City of Darebin Heritage Study Volume 1 Draft Thematic

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DAREBIN HERITAGE STUDY STAGE 2Becoming cities – the interwar suburban boom (c.1910s-1950s)This significant period of growth is represented by a range of civic, commercial, residential,industrial and institutional places, as well the provision of urban amenities and public works,which illustrate the significant growth that saw both Northcote and Preston elevated to thestatus of a City. The new civic status was reflected in new council buildings, communityfacilities and public works including beautification projects, and public recreational spaces,which were a source of great community pride.The interwar residential areas of Darebin are historically significant as they provide furtherevidence of the significant growth during this era. They also illustrate important influence ofrailways and trams in shaping the residential and commercial development of Melbourne. Thisis particularly reflected in the narrow pattern of linear growth along the key north-south routesof High Street, the Whittlesea Railway and St Georges Road that persisted until after WorldWar Two. Finally, they illustrate the emerging role played by government agencies such as theWar Service Homes Commission and the Housing Commission of Victoria in the provision ofhousing. The estates in Darebin are among the first in Victoria and are therefore provide animportant historic record of the early development of public housing initiatives.Darebin is also notable for places that have significant associations with Australia’s World WarOne effort and dealing with its aftermath. These places are also linked to the development ofpsychiatric institutions, and repatriation hospitals, which are historically significant at a Statelevel as evidence of the development of the state public hospital system early in the twentiethcentury.The re-establishment of Aboriginal communities in Melbourne in the twentieth century isillustrated a number of places within Darebin. These places are significant as evidence of howAboriginal people have maintained a strong physical and cultural presence in Darebin in theface of displacement, disenfranchisement and policies of assimilation, such that by the midtwentieth century, it had the largest Aboriginal community in Melbourne. This communityplayed a prominent role in the national struggle for Aboriginal rights and social justice.Becoming a multicultural and environmentally aware city (c.1950s onwards)Darebin is also significant as a place that illustrates the massive growth and suburban expansionof Melbourne in the post-Second World War era. The legacy of this era includes the manyplaces that demonstrate the significant influence of immigration upon the historic developmentof Darebin during that time. Perhaps the most vivid illustration of this is the sheer diversity inthe places of worship now found in Darebin, many of which are old churches now used bydifferent religions and cultural groups. The influence of immigration can also be seen in social,community and sporting facilities, which were important in establishing new communityidentities in Australia.Another legacy is the large Housing Commission of Victoria estates that illustrate the programenacted by the Commission to meet post-war housing shortages - no fewer than 10,000 peoplewere housed by the Commission in the period up to 1966 in Darebin. These estates includedthe use of innovative low-cost techniques such as the Concrete Houses Program. Theseresidents were employed in the many new industries that established in the East Preston andReservoir areas.This era was a time of increasing awareness of environmental issues in Darebin and placesassociated with the activities to conserve and restore the natural environment are significant asan illustration of the broader environmental movement that emerged in the post-war period.Another legacy of this era is the places that are significant for their associations with thecontinuing fight of Aboriginal people for self determination and social justice. The NorthlandSecondary College is also important for its strong connections with the Aboriginal communityover at least 30 years.146
VOLUME 2: THEMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORYDarebin’s natural heritage (c.1860 – c.1980s)While Darebin’s natural heritage will be the focus of further work in Stage 5 of the City ofDarebin Heritage Study, preliminary findings are presented below.• Whilst most of Darebin has been cleared and developed, it retains significant remnants ofthe endangered Plains Grassy Woodland, Western (Basalt) Plains Grassland, and otherecological vegetation classes, which means the remnants have a high priority for protection.These remnants provide habitat for 65 animal species of at least regional significance, butmany of national significance, and 122 plant species of at least regional significance, someof which are endangered at the national level.• Darebin’s geological sites are of regional and local significance and help residentsunderstand the long history and evolution of the land around them.• Darebin’s waterways are environmental, heritage and recreation corridors that draw theirsignificance from their roles as continuous corridors linking natural heritage and recreationvalues as well as from the qualities of individual reaches.• The Merri and Darebin creeks and their immediate surrounds, as well as the Greswell toLa Trobe University areas, are host to some of the most threatened ecosystems in Australiaand have a unique role to play in the preservation of threatened flora and fauna and themaintenance of vegetation communities that in other places have almost been totallydestroyed.• The creeks are the focus of a large number of pre and post contact archaeological siteswhich as a group are highly significant. Revegetation works along the creeks and parklanddevelopment including path construction have created linear parks of outstanding qualityand landscape character and which play an important role in the park system of themetropolitan region.9.4 ConclusionIn a metropolitan context, the City of Darebin is significant as it is one of the fewmunicipalities that provide evidence of all of the key phases in the historic development ofMelbourne, from first settlement to the present day.The City of Darebin has a rich and diverse natural and cultural heritage that illustrates thehistorical occupation, use, adaptation and development of the land since the arrival ofAboriginal people. This in turn promotes a greater understanding of the history of Victoria andAustralia as a whole. This history is demonstrated in the City of Darebin by a wide range ofheritage places including buildings and structures, monuments, trees and landscapes,archaeological sites, and places with spiritual or symbolic meaning. Some of these places havebeen mentioned in this report, and there are many others besides. All have one thing incommon:These are places that are worth keeping because they enrich our lives – by helping us tounderstand the past; by contributing to the richness of the present environment; and because weexpect them to be of value to future generations.(The Burra Charter: The Australia ICOMOSCharter for Places of Cultural Significance, 1999).These places provide an insight into the complex cultural layering that gives the City ofDarebin a sense of historic continuity as well as a distinctive character. They reveal the waycommunities in past years thought about their local area as well as illustrating prevailingeconomic, social and political circumstances that were important in the development of thestudy area. In some cases the places and the people, uses and events associated with them hadan even greater influence, extending to the whole of Melbourne, Victoria and sometimesAustralia.147
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City of Darebin Heritage Study Volume 1 Draft Thematic

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