Alphington Paper Mill

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

Amcor Paper Mill
The Paper Mill's Boiler House in 2019, surrounded by construction
Alternative names
  • Alphington Paper Mill
  • Australian Paper Manufacturers Limited Fairfield Mill
General information
StatusDemolished
Address626 Heidelberg Road
Town or cityAlphington, Victoria
CountryAustralia
Coordinates37°47′1″S 145°1′38″E
Year(s) builtPaper Mill: 2 years[1]
Completed
  • Paper Mill: 1921[1]
  • Boiler House: 1954[2]
ManagementAmcor[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]

History
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. The building took two years to build and was completed in 1921 using 1,200,000 bricks.[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 designed by Mussen, Mackay and Potter to house boilers and the turbines powering the mill.[4] The building featured one of Melbourne's earliest examples of curtain walling.[5]

Closure and redevelopment

In 2008, Amcor announced its intentions to close the plant. State planning minister Justin Madden rezoned the land in 2009 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, with Amcor expecting $200 million, but went unsold. Operations came to a halt in December 2012, when the company moved its operations to a new $500 million plant in Sydney. The Alphington property was finally 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 that the Boiler House would not receive a Heritage Overlay in order to "make way for new homes, parkland and open space."[4] Plans for the development set out an estimated 2500 townhouses and apartments, 13,000 m2 (140,000 sq ft) of retail space, as well as affordable housing, community facilities, and open space. The development is expected to house 5,000 new residents, doubling the suburb's population.[7] The development, dubbed "Tesla town" due to its environmentally friendly approach, will build homes with solar panels, Tesla Powerwall solar batteries, electric vehicle chargers, and a six-star ESD rating from the Urban Development Institute of Australia. In addition to the energy efficiency, the development plans for a water usage reduction of 43% and a landfill reduced by 80%.[8][9]

Controversies and incidents

In October 1927, the 24-year-old foreman labourer at the Mill, Charles Butling, was crushed by three tons of equipment. He was taken to St Vincent's Hospital but had 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 nearby residents experienced soot entering their homes. A black coal shortage caused the issue at the time.[11]

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

See also

References
  1. 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. "Amcor – The Australian Paper Manufacturing Company". Darebin Libraries. City of Darebin. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  4. 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.

Further reading
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