[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] T [/dropcap]he Fletcher Jones site has been withdrawn from sale, pending a change to its zoning by the Warrnambool City Council.
Real estate agent Mark Wilson, from Wilson Real Estate, told Bluestone that the site had been withdrawn from sale by administrators just after Christmas in anticipation that it would be rezoned from industrial to mixed use.
“There are still ‘for sale’ signs all over the property and I am sure if a cashed-up buyer walked in tomorrow they would not be turned away, but it is not on the market right now,” he said.
Mr Wilson said a change of zoning would hopefully make the site a more attractive prospect for a potential purchaser because it allowed for greater flexibility.
“That is certainly the aim,” he said.
The present Industrial 3 zoning allows for such things as small scale retail, workshops, mini factories and office space.
Despite the withdrawal from sale indicating such a plan may be afoot, the Warrnambool City Council told Bluestone that it has not received a submission for the zoning to be changed.
The 2.3ha site was owned by Geelong businessman Ian Ballis, who developed the Mill Markets, but has been under administration since July 2012 as part of his company, Daramking.
Administrator Ken Sellers, from SellersMuldoonBenton, is handling the affairs of Daramking, but was unavailable for comment.
The former owner of the Fletcher Jones site, Ian Ballis, who developed the Mill Markets before going into receivership in 2012. Image: Jeremy Lee, ABC Radio. Click on the image to hear Jeremy’s story from 2008.
[box] Bluestone Magazine is part of a growing grassroots campaign to save the best of the Fletcher Jones site in Warrnambool from being lost through neglect. We support a sensitive development of the site that respects its social and physical history and preserves the iconic gardens and silver ball for future generations.[/box]
Landscape gardener Paul Ryan with “Tina” (made by Lust for Rust) who presides over a corner of his magnificent 10-acre garden on Hopkins Point Road, Warrnambool.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”]P [/dropcap]aul Ryan has the salty-haired, stocky, sun-browned body of a person who has spent a life working outdoors and swimming in the sea, and these twin loves are behind a project that has dominated his life for almost a decade.
The self-taught landscape gardener and avid surfer has spent the past eight years slowly transforming an abandoned quarry on the corner of Hopkins Point and Tooram roads, Allansford, from an overgrown and derelict eyesore into a magnificent, 10-acre garden that almost defies description.
Paul, 45, who grew up on a farm on Terang, had always dreamt of creating a “big acreage garden” and when he saw the ‘for sale’ sign on the old quarry property, he could instantly see the potential.
“There was 2.3 acres of flat land at the top that I thought would be ideal for a house block and the remainder was in pretty bad shape, but it was a good size and at a reasonable price,” he says.
Low-water, low-maintenance plants have been used throughout the garden to ensure environmental friendless and far less upkeep.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] P [/dropcap]aul bought the land and lived in a caravan on the site for eight months while he built his house, then he set to work dividing the garden into different rooms, or zones, each with their own distinct character: traditional European, modern Australia, renaissance and a gothic garden among them.
Each room has been methodically and meticulously brought to life with mass plantings of extraordinary succulents, grasses, trees, shrubs, bushes and flowers – including rare species such as a South American silk floss tree – that require little water or ongoing maintenance, which are both critical to a large-scale garden.
“When some people see what I have done, they ask how I maintain it all, well a lot of it looks after itself – apart from the mowing and I like my ride-on mower, it is a form of meditation to me,” Paul laughs.
The striking trunk of the rare South American silk floss tree that is part of Paul’s collection of more than 6000 plants.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] W [/dropcap]hile Paul has not kept count of the number of plants he has planted, he believes there would be more than 6000 that he has collected, bought or been given over the years.
“Nurseries to me are like supermarkets. I can walk in and, within a minute or two, I know if there is something there that I want: I know what to look for,” he explains.
“You also learn things as you go along and evolve as the garden evolves. I am always learning more about plants, their heritage and their various meanings to various cultures.”
Recycled driftwood camouflages an otherwise ugly shipping container used for storage.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T [/dropcap]he plants, however, are only one half of the story. The stunning garden is also a showcase of recycled objects that have been used to landscape or beautify various parts of the property, many of which Paul has collected while surfing – an almost daily ritual.
An ugly shipping container, for example, has been completely camouflaged by long pieces of driftwood. Dozens of discarded fishing buoys decorate a wooden fence and, in another part of the property, a heavy-duty line of marine rope serves as a hand-rail for a boardwalk.
Building materials – timber, bricks, masonry, stones – have also been recycled as paths, walks, and rockeries and the property is dotted with sculptures that Paul has either purchased or made himself.
The two enormous urns at the gateway to the ‘gothic’ garden are recycled cement mixer barrels tipped on their end.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] O [/dropcap]ne of the most intriguing and eye-catching installations are two enormous, rust-coloured urns that stand either side of the gated entrance to the “gothic” garden and house two equally enormous plants. Paul explains that the ‘urns’ are in fact cement mixer barrels that he has cut down and tipped on to their ends.
“It is hard work, but it is my therapy. I see it as garden Buddhism – breaking my rocks, mowing my lawn, fixing my mistakes – but it is also an obsession,” he laughs.
Paul’s great uncle and grandfather were gardeners at the prestigious Minjah property, near Caramut, so he thinks he has obviously been touched by the same gene that doesn’t shy away from gardening on a grand scale.
Will Paul’s garden, however, ever reach an end point?
“I am giving myself four more years and then it will be finished, but it still won’t be complete.”
Paul has also made some creative sculptures, like these balls of barbed wire, to decorate his spectacular property.
[box type=”bio”] Paul holds an open day at The Quarry about once a month until winter. Entry is $10 to cover upkeep costs. Bluestone will let you know via our Facebook page when the next open day is scheduled. Update: the next open day is March 22 and 23. If you are a Bluestone Club member, check out how you can win a double pass. We have removed our slideshow in the hope you will go and see the real thing – and tell Paul you read it in Bluestone! [/box]
The mini Silver Ball as it was in 2005 when the multi-media installation was unveiled at the back of the Fletcher Jones factory in Warrnambool. (Image supplied by Brenda O’Connor).
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color:#A02F2F;”] A [/dropcap] miniature, but otherwise almost perfect replica of the iconic Fletcher Jones Silver Ball in Warrnambool is poised to be brought out of storage and re-assembled for the first time in almost nine years.
The three-metre tall replica was built in 2005 as part of an interactive art project managed by the Melbourne-based arts company, Experimenta, and funded through a $34,000 grant from the then Bracks State Government.
Experimenta worked over three months with local artists, community groups and young film makers to create the silver ball installation, which was unveiled during a weekend event staged at the back of the Fletcher Jones factory, off Lava St.
At that time, three flaps on the side of the ball dropped down to reveal television sets (of the old-fashioned, big-bummed variety) that broadcast a series of short films made by the young film makers about the Fletcher Jones story and site.
The keeper of the sphere: Murray Adams with the deconstructed ball in a farm shed at Wangoom.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T [/dropcap]he ball has not been seen in public since and is now stored in a farm shed at Wangoom under the watchful eye of artist, machine operator and welder Murray “Muzz” Adams who was one of the artists involved in its creation. The other artists included Tamara Sharp, Kate Gage, Carolyn Rundell and Nathan Nicholson.
“It is a fully engineered piece of work with a fibreglass skin fitted over a steel framework,” Murray explained.
Just like the real Silver Ball water tower, the miniature version was built to withstand Warrnambool’s famous winds (up to 90kph, at least) and the three orange, steel legs form a sturdy tripod inside the sphere to ensure it will never topple off its perch and roll away.
“It really is quite durable and can take a bit of a beating,” Murray said.
Plans are afoot to re-assemble the ball, which is currently detached from its legs and base, for the F-Project Cinema’s Silver Ball Screening Project scheduled for early May.
“We are planning to locate it at the back of the post office, in the carpark end of Ozone Walk,” said F-Project President Emma Charlton.
One of the three flaps on the ball that opened to reveal a television on which local films about Fletcher Jones were screened.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color:#A02F2F”] T [/dropcap]he replica ball will again be used to screen films made by locals, although the obsolete TV sets will be replaced by more modern technology. It is also hoped to revive an another part of the original installation, which saw a person either pedal a bicycle or operate a manual sewing machine to provide power for the flaps to open and reveal the screens.
“We won’t know what is to be screened in the ball until (the films) are submitted at the end of March, but we’re also thinking of reviving the films which were initially made as a part of this previous project,” Emma said.
The theme of the Silver Ball Screening Festival is ‘Keeping the ball in the air’ and has already inspired some quirky interpretations.
Some of the ideas, Emma said, included animated bugs collecting the silver ball, a documentary about social services in Warrnambool (therefore keeping the metaphorical ball in the air), and a narrative including the water tower tumbling down Lava St in an Indiana Jones-style action film (god forbid!).
[box type=”bio”] The Silver Ball Screening Project on May 9-10 is part of the Hidden Histories Laneway Festival, and is supported by the F Project, Regional Arts Victoria, Warrnambool City Council and Warrnambool Art Gallery. Bluestone Magazine is part of a grassroots movement to save the best of the Fletcher Jones factory site and gardens from being lost through neglect. You can read more about the campaign here and join the Facebook group here.[/box] You might also enjoy…
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DDCE8D;”] T [/dropcap]his is a competition for the younger Bluestone Magazine fans!
We have a 5-set CD collection of great kids music (plus a DVD) by local singer/songwriter Barry Peters.
If you are a paid subscriber just email us your name and address to editor@bluestonemagazine.com.au and we’ll announce the winner on Friday 28 February.
The winner of this competition was Kate Melican-Rollo, from Tower Hill.
Fletcher Jones recommendations:
THE WARRNAMBOOL PLANNING AND HERITAGE GROUP:
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] R [/dropcap]ecommendations to council:
i) Council and Heritage Victoria to conduct a survey of the Fletcher Jones site in Warrnambool to consider the current condition and integrity of its state heritage listed aspects. The survey should re-examine what remains of the most significant aspects of the site to the local community and to the state. We would like to see Heritage Victoria and Council take a proactive role with the owner (present or future) to find a solution for renewal of this site and a way to share the stories attached to this site. Examples of best practice and processes for renewal of similar sites could be used to inspire recommendations for options and incentives to ensure it has a viable, vibrant future.
ii). Council and Heritage Victoria to provide funds for a current structural assessment of the Fletcher Jones water tower (locally called the Silver Ball) with a view to determining a schedule of repair and maintenance works (and their cost) to ensure this state heritage listed structure is safe and viable for the next 50 years.
iii). Council and Heritage Victoria work with the Jones family to develop a social history project that tells the Fletcher Jones story and connection in Warrnambool.
The Warrnambool City Council’s response (as listed 9/12/13):
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] A [/dropcap] number of buildings and features within the site are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) as significant.
Council is interested in working with the current landowner, or any future landowner, to ensure that significant elements of the site are properly protected and managed. Council is also interested in ensuring that any future redevelopment of the site involves renewal and moves away from its historical manufacturing past.
A structural assessment of the former water tower (silver ball) was undertaken in 2004. The assessment identified rectification works including replacement of hold down bolts on the south-western column, and removal of ladder and water pipe. The assessment also recommended a painting program to protect the tower from further corrosion.
In 2010, the bolts were replaced, and the water pipe and ladder were removed. It is unknown whether the painting program has been implemented.
Council officers will continue to work with the current landowner, or any future landowner, with a view to update the 2004 structural report and identify any further matters that may need addressing.
The former Fletcher Jones factory is clearly of social significance to Warrnambool and the State of Victoria. There will many people within the community who have strong links to this site. It is becoming increasingly important that these stories are captured and shared.
Council officers will investigate funding opportunities to undertake a social history of the site (involving the Jones Family, former factory workers and members of the community). These stories will assist in the preservation of important elements of the site and in any future redevelopment of the site.
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