Former Police Station Buildings including interiors

Item details


Name of item:	Former Police Station Buildings including interiors
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Law Enforcement
Category:	Police station
Primary address:	701-703 Bourke Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Parish:	Alexandria
County:	Cumberland
Local govt. area:	Sydney

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
701-703 Bourke Street	Surry Hills	Sydney	Alexandria	Cumberland	Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	The former Bourke Street Lockup is a small scale public building of Walter Liberty Vernon, the New South Wales Government Architect. The original fabric is substantial intact and subsequent alterations in 1979 have generally respected the original floor plan and building form. The architectural detailing of the Bourke Street façade demonstrate Vernon’s interest the principles of the Arts and Crafts movement’s use of materials and the then though fleeting popularity of Neo-Romanesque style. Built on a site of double typical terrace allotment width, Vernon’s design of the façade skilfully combines the scale of a small public building to the established nineteenth century typology of a typical Sydney terrace houses. The building makes a considerable architectural contribution to the setting of Bourke Street and adjacent terrace houses through careful use of materials, controlled scale, roof form and details. Although enjoying mixed contemporary esteem in its original use police detention or, after 1979, as an alcohol and drug advisory centre, the former lockup has played an important historical role in the development of the social structure of Surry Hills, and especially in serving the needs of serious social problems.
	Date significance updated: 18 Jul 03
	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


Designer/Maker:	Walter Liberty Vernon
Physical description:	Single storey brick and sandstone Federation Romanesque style building. The building was built as an infill between double storey Victorian terrace houses. Though the front eave is lower than the two neighbouring houses, the use of stone and large arches and entry demonstrate its former public use. The building features face brick wall articulated by rough stone piers and entry arch. The roof is clad with slate and the ridge is capped by terracotta embellishments. Tall chimneys stands on the apexes of the gables. The doors and windows are timber framed. At the rear on Alexander Lane is a single storey structure with a face brick blank wall. The building contains a charge room and a instruction class room in the front under the main roof. a series of cells loaded on both side of a central corridor and 3 excercise yards. The main layout and main fabric remain intact.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	The building has been converted into a residence. The major layout and main fabric are retained. A new front fence has been added.
Modifications and dates:	1979 -- enclosure of the former airing or excercise yards at the west part of complex to provide kitchen and meeting area; 2012--conversion to a private dwelling.
Further information:	Heritage Inventory sheets are often not comprehensive, and should be regarded as a general guide only. Inventory sheets are based on information available, and often do not include the social history of sites and buildings. Inventory sheets are constantly updated by the City as further information becomes available. An inventory sheet with little information may simply indicate that there has been no building work done to the item recently: it does not mean that items are not significant. Further research is always recommended as part of preparation of development proposals for heritage items, and is necessary in preparation of Heritage Impact Assessments and Conservation Management Plans, so that the significance of heritage items can be fully assessed prior to submitting development applications.


Current use:	Residential
Former use:	Police Station

History

Historical notes:

The "Eora people" was the name given to the coastal Aborigines around Sydney. Central Sydney is therefore often referred to as "Eora Country". Within the City of Sydney local government area, the traditional owners are the Cadigal and Wangal bands of the Eora.

Early land grants were made to Joseph Foveaux 105 acres in 1793, John Palmer was granted 70 acres in 1794 and Alexander Donaldson was granted 25 acres in 1795. By 1830 all crown land had passed to private ownership by grant and thereafter by sale. Palmer by 1814 had consolidated his land by acquiring Foveaux’s and Donaldson’s land however, mounting debts forced the sale of his land.

Palmers land was subdivided by Surveyor General Meehan and auctioned off in late 1814. Edward Riley began buying parcels of lands that had originally comprised Palmer’s estate. He committed suicide in 1825 and his estate was under legal proceedings till the mid 1840s.

F.W. Unwin’s estate in 1829 was subdivided and sold a proved to be successful. Citizens petitioned the government and Bourke Street was formed. The growth in population in Surry Hills brought on the need for a primary school. The school was opened in 1884 with the Bourke Street Lockup opening in 1895.

The construction of detention facility was part of an overall government programme to provide adeqaute police and court buildings throughout New South Wales.In 1895, the Bourke Street Polce Lock-up, along with other lock-ups designed by Vernon's office were built in Kogarah, Rockdable in the Sydney metropolitan area and at Penrith and Singleton.Other polcie stations and courthouses were built at Argyle Street The Rocks, Darlington, Mathoura and Tarago. The original plan of the Bourke Street Lock-up appears to be identical to Marrrickville designed by the same architect. department of Police records describe the building consisting of a " charge room, instruction class room, 8 cells and 3 Exercise Yards" and built of "stone, brick, slate and rion roof, the original cost of the building in 1895 was 3200 pounds.

Sunsequant alterations and reparis were carried out until recent times. Toliets and sanitary conveniences were installed in the cells in 1916 for a cost of 138 pounds. The fist apparent change of use to part of the building was conversion of a cell for storage of Polce Records in 1924. By 1927 all cells were used for the storage of old departmental records.

After the outbreak of the WWII the use of the building was requisitioned by the Provost Marshall in December 1939. The lock-up was occupied by the Military Authorities by virtue of Regulation 54, national Security General Regulations. The United States Army subsequently took up residence and moved out in November 1942.

Police functions returned to the Lock-up after the war. The building was briefly occupied by Women Police during 1947-1948. For the following decade the Lock-up appears to have been languished unused intil August 1958 when the Police School Lecturing Section took up residence, remaining there for nearly a decade. Thereafter it was briefly occupied by the Police Breath Analysis Section.

In 1979, the Lock-up was transferred to the NSW Department of Health and operated as the Bourke Street Drug Advisory Service.

In 2011 the building was transferred to private ownership and in 2013 the building was converted into a residence.

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	This building was one of many lock ups built in the widening program to provide adequate police and court buildings throughout NSW. Dating from 1895 and built on Bourke Street which is dominant by terrace dwellings, it demonstrates the law enforcement facility establishment in the developed areas at the turn of the century.
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	The building was designed by Walter Liberty Vernon, NSW government architect.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The building facade presents Neo-Roemanseque style. The use of slate roof, brickwork, stonework and language of large arches makes the building a high-quality architecture on Victorian terrace dorminant Bourke Street. it is an impressive public buildings in a traditonal residential area.
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	The building was designed and used as a lock-up for many years. In the 1970s and until recent, the building was used by NSW Drug Advisory Service. The service provided assistance for public' health and wellbeings.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	It is a good example of a public building designed by the well-known government architect and built at the end of the Victorian period.
Integrity/Intactness:	The original fabric of the former lockup is generally intact.
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:

The building should be retained and conserved. A heritage conservation management plan has been prepared by Trover Howells. Though the building ceased being used as a public health facility when the CMP was prepared, the principles and fabric management policies still apply to the building. Any major alteration works should be accompanied with a Heritage Impact Statement. There shall be no vertical additions to the building and no alterations to the façade of the building other than to reinstate original features. The principal room layout and planning configuration as well as significant internal original features including ceilings, cornices, joinery, flooring and fireplaces should be retained and conserved. Any additions and alterations should be confined to the rear in areas of less significance, should not be visibly prominent and shall be in accordance with the relevant planning controls.The original use and history of the building is to be interpreted.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012	I1454	14 Dec 12
Heritage study

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
South Sydney Heritage Study	1993		Tropman & Tropman Architects		Yes

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written	Anita Heiss		Aboriginal People and Place, Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City
Written	Rebivamen Property Regeneration	2012	Heritage Impact Assessment--former police station 703 Bourke Street Surry Hills Residential Adaptive Reuse
Written	Trevor Howells	1998	Conservation Management Plan - 703 Bourke Street Surry Hills

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

(Click on thumbnail for full size image and image details)

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	2420486

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