Kew Heritage Gap Study Carey Baptist Grammar School: … · influenced by the English Domestic...

Kew Heritage Gap Study Carey Baptist Grammar School:

Urangeline & William Carey Chapel

Expert Witness Statement to Panel Amendment C294 to the Boroondara Planning Scheme

Bryce Raworth Conservation Consultant and Architectural Historian

October 2019

Bryce Raworth Pty Ltd Conservation • Heritage

Bryce Raworth Pty Ltd Conservation • Heritage 1

Kew Heritage Gap Study Carey Baptist Grammar School

Urangeline & William Carey Chapel

Expert Witness Statement to Panel Amendment C294 to the Boroondara Planning Scheme

October 2019

1.0 Introduction

1. This statement of evidence was prepared at the request of Urbis on behalf of Carey Baptist Grammar School. I have been asked to comment on the proposal to introduce two new Heritage Overlays to buildings within the school grounds under Amendment C294 to the Boroondara Planning Scheme. This statement addresses the significance of the two buildings and the appropriateness of the Heritage Overlay controls.

2. By way of background, Amendment C294 is a result of the recommendations of the City of Boroondara Municipal-Wide Heritage Gap Study: Volume 4 Kew (the Kew Heritage Gap Study) prepared by Context (revised 21 January 2019). The Amendment proposes to include twenty individual heritage places, nine heritage precincts and six precinct extensions in the Heritage Overlay of the Boroondara Planning Scheme on a permanent basis.

3. My office was engaged to review two of these individual places, being the former residence known as Urangeline and the William Carey Chapel. While Heritage Overlay controls for both places are supported, a number of changes to the citations were recommended, some of which have been adopted as cited in the Urban Planning Special Committee Agenda dated 5 August 2019.

4. This statement has been prepared with assistance from Fiona Erskine of my office. The views expressed are my own.

2.0 Sources of Information

5. The analysis below draws upon inspections of the buildings in question, and a review of the relevant Amendment C294 documentation. Reference has also been made to the Planning Practice Note 1: Applying the Heritage Overlay (August 2018).

Expert Witness Statement Kew Heritage Gap Study Urangeline & William Carey Chapel


3.0 Author Qualifications

6. A statement of my qualifications and experience with respect to urban conservation issues is appended to this report. Note that I have provided expert witness evidence on similar matters before the VCAT, Heritage Council, Planning Panels Victoria and the Building Appeals Board on numerous occasions in the past, and have been retained in such matters variously by municipal councils, developers and objectors to planning proposals.

4.0 Declaration

7. I declare that I have made all the inquiries that I believe are desirable and appropriate, and that no matters of significance which I regard as relevant have to my knowledge been withheld from the Panel.

BRYCE RAWORTH



5.0 Urangeline

8. The Kew Heritage Gap Study recommends that an individual Heritage Overlay be applied to the former residence Urangeline, to the extent of the building and a curtilage of 15 metres on the west side and 5 metres on the other sides. No external paint controls, internal alteration controls or tree controls are recommended.

9. The Kew Heritage Gap Study assessed Urangeline as meeting the threshold for local significance under the following criteria:

Criterion A: Importance to the course or pattern of the City of Boroondara’s cultural or natural history

Criterion E: Importance in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics

Criterion F: Importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period

Criterion G: Strong or special association with a particular community group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons

Criterion H: Special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance in the City of Boroondara’s history.

10. The revised statement of significance, as contained in the Urban Planning Special Committee Agenda dated 5 August 2019, is as follows:

‘Urangeline’, originally known as ‘Edzell’ and later as ‘Mildura’, at 349 Barkers Road, Kew, is significant to the extent of its original fabric. The house was designed in 1883 by architectural practice Reed, Henderson & Smart for Scottish-born solicitor James C Stewart, and erected in 1884. The house was later owned by grazier Alexander McEdward, who renamed it ‘Mildura’ (1888-99), and then pastoralist Thomas Rand (1899-1922) who gave it its present name. The property was then purchased by the Baptist Union to serve as the home for the newly established Carey Grammar School.

The later alterations and additions to the north-west and north-east corners of the building associated with its institutional use are not significant.

How is it significant?

‘Urangeline’ is of local historical, aesthetic, technical (creative), social and associative significance to the City of Boroondara, and potentially to the State of Victoria.

Why is it significant?

‘Urangeline’ is of historical significance for its association with Carey Baptist Grammar since 1922. The Baptist Union acquired the property that year to serve as the home of its new denominational school, which officially opened in February the following year. It has been associated with the school since that time. It is also of social significance to Carey Grammar students and alumni who hold strong associations with ‘Urangeline’. (Criteria A & H)

‘Urangeline’ is of creative significance as one of the very first, and the oldest surviving, example of the new Queen Anne style in the Melbourne metropolitan area. The style was strongly influenced by the English Domestic Revival designs by English architects Richard Norman Shaw and William Eden Nesfield, which in turn drew inspiration from picturesque English rural buildings and Tudor architecture. In Australia, the style was a reaction against what was considered ‘sham’ Victorian architecture, with cement render finishes and ornament singled



out for special condemnation. Reed, Henderson & Smart were responsible not only for introducing the Queen Anne style to Melbourne, but they also led the revival in the use of red face brick, of which ‘Urangeline’ is also a very early example. ‘Urangeline’ is of associative significance as a demonstration of the practice’s seminal role during this period. (Criteria F & H)

‘Urangeline’ exhibits a number of features that would come to characterise the Australian version of the Queen Anne style, which became so popular in the late 1890s and early 1900s. These include picturesque asymmetrical massing, the combining of medieval motifs (such as the gable above the entrance) with classical ones (such as the segmentally arched windows with keystones, and triangular pediment to the entrance tower), tuckpointed red face brick walls and chimneys with cement-render dressings, turned timber verandah detail including turned posts and balusters, and solid timber friezes, and the decorative margin glazing to the sash windows. (Criterion E)

Figure 1 The facade (west elevation) of Urangeline.

11. In relation to this revised statement, it is suggested that the ‘Baptist Union’ could be more correctly referred to as the ‘Baptist Union of Victoria’, and ‘Carey Baptist Grammar’ as ‘Carey Baptist Grammar School’.

12. Amendments to the history and description sections of the citation, as noted in the Urban Planning Special Committee Agenda dated 5 August 2019, have also been made that detail the alterations that have occurred to the building. Briefly, these changes include:

• Overpainting of the bi-chrome brick detailing. • Removal of part of the chimney and insertion of windows/partial

rebuilding of the wall to the north end of the facade. • Reconstruction of the verandah to the south-east corner of the building. • Truncation of the verandah to the north elevation for construction of a

projecting pavilion and infill of the remnant verandah at first floor. • Extension of the service wing.



13. Despite these changes, Urangeline remains recognisable as an early example of the Queen Anne style. I concur that the building meets the threshold for local significance and should be added to the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Boroondara Planning Scheme.

14. The amended statement of significance and citation for the place appropriately recognise the extent of change that has occurred to the building over time and are supported, albeit with minor corrections suggested.

Figure 2 View of the south-east corner of the building showing the rebuilt verandah.



Figure 3 Part of the north elevation showing the truncated and infilled verandah and pavilion addition.

Figure 4 View of the north-east corner of the building showing additions.



6.0 William Carey Chapel

15. The Kew Heritage Gap Study recommends that an individual Heritage Overlay be applied to the William Carey Chapel. The recommended extent of overlay is as follows: ‘To the north, a 6m curtilage from the northern most edge of the chapel; to the east, a 17.5m curtilage from the eastern most edge of the chapel to the property boundary to Daniell Place; to the south, a 2.5m curtilage from the eastern most edge of the chapel; and to the west, to the west elevation of the chapel’s narthex’.

16. The Kew Heritage Gap Study identified that the Chapel meets the threshold for local significance under the following criteria:

Criterion A: Importance to the course or pattern of the City of Boroondara’s cultural or natural history

Criterion D: Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places or environments

Criterion E: Importance in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics

Criterion G: Strong or special association with a particular community group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons

17. The revised statement of significance, as included in the Urban Planning Special Committee Agenda dated 5 August 2019, is as follows:

What is Significant?

‘The William Carey Chapel’ and its immediate grounds, 349 Barkers Road (off Daniell Place), Kew are significant to the City of Boroondara. The chapel is a post-war example of ecclesiastical building at a denominational school dedicated to the memory of alumnus lost to war. Designed by architects Cecil R. and Graham F. Lyons Pty Ltd, it possesses a high level of architectural integrity. Contributory landscape elements of the place comprise its informal quality with use of native plantings typical of the period, decorative boulders, a commemorative Corymbia Citriodora (Lemon Scented Gum) and the William Carey Memorial: a bronze bas-relief image mounted on a boulder to commemorate the school’s namesake.

The bluestone retaining wall is not significant. It retains original landscaping elements externally, which are contributory to the place, including bluestone retaining walls, decorative boulders and a commemorative Lemon Corymbia Citriodora (Lemon scented Gum), and the William Carey Memorial: a bronze bas-relief image mounted on a boulder to commemorate the school’s namesake.


‘The William Carey Chapel’ is of local historical, architectural and aesthetic significance to the City of Boroondara.


‘The William Carey Chapel’ (1969-71) is of historical significance as it is representative of an established pattern of construction of architect-designed memorial chapels at denominational schools, immediately following both World Wars, and the associated losses inflicted upon those school communities by such conflicts in the City of Boroondara. (Criterion A)

‘The William Carey Chapel’ is a significant example of ecclesiastical architecture that is representative of the design ethos, optimism and architectural modernisation expressed in post-



war period. The design features honesty of structure and material, clean lines and an overall sense of innovation in design characteristic of this period. The entire chapel complex is of aesthetic significance as a complete example of largely intact building and its original landscaped setting, complete with commemorative plantings and memorial sculpture. (Criteriaon D & E)

‘The William Carey Chapel’ is of social significance for its associations with the memory of former school alumni, known as ‘Old Grammarians’, lost in World War II and ongoing connections with the wider Carey Baptist Grammar School community. The site on which the chapel is constructed, and the chapel itself, have remained in the continuous occupation of Carey Baptist Grammar School, since the construction of the chapel in 1969-71, and these strong associations continue today. (Criterion G)

18. It is understood that the tree control that was recommended for a Lemon Scented Gum has been withdrawn by Council. No further comment on this change is made, other than noting that the statement of significance and Schedule to the Heritage Overlay should be amended accordingly, and that the following sentence should be removed from the description and integrity section of the citation:

A large Corymbia Citriodora (Lemon Scented Gum) immediately adjacent to the chapel is believed to be the commemorative tree planted at the time of the chapel’s construction, because its size in comparison with other vegetation in the immediate vicinity.

19. Additionally, it is understood that a further revision of the statement of significance has been prepared for consideration by the Panel. This further amended statement is quoted as follows:

What is significant?

‘The William Carey Chapel’ and its immediate grounds, 349 Barkers Road (off Daniell Place), Kew are significant to the City of Boroondara. The chapel is a post-war example of ecclesiastical building at a denominational school dedicated to the memory of alumnus lost to war. Designed by architects Cecil R. and Graham F. Lyons Pty Ltd, it possesses a high level of architectural integrity.

The William Carey Memorial, a bronze bas relief image mounted on a boulder to commemorate the school’s namesake is a contributory landscape element.

The bluestone retaining wall is not significant.





‘The William Carey Chapel’ is a significant example of ecclesiastical architecture that is representative of the design ethos, optimism and architectural modernisation expressed in post-war period. The design features honesty of structure and material, clean lines and an overall



sense of innovation in design characteristic of this period. The entire chapel complex is of aesthetic significance as a complete example of largely intact building, complete with memorial sculpture. (Criteria D & E)


20. While it is accepted that the William Carey Chapel meets the threshold for local

significance and warrants inclusion in the Heritage Overlay, aspects of the amended citation, as well as both versions of the amended statement of significance, are questioned.

21. The description and integrity section of the citation notes that the narthex on the west side of the building is ‘a partially glazed single-storey link that connects to adjoining three-storey school buildings.’ While the narthex as constructed originally connected with a two storey building known as the Matriculation Study Centre to the west, this building has been demolished. A modern three storey building was constructed in 2015 in largely the same place, however it is not connected to the narthex of the chapel (see Figure 6).

22. The citation also notes that the chapel exhibits a high level of integrity as ‘a result of the built form and detailing of the Chapel, and its associated landscaping features according with that documented in the original permit drawings held by the City of Boroondara.’. This is not entirely correct. The drawings reproduced in the citation (excerpt below at Figure 7) show that the north and south elevations of the narthex were intended to feature three bays with two sets of double doors and planter boxes to the exterior, and a baptistery to the south wall of the interior.

23. The narthex as constructed, however, omitted the planter boxes and included the baptistery to the north wall of the interior. The 2015 works truncated the western end, removed the baptistery and relocated one original set of double doors in the north wall of the narthex.

24. Further, it is noted that a permit has recently been issued for works to the Chapel, involving demolition and reconstruction of part of the narthex (permit PP18/01322).



Figure 5 View of the Chapel from the north.

Figure 6 The truncated narthex is not connected to the neighbouring three storey building.



Figure 7 The original 1969 landscape drawings for the chapel showing proposal for broom finished concrete paving with strips of white quartz topping. The circular William Carey memorial on the south side of the narthex has either been removed or was never executed. Source: Public Records Office Victoria.

25. Additionally, the original drawings indicate that a more complex, formal landscape design was proposed, including concrete paving with a broomed finish and tooled lines, strips of white quartz toppings, a circular memorial garden area and pebbled garden beds. The architects’ original vision for the Chapel landscaping was not realized, however, with the landscaping appearing to remain largely as shown in photographs taken after the Chapel’s completion in 1971. The informal qualities of the Chapel landscape and the use of native plantings seem to be fairly typical for the period.



Figure 8 The area to the north of the Chapel has an informal quality that is not in line with the original architectural vision.

Figure 9 The timber crucifix adjacent to the Chapel.



Figure 10 Bas relief of William Carey.

26. The simple timber crucifix, though not noted in the statement of significance, is mentioned in the description and the assessment against criteria sections of the citation. The crucifix should not be considered integral to the architectural qualities of the Chapel other than as a signifier of the building’s religious purpose. A new cross of similar height and design within the Chapel environs could perform the same role as signifier of the place’s religious purpose.

27. The bas relief of William Carey, mounted on the boulder to the north side of the Chapel, has an informative purpose and serves as a visual signifier of the School’s namesake. It is not a ‘memorial’ in the traditional sense, and does not have a high degree of artistic merit. It is noted that the further amended statement of significance for the Chapel has removed reference to the contributory landscape elements and plantings. Given this, it follows that that the boulder with bas relief in the landscape is also not a contributory element to the place or to its landscape.

28. A such, it is recommended that the revised statement of significance for the William Carey Chapel be altered as follows:

What is significant?

‘The William Carey Chapel’ and its immediate grounds, 349 Barkers Road (off Daniell Place), Kew are significant to the City of Boroondara. The chapel is a post-war example of ecclesiastical building at a denominational school dedicated to the memory of alumnus lost to war. Designed by architects Cecil R. and Graham F. Lyons Pty Ltd, it possesses a high level of architectural integrity.

The William Carey Memorial, a bronze bas relief image mounted on a boulder to commemorate the school’s namesake is a contributory landscape element.



The bluestone retaining wall is not significant.





‘The William Carey Chapel’ is a significant example of ecclesiastical architecture that is representative of the design ethos, optimism and architectural modernisation expressed in post-war period. The design features honesty of structure and material, clean lines and an overall sense of innovation in design characteristic of this period. The entire chapel complex is of aesthetic significance as a complete example of largely intact building, complete with memorial sculpture. (Criteria D & E)


7.0 Conclusion

29. It is accepted that the threshold for local significance has been met for the two individual places Urangeline and the William Carey Chapel, and the application of the Heritage Overlay is appropriate on this basis. This said, it would be appropriate to make some further amendments to the citations to better reflect the significance and condition of the two places, the Chapel in particular.

B R Y C E R A W O R T H P T Y L T D C O N S E R V A T I O N • H E R I T A G E C O N S E R V A T I O N C O N S U L T A N T S A R C H I T E C T U R A L H I S T O R I A N S __________________________________________________ B R Y C E R A W O R T H M . A R C H . , B . A . ( H O N S ) , I C C R O M ( A R C H ) Bryce Raworth has worked with issues relating to heritage and conservation since the mid-1980s, and has specialised in this area since establishing his own consultant practice in 1991. Bryce Raworth Pty Ltd, Conservation • Heritage, provides a range of heritage services, including the assessment of the significance of particular sites, preparation of conservation analyses and management plans, design and/or restoration advice for interventions into significant buildings, and detailed advice regarding the resolution of technical problems relating to deteriorating or damaged building fabric. From 2004-2011 Raworth was a member of the Official Establishments Trust, which advised on the conservation and improvement of Admiralty House and Kirribilli House in Sydney and Government House and The Lodge in Canberra. As a member of the former Historic Buildings Council in Victoria, sitting on the Council's permit, planning and community relations committees, Raworth has been involved with the registration and permit processes for many registered historic buildings. In 1996 he was appointed an alternate member of the new Heritage Council, the successor the Historic Buildings Council, and in 1998 was made a full member. At present he provides regular advice to architects and private owners on technical, architectural and planning issues relative to the conservation and adaptation of historic buildings, and is occasionally called upon to provide expert advice before the VCAT. He is currently the conservation consultant for the cities of Kingston, Frankston and Stonnington. With respect to historic precincts, the company has provided detailed advice towards the resolution of heritage issues along the Upfield railway line. The company is currently contributing to redevelopment plans for the former Coburg Prisons Complex (comprising Pentridge Prison and the Metropolitan Prison) and the former Albion Explosives Factory, Maribyrnong. In 1993 Bryce Raworth led a consultant team which reviewed the City of Melbourne's conservation data and controls for the CBD, and in 1997 Bryce Raworth Pty Ltd revised the former City of South Melbourne Conservation Study with respect to the area within the present City of Melbourne. The firm is currently completing documentation for significant heritage places and areas in the City of Stonnington. In recent years Bryce Raworth Pty Ltd has also provided documentation and advice during construction on the restoration of a number of key registered and heritage overlay buildings, including the Ebenezer Mission church and outbuildings, Antwerp; the former MMTB Building, Bourke Street West, Melbourne; the former Martin & Pleasance Building, 178 Collins Street, Melbourne; the former Uniting Church, Howe Crescent, South Melbourne; Heide I & II, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Bulleen; Melbourne Grammar School, South Yarra; various guard towers and other buildings, Pentridge Prison, Coburg; and Coriyule Homestead, Curlewis.

BRYCE RAWORTH

Professional Status: Conservation Consultant and Architectural Historian Current Positions: Conservation consultant to the cities of Kingston, Frankston and

Stonnington Organisation Membership: Australian Institute of Architects Professional Experience: independent practice as conservation consultant and architectural

historian from January 1991 (ongoing). Services include: identification and assessment of the significance of sites and complexes; preparation of guidelines regarding the safeguarding of significant sites; provision of technical, design and planning advice to architects, owners and government on issues relating to the conservation of sites of cultural significance; expert witness advice on conservation issues before the VCAT

member, Historic Buildings Council (architectural historian's chair) 1993-

1996; member, Heritage Council (architect’s chair) 1998-2002 conservation consultant to the cities of Brighton, Northcote and

Sandringham (1989 only), Essendon, Hawthorn and Kew (1989-1994), Melbourne (1992-2009) and Prahran (1992-1994)

established the Metropolitan Heritage Advisory Service on behalf of the

Ministry for Planning & Environment - this service was offered to the cities of Brighton, Essendon, Hawthorn, Kew, Northcote and Sandringham in 1989-90

Studies: Certificate of Architectural Conservation, ICCROM (International

Centre for the Study of the Preservation and the Restoration of Cultural Property at Rome), 1994

Master of Architecture by thesis, University of Melbourne, 1993 (thesis:

A Question of Style: Domestic Architecture in Melbourne, 1919-1942) B. Architecture (First Class Honours), University of Melbourne, 1986 B. Arts (Second Class Honours, Division A), University of Melbourne,

1986 Committee Membership: Twentieth Century Buildings Committee, National Trust of Australia

(Victoria), 1990-1994 (Chairman 1992-1993) RAIA Jury, Conservation Category, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2001 Awards (Chairman 1996 & 1998) Awarded: Henry and Rachel Ackman Travelling Scholarship in Architecture, 1987-

88 JG Knight Award, conservation of Heide 1, Royal Australian Institute of

Architects, Victorian Chapter, 2003 Lachlan Macquarie Award for heritage (commendation), conservation of

Heide 1, Royal Australian Institute of Architects National Award program, 2003

Award for Heritage Architecture, conservation of Coriyule Homestead, Australian Institute of Architects, Victorian Chapter, 2015 National Award for Heritage, conservation of Coriyule Homestead, Australian Institute of Architects, 2015

Kew Heritage Gap Study Carey Baptist Grammar School: … · influenced by the English Domestic...

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