Heritage Interpretation Scheme

274-278 Little Lonsdale Street lies in the traditional land of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung, in Naarm/Melbourne. 

Through colonisation, Governor Richard Bourke and surveyor Robert Hoddle established the Hoddle Grid in 1837, which laid out Melbourne’s street system. Over the next decade, plots of land were subdivided and offered for sale by the Crown, with the allotment at 274-278 Little Lonsdale Street, purchased and subdivided in 1847. 

274-278 Little Lonsdale Street was included on the Victorian Heritage Inventory, for its potential to contain historical archaeological remains associated with the colonisation and growth of early Melbourne. In accordance with Heritage Victoria legislation, prior to the construction of 278 Little Lonsdale, Dr Vincent Clark Archaeology & Heritage were commissioned to conduct an archaeological excavation of the site. The excavation uncovered significant structural remains and archaeological features and over 15,000 artefacts. These findings reflect a range of historical activity, spanning from the mid-19th century when the blacksmith Edward Pope and his family occupied the site, to the Zevenboom brush factory that operated from the late 19th into the early 20th century. 

To discover more about the site’s history, the archaeological excavation and the artefacts, follow the links…