Hammond And Wheatley Commercial Emporium
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Hammond and Wheatley Commercial Emporium is a heritage-listed commercial building at 69-75 Hyde Street, Bellingen,
Bellingen Shire Bellingen Shire is a local government area in the mid north coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Pacific Highway, Waterfall Way and the North Coast railway line. The Mayor of the Bellingen Shire ...
,
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
, Australia. It was designed by George Edward Moore and built by Moore from 1908 to 1909. The property is owned by Davpond Pty. Ltd. It was added to the
New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...
on 2 April 1999.


History

In 1900 W. J. Hammond and A. E. Wheatley purchased The Reform Store and changed the name to Hammond & Wheatley Pty Ltd. They built the business up to such an extent the building was not large enough and they decided to extend. The two storey premises were constructed over the original Hammond & Wheatley store which began operations in 1900. The current building, Australia's first cement brick building, was completed in 1909. George Moore cast a sign on the front of the building claiming he was both the architect and the builder. In a small village, the project was a grand one. It is likely that the proprieters were influenced by grand shopping arcades such as ' The Strand" and "The
Queen Victoria Building The Queen Victoria Building (abbreviated as the QVB) is a heritage-listed late-nineteenth-century building designed by the architect George McRae located at 429–481 George Street in the Sydney central business district, in the Australian st ...
". The store serviced the local areas by bullock team and boat. Its remarkable success and ensuing prosperity made possible the erection of a single storey addition in 1917. Wheatley died early but the business remained in the Hammond family until 1988. The 1908-09 building was one of the first buildings in Australia to be made of concrete block. George Moore was an extremely innovative builder and had imported a machine from America to build the blocks with. He put the machine to good use, building a number of other premises using the blocks. The Emporium was also one of the first buildings in Bellingen to use rolled steel beams as few buildings had previously had the scale to warrant this type of construction. In the mid-1980s the exterior of the building was reconstructed, having deteriorated very badly over the passing years. During the reconstruction the shop continued to operate along its traditional lines, selling principally clothing and fabrics. However, a door was opened through to the next door supermarket and a small museum for local displays was built on the first floor. In 1988 redevelopment of Hammond & Wheatley was begun under the new owner. A cafe was added and the ground floor was subdivided into three shops. The subdivision was sympathetic to the floor and little else of the interior was altered.NSW Real Estate & L.J Hooker 1992


Description

The emporium is a two-storey building constructed of concrete blocks. Steel beams support the first floor front facade and were initially used to
span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan ester ...
across the shop windows below. Steel beams are also used within the floor to increase the available floor span. The beams are supported by slender steel
columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression membe ...
which have been encased in timber and mirrors. The ground floor is constructed of conventional timber framing with hardwood boarding. The first floor is in hardwood framing and boarding but panelled on the underside with an ornate " Wunderlich"
pressed metal ceiling A tin ceiling is an architectural element, consisting of a ceiling finished with plates of tin with designs pressed into them, that was very popular in Victorian buildings in North America in the late 19th and early 20th century. They were als ...
. The roof is a trussed roof, sheeted on top with galvanised corrugated steel and internally with pine
tongue and groove Tongue and groove is a method of fitting similar objects together, edge to edge, used mainly with wood, in flooring, parquetry, panelling, and similar constructions. Tongue and groove joints allow two flat pieces to be joined strongly together ...
boards. At the centre of the roof is a high clerestory surrounded by pivoting opening
sashes Sashes Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Cookham Lock near Cookham, Berkshire. It is now open farmland, but has Roman and Anglo-Saxon connections. The island is located between Hedsor Water and the present navigation cha ...
. The joinery in the turned posts on the top floor and the
handrail A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide safety or support. In Britain, handrails are referred to as banisters. Handrails are usually used to provide support for body or to hold clothings in a bathroom o ...
around the mezzanine and staircase are made from local timbers - cedar,
rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated ...
and
hoop pine ''Araucaria cunninghamii'' is a species of '' Araucaria'' known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine, Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine. The scientific name honours the botanist ...
.NSW Real Estate & LJ Hooker 1992 An
awning An awning or overhang is a secondary covering attached to the exterior wall of a building. It is typically composed of canvas woven of acrylic, cotton or polyester yarn, or vinyl laminated to polyester fabric that is stretched tightly over a li ...
extends over the footpath. Shop fittings do not generally survive.Kass 1992:13 The building is generally intact, having been restored.


Heritage listing

The Hammond & Wheatley Commercial Emporium is a rare two-storey commercial building type, formerly common in regional areas. The construction of concrete block and large steel beams is unusual for the
Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...
period. Considerable original detail remains including decorative cement render to the facade, pressed metal ceilings and cedar joinery. Hammond and Wheatley Commercial Emporium was listed on the
New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...
on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. Associative - Its association with the commercial development of the town The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. Its contribution to the visual character of the main street of the settlement and the architectural quality of detail and the intactness of the fabric. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. An early example of the use of concrete blocksKass 1993:13 The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. Aesthetically rareKass 1992: 13


See also


References


Bibliography

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Attribution


External links

{{commons category-inline, Hammond and Wheatley Commercial Emporium New South Wales State Heritage Register Commercial buildings in New South Wales Retail buildings in New South Wales Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register