first years of the 20th century. The oldest examples are a group of

single-fronted brick houses with decorative front parapets, similar

in design to terraced houses but in fact detached. Slightly later

houses are double-fronted weatherboard houses with bullnosed

or convex-curved verandahs on turned timber posts. They have

low hipped roofs. The Victorian houses have single-pane windows,

some with sidelights, and heavy four-panelled front doors, often with

a highlight. They have red brick chimneys with corbelling (projecting

bricks) at the top, and bracketed timber cornices.

The next group is Edwardian (or Queen Anne) houses, built

c

1905‑15. They tend to have an asymmetric façade, with a

projecting gable (often half-timbered) and a bullnose verandah on

the other side. The roof is otherwise hipped, and often quite tall

with a tiny gablet at the peak. They have single-pane sash windows

or groups of casement windows, often beneath a decorative timber

hood. The doors are solid four-panelled, like the Victorian houses,

or have an upper arched pane of glass, and have both highlights

and sidelights. Chimneys are similar to the Victorian ones, or have

rendered mouldings at the top.

These specific guidelines form Part 7 of the

These Guidelines apply to heritage properties

within the Railway Station Estate in Sunshine. 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 Estate, 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 Estate.

The Railway Station Estate is of historical and architectural

significance as a subdivision first developed in the speculative boom

of the 1880s. This related to the industrialisation of the area and the

creation of a new suburb - the township of Braybrook Junction. The

few remaining houses of the early 1890s are amongst the oldest in

the district and are a remarkable survival from the era of the 1890s

Depression, when many newly-built houses were moved.

The subdivision has an unusual (for the City of Brimbank) late

nineteenth century plan with a simple grid of streets, divided into

narrow allotments with rear service laneways. The pattern was

unrelieved by any provision for recreation, community facilities or

other services. The earliest allotments sold were either intended to

be for narrow terrace-type houses, or were subdivided. Allotments

first sold in the 1920s were larger, perhaps in response to the impact

McKay’s subdivisions was having on aspirations of new residents.

This subdivision is also significant for its diversity and the range of

housing from different periods, especially the years immediately

following the establishment of H.V. McKay’s Sunshine Harvester

Works at Braybrook Junction (in 1907). The area provides an

interesting comparison with H.V. McKay’s housing estate, since

many of his Ballarat workers moved or built homes here in the early

years of the 20th century. The neighbourhood’s population more

than doubled in ten years, with further expansion in the 1920s-30s

and during and after World War Two.

There is a wide variety of house forms in the Railway Station Estate,

reflecting the initial period of development from the 1890s through

the 1940s. The houses are mostly single-storey and double-fronted.

The earliest houses are Victorian, dating from the early 1890s to the

A single-fronted Edwardian

house with half-timbering in

the gable and cast-iron lace

on the verandah

(Brimbank City Council, 2009)

A block-fronted Victorian house with weatherboards detailed to look like stone

(Brimbank City Council, 2009)

BRIMBANK HERITAGE DESIGN GUIDELINES PART 7

HO25 – Railway Station Estate, Sunshine

A Transitional house, with a low hipped roof, simple brick chimney, and

Edwardian-style casement windows, window hood and timber verandah frieze

Brimbank City Council, 2009)

There are many houses from c1915-25 that have features both of

the Edwardian and California Bungalow houses, and can be called

‘Transitional’. These houses have hipped roofs, but at a much lower

pitch than was seen in the Edwardian period. They usually have

a half-timbered front gable, also with a lower pitch. The verandah

details – turned posts and a timber frieze – are similar to those of

Edwardian houses. The verandah roof, however, is a plain skillion

and often extends across the entire facade, supported on timber

brackets, as was common to California Bungalows. Chimneys are

plain and narrow, some with bands of clinker bricks.

California Bungalows, of the 1920s, have gabled roofs – either

facing the street or parallel to it, though some of the earlier ones

still have low hipped roofs. There is usually a smaller gable facing

the street which may be half-timbered, rendered or shingled. Front

verandahs have skillion or hipped roofs, and are often carried across

the entire façade. Verandah supports tend to be heavy and range

from paired timber posts resting on masonry (brick or render piers),

and tapered masonry piers or simple cast-concrete columns on

top of a low masonry wall. Verandahs often have simple triangular

brackets. The ends of roof rafters tend to be visible. Windows often

have multiple panes in the upper sash. Some of them have box

frames that project from the wall of the house, others are grouped in

angled bays. Doors of this era had a high-set window above shallow

panels or vertical boards, and sometimes a sidelight.

Houses of the 1930s and ’40s tend to have tiled hipped roofs, some

with a projecting hipped-roof bay. Verandahs have simple brick or

render supports. Windows often have geometric leadlights in the

upper sashes, and are grouped in twos and threes. Later windows

have horizontal glazing bars, and can be found on the corner of

the building. There are several exceptions among houses of this

era as some were built in the late 1930s in earlier styles, such as

Transitional and California Bungalow designs.

House of the 1930s with a tiled hipped roof. The walls are weatherboard at the

base with roughcast render above (Brimbank City Council, 2009)

A California Bungalow with brick and render verandah supports and

a low hipped roof (Brimbank City Council, 2009)

166A

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1/49 2/49

contributory

precinct

boundary

individually

significant

non-contributory

BRIMBANK HERITAGE DESIGN GUIDELINES PART 7

HO25 – Railway Station Estate, Sunshine

Houses in this precinct all had front and side fences, ranging from

0.6 to 1.2 metres in height, creating a sense of enclosure to front

yards, but retaining visibility.

Typical fences seen in Sunshine in the Victorian and Edwardian

eras (1890s-1915) are timber picket fences with pointed or shaped

pickets and square or pointed timber posts. Cast-iron palisade

fences on a low bluestone or rendered plinth would be appropriate

to brick Victorian houses.

Typical fences from 1915-30 are woven wire with simple square

or curved posts, of about 1.2 m. Other popular fence types of this

period were chain link with timber rails, and plain picket fences

(square pickets), 0.6 to 1.2 metres high.

Typical fencing of the 1930s and ’40s include woven wire fences

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

posts and rails, and timber pickets with a capping rail.

Original fences should be retained and repaired where possible.

New fences at the front and side of front yards should not exceed

1.2 m in height.

New fences should use traditional materials appropriate to the age

and style of the house, wherever possible. For illustration of fence

types please see the General Guidelines.

A simple timber picket fence of the 1920s (Brimbank City Council, 2009)

Victorian houses have either brick (originally unpainted) or

weatherboard walls. Weatherboards could be plain (narrow, with

a square edge), or detailed to resemble large stone blocks. Roofs

were clad in corrugated iron, using shorter sheets than are used

today. Cornice brackets and verandah posts were timber. Verandah

friezes tended to be cast-iron ‘lace’. Chimneys were corbelled red

brick, or rendered with projecting mouldings.

Timber Edwardian and Transitional houses used similar material,

with several additions. Verandah friezes could be cast-iron lace

or timber fretwork and brackets. Narrow weatherboards often

alternated with bands of boards notched to look like shingles.

Half-timbering details in gables were made of roughcast render

or pressed metal imitating render. Window hoods were timber, or

sometimes pressed metal, and had ‘ripple iron’ roofs (a very narrow

corrugated sheet).

A Transitional house with two front gables – typical of California Bungalows, with

an Edwardian-style timber verandah frieze. (Brimbank City Council, 2009)

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.

The front door and sidelight

typical of Edwardian and

Transitional houses

(Brimbank City Council, 2009)

A sash window with

sidelights and cast-iron

verandah frieze of

a Victorian house

(Brimbank City Council, 2009)

BRIMBANK HERITAGE DESIGN GUIDELINES PART 7

HO25 – Railway Station Estate, Sunshine

California Bungalows generally had weatherboard cladding

(with a square or curved edge), with details in roughcast render.

Some gables were half-timbered, often with metal sheets

imitating roughcast or fibro-cement sheets with narrow timber

cover straps. Others had stained timber shingles, roughcast

render, notched weatherboards, or combinations of them.

Masonry verandah supports – red and clinker brick, render and

concrete piers and columns – would all have been left unpainted

originally. Rippled ‘Arctic glass’ was popular for glazing in doors

and upper window sashes. Geometric leadlights were also

popular for upper sashes. Roofs were clad in corrugated iron or

terracotta Marseille tiles.

Geometric leadlights in the upper sashes of a California Bungalow.

(Brimbank City Council, 2009)

Houses of the 1930s were more likely to have red and clinker brick

walls, though many were still clad in weatherboards (with a curved

edge) often with rough-cast render bands. Most roofs were now clad

in terracotta Marseille tiles. Windows were still timber, often with

leadlights. Masonry verandah supports (brick and smooth render)

would have been left unpainted. Houses built prior to the 1930s

originally did not have driveways or garages.

The most common type of gutter for pre-1920 houses was the

ogee profile supported on a timber scotia moulding, a style which

provides decorative interest. Houses dating from 1920 onward

would have had quadrant-profile gutters. All had round metal

downpipes originally.

Original roofing materials, particularly terracotta tiles, should be

retained. If replacement of original roofing is necessary, it should be

in kind. For replacement of deteriorated corrugated iron, galvanised

iron is the preferred replacement, though Colorbond in traditional

colours is also acceptable (Indian Red, weathered grey and, for

1920s houses, forest green).

Original stained timber shingles, face brick and unpainted rendered

surfaces should not be painted over, newly rendered or re-rendered.

Rendered elements (both smooth and textured) should be repainted

using a matt or slightly textured paint in grey, off-white or stone

colours, to emulate the original unpainted finish.

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

General Guidelines.

Stained timber shingles and half timbering in the gable of a California Bungalow

(Brimbank City Council, 2009)

Hipped roof house of the 1930s. The smooth rendered verandah supports have

clinker brick accents (Brimbank City Council, 2009)

Replacement gutters should be of the appropriate profile for the age

of the house. All gutters and downpipes should be metal.

Original garages of the 1930s and ’40s were usually small, gable

fronted buildings situated behind the house, and constructed with

similar materials. Driveways of this period were of natural (untinted

concrete), often in separate tracks.

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

unobtrusive as possible, preferably situated behind the house.

Paved areas in front of houses (driveways and turning areas)

should be kept to a minimum.