There are four general house types in the precinct, all of which

are single-storey and set back behind a front lawn. These housing

types are:

Substantial California Bungalows of the late 1920s at 789-797

Ballarat Road. These brick houses have gabled and hipped roofs,

and slender chimneys. Windows are boxed (i.e., they project

from the wall), and some have decorative timber hoods. Most of

the windows have multiple panes in the upper sashes.

A California Bungalow of the late 1920s (Brimbank City Council, 2009)

14 timber Indian Bungalows in Station Road and Hyde Street.

Those at 62-76 Station Road are the earliest (late 1920s); they

have wrap-around verandahs on turned posts and corbelled

brick chimneys. The rest of them were built around 1935; they

have verandahs on square paired posts and plain, narrow

brick chimneys. Some of these later houses also have wrap

around verandahs (58-60 Station Road), while others have front

verandahs (4-6, 10-12 Hyde Street).

Indian Bungalow of c1935 (Brimbank City Council, 2009)

Another five houses built in the early 1940s at 3-7 Hume Street

and 785-787 Ballarat Road. They have hipped roofs and are

These specific guidelines form Part 4 of the

These Guidelines apply to heritage properties

within the ICI Residential Area in Deer Park. These properties are

identified as ‘contributory’ on the precinct map below. The guidelines

are intended to encourage and support the conservation of the

historic character of the Area by providing additional information that

builds upon the General Guidelines provided in Part 1.

The following information about the significance of this precinct is

drawn from the

2007. Please refer to that study for more information

about the historic development of the Area.

The ICI Residential Area is a rare and distinctive company township

associated with the twentieth century expansion of the former Nobel

(later ICIANZ, now ORICA) factory which became the major private

manufacturer of explosives and munitions in Australia. The estate,

initiated by Leathercloth Pty. Ltd. (a subsidiary of Nobel), reflects a

pattern of development where nationally important industries were

established in green-fields sites beyond the urban fringe and so

needed to provide accommodation and other facilities for workers.

The houses in Station Road, Ballarat Road, Hume Street and Hyde

Street reflect a sequence of development in their distinctive styles

and forms. They give insight into the social and economic status of

their proposed occupants with the larger and more elaborate houses

intended for factory managers. The Indian Bungalows, in particular,

reflect the colonial origins of the company. The inclusion of concrete

houses in the estate also points to the innovation in building in the

later period.

An Old English style house of the 1940s (Brimbank City Council, 2009)

Small concrete cottages with multi-gabled roofs built in the early

1950s at 52-56 Station Road and 16, 20-24 Hyde Street. The

main feature of the façade is a large, tapered, external brick

chimney, finished in smooth render. Otherwise these houses are

quite modest.

A concrete cottage of c1950 (Brimbank City Council, 2009)

The brick and render California Bungalows of the 1920s and houses

of the 1940s on Ballarat Road and Hume Street originally had

woven wire fences, with simple square or pointed posts, of about

1.2 m. Some survive.

No original fences survive to the Indian Bungalows. Typical fencing

of the 1920s and 1930s include woven wire fences with plain timber

posts, chain link with timber and/or metal pipe posts and rails, and

plain timber pickets, of up to 1.2 m.

No original fences survive to the concrete cottages. Typical fences

of the early 1950s are chain link with metal posts and rails, post and

rail fences, and brick walls rendered to match the house. Fences

were generally low (0.6 to 1 m).

Original fences should be retained and repaired where possible.

New fences at the front and side of front yards should use traditional

materials and heights appropriate to the age and style of the house,

wherever possible. In particular, new fences for the California

Bungalows and 1940s houses should match the original woven

wire fences. For illustration of fence types please see the General

Guidelines.

Original woven wire and timber fence in front of a California Bungalow

(Brimbank City Council, 2009)

The 1920s California Bungalows

have red and manganese (dark,

glazed) brick walls with accents

of stained timber shingles and

roughcast render (originally

unpainted). The roofs are clad

in Marseille terracotta tiles,

and chimneys are finished in

roughcast render with red brick

bands.

Original materials should be retained

and repaired, where necessary,

instead of replaced. Replacement

(if necessitated by poor condition)

or restoration of original joinery

elements, such as windows and

doors, should be identical to the

original in form and material.

Rendered chimney and manganese brick

verandah pier of a California Bungalow

(Brimbank City Council, 2009)

Decorative window hood

with a shingled roof

on a California Bungalow

(Brimbank City Council, 2009)

BRIMBANK HERITAGE DESIGN GUIDELINES PART 4

HO21 – ICI Residential Area, Deer Park

The Indian Bungalows are clad in weatherboards, with timber

verandah posts. The hipped roofs, with gabled bays, were originally

clad in corrugated iron. Most gable ends were decorated with half

timbering. The chimneys were unpainted red brick. Windows are

six-over-one panes in box frames (which project from the wall). The

upper panes are Arctic (rippled) glass. The earlier houses have

panelled timber doors with an arched window, while the 1930s

houses have multi-pane glazed doors.

The 1940s bungalows have walls of dark red bricks and/or smooth

render. Chimneys are cream brick. The hipped roofs are clad in

glazed Marseille terracotta tiles. The timber windows are six over

one pane, or three (with horizontal glazing bars) over one.

Hip-roofed front bay of a 1940s brick house

(Brimbank City Council, 2009)

Front verandah supports and entrance

of a c1935 Indian Bungalow

(Brimbank City Council, 2009)

Original roofing tiles should be retained, or replaced in kind where

necessary.

Replacement gutters should be quadrant profile, and downpipes

have a round profile. Both should be metal.

Do not paint any previously unpainted surfaces, such as brick,

timber shingles and render.

For typical paint schemes for houses of these eras, please see the

General Guidelines.

The c1950 cottages have roughcast rendered walls, and smooth

render to the front chimney. The rear chimney is red brick with

cream bands. Gable ends are decorated with pressed metal panels

designed to look like shingles. The roofs were originally clad in

deep red concrete tiles in a profile similar to Marseille tiles. Original

windows were single pane sashes.

Pressed metal ‘shingle’ cladding

in the gable and roof tiles of

a c1950 concrete cottage

(Brimbank City Council, 2009)

Houses on Ballarat Road and Hume Street originally had garages

set well behind the houses reached by driveways in the form of two

concrete or gravel tracks with a grass median strip and grass along

the fence line. It appears that the c1950 houses on Hyde Street and

Station Road had the same, though none survive.

The Indian Bungalows did not have driveways or garages originally.

New car parking structures (carports and garages) should be as

unobtrusive as possible, preferably situated behind the house.

This is particularly important for the Indian Bungalows.

Double-track concrete driveways should be retained where they

survive, or reinstated if possible.

Natural (untinted) concrete should be used for driveway and path

paving.

The Deer Park Reserve on Ballarat Road was also laid out by ICI as

part of the residential development. The trees surrounding the Oval

are visible in photos from the 1930s.

Undertake regular maintenance of Oval trees to ensure that they

survive in accordance with their normally expected lifespan.

When trees require replacement, use the same or similar species.

Ensure that any future development or changes in immediate

environmental conditions, adjacent to trees does not have a

detrimental impact upon the integrity and condition of the trees.

Aerial view of the ICI Residential Estate, Deer Park Reserve and Oval before the

1940s houses and concrete cottages were built (State Library of Victoria, c1938)

Front gable, verandah and

corbelled brick chimney of

a 1920s Indian Bungalow

(Brimbank City Council, 2009)