1 October 2026
I’m surprised to see this simple Edwardian industrial building is still intact ! It’s on the pointy corner of City Road and Whiteman Street. It was built c1910, with a red brick front reflecting the gable roofs behind, and the ‘back’ wall is just just clad in corrugated iron. The heavy timber roof structure is intact (pics from heritage study).
It was built for engineers Johns & Waygood, best known for lifts, and was the first part of a complex they added to bit by bit eventually taking over the whole block. I like how unpretentious it is, and the way the iron wall curves along Whiteman Street.
I remember it was identified way back when planning for Southbank as a redevelopment precinct for going in the early 90s, with the Trust valiantly listing many old sheds and such like, most of which have gone, or are only a front wall now. Eg the part of Whiteman Street where the Casino now is had a bunch of nice sheds (pics 15,16). A few still remain in the area, such as this whole block, part 1910, part 1920s, with a 50s office on the corner. (last pic is J&W earlier premises).
It’s on the edge of the Southbank postcode, but falls within Fisherman’s Bend planning, within the City of Port Phillip, and has a suggested 20 storeys for the corner. That’s despite the heritage overlay and significance of the structure itself – I’m sure most planners just assume only the front wall would remain. There’s already been a development proposed, but withdrawn in 2022. The corner is currently the main depot for Empower Australia foodbank, nice and central for them.
