JUNE 27, 2018 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
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Demolition bid revised By Goya Dmytryshchak Newport’s iconic Masonic Hall may be torn down after a developer lodged plans to build a five storey, 22-dwelling apartment block. Trethowan Architecture applied to Hobsons Bay council to replace the building at the corner of Mason Street and Melbourne Road with an $8 million residential and retail development, including six shops at ground level. It’s the third time since 2011 the developer has lodged an application for the site. The latest application stated: “The existing building is a large (unused and derelict) former Freemasons Hall.” “The former Freemasons Hall is suffering from severe effects of concrete cancer, posing a significant threat to the use of the existing building. The first floor interior fabric of the temple has been stripped out so that only structural members remain.” A 2006 Hobsons Bay Heritage Study found Newport Masonic Temple, built in 1924-25, to be historically, socially and aesthetically significant. “This large stuccoed neo-Grecian style design is typical of Masonic hall architecture and is particularly well-preserved inside and out,” according to the Victorian Heritage Database report. In 2016, Trethowan Architecture proposed to demolish the hall for a four-storey development. The plan, which was met with strong community resistance and hundreds of submissions, was withdrawn before the council could make a decision. In 2013, the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal upheld the council’s refusal to approve a plan by Trethowan Architecture to retain the hall’s facade and demolish the rest of the building. At the time, tribunal member Rachel Naylor said one would hope that an owner of a significant heritage building would seek to maintain it. She placed “limited weight” on heritage evidence from architect Bruce Trethowan, saying he was not an independent witness. Trethowan Architecture has been contacted.
Willy Congs in top innings Williamstown Congs Cricket Club is reaching out to past and present members for its 125th anniversary. The club started in 1893 when Reverend H. Jones, from the former Congregational Church in Stevedore Street, entered a team in the Williamstown Sunday School Trophy competition – now known as the Western Suburbs Churches and Community Cricket Association. The club’s red and white colours stem from the Reverend – the club’s first president – barracking for South Melbourne. These days, the club is one of Hobsons Bay’s most inclusive and holds bragging rights to being the first in the municipality to have a junior girls-only team playing in a girls-only competition. President Gary Griffin said Willy Congs’ “family club” ethos was re-enforced by expansion into girls’ and women’s cricket. “I joined Willy Congs as a 16 year old in 1980 and instantly fell in love with the club,” he said. “It had been around for around 90 years before I joined and I truly believe it’ll be around in another 90 years. “Not many clubs live to reach 125 years – this achievement is nothing short of extraordinary.” The club is seeking stories and memorabilia for its 125th anniversary celebration, particularly as much pre-1984 documentation was lost in a fire at the church. The milstone celebration will be held at Altona Bowls Club on August 25, with speakers including sports writer Ken Piesse and former Willy Congs junior Dean Russ, who went on to play for Victoria. Anyone with information or items relating to the club’s history can email willycongs@gmail.com or phone club manager David Leach 0409 790 338. Congs members Grace Gilmartin (front), Kelly Griffin, Gary Griffin and James Kearley. (Mark Wilson)
Former Masonic Hall. (Andrew Wurster)
Goya Dmytryshchak