Geelong Woolstores

 Conservation Area

Geelong Historic Buildings

The Geelong Woolstores conservation area is one of remarkable coherence and integrity. Standing at the corner of Gheringhap and Brougham Streets, the row of woolstores stretches away to the east in a unified scene, unequalled in terms of intactness and coherence elsewhere in Victoria. The area represents an important aspect of the process of settling the land in Victoria. The consequences of industry created new economy, a new landscape and a new way of life. In terms of the lives of all of Australians, as inhabitants of an industrial nation, it is the most relevant period of our past, not only because it is the most recent, but because the specific changes wrought during the last century provide the foundation of our present society. Significant woolstore groups certainly exist elsewhere in Australia, for example at Pyrmont and Ultimo in New South Wales, but those structures do not match the group qualities of the Geelong woolstores and were not specifically erected for the storage, handling and marketing of wool.

The area proposed for urban conservation classification includes Cunningham Pier and groups of woolstores located immediately to the south of the pier environs. Boundaries of the woolstores area are Gheringhap Street (western side) Brougham Street (south side), Clare Street (western side) and includes the associated wool exchange building, Corio Street (south side), Yarra Street (east side), Brougham Street (north side), the eastern property boundary to the Customs` House site, continued directly down to the waterfront including the foreshore between western and eastern-most limits and Cunningham Pier.

Located within these boundaries are significant buildings, streetscapes and historic sites of consistent nature and form which bear an important relationship to each other. The area contains woolstores which were erected at various times and comprises a complex of buildings and sites associated with this industry. The earliest section, located at the corner of Moorabool Street and fronting Brougham Place, was erected for C J Dennys and Company, Woolbrokers, in 1872, on a prominent corner site diagonally opposite the Geelong Customs House of 1855-56. The Dennys Lascelles Wool and Produce Warehouse was the first building in Victoria planned to facilitate the storage, inspection and marketing of wool in one operation and upon completion was the second largest store in the colony. C J Dennys was largely responsible for the establishment and development of the marketing industry in Geelong and is a figure of significance in the history of settlement of Geelong.

Extensions to the bluestone building have been added with some variations in detailing. The 1911 building, in the same complex, is very much in contrast with the conservative detailing of the earlier wings but is of interest structurally and for its Art Nouveau based detailing. The complex as a whole is of general architectural interest for its illustration of changing styles with the passage of time.

Located in the block adjacent and to the east are a significant series of sections which make up the Strachan woolstores complex of buildings including: The Geelong Club, The Blakiston Warehouse building; and the Electric Lighting and Traction Company buildings and associated works. To the north the area contains the important Geelong Customs House of 1855-56; the Sailors Rest building on the corner of Moorabool Street and Eastern Beach; The Corio Galleries weatherboard cottages; and the foreshore environs leading to Cunningham Pier.

The north-western portion of the area contains a complex of woolstores of varying type and character: Elders G M; New Zealand and Mercantile Loan; and Dalgety and Company. Within this area lie some of the most architecturally interesting and historically significant structures erected for the storage, handling and marketing of wool. From their elevated positions overlooking Corio Bay they form a complementary group with important relationships with the port and foreshore environs.

Important features of the urban landscape in this historically important area of Geelong include the line of mature elms running up part of Moorabool Street; the bluestone kerbing and guttering serving the area and the foreshore planting of PHOENIX CANARIENSIS (a feature worthy of further re-introduction in this setting). The curved lines of railway track leading to Cunningham Pier and the Electric Lighting and Traction Company chimney base are both prominent and dramatic townscape elements.

As indicated, the area has important historical associations with the growth of Geelong as a centre of commerce and promoter of pastoral and agricultural interests. The success and expansion of the pastoral industry were reflected in the dispatch and distribution of wool through the town and port. Mack`s Hotel, Geelong`s first such building was located within the area, as was the first customs house and gauging shed. The Dennys Lascelles (1872) bluestone woolstore has obvious historical importance as the first store to embody design factors applying specifically to woolstore development. The 1910-13 reinforced concrete store in the same complex is significant and internally important as an example of early use of this construction method. The sailors rest building sits on one of the first reinforced concrete slabs in Victoria; dating back to 1914. Transport by rail, to serve shipping and the conveying and loading of wool is reminiscent of bygone industrial and commercial associations. The generation of electricity, for the first time on 10 November 1902, was a function of the Electric Lighting and Traction Company located on the corner of Yarra and Brougham Streets. Another development of importance was the location and activities of the Geelong Harbour Trust, formed in 1905 and an integral feature historically in the development of the town by the turn of the century. One of the significant buildings within the area, the Bow Truss building, was demolished amid public controversy in May 1990.