28 Eades Place

from the City of Melbourne’s West Melbourne Heritage Review conducted in 2016.

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
Crown Grantees, brothers Henry and Samuel Cullen, commenced building 28 Eades Place in 1862-3 as part of the
house row 28-32 Eades Place, each built initially as a three room brick house. They leased the house at 28 Eades Place
to John Orr a few months before they built 30 and 32 Eades Place. Samuel Cullen took up residence in 30 Eades Place
immediately it was completed and 32 was occupied by Henry Cullen after it had been leased for three years.
They proceeded to lease this house until 1872 when it was enlarged by the addition of a storey to this and the adjoining
houses and Samuel Cullen moved in. By 1885 Samuel had moved to 10 Eades Place where he remained for the rest of
his life. The death of the brothers in the Edwardian-era appears to have generated the timber Edwardian-era verandah that
existed on the row until at least 1991, since replaced on 28 and 30 Eades Place.

Contributory elements include:
• a two-storey, stuccoed and parapeted brick row of three houses;
• gabled roofs clad with corrugated iron behind the parapets, with party walls expressed;
• clear indication of the two stages of development by the upper fenestration;
• simple cemented cornice and string mould;
• cemented architraves and bracketed sills to upper level windows (see also 12-18 Eades Place);
• double-hung sash windows;
• Edwardian-era bullnose verandah form only (bullnose verandah replaced the previous presumably, concave roof
verandahs replaced again since 1991 on 28 and 30 Eades Place);
• Edwardian-era bullnose verandah and slatted frieze on 32 Eades Place;
• brick corbelled chimneys; and
• contribution to a highly cohesive Victorian-era streetscape.
The bullnose verandah form had been added in the Edwardian-era but has since been replaced with a mixture of
Edwardian-era and Victorian-era character recreated verandah elements; the presumed timber picket front and dividing
fences have been replaced with iron reproduction palisade fences on 28, 30 Eades Place; new render to part of 28 Eades
Place; new verandah tiling to 28 Eades Place.

How is it significant?
Cullen’s row houses, 28-32 Eades Place are significant historically and aesthetically to West Melbourne.

Why is it significant?
Cullen’s row houses, 28-32 Eades Place.
• Aesthetically, synonymous with much of the adjoining streetscape as a Cullen Brothers’ creation; and
• Historically, contains the first three houses constructed by the Cullens in the street, although these have been added to
since, and is sited on the Cullen’s Crown Grant and are a valuable indication of the breadth of the Cullen’s work, activity
that eventually made both brothers wealthy.