Pyrmont Heritage Conservation Area

Item details


Name of item:	Pyrmont Heritage Conservation Area
Type of item:	Conservation Area
Category:	Other - Urban Area
Location:	Lat: -33.8727545073343 Long: 151.195154661392
Primary address:	Bulwara, Union, Pyrmont Streets, Pyrmont, NSW 2009
Parish:	St Andrew
County:	Cumberland
Local govt. area:	Sydney

Boundary:

It is proposed to reduce the boundary of the conservation to exclude 318 Harris Street and extend the boundary to include heritage items at 91-93 and 18-22 Union Street.

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Bulwara, Union, Pyrmont Streets	Pyrmont	Sydney	St Andrew	Cumberland	Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	The area dates from one of the key period of development of Pyrmont as a direct result of subdivision of the Harris and Macarthur Estates. It is a good example of a mid to late Victorian working class community consisting of both residential and commercial buildings which are largely intact and make a positive contribution to the streetscape. Heritage listed Federation buildings also represent a key period of development in the area linked to the widening of Pyrmont Bridge Road.
	Date significance updated: 31 May 21
	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:	Various
Builder/Maker:	Various
Construction years:	1860-1890
Physical description:	This area comprises predominantly 19th Century two storey residential and commercial streetscapes, of diverse and substantially intact character of the 1860s and 1870s development of Pyrmont. Highlights are corner hotels (The Dunkirk, Quarryman's Hotel, and institutional buildings such as the former Pyrmont Post Office). Demonstrates evidence of the consolidation of the expansion of the Victorian working class population with large blocks of terraces on Bulwara, Mount and Harris Streets, adjacent to the main retail node at Harris, Miller and Union Streets. The area includes shops, hotel, bank and Post Office centred on a public square (Union Square) which is the main pedestrian entry to the area from the City. The area features sandstone kerbing, sandstone cutting and stairs cut into rock that repeat themes throughout the Pyrmont Peninsular. Amongst the Victorian structures are key Federation buildings constructed due to the widening of Pyrmont Bridge Road. Street Ratings Bulwara Road - east side only within heritage conservation area - narrow street dominated by long, intact rows of simple mid-Victorian terraces, 1 and 2 storeys. Electricity substation at 20-28 breaks continuity of the street. Street Rating: A Experiment Street - west side only - typical narrow rear terrace lane behind shops & terraces fronting Harris Street. Features garages and garage/studios. No street tree planting. Street Rating: A Gipps Street - section within heritage conservation area only - wide street terminated by park at Harris Street end, dominated by imposing Federation warehouses on the corner of Pyrmont Street. Street Rating: A Harris Street - section within heritage conservation area only - wide, heavily trafficked street with substantial street trees (London Planes), dominated by Victorian terraces, Victorian shops and Victorian commercial buildings and hotels, with little modern infill. The two hotels at the corner of Harris St and Pyrmont Bridge Road are an imposing entry to the area, and the name of The Quarryman's Hotel evokes the area's history. The 2 long rows of terraces between Gipps and Allen Streets demonstrate mid-Victorian speculative working class housing. Street Rating: A Little Mount Street: narrow street dominated by long rows of predominantly single storey Victorian terraces on the western side, garaging to rear of Harris Street shops on the eastern side. The landcape character of Little Mount Street is important for the hewn stone rocks faces and steps that were necessary to form the roadway and give access to the rears of the Harris Street properties. The rock face and steps repeat themes throughout the Pyrmont Peninsular. The excavated rock face and the carved stone steps to the rear of the properties fronting Harris Street are a consistent and unique feature of Little Mount Street formed as part of the construction of Little Mount Street in the 1880s. The feature still remains in part at recurring intervals along the length of the street including at Nos 139,141,143,147, 151,153, 155, 163, part of 167, 171 & 173. Historically significance for providing clear evidence of the mid to late 19th century form of residential subdivision in Pyrmont. Aesthetically they have a unique place in continuing to define the form and character of Little Mount Street and contribute to its streetscape distinctiveness. Street Rating: A Miller Street - section at east end only within the heritage conservation area - wide street containing medium sized street trees, intact row of Victorian Filigree terraces/Victorian corner shop from 81-105 Miller Street. Street Rating: A Paternoster Row - narrow, laneway width street with no street tree planting. On the eastern side the street is characterised by the rear of shop sites fronting Pyrmont Street, and several residential infill developments (18-20 and 26-28 Paternoster Row). On the western side there are 2 storey mid-Victorian terraces at 1, 3-21, and 23-25 Paternoster Row at the northern end, and the rear of shops fronting onto Harris Street. Modern commercial building at southeastern corner (26-32 Pyrmont Bridge Road). One detracting 3 storey residential infill development has been constructed at 31 Paternoster Row. Street Rating: B Pyrmont Bridge Road - section within Heritage Conservation Area only - wide, curving, heavily trafficked street with some medium street tree plantings. Dominated by large Federation warehouse at 137 Pyrmont St corner, and corner hotels to Harris Street (The Dunkirk and Quarryman's Hotels) and park to south corner Harris St. Street Rating: A Pyrmont Street - wide, heavily trafficked street with substantial street trees (London planes) dominated by relatively intact rows of Victorian Filigree terraces. Street Rating: A Union Street from Pyrmont Street to Harris Street - dominated by mid to early Victorian shops and terraces, many sandstone and imposing. Anchored at western end by Union Square (public plaza) and prominent World War I memorial, and the imposing former Pyrmont Post Office. The street is the main pedestrian entry to the area from the city, leading directly off the Pyrmont pedestrian bridge. Street Rating: A
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	In good condition with a high degree of original fabric intact and high potential for restoration.
	Date condition updated:17 Mar 05
Modifications and dates:	Was listed on SLEP2005. At current listing,minor changes are made, heritage buildings at cnr Union St and Pyrmont St are included but 318 Harris St is excluded.
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:	Mixed Uses
Former use:	Mixed Uses

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 Gadigal and Wangal bands of the Eora. There is no written record of the name of the language spoken and currently there are debates as whether the coastal peoples spoke a separate language "Eora" or whether this was actually a dialect of the Dharug language. Remnant bushland in places like Blackwattle Bay retain elements of traditional plant, bird and animal life, including fish and rock oysters.

With the invasion of the Sydney region, the Gadigal and Wangal people were decimated but there are descendants still living in Sydney today. All cities include many immigrants in their population. Aboriginal people from across the state have been attracted to suburbs such as Pyrmont, Balmain, Rozelle, Glebe and Redfern since the 1930s. Changes in government legislation in the 1960s provided freedom of movement enabling more Aboriginal people to choose to live in Sydney.

(Information sourced from Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani )

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 1850’s 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 1880’s 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 (1960’s).

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)-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Land tenure-Activities and processes for identifying forms of ownership and occupancy of land and water, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal	(none)-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Living in the City-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Development-
5. Working-Working	Labour-Activities associated with work practises and organised and unorganised labour	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The area has historic significance as it dates from the key period of development of Pyrmont and the subdivision of grand estates into residential and commercial development in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Meets criteria at a local level.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The area contains prominent elements in the streetscape and extensive intact cohesive examples mid to late Victorian residential terrace rows and commercial buildings demonstrating typical key elements of the style. The conservation area also encompasses significant Federation buildings, some of which are listed heritage items. The landscape character of Little Mount Street is important for the hewn stone rocks faces and steps that were necessary to form the roadway and give access to the rears of the Harris Street properties. The rock face and steps repeat themes throughout the Pyrmont Peninsular. Meets criteria at a local level.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	The area is a representative example of a mid Victorian commercial/residential working class community in Pyrmont and the inner suburbs of Sydney. Meets criteria at a local level.
Integrity/Intactness:	High
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:

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 1.Protection of Significance (a) Subdivision Retain Victorian subdivision - Do not allow amalgamation of sites (b) Key Period Significant (Contributory) Development: - Retain one storey Victorian terraces - Retain two storey Victorian terraces - Retain Federation Public Buildings - Retain Victorian retail/commercial buildings - Retain Federation warehouses and hotels - Retain small scale of early development - Maintain building alignments (generally to street alignment or with only slight setbacks) - Retain form - Retain finishes and details - Reinstate verandahs, balconies, front cast iron palisade fences, lost detail - Protect intact rear lanes (Experiment Street, Paternoster Row) -Retain access ways of moderate and high integrity. -Retain early features that are a result of the early development of the area or of the subdivision of the area, including stone kerb and guttering, roadway cuttings, including the sandstone cutting and sandstone carved steps in Little Mount Street. - Additions to rear not to exceed ridge height and retain original roof form - Discourage front dormers except where already present in a terrace row c) Retail Development: - Protect and reveal the retail history Harris Street - Maintain landscape components - Reveal original fabric. Remove non original features, particularly if they conceal original detail. - Restore detail to evidence - Reconstruct new shop fronts modeled on surviving original shop fronts in the street and derived from on-site evidence. In particular original splayed recessed entrances and timber framed shop fronts. - Retain shop front prior to 1910 (generally timber) incorporating splayed recessed entrances; shop fronts - Coordinate signage - Discourage large retail chains - Encourage appropriate retail anchors - Coordinate and promote retail precincts - Avoid loss of original significant shop fronts 2. Redevelopment of Non Contributing Sites - respect scale and form of contributory development - respect building line adjacent contributory development - encourage rendered and painted finishes - encourage contemporary detail - provide landscape screening/softening - Recognise the collective precedent and impact proposals - Develop approach for sympathetic new development to enhance existing heritage character and level of detail, particularly for new development resulting from subdivision of the rear of lots fronting Harris or Pyrmont Streets fronting Paternoster Row, Little Mount Street or Experiment Street. - Respect scale and form of contributory development - Avoid flat reflective monotonous glazed façades - Avoid visual clutter: A/C, signs 3. Enhance Significance of conservation area - Maintain and enhance street planting to unify streetscape - Encourage redevelopment of detracting site at 183-187 Harris Street - Encourage render/paint finishes to detracting developments - Provide landscape screening/softening to detracting sites - Discourage reproduction of Victorian detail in contemporary development -Where early allotments fronting main streets backs onto minor streets and lanes such as Paternoster Row and Little Mount Street, discourage subdivision of these lots to from frontages to the minor streets, and further development to the rear of these lots must respect the scale and character of the minor streets including the landsape character. 4. Car Parking - do not allow car parking access from the street - Generally allow parking access from rear lanes. - Reduce impact of existing car parking access from street 5. Landscaping - Encourage trees at the end of streets to reinforce landscape vistas and fra views. -Conserve hewn rock face and steps to rear of Harris Street terraces along Little Mount Street. 5. View Protection - Reinforce street end vistas with street trees - Encourage and develop appropriate distant vistas 6. Heritage Items - Protect Heritage items and their settings within the heritage conservation area.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date
Local Environmental Plan	Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012	C52	14 Dec 12
Local Environmental Plan - Lapsed	SLocal Environmental Plan2005		30 Nov 05
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	Anglin Associates with Ashton	1989	"Thematic History", Pyrmont and Ultimo Heritage Study Final Report, Vol. 2, AHC Interim database listing No 100653
Written	Anita Heiss		Aboriginal People and Place, Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City

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:	2424801
File number:	S047440

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