Historical Archaeological Assessment - SMDA - NSW Government

More documents

Recommendations

Info

AECOM Historical Archaeological Assessment - The Grange - North Eveleigh Affordable Housing Project, Wilson Street, Darlington, NSW 25 7.2 Structures 7.2.1 Historical Context The Certificate of Title Plan prepared in 1900 indicates that two conjoining structures relating to The Grange were extant on the Wilson Street frontage. Due to the existence of these structures, the land was not resumed when Wilson Street was widened. It would appear that following the purchase of The Grange for railway purposes in 1908 that the structures were demolished and Wilson Street widened to remove the dog-leg. There remains potential for archaeological features, deposits and/or relics associated with these structures to remain in the embankment or under the footpath and possibly in the street. 7.2.2 Significance Assessment Historical significance SHR criteria (a) Historical association significance SHR criteria (b) Aesthetic significance SHR criteria (c) Social significance SHR criteria (d) Technical/Research significance SHR criteria (e) Rarity SHR criteria (f) Representativeness SHR criteria (g) APPLICATION OF CRITERIA The potential archaeological deposits, features and/or relics of the former structures are of historical significance at a local level as physical evidence of the changing use of the site. The cistern is likely to be associated with The Grange, which was constructed on the site prior to 1840 and demolished in 1908. During this time, The Grange was home to many prominent locals and was a well-known residence on Wilson Street. The potential archaeological deposits, features and/or relics of the former structures are of local associative significance as the last remaining piece of physical evidence relating to The Grange. The Grange was occupied by many prominent local families, including William a’Beckett, Felix Wilson and later his widow and her husband William Coker, and Lewis and Saul Samuels. Saul Samuels was a Member of Parliament, Colonial Treasurer and later Agent-General for the Colony in London, where he was knighted. The potential archaeological deposits do not meet this criterion as it does not demonstrate aesthetic characteristics or a high degree of creative or technical achievement. The potential archaeological deposits do not meet this criterion as it does not have strong or special associations with the community. The potential archaeological deposits, features and/or relics of the former structures are of local technical significance as they could yield information regarding the occupation of The Grange and the nature of the structures themselves. The potential archaeological deposits do not meet this criterion as it is not rare. The potential archaeological deposits do not meet this criterion as it has lost some of the characteristics of its class. 7.2.3 Statement of Significance The potential archaeological deposits, features and/or relics of the former structures are of local historical, associative and technical significance. The archaeology of the former structures has the potential to yield information regarding their nature and associated artefacts could provide insight into life at The Grange. Historically, The Grange was a well-known house in the area and was inhabited by several locally and Colonially, prominent individuals, including William a’Beckett, Sir Saul Samuel and Felix Wilson. 24 July 2012
AECOM Historical Archaeological Assessment - The Grange - North Eveleigh Affordable Housing Project, Wilson Street, Darlington, NSW 26 8.0 Impacts and Recommendations 8.1 Introduction It is considered unlikely that archaeological deposits, features or relics associated with The Grange house are extant within the Railway Yard section of the site. There remains potential within the embankment between Wilson Street and the railway level in association with the cistern. There is also potential for deposits, features and/or relics associated with the structures formerly located on the Wilson Street frontage of the property to be extant beneath the footpath and/or road. 8.2 Impacts The proposed works on site have been outlined in Section 1.3 and are depicted in Figure 1. To stabilise the current embankment, between one and two metres of fill will be introduced and the resulting land surface landscaped to create a terraced pocket park. Based on the current land surface a cross-section has been produced at the location of the cistern. It indicates that the current land surface will not be disturbed within the embankment area (Figure 6). The proposal will see the construction of retaining walls and a set of stairs in fill placed on the embankment between Wilson Street and the Railway yard level, within the area identified has holding high archaeological potential (Figure 5). The area of high archaeological potential will therefore be protected and effectively preserved beneath the fill. It is therefore anticipated that the cistern will also be able to be retained within the embankment, underneath the fill. Trenches will be cut across the embankment fill to allow for the insertion of gas, water and telecommunications cables. It is not anticipated that service trenches will disturb the current land surface within the embankment and therefore, there is no anticipated impacts to the area of high archaeological potential. The service trenches, by necessity, will also cut the area identified as holding moderate archaeological potential for the structures along the frontage of The Grange. These trenches may possibly impact the potential archaeological deposits, relics and/or features relating to the structures along Wilson Street. However, the trenches will be less than 500 mm across and are likely to have minimal impact on the archaeology, should it be extant. There will be minimal excavation associated with the insertion of the proposed access road. No archaeological impacts are expected from these works. There is no archaeological potential within the existing Railway Yard level. No archaeological impacts are expected. 8.3 General As impacts to areas of moderate archaeological potential have been identified, it is recommended that SMDA apply for an exemption from Section 60 of the Heritage Act for that portion of the works within the SHR curtilage and, if required by the NSW Heritage Council, an exception from Section 139 of the Heritage Act to undertake the proposed works outside of the SHR curtilage. Conditions for exemptions to be granted under Section 60 and exceptions under Section 139 of the Heritage Act were gazetted in the Government Gazette by order of the Minister for Planning on 5 September 2008. An exemption or exception may be granted if one of the following is met: 1A – An archaeological assessment, zoning plan or management plan has been prepared in accordance with Guidelines published by the Heritage Council of NSW which indicates that any relics in the land are unlikely to have State or local heritage significance; OR 1B – the excavation or disturbance of land will have a minor impact on archaeological relics including the testing of land to verify the existence of relics without destroying or removing them; OR 1C – a statement describing the proposed excavation demonstrates that evidence relating to the history or nature of the site, such as its level of disturbance, indicates that the site has little or no archaeological research potential. The impact assessment in Section 8.2 concludes that the proposed works are likely to have a minor impact (type 1B) on the potential archaeological deposits located within Wilson Street and the footpath and no impact on the cistern and potential deposits in the embankment. 24 July 2012
Page 1 and 2: Sydney Metropolitan Development Aut
Page 3 and 4: AECOM Historical Archaeological Ass
Page 15 and 16: WILSON LANE GOLDEN GROVE STREET FOR
Page 28 and 29: WILSON LANE GOLDEN GROVE STREET FOR
Page 32: AECOM Historical Archaeological Ass

Historical Archaeological Assessment - SMDA - NSW Government

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?