Former CSR Tablet House including interiors

Item details


Name of item:	Former CSR Tablet House including interiors
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Commercial
Category:	Warehouse/storage area
Primary address:	29 Refinery Drive, Pyrmont, NSW 2009
Local govt. area:	Sydney

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
29 Refinery Drive	Pyrmont	Sydney			Primary Address
60 Bowman Street	Pyrmont	Sydney			Alternate Address

Statement of significance:


	The former Tablet House is an early 20th century industrial building which is associated with the former Colonial Sugar Refinery Company ( CSR) , an institution of national significance. It has an unusual structural system which combines a perimeter steel frame, cast iron lintels integral with windows, and external brick walls. The internal structure is also of significance , the cast iron columns apparently part of a standard component system. The former Tablet house is a good example of the Federation warehouse style and is visually prominent on the former CSR site, and despite the loss of its equipment retains some ability to demonstrate its former use as a factory for the familiar sugar products golden syrup and loaf sugar.
	Date significance updated: 08 Jul 19
	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


Construction years:	1908-1908
Physical description:	The building is constructed of unpainted common brickwork walls and painted cast iron windows. The lintels above the window openings are also of iron and are incorporated into the windows. On the western side, two openings originally had sliding doors to a former external stair; at ground level four former windows have been altered to doors. Two windows on the eastern side have been replaced with timber framed windows. Many of the windows have been reglazed from the inside (most of the original glazing was from the outside of the window frames). The roof consists of two gable ended sections with a large cast iron box gutter between them. It is clad with corrugated metal sheeting and there are two brick corbelled chimneys on the southern side of the building. The main entrance doors at ground floor level were of timeber sheet over with steel on the outside. In the eastern walls, later openings had been made to connect to adjacent buildings, most now demolished. Internally significant elements including original steel, wrought iron and cast iron structural members, including columns, beams and decorative truss brackets, original timber flooring and roof structures and remnants of orginal/early fabric and machinery . The building was adaptively converted to commercial as part of Jacksons Landing Development. c 2000. As part of these works, a contemporary addition was added to the eastern side of the building providing entry to thee building from Refinery Drive, and stair and lift access to each floor as well toilets.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	In good condition - was efurbished and restored c 2000.
	Date condition updated:11 Aug 06
Modifications and dates:	1908 and c2000.
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:	Commercial
Former use:	Industrial

History

Historical notes:

This site forms part of the land of the Gadigal people, the traditional custodians of land within the City of Sydney council boundaries. For information about the Aboriginal history of the local area see the City’s Barani website: http://www.sydneybarani.com.au/

The first land grants were made in 1794 to John Malone (24 acres) and William Mitchell (18 acres) and in 1795 to Thomas Jones (55 acres). John Macarthur acquired the portion originally granted to Thomas Jones in 1799 and this eventually became the Pyrmont Estate but remained largely undeveloped. The area was named in 1806 after a popular German spa near Hanover. Following Macarthur’s death in 1834, the first plans for subdivision were proposed by his son Edward in London 1836. These were deemed unsuitable and a second plan of 101 lots was devised in 1839. By 1843, most lots south of John Street and some to the north had been sold or leased and developed for residential use. John William Russell, a Sydney shipbuilder, purchased 2 lots fronting Pyrmont Bay and constructed a shipyard, and similarly shipbuilder Thomas Chowne leased lots fronting Johnstons Bay. In 1844 Pyrmont was incorporated into the City of Sydney and the early 1850s saw a number of major developments in Pyrmont and also in Ultimo to a lesser extent.

In 1853, the Sydney Railway Company resumed 14½ acres of the Ultimo Estate for a railway line to and with a terminus at Darling Harbour. Also in 1853 Charles Saunders purchased land from the Harris family for a sandstone quarry on the northwest side of the peninsula. This developed into a substantial operation including a causeway to Darling Island and supplying stone for the construction of a number of major buildings in Sydney including the University of Sydney, Colonial Secretary’s Building, Lands Department, General Post Office, and other buildings in Melbourne, New Zealand, Fiji and Canada. Other industries established in the area at the time included an iron foundry. The first Pyrmont Bridge c1858 (a timber toll bridge from Market Street) stimulated further development in the area. The first school in the area located in Mount Street was opened in 1858 and around the same time a Police Station, Presbyterian and Catholic Churches were established. A bridge was constructed in from Pyrmont to Glebe across Johnstons Bay c1860.There was significant industrial growth in the area in the 1870’s including the City Iron Works and the Colonial Sugar Refinery Company (CSR) in 1878. By the early 1880s Union Square was established as a commercial centre and by 1900 most residential development had ceased by which time the Pyrmont and Ultimo Power Houses had opened and the new Pyrmont Bridge had been constructed. Most development in the 20th century was commercial and industrial and included additional woolstores, Pyrmont Incinerator (1934) , flour mills (1940), additional power stations (1955) and the Government Printing Office (1960s).

The Colonial Sugar Refinery (CSR) was established in January 1855. Its refinery operations commenced in Sydney during that year using the former Brisbane Distillery in Chippendale. In 1870 the company established ist first sugar mills on the Macleay and Clarence Rivers in northern NSW, and then expanded into Queensland and Fiji in 1881. The Melbourne refinery was built in 1874 and others followed in Auckland (1883). Adelaide (1891) and Brisbane (1893). By 1900 CSR had extablished a near monopoly on the Australasian sugar market with 5 refineries and 13 raw sugar mills.

The former Tablet House was designed in August 1909 by CSR's own engineers which generally shows the building in its current form. The building was used in the production of sugar in tablet form, tablet and golden syrup packing and for storage purposes.. The building was altered over time as requirements and processes changed.

The building was adaptively converted for commercial uses as part of the Jacksons Landing development in around 2000 and an addition on the eastern side of the building constructed to acommodate stairs, a lift and toilets.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Industry-Activities associated with the manufacture, production and distribution of goods	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The building has historic significance as it dates from the key period of development of CSR and demonstrates the manufacturing of Australian sugar products which was of National significance in the development of Australia.
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	The building is associated with CSR and the development of the sugar industry in Australia.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The building has aesthetic significance as a good example of a Federation warehouse and demonstrates considerable technical innovation in its structural system.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	The building is rare.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	The building is a representative example of a Federation warehouse building found in the inner suburbs of Sydney.
Integrity/Intactness:	High externally
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. The 1998 Conservation Management should be reviewed and updated prior to major works being carried out or before any works or change of use which is likely to result in changes that could impact on significant fabric and spaces. A Heritage Assessment and Heritage Impact Statement, or a Conservation Management Plan, should be prepared for the building prior to any major works being undertaken. 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 interiors are to remain largely unobstructed. Any partitions are to be designed to be reversible. Significant original /early features of the building including including joinery, timber flooring, fireplace breasts and the internal iron and streel structure should be retained and conserved. Any alterations and additions 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. All conservation, adaptive reuse and future development should be undertaken in accordance with the Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance (The Burra Charter). New tenancies or uses for the building are to complement and enhance the internal and external character of the building by conserving and interpreting significant fabric and spatial qualities. Archival photographic recording, in accordance with Heritage Council guidelines, should be undertaken before major changes. A cyclical maintenance plan should be prepared for the building.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012	I1268	14 Dec 12
Heritage study

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Pyrmont/Ultimo Heritage Study	1990		Anglin Associates		No

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written	Anita Heiss		Aboriginal People and Place, Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City	View detail
Written	Department of Environment and Heritage	1998	Australian Heritage Database
Written	Orwell & Peter Phillips	1998	Conservation Management Plan

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:	2424792

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