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The enclave of classic Australian modernist architecture is so well hidden that some long-time residents might not even know it exists.
Yet, this is no ritzy Melbourne cul-de-sac or CBD development, but a quiet residential court in Wangaratta, north-east Victoria. Despite the understated location, these architectural gems reflect a crucial part of the town’s history.
After World War II, Wangaratta was experiencing an industrial boom driven partly by textile manufacturing.
One company driving that economic expansion was Bruck Mills, which built a factory for textile production as well as housing and accommodation for workers and visitors.
In the mid-1950s, the company commissioned the firm Grounds, Romberg & Boyd, in which acclaimed Australian architect Robin Boyd was a partner, to design three single-storey staff houses, a caretaker’s cottage and a double-storey accommodation and entertainment facility.
Robin Boyd’s designs have become synonymous with his distinctive Australian modernist style, which included “window walls”, integration with the natural environment and clever use of indoor space in both compact and large houses. The Wangaratta buildings were completed about 1954.
But now residents of Bruck Court and the Robin Boyd Foundation are aghast at plans to demolish the caretaker’s cottage as part of a residential development proposed by Australian Textile Mills, which owns the factory. Australian Textile Mills also owns the caretaker’s cottage and the double-storey building known as Bruck House.
The company argues the cottage is dilapidated and the proposed development will preserve the enclave’s historic purpose of providing worker accommodation.
In December, Wangaratta Council approved Australian Textile Mills’ application to demolish the cottage, build seven dwellings for worker accommodation and subdivide the land into two lots.
While the company owns the cottage and Bruck House, the neighbouring houses are now privately owned.
The Robin Boyd Foundation urged Heritage Council Victoria to intervene. It subsequently issued a 60-day interim protection order, which expires on March 1.
HCV will then make a recommendation on whether the buildings should be added to the Victorian Heritage Register. The buildings are currently only covered by Wangaratta Council’s heritage overlay.
Chris Spencer moved to Wangaratta 16 years ago to work for Bruck Textiles and moved into one of the homes designed by Boyd’s architecture firm. She bought the home from Bruck about three years later.
“I love the history of the place, and it’s a great little house,” she said.
Spencer wants the properties heritage listed even though that would ultimately place limits on what she could do with her house.
“I’m happy for that to happen,” she said. “I think it’s important to preserve something that’s done by renowned architect Robin Boyd.”
Spencer said the design worked well for her lifestyle.
“It’s a small house, but it’s compact. It’s got everything I need, and it just works.”
A report by heritage consultant Deborah Kemp described Boyd as Australia’s most influential mid-century voice within the architecture profession.
She said the Bruck Mill complex was an experiment in urban planning where Boyd sought to demonstrate how to develop a medium-density housing cluster in contrast with the standard freestanding house on a quarter-acre block.
“Boyd was clearly an innovator and, with this development at Bruck Court, was experimenting with a planned urban environment,” the report said.
The designs for the three single-storey staff houses and caretaker’s cottage reflected Boyd’s early modernist architectural ideals, the report observed.
“This includes largely modular buildings with the simple rectangular forms and flat roofs.”
Kemp’s report described the Wangaratta buildings as a rare surviving example of the modernist aesthetic Boyd developed during the 1950s.
Architect Steven Bishop, who represents property owner Philip Bart, said Australian Textile Mills was a major employer in Wangaratta. He argued the caretaker’s cottage was dilapidated and had been “significantly altered over the years”.
“Although the Bruck House is attributed to Boyd himself, we are fairly sure that the caretaker’s cottage, which came later, was done by his firm and not him,” Bishop said.
He said the proposed development would support the mill’s viability by providing accommodation for specialist workers.
If Heritage Council Victoria recommends retaining the caretaker’s cottage, Bishop said it would put the mill’s viability at risk: “Without consent, the project and the existing buildings on site will stall, and will likely fall further into disrepair.”
Wangaratta Council did not respond to The Age’s request for comment, but in a report to councillors noted there were conflicting opinions about the proposed demolition and development.
Robin Boyd Foundation chair Tony Isaacson lodged the application with Heritage Council Victoria hoping to gain protection for all the buildings designed by Boyd’s firm in Bruck Court.
Isaacson argued the houses in the court were excellent examples of Boyd design that should be protected both in their own right and as part of a cohesive group.
“This opportunity to bring the group together is what’s so special,” he said. “The individual buildings are as good as any in Australia of their type.”
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Benjamin Preiss is The Age’s regional editor. He was previously state rounds reporter and has also covered education for The Age.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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