Raphael Mackeller Stores

The Raphael Mackeller Stores were reputedly erected as stores and possibly as stables and later used for small-scale manufacturing activities. Vacated in the 1980s the buildings were left disused for several years. The buildings still contain some machinery related to their former manufacturing and/or store functions. Although commonly known and referred to in the past as "The Coach House", the doorways and the lane access are barely adequate for manoeuvring a horse and cart or coach, making it unlikely that the building was ever used as a coach house.[1]

The Raphael Mackeller Stores are two narrow stone buildings facing Kendall Lane. They were built along the rear boundary of the properties now called Nos. 77, 79 and 81 George Street North (earlier known as Nos. 81, 83 and 85 George Street respectively), being Unwin's Stores.[2] The Raphael Mackeller Stores is generally considered as separate from the George Street properties it is purported to have originally served.[1]

The subject land was originally granted to Captain John Piper in June 1828 by Lieutenant General Ralph Darling, Governor of the Colony. The allotment was part of the Sydney Hospital's stage 2 plan in the 1790s. When the land was not required for future extensions, William Balmain was granted a lease on the property and by 1807 he had surrendered the lease to the NSW Government. Frederick Wright Unwin gained title to the land in 1839, and his subdivision of 1841 included these properties.[1]

Construction proper of the shops and houses fronting George Street commenced a few years earlier in 1843 by Unwin. No. 85 George Street was completed in November 1844 and No. 79 George Street was finished in the later half of 1845. Dr Frederick Mackellar purchased the four tenements in February 1853 for £2,100 and his trustees re-leased the buildings to the Crown and the then NSW Minister for Public Works in December 1902 for the sum of £5,932/15/4. The Mackeller Store located to the rear of 79-81 George Street was erected in 1853-4 by Dr Frederick Mackeller, physician and surgeon and owner of 79-81 George Street, as an extension of the original store building (Raphael Stores) built to the rear of 77 George Street.[1]

The Raphael Store (at the rear of 77 George Street) was built in 1853 as store/warehouse. It was probably built for Joseph George Raphael, a merchant, publican, clothier, seaman's shipping agent, member of the NSW Parliament, and owner of 77 George Street. The building was constructed around the southern wall and chimney of Samson's Cottage (partially demolished). The present Samson's Cottage was rebuilt in 1991 to the same configuration. The close match in style and construction between the two sections (Raphael and Mackeller Stores) suggests a close cooperation between the owners and possibly the same builder.[1]

For most of its history the Raphael Mackeller Stores were occupied by tenants of Unwin's Stores, including several Chinese businesses. In 1860 Nom, Hing & Co., Chinese merchants were the tenants. In 1864 Henry Murray, grocer was a part tenant followed by in 1865 Nom, Who & Co. and from 1866-1868 Chin Long was the storekeeper. The most recent tenant before the original conservation and adaptive reuse works in the late 1980s was Stanton Catchlove & Co who moved into 2 Kendall Lane in 1930 and manufactured sheep dip and soft soap. The company gradually took over 4 Kendall Lane from 1932 to 1936. They also ran a ship's chandlery from c. 1946. Stanton Catchlove moved out in 1986 and in 1990 was operating in Alexandria.[1]

By May 2005, the Raphael Mackeller Stores was in use as the Rocks Toy Museum. This involved extensive conservation and adaptive reuse of the building to accommodate modern services and fitout occurring in 1988- 1990. In 2005, the Raphael Mackeller Stores were once again converted to accommodate the Rocks Discovery Museum (opened in December 2005), at which time, further conservation and interpretation works occurred.[3][1]

The Raphael Mackeller Stores or Coach House is a narrow stone building facing Kendall Lane. It was built along the rear boundary of properties now called Nos. 77, 79 and 81 George Street North (earlier known, as Nos. 81, 83 and 85 George Street, respectively). The Coach House is now generally considered as separate from the George Street properties it originally served, and is now usually referred to as the Coach House or as Nos. 2 & 4 Kendall Lane. The justification for the "Coach House" name is fairly tenuous, but it seems to be the currently accepted name and so is used here as well.[1]

The Coach House was reputedly erected as a store and stables over the period 1853-1854. It was later used for small-scale manufacturing activity, but was vacated in the 1980s and left disused. It still contains some machinery related to its former manufacturing and/or store functions. The doorways and the lane access are barely adequate for manoeuvring a horse and cart, let alone a coach, making it unlikely that the building was ever used as a coach house.[1]

The three storey sandstone coach house was built in two stages. The first part on 77 George Street was built in 1853 and the second part on 79 George Street was built to the south in 1853-54. This is visible from the continuous vertical joint that runs along the western and eastern facades of the building.[2] The rough face sandstone block walls have six loading bays on the first and second floors, with three on the ground floor and one on Kendall Lane. The doors are framed and braced and all have hardwood lintels. Two cat head beams are at roof level to the north and middle doors projecting through above the loading bays. A pulley mechanism remains over the top level northern door. A corrugated iron gable roof has capped sandstone gable ends at the north and south ends of the building and over the continuous joint in the Kendall Lane Coachhouse at the boundary between Nos 77 and 79-81 George Street. The north wall is the original sandstone wall to the 1844 Samson's Cottage.[4][1][5]

As at 29 January 2009, the Raphael Mackeller Stores are a rare surviving example of stores with workshops for light industry above located in Sydney and dating from the 1850s period. It has state historical significance for the industrial usage associated with The Rocks as an inner city commercial precinct of Sydney with the light manufacturing usages continuing in the mid 1980s. As part of the Kendall Lane/Unwin Stores Precinct and The Rocks as a whole it conveys very clearly the character of Sydney's mid to late 19th century period of development. The exterior and interiors of the building are of state aesthetic significance and the buildings hold research potential in retaining many original or later finishes and fixtures which interpret its industrial nature. The late nineteenth century catshead beams and pulley are rare surviving examples in their original location. The Raphael Mackeller Stores and site are of state heritage significance for their historical and scientific cultural values. The site and building are also of state heritage significance for their contribution to The Rocks area which is of state heritage significance in its own right.[3][1]

The Raphael Mackeller Stores or Coach House was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 May 2002 having satisfied the following criteria.[1]

The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.

The Raphael Mackeller Stores has historic value because of its immediate visual association with an early phase of Sydney's history. The coach house is associated with a very historic precinct of Sydney, George Street, The Rocks, indicating early commercial activity.[6][1]

The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history.

The Raphael Mackeller Stores is associated with the merchants and professionals Frederick Mackellar (solicitor, father of long-term parliamentarian Sir Charles Mackellar and grandfather of poet Dorothea Mackellar), Joseph George Raphael (merchant, seaman shipping agent, clothier, publican and member of NSW parliament) and Frederic Wright Unwin, who were all instrumental in the early development of the commercial precinct of George Street North and Kendall Lane.[3][1]

The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.

The Raphael Mackeller Stores is a well detailed colonial sandstone three storey building which is relatively intact and has had sympathetic restoration works carried out. It is an extremely significant townscape element to Kendall Lane portraying the original form, scale, detail and material of the 1850s. The internal layout has been largely untouched and hence portrays the full character of the building.[3][1]

The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.

The Raphael Mackeller Stores have social significance as an important feature in The Rocks Conservation Area, and contributes strongly to the character of The Rocks. The Raphael Mackeller Stores are held in high esteem as indicated by their listings on the State Heritage Register, the National Trust register and the now defunct Register of the National Estate,[7] and thus is recognised by an identifiable group/s and has importance to the broader community.[3][1]

The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The construction of the Raphael Mackeller Stores indicates the early method of building and finishing in the 1850s, using hardwood flooring, beams, columns and sandstone block walls. The common wall between the south and north parts also indicates the practice of using adjacent boundary walls where possible.[1]

The Lineshaft: The lineshaft and pulleys are typical of small-scale factories c.1900 to 1940, when electric motors were too expensive to be fitted to each individually driven machine. The arrangement with all wooden pulleys and combination of both spoked and solid wooden pulleys is fairly unusual. Although this lineshaft is not an outstanding example, it has some significance as representing a technology which was very important and is now rare. The main significance of the lineshafting is its indication that small-scale manufacturing activity was carried on in this building for more than 50 years.[1]

Soap Mixer: The mixer is not an outstanding artefact, but has a local significance as a specific reminder of one aspect of the manufacturing activities carried on in this building for more than 50 years. The mixer complements the lineshaft, being the only remaining example of the machinery previously driven by the lineshaft.[1]

Winch & Catshead Pulley: The winch and associated catshead pulley are very significant, because they represent the original and long-standing function of the Raphael Mackeller Stores as a typical small multi-storey store warranting manual-powered hoist machinery, but not warranting a major steam or hydraulically powered hoist. As such the winch and pulley are also representative of the once numerous but now rare winches of a similar type which must have operated in many other small multi-storey stores and warehouses in The Rocks and throughout the Sydney commercial and shipping district during the late 19th and early 20th century. The winches helped make the use of such stores viable. This winch is also significant for being in its working location, and in nearly complete working condition. The pulley has not been dated, but the winch is approximately 100 years old, and should certainly be considered an industrial relic.[3][1]

The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.

The Raphael Mackeller Stores is not uncommon or rare.[3][1]

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales.

The Raphael Mackeller Stores is representative of early commercial stores constructed within the first century of European settlement in Sydney Cove. Together with the Union Bond Store and Argyle Stores located along George Street, Evans' Stores, Harrington Street and Campbell's Stores, Circular Quay West (amongst others), all built in a similar period (mid to late 1800s); the Raphael Mackeller Stores contribute to the history of The Rocks Precinct, the areas' early history of maritime based commerce and is representative of the developing economy of the young colony.[3][1]

• Australian non-residential architectural styles

• "Unwins Coach House, 2-6 Kendell La, The Rocks, NSW, Australia (Place ID 2136)". Australian Heritage Database. Department of the Environment. 21 March 1978.
• Media related to Raphael Mackeller Stores at Wikimedia Commons