(c) (d) | the place has outstanding heritage value to the nation because of the place's potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Australia’s natural or cultural history the place has outstanding heritage value to the nation because of the place's importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of: (i) a class of Australia's natural and cultural places; or (ii) a class of Australia's natural and cultural environments | The Queen Victoria Market is of national significance for its research potential as the site of the Old Melbourne Cemetery. As an early colonial multi-denominational and Aboriginal cemetery which represents the founding population of a major state capital, it offers rare potential for study into matters such as the diet, lifestyle, wealth, pathology and burial customs of the full cross-section of early Melbourne society. The anticipated number of burials that remain at the site make it the largest single example of an early 19th century colonial cemetery in Australia, and in particular, one that contains a population not founded as a convict settlement. Although the site has been disturbed and a number of burials exhumed over time, numerous investigations have demonstrated that the level of disturbance is less than at comparable sites and that there is a relative prevalence of complementary documentary evidence, making it the pre-eminent example of such a site in Australia. Features expressing this value include but are not limited to the sub-surface remains within the footprint of the former Old Melbourne Cemetery, the results of earlier archaeological investigations and the existing burial records, particularly those held at St James Old Cathedral. The memorial to John Batman and the remaining section of the 1878 cemetery wall are significant as the only remaining above ground evidence of the Cemetery. The Queen Victoria Market demonstrates the principal characteristics of a metropolitan produce market in nineteenth century Australia. Allocated as a market site since 1859 and formally opened as the Queen Victoria Market in 1878, the Market demonstrates the importance of fresh produce markets to Colonial settlements as a primary means of acquiring food at the time. The Market played an important role in the wholesale and later retail trade of meat, fruit and vegetables. It provided vital income for the colony, and opportunities for recently arrived migrants. The Queen Victoria Market represents the important role fresh produce markets have played in the development of Australia as an urbanised nation in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, allowing the colonies to grow and prosper. It is representative of an era before major changes in transport, science and communications revolutionised the distribution of fresh produce in Australia’s metropolitan areas. Developments such as refrigeration, the widespread use of cars and other modes of mass transport, electricity and improved hygiene have all influenced food distribution in Australia. While evidence of these changes can be seen in modern day market practices, the Queen Victoria Market still retains much of its original nineteenth century character. The Queen Victoria Market is the only nineteenth century market to display all of the building typologies of a market of this time, and is the largest and most intact nineteenth century market in Australia. It continues to operate as a city produce and general market, and exhibits a high degree of social interaction, mixture of cultural experiences and authenticity in its practices, providing a tangible link to the Market’s origins in the nineteenth century. Features expressing these values include but are not limited to the collection of open sheds in upper and lower markets, enclosed market halls, stores and perimeter shops. Significant features of the market sheds include their open design to allow accessibility and circulation, absence of permanent stall structures, layout in regular row pattern flanked by laneways, and construction of post and beam system, with exposed triangulated trusses supporting a gabled roof (sheds A-E) or other original construction design (sheds F, K, L and M). The enclosed Market Halls are significant as demonstrating another nineteenth century market building typology, and include the Meat Hall and Dairy Produce Hall. Specifically, the Classical façade of the Meat Hall with its regular pattern of brickwork and arch headed openings, as well as the rendered animal relief reflect the building’s nineteenth century origins. The wide aisles and other elements of the Meat Hall demonstrating early butchery practice are also significant. Original twentieth century fittings and internal elements of the Dairy Produce Hall designed for food display, including the sawtooth roof form over the hall designed to enhance natural lighting through clerestory windows, vertically balanced sash shutters, unified wall tiling and marble counters are significant, and reflect the market’s evolution into the twentieth century. The Elizabeth Street and Victoria Street Shops are significant as demonstrating the nineteenth century principles associated with perimeter shops, while the Franklin Street Stores illustrate the utilitarian aspect of market buildings as well as the wholesale function of the Market in the early twentieth century. In relation to both the shops/terraces and stores, their uniformity of alignment in row pattern, consistency of features, orientation and original features such as shopfronts and verandahs, are all significant contributory attributes. The remnant original gate with municipal emblem and Dairy Produce Hall arch are also significant as evidence of the nineteenth century origins and early twentieth century features of the Market, and the associated importance of food markets to society at this time. The Market's continued operation as a produce market in its original location provides further representation of these values. The intangible and experiential qualities of the Market, including its distinctive character and open setting, cultural variety, liveliness and traditional interactions between customers and traders all contribute to the authenticity and readability of the site as a marketplace with its origins in the nineteenth century. |