Central Coast Council Administration Building (Gosford Office)

Item details


Name of item:	Central Coast Council Administration Building (Gosford Office)
Other name/s:	Former Gosford City Council Administration Building
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Government and Administration
Category:	Other - Government & Administration
Primary address:	49 Mann Street, Gosford, NSW 2250
Local govt. area:	Central Coast

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
49 Mann Street	Gosford	Central Coast			Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	In the Gosford City area, a rare example of a late 20th century Brutalism style office building - post 1960. The podium levels are generally internationalist in approach, in their horizontality and proportions. The tower, more brutal, utilises a thinly expressed vertical frame, forward of a strong horizontal banding of dark frames and glass with spandrels of pre-cast concrete, with exposed aggregate finish. The footprint provides a public plaza and civic context, setting the tower back from the street. It is not exceptional when assessed against state or national examples. It is a dominant building. The site however is historically significant for the former Council Chambers building in the Art Deco style built 1930 and demolished for the construction of the current building. A bronze plaque in the garden bed marks the significance of this earlier building.
	Date significance updated: 30 Apr 13
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Physical description:	The building exhibits a colour similar to an orange sandstone, from a distance. The podium levels are generally internationalist in approach, in their horizontality and proportions. The tower, more brutal, utilises a thinly expressed vertical frame, forward of a strong horizontal banding of dark frames and glass with spandrels of pre-cast concrete, with exposed aggregate finish.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	The building is well maintained and appears to be in good condition
	Date condition updated:21 Jul 14
Modifications and dates:	Various internal refurbishments and modifications to the ground level landscape and entry areas.
Further information:	Further research is warranted into the architectural origins of the work and the former Council building on the same site.

History

Historical notes:

Until European settlement, the area around Gosford was inhabited by the Guringai peoples, who were principally coastal-dwellers and the Darkinjung people that inhabited the hinterland. Along with the other land around the Hawkesbury River estuary, the Brisbane Water district was explored during the early stages of the settlement of Sydney. In the early 19th century some pioneering European settlers began occupying the land, for timber-cutting (mainly ironbark and Australian red cedar), lime production and grazing.[citation needed]

Gosford itself was explored by Governor Phillip between 1788 and 1789. The area was difficult to access and settlement did not start before 1823. By the late 19th century the agriculture in the region was diversifying, with market gardens and citrus orchards occupying the rich soil left after the timber harvest. The road between Hawkesbury (near Pittwater) and Brisbane Water was a cart wheel track even in 1850.

Convicts once lived and worked in the Gosford area. In 1825, Gosford's population reached 100, of which 50% were convicts.

East Gosford was the first centre of settlement. Gosford was named in 1839 after Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford a friend of the then Governor of New South Wales George Gipps.

In 1887, the rail link to Sydney was completed, requiring a bridge over the Hawkesbury River and a tunnel through the sandstone ridge west of Woy Woy. The introduction of this transport link and then the Pacific Highway in 1930 accelerated the development of the region.

Gosford became a town in 1885 and was declared a municipality in 1886.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
7. Governing-Governing	Government and Administration-Activities associated with the governance of local areas, regions, the State and the nation, and the administration of public programs - includes both principled and corrupt activities.	Council-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The site is valued locally for providing accommodation in successive premises for local government of the area.
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	The site is associated with Gosford City Council and the former related organisations
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The architecture reflects the brutalism evident in the mid 1970's with the work of McConnell Smith and Johnston, exploring pre-cast concrete modelled facades in the central core office tower format
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	Such a building is rare outside the capital cities of Australia.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	The building is a fair example of the type generally erected in metropolitan and capital cities in the late 1970s.
Integrity/Intactness:	Good/Good
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Recommended management:


	Maintain the heritage listing while an adaptive re-use of the site could be feasible given the level of historic and aesthetic significance.

Recommendations

Management Category	Description	Date Updated
Statutory Instrument	List on a Local Environmental Plan (LEP)	21 Jul 14
Recommended Management	No Action, follow existing management contols	21 Jul 14

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date
Local Environmental Plan			21 Dec 07
Local Environmental Plan		26	01 Jan 04
Local Environmental Plan		26	21 Dec 12
Local Environmental Plan	Gosford Local Environmental Plan 2014	39	11 Feb 14

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Gosford City Council Draft LEP Heritage Items	2004	26	Suters Architects		Yes
Gosford Community Based Heritage Study	2013		David Scobie Architects Pty Ltd		Yes

References, internet links & images

None

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	1620245

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