MOST AT RISK PLACES – 2007 NOMINATION
Place: Eveleigh Railway Workshops, Redfern
Threat: Devaluation of Heritage Values
Significance:
The Eveleigh Railway Workshops are some of the finest
historic railway engineering workshops in the world and Eveleigh contains one
of the most complete late 19th century and early 20th century forge
installations, collection of cranes and power systems, in particular the
hydraulic system. The place is of international significance and is one of Australia’s
finest industrial heritage items. The value of the place is increased by the
fact that it is comprised of assemblages, collections and operational systems
rather than individual items still in use. Of the many buildings on the greater
Eveleigh Railway Workshop site, the Large Erecting Shop was still performing
its original use until November, 2006, demonstrating a high level of intactness.
The
entire complex has a strong industrial character generated by the rail network
itself, by the large horizontal scale of the buildings, the consistent use of
brick and corrugated iron, the repetitive shapes of roof elements and of
details such as doors and windows and because of the uniform grey colours. The
simple, strong functional forms of the buildings have landmark quality, not only
as important townscape elements in the Redfern / Eveleigh area, but as part of
the visual train journey of thousands of commuters, marking arrival in the city
centre. The major buildings from the original 19th century
development of the site are well designed, detailed and built exhibiting a high
degree of unity of design, detailing and materials. (State Projects 1995:109)
The workshops were an important part
of the NSW rail network which was instrumental in the development of the state
during the 19th and 20th century. The construction of the workshops influenced
the development of the local area (which was developed for worker’s housing)
both by providing employment and by its bulk and presence, starting bells and
sirens. The yards were associated with developments in working conditions
now crucial to the Australian cultural identity, eg) the weekend. The yards had
an important association with the labour movement. The place was seen initially
as a positive instrument of state socialism and in later periods as the site of
important labour actions and of restrictive work practices.
The workshops were conceived by
Whitton, the ‘father’ of the NSW railways, and were an integral part of his NSW
rail system, and were executed in detail by Cowdery. (State Projects 1995:109)
The Eveleigh railway workshops have considerable research potential for
understanding the operation of railway workshops. This potential is enhanced by
the extent of archival material available and because the relatively recent
closure means that there are many former workshop workers who are still alive
and who know how the place operated.
They have unique educational value enhanced by the highly valuable location and
the relationship with the ATP and the three universities. They contain the
potential to achieve an understanding of the work practices of today through an
understanding of the cultural continuity between 19th century technology and
21st century technology.
*There is potential for further research to yield information about the labour
movement, labour relations and work practices in the 19th and 20th
centuries. Archaeological remains have the potential to reveal further
information about the operation of the Yards. (State projects 1995: 109)
The Workshops were one
of the largest employers in Sydney
at the turn of the century, declining only in the latter half of the 20th
century. It was and is an important source of pride and in demonstrating the
capacity of Australian industry and workers and a high level of craft skills.
The place is significant to railway workers, former railway workers and railway
unions and is associated with the stories of many, including workers and
locals, which are important to cultural identity. Although no longer operating
as a workshop, the place maintains symbolic value for the community as a former
workplace and a place that provided economic input into the local area. It has
strong symbolic ties with existing trade unions. (State Projects 1995: 106-111)
The Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops
are an exemplar of the railway workshops of the steam era built in each state
in Australia
in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and are broadly
representative of similar facilities built for British railway technology
throughout the world. The Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops comprises a
relatively intact group of buildings, though the locomotive workshop buildings
have been adapted to office spaces and the carriage workshop to a performance
space. Further plans are proposed to remove further buildings and to
further adapt the remaining buildings. The Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops
are the largest surviving, intact railway workshops dating from the steam era
in Australia,
and possibly the world. (State Projects 1995: 110)
Statement of Risk:
Degree of
Risk: At
risk – no solution agreed
Threat:
Devaluation
Outcome:
Stable (not yet saved or secure, ie, solution not
yet fully implemented)
Various buildings
within Eveleigh have already been redeveloped and adapted to a range of
non-railway uses but several significant buildings which are yet to be adapted
have been rezoned for multi-storey development under the Redfern–Waterloo
Authority’s Built Environment Plan. The on-going maintenance and repair
of steam locomotives and heritage rolling stock within the Large Erecting Shop
ceased in December, 2006 and Locomotive 3801 and several historic carriages
were relocated to open-air storage at Thirlmere, 85 kilometres south west of
Sydney. In general, government policy appears to be primarily directed
towards the economic commercial redevelopment of this historic site, with rail
heritage pushed into inadequate facilities remote from its potential audience.
Desired Outcome /
Vision:
The Eveleigh
Railway Workshops should be adaptively reused in a manner consistent with its
heritage values and the totality of its site. Redundancy at Eveleigh
provides a valuable opportunity for rail heritage activities at a traditional
railway site with excellent access to an audience, to support facilities and to
technical staff however, urban property values mean that this opportunity is
being progressively degraded in favour of the higher short-term returns from
commercial redevelopment.
Bibliography:
Eveleigh Rail Yards Locomotive
Workshops Conservation Management Plan, Heritage Group, State Projects,
1995
Rail workshop to become
platform for inner city hub Claire O’Rourke, SMH
26/7/03
Sparks still fly over rail’s long-silent
workshops, Geraldine O’Brien, SMH
2/12/03
Eveleigh Precinct Sydney
Conservation Policy Schwager Brooks and
Partners, 1994
At Risk
Listing: http://www.heritageatrisk.org.au/Eveleigh_Railway_Workshops,_Redfern.html
National
Trust NSW Media Release: World
Heritage Day is Wednesday 18th April. Up for national list: National Trust
nominates rare forest, crane and railway workshops as state’s most endangered
items