms and a grand ballroom.
Townhouses in the Victorian period were generally intended for middle-class to upper-middle class citizens. Such professions included barristers, physicians, bankers, merchants, educators and artisans. Fitzroy’s iconic Royal Terrace was built in 1854 (shortly after the implementation of the Act for Regulating Buildings and Party Walls) for timber merchant John Bryant, who took advantage of the recently reserved Carlton Gardens on the opposite side of Nicholson street. It was originally intended as high-quality housing for wealthy, upper-middle class citizens and is now one of the largest surviving terraces in Melbourne of the early Victorian period. The terrace rows were constructed of bluestone quarried from Brunswick in a restrained regency style and nearly all of the fittings were imported from England.
The building that currently stands at 300 Queen street is one of Melbourne’s earliest examples of an upper-class Georgian townhouse in the CBD, built in 1849 for Lord Mayor John Thomas Smith and designed by Charles Lang. The residence was constructed of stuccoed brick on a bluestone base, with twelve-pane double-hung sash windows.
Georgian and Regency were not the only popular styles of the early Victorian period for residential architecture. This bluestone dwelling on Hotham Street, East Melbourne is a very unique example of the Picturesque Gothic style, with a steep slate-clad gabled roof punctured by dormers with ornate timber bargeboards. The dwelling was constructed in 1961 for Clement Hodgkinson the Deputy Surveyor-General and likely designed by Joseph Reed.
Another fine early example of a picturesque Gothic Revival cottage, is 596 Queensbury Street, North Melbourne. The charming residence was built in 1857-8, built for coach builder Alex Lyon. It was threatened with demolition in the 1970s.
This charming brick Regency town house in Gipps Street, East Melbourne was constructed in 1862 for the Austrian painter Eugene von Guerard. Embellishment was restricted to simple stone lintels and a parapet detailed with dentillations. Internally, the dwelling would have comprised an entry hall, four main rooms, including a drawing room divided by bifold doors and an upstairs bathroom.
These two shops and residences were built by John Bayne in 1857-1858. Engraver and lithographer Thomas Richardson and Mrs Vippond, a nurse, were among the first occupants of the residences. The bluestone rubble construction, with coining to the building edges and window openings, is remarkably intact. It is now home to the Cherry Bar.
Worker’s Cottages and Portable Homes
The humble worker’s cottage in the early Victorian era was typically a single-fronted, one to two room house. 328-330 King Street, Melbourne is a great example of the restrained Georgian influence and modest construction of Melbourne’s early years, built with cement rendered hand-made bricks. It was originally a four-room brick shop and dwelling built in 1850 and extended in the 1880s.
The Former Black Eagle Hotel is another early example, built in 1850 by William Kennon, initially as a pair of two double storey worker’s cottages. The former hotel opened in 1853, combining the two residences. This rare survivor is exemplary of the modest dwellings that were once common within the city centre. Little Lonsdale was home to the city’s poorest immigrant groups.
In the mid 1800s, North Melbourne, formerly known as Borough (later town) of Hotham, generally characterised by industrial activity and nearby abattoirs, was occupied by modest workers’ cottages and small terraced dwellings. The building that currently stands at 7-9 Leveson Street is another example of early bluestone construction, built in 1856. The rendered coining and elegant bracketed cornice to the parapet was likely added in the late 1860s.
This bluestone building on Chetwynd Street, North Melbourne is one of the municipality’s earliest surviving houses built in 1853, defined by rustic rubble basalt stone construction and a symmetrical front facade. Residences such as these predate the introduction of mechanical sawing technology. Stonework showed signs of the markings caused by the mallet and chisel, which was later refined in the 1860s. The extensive use of basalt is one of the defining characteristics of early Victorian architecture in Melbourne, falling quickly out of fashion in the Late-Victorian Period.
The two storey basalt terraces at 467 and 469 Victoria Street, West Melbourne was constructed in 1869. The terrace has associations with the Swanson family who were builders of local importance. Whilst 469 is extensively altered, 467 retains its basalt facade and simple quoining. Timber verandah frieze and posts were added following the removal of glazed verandah infill.
Amidst the 1850s Gold Rush, the shortage of housing, building materials and labour led to the importation of pre-fabricated materials from Britain. Buildings constructed of corrugated iron sheeting and timber framing were shipped from Britain and assembled in Melbourne between 1853 and 1854. The lightweight material quickly proved inadequate for Australia’s climate. There are some rare surviving examples in South Melbourne which are owned by the National Trust. These include the Abercrombie House (originally assembled in 59 Arden Street, North Melbourne) and Bellhouse House (originally assembled in 42 Moor Street, Fitzroy), the only remaining work of Edward T. Belhouse of Manchester who displayed his portable house at the Great Exhibition in 1851, held in London at the Crystal Palace.
