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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

Chubb

vVatedoo

April

Prepared on Behalf S t HilHers Pty Ltd

vVendy 'Thorp ManageJluent


ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORT

Excavations at the First Stage Chubb Factory

Waterloo

April 2000

Prepared on Behalf of St HHHers Pty Ltd

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Archaeological Report: Former Chubb Factory Site, Waterloo

\CONTENTS OF THE REPORT

1.0

2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6

3.0 3.1

3.2

3.3

PRECIS OF THE REPORT,

THE INVESTIGATION The Study Area Status of the Site . . . The Work ...... . Methodology and Documentation Objectives and Tasks ...... . Authorship, Client and Acknowledgements Figure: The Study Area . ......... . The first stage factory from Elizabeth Street Plan of site and excavation areas

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3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 6

THE EVIDENCE . . . . . . . . . 7 The Pre-European Environment . 7 Views of detention basin and profile showing natural and modified horizons . . . . . . . 8 Natural and modified profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Early Industrial Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Area of Holdsworth McPherson yard and principal trench 11 Fill and yard surface associated with Holdsworth McPherson 12 Industrial and other wastes used for fill. . 13 Starkey stoneware bottles used in the fill. . . . . . 14 The Chubb Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 View of the factory and administration building area 16--View of trenches in factory area . . . . . . . . . . 17 View of fill and bitumen yard surface laid by Chubb in the 1920s 18 Industrial and domestic wastes in the fill . . . . . . . . . . .. 19

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Archaeological Reporl: Former Chubb Factory Site, Waterloo

SECTION 1.0

I PRECIS OF THE REPOf{t

This report describes the archaeological evidence recorded during the excavations carried out for the adaptive redevelopment of the former first stage Chubb factory at Waterloo. This evidence was recorded during 1999.

The site was part of the Waterloo Swamps environmental system. A large stream ran along the northern boundary of the study area. It was first alienated for European use within a grant of 185 acres made to J. T. Hall in 1825. The land was subdivided in 1829 but there is no evidence of European occu~,ation or exploitation of the site until 1914.

At that time the eastern half .of the study area was purchased and used as a stonemasons' yard by the firm of Holdsworth, McPherson and Company. It specialised in the supply of exotic stone and finished products such as hearths. A little later the land on the corner of Elizabeth and Powell Streets was used as a machinery' storage yard. The Chubb company purchased the entire Elizabeth Street frontage in 1921 and constructed the first portion of their factory at the corner of Elizabeth and Short Streets. A short time later an administration building was constructed on the corner of Elizabeth and Powell Streets. In 1932 Chubb purchased the adjoining stonemasons' yard and extended the factory over this site. The company continued to purchase land on this block, bound by Elizabeth, Powell, Short and Bourke Streets, throughout the following decades. By the 1980s it had acquired the entire' block. The site was disposed of in 1998. The first stage factory on Elizabeth Street has been adaptively redeveloped for commercial purposes by the new owners.

A Conservation Plan and an archaeological assessment were prepared for this site. This assessment recommended for monitoring ,md recording as necessary during the course of the' excavations associated with the redevelopment of this place. The results of this programme may be summarised a.s follows:

$ the site retained its nature sub-soil profile of sand. At the upper levels this had been bleached and leached indicating water movement through the sub-strata. This is likely to have been caused by flooding from the watercourse on the northern side of the study area. The study area was not the site of a permanent swamp. It was probably covered in scrubby heath. The original level of the land was up to one metre below its present surface and the slope from north to south and east to west was more pronounced than is now obvious.

• excavation on the eastern half of the site revealed that Holdsworth McPherson had acquired vast quantities of fill comprising clay, soils and industrial wastes, particularly huge quantities of Starkey Bros stoneware bottles and leather off-cuts, to raise and level the site. On this was laid a thin and irregular bituminous yard

Cultural Resources Management for St Hilliers Pty Ltd Page 1

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I in another remains and beds the tim truss roof that spanned the

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Cultural Resources St Hilliers Pty Lld 2

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SECTION 2.0

ITHE INVESTIGATION

2.1 The Study Area

The subject of this report is the archaeological evidence which was recorded during excavations carried out for the adaptive reuse of the former first phase factory and administration building of the Chubb company. This site, referred to in this report as "the study area", is located in Waterloo. It has its principal frontage to Elizabeth Street, on the west, with smaller street frontages to Powell Street on the north and Short Street to the south.

2.2 Status of the Site

The potential of the study area to contain sub-surface archaeological evidence of its industrial history or pre-industrial development was assessed as one component of the entire factory site (Wendy Thorp, Archaeological Assessment Former Clwbb Factory, Waterloo. 1999). It was recommended that application be made for an Excavation Permit with provisions for monitoring and recording archaeological evidence during the course of the excavations required for footings, drainage and other services.

Application was made to the Heritage Council of NSW on behalf of St Hilliers Pty Ltd for an Excavation Permit for this work and approval was granted for it in August 1999 (Application 8942608). This report provides the documentation of the investigation required by that permit.

2.3 The Work

With the exception of an excavation for a detention basin all the work in the study area comprised narrow strip excavations between 500 and 700mm deep and approximately 1 OOOmm wide. These excavations were for laying service pipes and strip footings to support structural columns. The one exception was a 1300mm trench in the south-western corner of the building. The detention basis was the largest excavation. It was 1200mm in depth and measured approximately 8 x 5 metres.

2.4 Methodology and Documentation

Monitoring was maintained for the full period of excavation during 1999 and a sample of profiles and features maintained throughout.

This report presents the archaeological evidence recovered from the site in a sequence that relates to the historical phases of development. 80th archival and archaeological evidence for each phase is presented together.




The following phases are discussed in this report:

It the pre-settlement environment

o earliest industrial development

(I the Chubb factory

2.5 Objectives and Tasks

The principal objectives of the work have been to record a representative sample of the deposit, identify and record relics and interpret this evidence in association with archival sources.

2.6 Authorship, Client and Acknowledgements

The site work was undertaken by Wendy Thorp (Cultural Resources Management) who also has prepared this repqrt to meet the requirements of an Excavation Permit issued by the Heritage Council of NSW. It has been prepared on behalf of St Hilliers Pty Ltd, the applicants for the Excavation Permit.

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The study area - first stage C/w/Jb factory' Waterloo


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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I TIle first ChuiJiJ factory from ElizaiJeth Street. administration building a/)ove and factory and infilf

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Archaeological Former Chubb Waterloo

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The first stage factory in relation to the entire Chubb site with the excavations indicated for service trenci1es, foundations and detention basin.




SECTION 3.0

ITHE EVIDENCE

3.1 Pre-European Environment

The pre-settlement landscape was part of the Waterloo Swamps environmental system. It was characterised by sand dunes, Banksia Scrub, streams and swamp. A large stream ran along the northern boundary of the study area. The best impression of the environment created by the large volumes of water caught in this area was provided by the owner of the near-by Victoria Racecourse who described his land as,

"a scene of desolation. In the middle distance was the most dreary swamp almost wholly under water. Nothing more hopeless ever addressed the eye of unimaginative man. But a roseate glow suffused the still waters and dank reeds ... 11

(Sir Joynton Smith, Mv Life Storv. 192)

All of the excavations revealed the underlying natural soil profile of sand which is characteristic of this part of southern Sydney to the coast. The most informative excavation with respect to some specific evidence of the environment on the study area was that of the detention basin. Here, the top of the sand was bleached and there was leaching from deposits above. It clearly indicated some water movement through the profile both before and after deposits had been added to the site to fill and level it. Most likely this water came from the watercourse that ran through what is now Powell Street.

The nature of this deposits suggested periodic flooding not a constant water-logged swamp. There was no clear evidence of the vegetation associated with this landscape but the water movement suggests that it was characterised by the low scrubby heath that was common to most of the dunes in this area.

The level of the first deposits of introduced fill also indicated that the site was considerably lower than it now is by up to a metre. The slope from the north to the south was more pronounced that is now evident from the street and building levels. This slope contributed to the site being flood prone.


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I Waterloo

I I nJe excavation for the detention basin

:1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I The south~west corner showing a full profile into the sand

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I Waterloo

I I The western section at the

/J13se of the trench

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Details of the bleaclJed and leached sands at the base of the profile

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3.2 Early Industrial Development

The first portion of the study area to be developed for European purposes was the eastern' half, a long narrow allotment that ran from Powell to Short Street. It probably also ran across to the northern side of Powell Street which was formed after the sale of the land. This allotment was sold to William McPherson in 1914. McPherson was a principal of Holdsworth McPherson and Co. This was a company well known in Sydney for their supply of quality stone and stone products such as hearths. They were particularly well known for their marble goods.

It is unclear how the yard at Waterloo was used by the company. It is possible and likely that, when Powell Street was formed in the early 1920s, the working sheds were isolated on the northern side of the street and the yard was left on the southern side within the present study area. The property was sold to the Chubb company in 1932.

The excavation for the detention basin and for several service trenches in this area revealed clear evidence of fill being brought to the site to level it and to increase the height of the yard. This fill largely comprised clay and other soils dumped in quantity over the sand. As well vast quantities of broken stoneware ginger beer bottles had been dumped as fill. All were made by the firm ofW. A. Starkey. McPherson obviously purchased or acquired several loads of waste product from this company for the purpose. W.A. Starkey was the largest producer of ginger beer in the southern hemisphere and, at the time that these bottles were acquired, their factory was in Phillip Street Sydney.

As well as this huge quantity of broken bottles the excavations in this portion of the site revealed other trade waste, particularly leather off-cuts, probably acquired from local companies to fill the lowe?t and wettest part of the site. This level of fill is up to a metre below the present surface.

Immediately above this layer of fill, in most of the excavated areas, a thin and un_even bituminous surface was exposed that was certainly the ground associated with McPherson's yard. Quantities of off-cut stone and some minor worked elements were found in association with this surface, particularly marble fragments.

The western portion of the study area was the site of a short-lived earlier occupant than the Chubb Company. In 1920 the small allotment at the corner of Elizabeth and Powell Streets was purchased by E. A. Sloman for use as a yard to store machinery. It seems to have only served this purpose for a few years. No specific evidence of this occupation was revealed during the course of excavation. The south-western corner of the site was also said to have been occupied by a few temporary timber buildings prior to the occupation of the Chubb Company but no evidence was found of these during excavation.



Tile eastern side af the /-faidswartIJ McPherson

The principal trench excavated tl1rough the former stonemasons' yard

Cultural Resources Management for SI liilliers Pty Ltd

, Waterloo

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Another view of tl1e GA,jtJ,',rc:{J close to the base of a service trend?

I Cultural Resources

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Views from above into the service trenches showing huge quantities of stoneware bottles (above) and leather off~cuts (below) brought to the site to be used as fill for levelling the Holdsworth McPl7erson

yard.

Cultural Resources Si Hilliers Pty Ltd

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Waterloo

Sample of the stoneware boffles

Cultural Resources Management for SI Hilliers Pty Ltd

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3.3 The Chubb Company

The Chubb Company, famous for its safes and locks, was established in Sydney and Melbourne in 1884. The local companies acted as agents for importing finished products from the factory in England. The company prospered here during the early years of the twentieth century and a decision was made to establish a factory in Australia to produce goods to meet the local demand. The study area was chosen as the site for that factory.

The first factory building occupied the south-western corner of the study area. It was a one storey building that provided for all manufacturing and assembling. A second building was added to the north-western corner of the Elizabeth Street frontage in 1923. This served as an administration office. Elements of these two buildings remain on site.

In 1932 the company purchased Holdsworth McPherson's yard on the eastern side of their premises. This land was used to expand the factory. This was achieved by infilling the area between the tvyo existing buildings and creating a huge, open but covered factory space. The latter was spanned by a timber truss roof structure supported by timber columns. This also largely remain on site. The company continued to purchase property to the east of this factory until, by the 1980s, it owned the entire block. The first stage factory and administration building remained in use until the site was disposed of in the 1990s.

The excavations in this portion of the site revealed that Chubb, like Holdsworth McPherson, also prepared their site by bringing large quantities of fill to level and increase the height of the site. This largely comprised clay, soils, demolition rubble, domestic and industrial wastes.

Above this, in the area between the first factory and the administration building, was a bituminous yard surface. There is no evidence of any hard surface in the a(~a of the first factory so it is likely that it had a timber floor. When the company purchased the stonemasons' yard and extended its existing premises it did so by demolishing most of the first factory, leaving only part of the northern wall, infilling the Elizabeth Street facade between the two buildings to make one continuous wall and laying a concrete slab over the entire surface. This was laid on more fill. The slab supported the timber columns.



View soutl? to the area oft/1e first

tile external nortl1ern wall of this and then intilled as factory space in 1932.

an area used as a

What remained of tl1e original administration building after tl1e factory was extended in 1932. The facade was retained and extended to meet fllat of tl1e factory building.

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Views oftrenc/1es excavated in tlie western portion oft/1e site

Cultural Resources Ltd

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Waterloo

Views looking at and down one of the trenches which shows the thick concrete slab laid by Clwbb in the 1930s when it extended its factory and, below this, fill used to level the site prior to this slab being

laid, a black bituminous yard surface that once occupied the open area between the factory and

administration buildings and, below this the fill brought to the site to level it in the 1920s.

Cultural Resources Ltd

Former Chubb Waterloo

Demolition material from early-mid nineteenth century buildings used in the fill broug/1t to the site by

Chubb in the 1920s (above) and industrial wastes used for the same purpose.

Cultural Resources Management for St Hilliers Pty Ltd 19

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