Alphington Paper Mill

Last updated

Amcor Paper Mill
Old paper mill, Alphington.jpg
The Paper Mill's Boiler House in 2019, surrounded by construction
Alphington Paper Mill
Alternative names
  • Alphington Paper Mill
  • Australian Paper Manufacturers Limited Fairfield Mill
General information
StatusDemolished
Address626 Heidelberg Road
Town or city Alphington, Victoria
CountryAustralia
Coordinates 37°47′1″S145°1′38″E / 37.78361°S 145.02722°E / -37.78361; 145.02722
Year(s) builtPaper Mill: 2 years [1]
Completed
  • Paper Mill: 1921 [1]
  • Boiler House: 1954 [2]
Management Amcor [1]
Technical details
Size16.5 ha [1]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Boiler House: E. Keith Mackay [1]
Architecture firmBoiler House: Mussen, Mackay & Potter [1]
EngineerBoiler House: Norman Mussen and Charles Potter [1]

Alphington Paper Mill, which was located in Alphington, Victoria, Australia, was constructed in two years for Australian Paper Manufacturers and opened in 1921, with the Boiler House added in 1954. In 2008, the plant was closed and in 2012, the property was sold to a consortium that planned to redevelop it into a residential area.

Contents

History

Aerial view of the former APM Alphington Site (1950) Aerial view of the former Australian Paper Manufacturers, Alphington, Victoria.tif
Aerial view of the former APM Alphington Site (1950)

Construction

In August 1918, Australian Paper Manufacturers (APM, later Amcor) purchased the site, which at the time was named Woodlands, to construct a mill. Construction of the building took two years using 1,200,000 bricks and was completed in 1921. [1] [3] In the 1930s, APM heavily expanded its operations on the site, bringing in a 15-ton turbo generator in 1932 and floating A$1 million worth of shares in 1937 to fund further expansion. [3] In 1954, APM constructed the Boiler House, which was designed by Mussen, Mackay and Potter, to house boilers and the turbines powering the mill. [4] The building included one of Melbourne's earliest examples of curtain walling. [5]

Closure and redevelopment

In 2008, Amcor announced its intentions to close the plant. The following year, state planning minister Justin Madden rezoned the land for mixed-use, allowing "in excess of 2,000 homes as well as retail, office and community facilities along the Yarra River" to be constructed. The property went to market that year and again in 2011; Amcor expected it to sell for A$200 million but the site went unsold. Manufacturing ended in December 2012, when the company moved its operations to a new $500 million plant in Sydney. The Alphington property was sold in 2013 for $120 million to a consortium including the companies Alpha Partners, Wesfarmers and Glenvill Group. [6]

On 25 October 2017, the new planning minister Richard Wynne announced the Boiler House would not receive a Heritage Overlay to "make way for new homes, parkland and open space". [4] Plans for the development set out an estimated 2,500 townhouses and apartments, 13,000 m2 (140,000 sq ft) of retail space, affordable housing, community facilities and open space. The development was expected to house 5,000 new residents, doubling the suburb's population. [7] The development, which was dubbed "Tesla town" due to its environmentally friendly approach, would include homes with solar panels, Tesla Powerwall solar batteries, electric vehicle chargers, and a six-star ESD rating from the Urban Development Institute of Australia. The developers also planned for a water-use reduction of 43% and an 80% landfill reduction. [8] [9]

Incidents

In October 1927, Charles Butling, a 24-year-old foreman labourer at the mill, was crushed by three tons of equipment. He was taken to St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, but died upon arrival. [10]

In June 1949, APM was charged with six counts of "having committed a nuisance by allowing smoke dust, and incompletely combusted material to issue from its chimneys" by the City of Heidelberg. The complaint arose after soot entered the homes of nearby residents. The incident was caused by a shortage of black coal. [11]

In December 2007, Heidelberg Magistrates' Court convicted Amcor for releasing oil into the nearby Yarra River and fined it $80,000. [12]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Nitch, Wolf (30 March 2020). "Heritage Lost: AMCOR Paper Mill" (Blog). Wolf Nitch. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  2. ↑ Allom Lovell & Associates. "City of Yarra Heritage Review: Building Citations". Heritage Victoria. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Amcor – The Australian Paper Manufacturing Company". Darebin Libraries. City of Darebin. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  4. 1 2 Harris, Josh (26 October 2017). "'Architecturally significant' power station to be demolished, replaced with housing development". ArchitectureAU. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  5. ↑ "Australian Paper Mills Boiler House". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Council Victoria. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  6. ↑ Quinn, Karl (30 June 2013). "Amcor mill site sells for $120 million". The Age . Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  7. ↑ Van Estrop, Chad (3 December 2015). "Redevelopment of former Alphington Paper Mill gets green light, population set to double". Herald Sun . Melbourne Leader. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  8. ↑ Tippet, Harrison (14 July 2016). "'Future proof' YarraBend mini-suburb homes hit the market". Herald Sun . Preston Leader. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  9. ↑ Tablang, Kristin (19 July 2016). "This Australian Village Will Be Powered Entirely by Tesla". Forbes . Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Workman Killed". The Argus . 17 October 1927. p. 20. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  11. ↑ "Paper Mill "Nuisance" Cases Adjourned". The Argus . 3 June 1949. p. 13. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  12. ↑ O'Reilly, D. (12 March 2020). "Amcor Packaging (Australia) Pty Ltd (ACN 004 275 165)". Environment Protection Authority Victoria . Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023.

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