Campbells Stores

Statement of Significance

View spatial data in

Description

Assessed significance: State

Item type: Built

Current use: Taverns/Restaurants/Showrooms/Office

Former use: Maritime Warehouses/Storehouse

Group: Maritime Industry

Category: Warehouse/storage area

Designer/Maker:

Builder/Maker: Unknown

Construction Years: 1839 - 1861

Physical Description: The site comprises the land to the north to the Park Hyatt Hotel, to the harbour sea wall to the east, and to the south east covering the site of the original Campbell Stores building - see the site plan to this listing. The new Metcalfe Stores, on the site of the Campbell gardens, is a related site.Campbell's Stores comprise eleven gable fronted, three storey high rectangular plan bays. The bays are oriented almost due east west and, when constructed, were built partially on reclaimed land and were only about 20 metres from the wharf edge. The building as a whole is oriented almost due north-south. The northern-most bay (Bay 11) is of different materials and construction to the other ten bays and was the last built being completed about 1890s. It abuts the homogenous series of ten bays which are immediately to the south. Bays 1-10 are almost identical measuring 8.1 metres wide and 15.8 metres long. Bays 1-10 have a continuous front (east facade) and rear (west facade) with openings in both. The ground floor in all bays is presently a concrete slab while Level 2 and Level 3 floors are timber boards on timber joists. The simple roofs are slate sheathed with lead capping and copper-lined trough gutters. Bays 1-10 are sandstone constructions both internally and externally to the top of Level 2, with brick above, including the gable ends. The first five bays to be constructed were built in 1851/52 and are the present Bays 6-10. A further three bays, which are the present Bays 3-5 were completed around 1858 and the final three bays were finished by 1860. Of these last three bays, the southern-most and the final one to be completed was demolished in 1958 to make way for the first overseas shipping terminal at Circular Quay. This left two bays, now known as Bays 1 and 2, and the remaining eight to form the group known as the Campbell's Stores. The building was stepped up towards the south with a rise of about 0.3 metres between Bays 1 and 2 and Bays 4 and 5, the change in level being most evident by the string course at gable level and the second level sill course. When originally completed the building was only two storeys high. (Godden Mackay 1996: 52)Note: This building contains a hydraulic hoist and single cylinder gas engine which are important items located within the building.Style: Maritime Georgian; Storeys: 3; Facade: Sandstone (Bays 1-10) to the top of Level 2, with brick above, including the gable ends. Bay 11 is brick.; Side Rear Walls: Sandstone; Internal Walls: Sandstone; Roof Cladding: The roofs are slate sheathed with lead capping and copper-lined trough gutters; Floor Frame: The ground floor in all bays is a concrete slab while Level 2 & 3 floors are timber boards on timber joists; Roof Frame: Timber

Property Description

Address

Historic Notes and Themes

Historical notes: Campbells Stores and Campbells Cove are named after Robert Campbell (1769-1846) a pioneering and leading merchant in Sydney, a land-owner, a pastoralist, a philanthropist, and a politician, he was a member of the first New South Wales Legislative Council. He was born in Scotland, and at the age of 27 went to India in 1798 to join his elder brother John, in the Calcutta business partnership of Campbell, Clarke & Co. which became Campbell & Co in July 1799 when the Clarkes gave up their interest in the firm.The firm sent a speculative cargo to the new colony in 1796 on board the newly named Sydney Cove, however she was forced to run aground and was wrecked on Preservation Island in Bass Strait in 1797. The loss of the Sydney Cove did not deter the agency Campbell and Clarke. They acquired another vessel and renamed it the Hunter, after the NSW Governor. Robert Campbell, accompanied the ship to wind up the affairs of the Sydney Cove and sell the Hunter's cargo. While in Sydney, Campbell purchased the lease on waterside property and arranged an agent to acquire more land for him. He also attempted to gain Government and supply contracts. The stay convinced him of the colony's potential and gave him some idea about the most suitable cargos to send. He left Sydney and returned to Calcutta to convince merchants of the value of sending further cargo to the colony. Campbell came back to Sydney in 1800 to permanently represent the agency and commenced trading, gradually building up a reputation as a shrewd but honest merchant. In September 1801, he married Sophia Palmer, sister of John Palmer, who became Commissary of New South Wales. By November, 1801, some of Campbell's Storehouses were complete, as was a stone wall and small wharf at right angles to the main warehouse. It was claimed to be the first privately owned wharf in Australia. In 1802, Campbell and Sophia moved into Wharf House which was then incomplete. Beneath their house, vaults to store goods were excavated in the sandstone rock face. In the early years his Campbell & Co.'s business dealings involved importing goods and spirits from Calcutta for sale in Sydney, but not all voyages were successful and some shipping was lost at sea. Despite losses Campbell & Co. was heavily involved in the Australian trade, having ?50,000 worth of goods in its Sydney warehouses in 1804. As part of its import business the firm also engaged to fulfill government contracts for supplies from India, mainly livestock for the Sydney and Derwent settlements, which Governor Philip Gidley King calculated had brought the Campbell's firm ?16,000 from the government alone between 1800 and 1804.After the arrival of Governor William Bligh in August 1806, Campbell's high character led to his being appointed treasurer to the public funds, magistrate, naval officer, and collector of taxes, and, there being no bank at Sydney in 1807, the gaol and orphan funds were deposited with Campbell on its undertaking to pay interest at five per cent. His vaults under Wharf House were probably some of the most secure places in the entire colony. As a result of his sympathy for Governor Bligh, he was marked for persecution by the rebel administration after Bligh was deposed in what has become known as the Rum Rebellion of January 1808. In April Campbell was dismissed from his offices by Lieut.-Colonel Johnston who had taken over the administration of the colony. When Governor Macquarie arrived on 28 December 1809 Campbell was temporarily reinstated, but the Governor, on 8 March 1810, feeling that it was not right that a private merchant should be the collector of customs, asked the colonial office that a fresh appointment should be made of someone not "concerned in trade".Governor Lachlan Macquarie was anxious to grant land to settlers who were building large and substantial improvements on their Sydney leases. Hence on 29 June, 1814, Robert Campbell was granted 3 acres, 3 roods, at Campbells Cove, it was described as being bounded on the south by the premises occupied by the Naval Officer, on the southwest by a road leading to Dawes Point Battery, and on the east by Sydney Cove, 'in consequence of his having erected thereon several large and expensive Buildings'. Campbell was forced to leave his business in the hands of Charles Hook when he went back to Britain to give evidence at the trials following the rebellion. He returned on 18 March 1815 to find his business bankrupt and many of his ships wrecked. He sought compensation from the government but was forced to operate as a commission agent until he was able to rebuild his business. On 4 January 1822 Campbell formally received compensation from the government for the loss of his ships while he was in England from 1812-15. He built warehouses along the edge of the water, completed by 1825 but these are not the subject Campbell's Stores. Equipment for the wharf was also acquired; in 1831 Campbell's Wharf had one hydraulic pump, and by 1838, possessed one crane. Robert Campbell, senior, signed a partnership agreement with his sons who were gradually coming into the management of the firm in 1828. By about 1830 his son, John Campbell, had virtually taken over the business, and was officially head of the firm in 1836, however by then it was in financial difficulty.On 6 May 1836, Campbell's Wharf was advertised for sale. It was followed by an injunction to prevent the sale of shortly afterwards, whatever further action was necessary seems to have been successful, as the wharf remained in the hands of the Campbell family. Although control of the firm was largely in the hands of Campbell's sons, the land title was in Robert's name, and so he continued to be involved in matters regarding the land. On 21 January 1841 Robert Campbell formally applied to the Colonial Secretary for permission to enlarge part of his wharf so that ships could unload at low tide. His plan was to use a large rock which could not be removed by dredging as the foundation for the wharf. The Colonial Engineer, George Barney, minuted that he could find no objection to the enlargement of the wharf or the proposed method. On 29 June 1843, Robert Campbell senior mortgaged the wharf to The Australian Trust Company for £10,000 for three years with interest. The area was specified as being the 1814 grant. The need to mortgage the wharf indicated two alternative strategies being applied by the family to their interest. One was that they were mobilising all their available assets for improvements to their property and business to create a better liquidity. Alternatively, the dating of the mortgage, in the wake of one of the most devastating financial depressions in early Australia, may indicate an attempt to salvage their business using their land as a source of working capital. Whatever the reason for the initial mortgage, it was renewed again and again in following decades, so that the Campbell family did not hold complete equity in the wharf again. There eventually appears to have been some dispute between the Campbells and later mortgagees who took over the loan in later years. Only in 1877, after taking the matter to the Supreme Court, were the Campbells to regain possession, for a very short period.Robert Campbell senior was not to know anything of these travails regarding the wharf. On 11 October 1845, he drew up his will leaving his property in six parts to be divided amongst his sons John, Robert, Charles, George, and daughter Sophia Ives Campbell and Arthur Jeffreys, the husband of his daughter, Sarah. On 15 April 1846, Robert Campbell senior died at his property in the country named Duntroon, on the future site of Canberra. The first rate assessment of the City of Sydney taken in 1845 showed the following structures on Campbell's Wharf: a house, stores, warehouse and wharf valued at £1,000. At the 'north end of Campbell & Co wharf' were three stores plus an office and store, all of three storeys, with slate roofs, valued at £150 each, two of which were vacant and two occupied by Smith and Campbell. Additionally, there was a cottage for the overseer George Atherden, and an empty timber woolshed. These are the 1820s stores, not the subject stores which were constructed in the early 1850s. The initial building of the subject stores was complete by 1852; John Campbell had constructed five stores which were built of stone, with slate roofs, all provisionally assessed at a net value per annum of £30. The three-storey stone warehouses on the water's edge from the 1820s were still being used as well. The five new warehouses were built as two storeys with two rooms in each, three were used as warehouses and two were combined warehouses and offices, with four rooms. Soon afterwards, construction of additional six warehouse bays began. A photograph from the MF Moresby Album dated between 1856 and 1860 showed ten bays with the base of the eleventh bay under construction and awaiting its roof. The 1861 Rate Assessment Book shows that a further six bays had been added making eleven bays in all. A wide range of tenants took up warehouse space at Campbell's Wharf, some of them in Campbell's Stores. In 1858-59, Sands Directory lists the following at Campbell's Wharf: Campbell & Co; Sugar Company's stores; JC Dibbs & Co, commission agents and wharfingers; Robert Nash, storekeeper; WH Eldred, Capt., Chili Flour Co; Chilean Consulate - Consul, WH Eldred. In 1861, it shows: Campbell & Co; Colonial Sugar Refining Co, stores; Peruvian guano stores; George Lloyd & Co stores; Robey & Co.'s stores; George Lewis custom house officer; and WH Eldred, broker & general agent. In 1863, it shows: 4. Merry Willis and Co, merchants; 3. Henry Fisher & Son, sugar factors; 2. Brown & Co, merchants; 1. EM Sayers & Co, merchants; Robert Nash; WH Eldred, merchant; 4. Joseph Kendall, marine surveyor; JA Buttrey & Co, merchants; 5 and 6, Daniel Thacker & Co, merchants; 22 Campbell's stores; and John Campbell, merchant. A description of Campbell's Wharf was prepared in November 1875, probably by the Australasian Steam Navigation Company, which stated that the wharf had a landing area of 100 feet which was backed by 22 very strong stone stores which, along with two sheds on the wharf, and could hold 22,000 tons. The Campbell family sold Campbell's Wharf to the ASN Company in 1876. The ASN Company's old wharf at Sussex Street had become too small for its expanding trade and it needed a newer more central one. On 18 February 1876, the company applied to the Minister of Lands to extend Campbell's Wharf, which they had recently purchased, by running out jetties on piles into the harbour. An accompanying diagram showed that they had already reached the specified limit for reclamation of land from the harbour. Their application was approved on 1 May 1876 and a plan was drawn up of the reclaimed land by Surveyor Wansborough dated 19 October 1877. In May 1876, the ASN Company secretary stated that they had bought Campbell's Wharf for £100,000. Before the sale could be finalised there were some impediments in the title which the Campbells had to eliminate. Most notably was the outstanding mortgage from June 1843 which was now held by the Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Company of Sydney. John Campbell applied for the purchase of reclaimed land in front of Campbell's Wharf, measuring 2 roods 5 perches on 6 January 1877. The plan by JF Mann dated 4 January 1877 which accompanied the application showed the water frontage and some buildings but not Campbell's Stores. Since no limit had been laid down for the High Water Mark in this area, the application was accepted. He was also permitted to receive a Grant by Purchase of Reclaimed Land under the Crown Lands Act of 1 acre 1 rood and 22 perches reclaimed from Sydney Cove in front of Campbell's Wharf for £100, and the grant was issued on 17 December 1878. On 4 July 1879, he formally transferred title to the reclaimed land to the ASN Company.A detailed press report of November 1877 outlined the changes made by the ASN Company to Campbell's Wharf. It built a new wharf 320 feet long with two jetties 250 and 350 feet long, under the superintendence of Thomas Macredie. A new road 50 feet wide was planned to join George Street running in front of the Mariner's Church. In the construction of the wharves turpentine was used for all timber exposed to seawater, and ironbark and other hardwoods were used for the braces, beams and planking. A seawall and part of the new offices were built from stone quarried from the Company's old works at Pyrmont. Between 1877 and 1878, the name of the stores changed. In 1877, they were the 'Campbell's Bonded Stores', in 1878, the Sands Directory showed 'The Metcalfe Bond and Free Stores' with D Murray as the warehouse keeper. The stores retained the name 'Metcalfe Stores' until the 1970s. In October 1879, the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company leased the southern part of the wharf at £1,750 per annum which was renewed on 15 February 1881. In January 1880, a strip of land was sold to the City Council for £4,000 to widen George Street North. The ASN Company secretary reported that in May 1881, they had sold 'Campbell's Garden' for £25,000. In September 1884, the ASN Company accepted a contract for £30,000 for the building of new offices and four stores on the site of Campbell's old house. Probably to enable them to finance the work, the company took out a mortgage on 31 March 1885 to the Australian Mutual Provident Society over their land. Rather than demolish Campbell's Stores, the company enlarged them to three floors. They were still eleven bays, but an extra level to each bay ensured there were three rooms with interconnecting doors within each group of three bays. By 1886, the ASN Company had become over-extended due to its efforts to match the competition and prices of its rival shipping firms. A major tactical blunder had been the purchase of Campbell's Wharf and the subsequent cost of rebuilding. While it allowed the company to make some welcome profits from the capital values of the land, especially from the sale of the strip of land facing George Street, the relocation of the company away from its original base in Darling Harbour took it away from the hub of the coastal shipping trade. Additionally, it had to pay a higher cartage charge on its goods from Circular Quay. Matters became ever more difficult for the company and it made an overture to the Queensland Steam Navigation Company on 30 October 1886, which resulted in the amalgamation of the two companies to form the Australasian United Steam Ship Co Ltd. It took over all assets of the ASN Company except the engineering works. The QSN company already had adequate wharfage and found Campbell's Wharf redundant. On 21 May, 1887, the ASN Company, then in liquidation, offered Campbell's Wharf to the government for £300,000. It had already sold all of its steam ships. Most of the wharf was leased and the description included 'Eleven 3-story [sic] stores built of brick on stone', known as the Metcalfe Bond and were let to J Upward at £1,650 with a lease running until July 1890. The government responded on 26 July 1887 that it was only willing to offer £275,000, an offer which was later accepted by the shareholders. On 27 September 1887, the Government Surveyor, SE Perdriau surveyed the land and found that it comprised 3 acres 10 perches, of which 1 acre 2 roods and 28 perches were part of the 1814 grant and 1 acre 1 rood 22 perches were included in the 1878 grant of reclaimed land. A plan which was filed with the papers for the sale to the government and probably prepared by Perdriau showed all the buildings on the site. The formal conveyance of the wharf from the Australasian Steam Navigation Company to The Crown occurred on 28 October 1887, for £275,000. The plan accompanying the deed showed that part of Campbell's 1814 grant, along Lower George Street, had been sold to JW Cliffe and W Clarke. It also showed all buildings on the site. The subject stores was shown as partially built on the reclaimed land and not wholly on the 1814 grant. The government demolished most of the buildings to build a Navigation Board slipway, leaving only the subject stores. It ejected the P & O Company from its lease and leased the land to Blackwall and Company who demolished the P & O buildings and built new ones, which were occupied in 1888 by Flood and Company. The 1895 Detail showed the outline of the stores with the Branch Office, Government Printing Office at the northern end. Re-decking of the old ASN wharf was undertaken by the Public Works Department in 1890 at a cost of £454/1/3. Upward & Co, of Circular Quay, continued to lease the Metcalfe Stores, until at least 1901.In 1901, the Sydney Harbour Trust took over the Stores and came to an agreement with Norddeutscher Lloyd to build a new wharf measuring 1,000 feet and 40 feet wide, with offices and other buildings which the company would lease for three years at £2,500 per annum. Associated with this work was the reconstruction of the twin piers into a substantial central jetty, with full length sheds. Also in 1901, the Sydney Harbour Trust compiled a Register of Assets, which described for the former Campbell's Wharf, '2 large store stone and brick, slate roof each 3 floors. NOTE The Southern Store has 11 divisions built of stone & brick. The Northern Store has 4 divisions built of Stone'. A memo regarding the Northern Store stated 'To be demolished'. The tenant of the Southern Store was given as 'Upward & Coy' at £500 pa payable monthly. The Sydney Harbour Trust in 1902, undertook repairs costing £7/15/- to the Stores. During the twentieth century, a series of other modifications have been made. In 1932, a fire broke out in the northern addition to the stores which housed part of the Government Printing Office and the offices of Metcalfe and Upward. Metcalfe and Upward moved after the fire to the second floor in the centre of the stores. The brick section damaged by the fire was later rebuilt. The move of commercial maritime activities out of Sydney Cove and into Darling Harbour and Pyrmont affected Campbell's Stores in the twentieth century. During the late nineteenth century, Circular Quay developed as a terminus for sightseers and day-trippers. The mix of commercial and recreational activities was causing Sydney Cove to become heavily congested, particularly at weekends. One of the first acts of the Harbour Trust after it gained control of the area in 1901 was an attempt to relieve congestion by the resumption of foreshore land and constructing two jetties and a longshore wharf on the eastern side of Bennelong Point. The eastern side of the quay was devoted to recreational traffic by the 1930s and was completely remodelled for that purpose in the 1950s, commercial activity continued in the vicinity of Campbell's Wharf into the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1958, the southernmost bay of the stores was removed to allow construction of the Overseas Passenger Terminal, leaving ten bays. Campbell's Stores subsequently came into the control of the Sydney Cove Redevelopment Authority (later Sydney Cove Authority) after being handed over by the Maritime Services Board (successor to the Sydney Harbour Trust) in the 1970s. The Sydney Cove Authority later redeveloped the stores for their current use as a restaurant area. In the mid-1980s, substantial works were undertaken in the vicinity of Campbell's Stores as part of the Bicentenary celebrations that included the removal of some of the wharfage near Campbell's Stores. In 1998, the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority assumed control of the area including the Campbell's Stores. (Adapted from Godden Mackay Logan, CMP 2011)

Historical significance: Campbell's Stores is a rare example of mid-nineteenth-century warehousing in Sydney and the only one of its type remaining on the foreshores of Sydney Cove. Campbell's Stores provides evidence of the changing nature of activities around Sydney Cove, the importance of this area as the hub of commerce and international shipping transport until the late nineteenth century, and its recent role as a cultural focus of international importance. The construction of the first five bays of Campbell's Stores in 1851-52 demonstrates the improved and changing commercial fortunes of Sydney and the Campbell family from the late 1840s, after the earlier depression. The construction of the additional six bays between 1858 and 1861 demonstrates further economic growth and the impact of the 1851 gold rushes that resulted in an increased colonial population and the need in Sydney and NSW for commercial storage. The construction of the third level of Campbell's Stores by the Australasian Steam Navigation Company in the mid-1880s demonstrates a further period of commercial confidence in Sydney during a highly competitive period when the expansion and absorption of companies was reshaping the corporate structures of New South Wales shipping. The withdrawal of the ASN Co from Campbell's Stores in the late 1880s reflects the increasing dominance of Darling Harbour as the principal area of commercial shipping activity in Sydney. The hydraulic hoists and winches fixed to the building demonstrate some of the technological changes in late-nineteenth-century handling of goods. The external fabric of the Campbell's Stores demonstrates four phases of technological change in the handling of goods in and around the building. The loading doors on the two lower levels and the cat-head beams of the manual handling phase were in use during most of the nineteenth century. The presence of loading doors on both levels demonstrates that each space, on the upper and lower levels of the bays, were separate from one another. The installation of hydraulic hoisting equipment following the addition of the third level to Campbell's Stores illustrates the goods handling and haulage technology introduced in the late nineteenth century. The hydraulic rams, the gas engine-driven winch and the two motor-driven winches were integral to the efficiency of third floor and demonstrate the development in hoisting equipment from the traditional cat-head hoist at the turn of the century. The internal layout of the Campbell's Stores clearly demonstrates the importance of the lifting devices to the efficiency of operations on all levels. By the twentieth century, all of level three of the Campbell's Store building was served by mechanical lifting equipment, and previously separate bays were linked by openings in the walls on the upper level. The acquisition of Campbell's Stores by the Government in 1887 is evidence of a broader government interest in controlling infrastructure and utilities, increasing interest in this area as a base for its own maritime activities. Evidence of the Government acquisition is provided by the establishment of the Branch Stores Office of the Government Printing Office, adjacent to the northern end of Campbell's Stores (now Bay 11). The construction of Hickson Road and its impact on Campbell's Stores is evidence of work of the Sydney Harbour Trust and the changes that occurred in this area as a result of the bubonic plague scares of 1900-1905. Evidence of the construction of Hickson Road is found in the alterations to the west facade of Bay 10 and the current alignment of Bay 11. Campbell's Stores is significant for its association with commercial Bond and Free Store usage for over one hundred and twenty years from 1851 to c1970, with each successive owner, including the Sydney Harbour Trust and Maritime Services Board, leasing sections of the Stores to a variety of merchant companies. The demolition of the southern-most bay of Campbell's Stores to facilitate construction of the elevated roadway for the Overseas Passenger Terminal development is evidence of a shift away from the traditional usage of this area. The fabric and use changes instigated by the Sydney Cove Redevelopment Authority in the early 1970s are further evidence of the increasing importance of The Rocks as a tourist destination and cultural area and an interest in historic buildings generally. This was one of the first major adaptive reuse and restoration projects undertaken in Sydney and it reflects the philosophical approach to conservation at the time. The changes that have occurred since the 1970s in the fit-out of the leased areas for restaurant use reflect different aspirations and approaches to the recycling of historic buildings. The interior of the Waterfront Restaurant reflects an 'historic' maritime character, the 'Imperial Peking'; and the 'Italian Village' are based on a transformation of character using Asian and European cultural imagery, while respectively, 'Wolfies' involves a contemporary fit-out which retains more of the original spatial character and finishes than the other examples.

Historical association: Campbell's Stores is associated with the Campbell family. Campbell's Stores is a surviving element of an evolving complex of wharves and stores that began with the construction by Robert Campbell (Sen), the founder of the dynasty, of the first privately-owned wharf in Australia, in 1801. Although Campbell's Stores was not built for Robert Campbell (Sen), it was erected for the firm he created which was then managed by his sons. The first five bays of Campbell's Stores demonstrate the consolidation of this pioneer commercial dynasty rather than the pioneering phase of that family's growth.Campbell's Stores was associated with one of the most important commercial shipping and transport companies in Australian history, the Australasian Steam Navigation Company. The construction of the third level of Campbell's Stores by the ASN Co in the mid-1880s demonstrates the company's commercial confidence in Sydney. The withdrawal of the ASN Co from Campbell's Stores in the late 1880s reflects the financial over-extension of the Company.The technology in use in the operation of the hydraulic hoisting equipment and winch is associated with the Clyde Industries Group, one of the earliest and largest manufacturing organisations in Australian history. The large wheels of the winches mounted on Level 3 in Bays 3 and 9, each bear an embossed inscription bearing the words 'Hudson Brothers Limited Clyde'. Hudson Brothers dominated the Australian manufacturing industry in the late nineteenth century and was later amalgamated into Clyde Engineering Co Ltd, responsible for rolling stock, steam locomotives and, most famously, the structural steel for the northern approaches to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.Campbell's Stores has Local significance value under this criterion.(Godden Mackay Logan, 2011)

Aesthetic significance: Campbell's Stores is a superb example of mid-nineteenth century warehouse buildings of a type now rare in Sydney. It has iconic value as a representation of early Sydney, particularly in the area around Sydney Cove and The Rocks. It has landmark value as a dominant and easily recognisable form that is visible from a wide area of Sydney Harbour, the Harbour Bridge and North Sydney. The design, form and materials of Campbell's Stores contribute to a complex of buildings of high visual and sensory appeal. Their design reflects and describes the buildings' original function in a simple but dignified manner. Their form is a coherent whole made up of repetitive gabled bays combined with an undulating rhythm of door and window openings. The consistent use of sandstone, brick and slate materials reinforces this visual coherence and provides an appearance of solidity and quality. Campbell's Store has aesthetic significance at a technical level because its form and design details allow for an understanding of its original use. It also represents a surviving example of an older style set of warehouses; a building type once common around Sydney, but now rare. The gabled bay form, cat-head beams, hoists, goods aprons and doors are typical of the older, mid-nineteenth century warehouse buildings. The gabled bay form, external staircases, bars on openings and lack of internal connections between bays (on Levels 1 and 2) evidence its bond store use. This required secure and segregated spaces, not only between bays but also between levels. The cat-head beams, goods aprons, pulleys, loading doors, hydraulic hoisting equipment and winches are demonstrative of the change from manual handling of goods to the use of hydraulic and other mechanical technology at Campbell's Stores during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The use of hydraulic hoisting equipment and mechanical winches became an integral part of the operations of the Stores, following the addition of a third level in the late nineteenth century. The hydraulic hoisting equipment and winches in particular are a prominent aesthetic element of the Campbell's Stores and are evocative of the industrial origins of this dockside site in Sydney Harbour. The functional design of the third level of the Campbell Stores is significant as it represents a transition in usage between the older style traditional warehouse form of self-contained unit bays and the later, larger, warehouses with interconnected spaces. The adaptation of the earlier warehouse illustrates the application of new technology to an older building form. The original internal spatial volumes, timber floor and roof structure and other fabric associated with the original usage of Campbell's Stores is also significant as evidence of their warehouse use and of changes made to them over time for that use. The technology evident in this building such as the hydraulic hoisting equipment is evidence of technical innovation.

Social significance: Campbell's Stores have social significance within the contemporary community resulting from their role in cultural tourism. They are esteemed as a well-known and easily identifiable historic icon by Sydney-siders as well as international and domestic tourists.Its high level of recognition is due, in part, to its location in one of the key recreational and tourist areas in Sydney and because of its popular restaurant use and resultant public exposure. Its greatest exposure, though, is to the thousands of ferry commuters who pass by it daily on their way to and from work in the city.

Research significance: Campbell's Stores has the potential to contribute further to our understanding of the early maritime operation that occurred around Sydney Cove, and in particular within the Campbell's complex. It also has the potential to contribute further to our understanding of the use and operations of mid-nineteenth century warehouse buildings, particularly in the area of goods handling and the changes in technology that occurred over time.The Campbell's Stores site has potential archaeological, scientific and research significance relevant to earlier uses and the development of the site. The archaeological significance may have been reduced due to disturbance from later alterations and refurbishment works to the site.

Rare assessment: Campbell's Stores is a rare example of mid-nineteenth-century warehousing in Sydney and the only building of its type remaining on the foreshore of Sydney Cove. The collection of late-nineteenth-century goods-handling equipment is a rare assembly of different types of such equipment in a single location, providing a unique opportunity for comparison and interpretation.

Representative assessment: Campbell's Stores demonstrates the evolution and importance of Sydney Cove for maritime trading activities. The building is representative of a class of similar masonry warehouses that were once common on the shores of Sydney Harbour. The changes demonstrate the evolution of increasingly large warehouses in the second half of the nineteenth century, and the activities of the former Sydney Harbour Trust. The materials and construction are representative of mid-nineteenth century warehouses. It provides evidence for the lifting and storage of goods in nineteenth century maritime trade.

Intact assessment: Potential archaeological resource

Physical condition: Externally, the building is in fair condition: there are cracks in the walls and sandstone pointing is required (P. Wyborn 1999). Internally, some sections of sandstone walling on the lowest level are in a highly deteriorated condition. Also, much alteration which has caused damage to or obscured significant fabric and fitout work has been undertaken (Godden Mackay 1996: 146-148)The Campbell's Stores site has potential archaeological, scientific and research significance relevant to earlier uses and the development of the site. (Ibid: 89)Timber gantries have been removed and are in storage at 190 Cumberland Street. Preventative maintenance has been undertaken to the remaining timbers. (P. Wyborn 1999)Archaeology Assessment Condition: Partly disturbed. Assessment Basis: Terraced into hill slope from Campbells Cove. Investigation: Archaeological Assessment

Listings

References

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written	SCRA	1975	Annual Reports 1975-1979
Management Plan	Godden Mackay Logan	2004	Campbells Stores Conservation Management Plan
Written	P Wyborn	1999	Verbal advice to S Hoppe
Written	Higginbotham, Kass & Walker	1991	The Rocks and Millers Point Archaeological Management Plan
Written	grants index
Written	SCRA	1978	Building Data Sheet CC/01
Written	Godden Mackay Heritage Consultants	1996	Campbell's Stores, The Rocks - Conservation Plan Volumes 1&2
Management Plan (HC Endorsed)	Godden Mackay Logan Heritage Consultants	2014	Campbell's Stores - 7-27 Circular Quay West
Management Plan	Godden Mackay Logan	2011	Conservation Management Plan

IMAGES

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge