Earp Gillam Bond Store Precinct (under consideration to amend listing)

Item details


Name of item:	Earp Gillam Bond Store Precinct (under consideration to amend listing)
Other name/s:	Russell Offices (Stanton Catchlove Bond Store c. 1930s); Railway Reserve
Type of item:	Complex / Group
Group/Collection:	Commercial
Category:	Warehouse/storage area
Location:	Lat: -32.92667137350 Long: 151.78676804
Primary address:	16 Telford Street, Newcastle East, NSW 2300
Parish:	Newcastle
County:	Northumberland
Local govt. area:	Newcastle
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Awabakal

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
		CP/SP	44807
LOT	2	SP	44807
LOT	3	SP	44807
LOT	4	SP	44807
LOT	5	SP	44807
LOT	1	DP	619238
PART LOT	2	DP	729028
LOT	6	SP	99591
LOT	7	SP	99591

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
16 Telford Street	Newcastle East	Newcastle	Newcastle	Northumberland	Primary Address
7 Bond Street	Newcastle East	Newcastle	Newcastle	Northumberland	Alternate Address
11 Bond Street	Newcastle East	Newcastle	Newcastle	Northumberland	Alternate Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
	Private

Description


Designer/Maker:	Frederick Menkens (Earp Gillam Bond Store)
Builder/Maker:	John Straub (Earp Gillam Bond Store); James Russell (Stanton Catchlove Bond Store)
Construction years:	1886-1889
Physical description:	The Earp Gillam Bond Store is a four-storey, brick warehouse with timber beam construction built in an early federation Romanesque style. The facade is of polychromatic brick work in red and yellow, with brick pilasters topped out with a mix of composite style capitals. The two elongated side facades facing Bond Street and the former railway yards, now Foreshore Park, present a strong backdrop as a landmark for the East End of Newcastle. Each is punctuated with large arched doorways that define the three individual bays of the internal space, with arched window openings in vertical bays between. Each internal bay is defined by the alternating coloured external rendered and exposed brickwork. At the western end, the former Russell Offices is a three-storey Victorian Italianate masonry warehouse with rendered walls and symmetrical arched doorways and window openings (Dunn 2019).
	Date condition updated:17 Jan 26


Current use:	commercial offices (Earp Gillam Bond Store); private residence (Stanton Catchlove Bond Store); car park
Former use:	bond store; warehouse; auction house; colliery office; railway reserve; railway siding; good yard

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Commerce-Activities relating to buying, selling and exchanging goods and services	Storing goods for bond and customs duties-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	The Earp Gillam Bond Store Precinct may hold State significance for its strong association with the architect Frederick Menkens. During his career, Menkens designed over 62 buildings in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, including some of the region’s best-known religious, institutional and commercial buildings. The Earp Gillam Bond Store and railway siding are closely associated with the firm of Earp Gillam & Co (and its successor Earp Brothers & Co), which commissioned the construction of the building and operated their merchant and coal business from there for over 30 years. The partnership between George Frederick Earp and William Jenkins Gillam supplied capital necessary for the establishment of East Greta Coal Mining Co Ltd (EGCMC) and enabled profitable exploitation of the South Maitland coalfields, a globally significant coal seam both then and now. The item’s associative significance is vested in the Earp Gillam Bond Store, the inscription reading "Earp Gillam & Co." on the building’s cornice, and in the remnants of the railway siding.
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	The Earp Gillam Bond Store Precinct may meet the State threshold for community esteem for its strong links to community and social activism. In August 1973, the NSW Builders Labourers Federation implemented a Green Ban on the East End of Newcastle following a campaign by local citizens, including the Newcastle East Residents Group, and the Newcastle Trades Hall Council to retain working class content and oppose the construction of high-rise office buildings and motels. Community pressure again helped conserve the Earp Gillam Bond Store from demolition after the 1989 earthquake caused severe damage. Campaigning helped secure government funding for its restoration.
SHR Criteria e) [Research potential]	The Earp Gillam Bond Store Precinct may have State-significant research potential. The goods yard to the north and embankment to the west are moderately likely to contain archaeological evidence of mercantile activity and fabric associated with the former railway siding. Additional research potential may lie in the mass concrete construction of the Earp Gillam Bond Store footings, visible in the basement interior, and the external staircase abutting the Stanton Catchlove Bond Store to the west. Mass concrete was a relatively innovative construction method for the time.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	The Earp Gillam Bond Store Precinct may meet the State threshold for rarity on account of its location on the border of the former Railway Reserve, being reclaimed land on the southern bank of Newcastle Harbour. Unlike other bond stores and warehouses, its historical proximity to the railway and wharves and the remaining evidence of a railway siding offer a tangible understanding of the links between mercantile trade and the rail and maritime industries of the late 19th century.
Integrity/Intactness:	The Earp Gillam and Stanton Catchlove Bond Stores exhibit a high degree of integrity. The adjacent staircase and balustrade have been restored to a fair degree. Of the former railway siding, only remnants are likely to remain in the embankment and under the surface of the car park.
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.

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	HERITAGE ACT 1977 ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) TO GRANT STANDARD EXEMPTIONS FROM APPROVAL I, Penny Sharpe, the Minister for Heritage, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales and under section 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977: revoke the order made on 2 June 2022 and published in the Government Gazette Number 262 of 17 June 2022; and grant an exemption from section 57(1) of the Act in respect of the engaging in or carrying out the class of activities described in clause 2 Schedule A in such circumstances specified by the relevant standards in clause 2 Schedule A and General Conditions in clause 3 Schedule A. This Order takes effect on the date it is published in the NSW Government Gazette. Dated this 29th day of October 2025 The Hon Penny Sharpe MLC Minister for Heritage For more information on standard exemptions click on the link below.	Nov 7 2025

Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register		00762	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - Permanent Conservation Order - former		00762	16 Apr 93	36	1806
Local Environmental Plan	Stanton Catchlove Bond Store (Earp Gillam Bond Sto	I373	03 Jul 92
Local Environmental Plan	Former Earp Gillam Bond Store (Earp Gillam Bond St	I492	03 Jul 92
Local Environmental Plan	Newcastle East Heritage Conservation Area	C5	03 Jul 92
Register of the National Estate	Earp Gillam and Company Bond Store (former)	1277	21 Oct 80

Study details

Title	Year	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Newcastle Archaeological Management Plan Review 2013	2013	Edward Higginbotham & Associates Pty Ltd	orrn	Yes
Conservation management Plan for Newcastle Former Coutts Sailor's Home	2002	Architectural Projects	orrn	Yes
Bond Street Retaining Wall & Stair Heritage Impact Statement	2018	Heritas Heritage & Conservation	orrn	Yes
Baseline historical archaeological assessment for proposed conservation and upgrade works to an existing staircase and retaining wall at Bond Street Retaining Wall & Stair	2018	Umwelt	orrn	No
16 Telford Street, Newcastle, Statement of Heritage Impact and s 60 Application	2018	Eco Logical Australia	orrn	No

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written		1889	An Act to enable Richard Tilden Smith, of Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, and John Thomas Mance, of Parramatta, in the said Colony, to construct a Railway from the Silkstone Coalmine to the Great Northern Railway	View detail
Electronic	Australian National University		'Coal: 200 years of the Australian Agricultural Company'	View detail
Written	Australian Town and Country Journal	1891	'Newcastle. Its great development, and business resources', Australian Town and Country Journal (11 April)	View detail
Written	City of Newcastle	2023	Newcastle City Centre and Newcastle East Heritage Conservation Areas: Community Engagement Report (September)	View detail
Written	Cynthia Hunter / Russell	2024	'Blast from the Past - James Russel', Muzzle Blast (2024)	View detail
Written	Dun's Gazette for New South Wales	1930	Dun's Gazette for New South Wales, vol. XLIV, no. 21 (24 November)	View detail
Electronic	Earp Distilling Co.		'Our story'	View detail
Electronic	Eikos Environment and Heritage	2023	'Remembering Newcastle's heritage as a vibrant trading city' (24 March)	View detail
Written	Eugene Guihot		Scrapbook	View detail
Written	Fredk. B. Menkens	1888	'Tenders are hereby invited',Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (14 July)	View detail
Written	Fredk. B. Menkens	1888	'Tenders are hereby invited', Sydney Morning Herald (19 July)	View detail
Written	George H. Kingswell	1890	The coal mines of Newcastle, N.S.W.: Their rise and progress	View detail
Electronic	Green Bans Art Walks Project	2023	Green Bans Timeline: 1971-74 (2011, updated 2023)	View detail
Written	James Russell	1880	Letter: James Russell, Steam cranes, Newcastle, offering to supply best Melbourne broken metal for	View detail
Written	L.A. Reedman	1974	Frederick Burnhardt Menkens (1855-1910)	View detail
Written	Les Reedman	2008	Early architects of the Hunter Region: A hundred years to 1940	View detail
Electronic	Mark Dunn	2019	'SHR Data Improvement Project Report'
Electronic	Mining NSW		'Mining history'	View detail
Written	Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate	1898	'Port statistics for 1897', Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (1January)	View detail
Written	Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate	1881	The Fortification Works and the Old Coal Workings under Flagstaff Hill. 7 May 1881.	View detail
Written	Sydney Morning Herald	1921	'East Greta Coal Mining Co., Ltd.: Pioneer company of the South Maitland Coalfield' (7 October)	View detail
Written	Vere Gordon Childe	1923	How labour governs	View detail

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:	Heritage NSW
Database number:	5044982
File number:	S90/01765, EF11/11670

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