31 Shaw St, Mortlake VIC 3272

The town was approached from the east along the Great Western Road (now the Hamilton Highway); upon reaching Mortlake this road becomes Shaw Street and is a major thoroughfare into the town. Many of the earliest buildings in Shaw Street date from the beginnings of local government administration in Mortlake. The Mortlake District Road Board was proclaimed on 19 July 1860, and it became Mortlake Shire Council on 26 June 1864. The collection of early buildings along Shaw Street are built of local bluestone and generally exhibit high quality workmanship. Many were designed by local architect and Shire Engineer, Andrew Kerr, who practised in Mortlake and district from 1860 until his death in 1887. The large number of surviving buildings from the 1860s and 1870s demonstrates the significant growth of Mortlake during this period. The surviving early fabric of Shaw Street, Mortlake, represents important developments in the public, religious and civic life of the town. Along with public buildings and churches, there are important public reserves that touch on this precinct.

The approach from Darlington (to the east) was further developed after World War I with the planting of an extensive Avenue of Honour of Monterey Cypress. As well as an existing memorial to the Boer War in the Botanic Gardens, further memorials in this precinct included the Mortlake War Memorial at the corner of Shaw Street and Dunlop Street (1922); the formation of a RSL Hall and planting of a Lone Pine from Gallipoli in the 1920s; and the extension of the Avenue of Honour after World War II.

*Source: Mortlake Heritage Citations 2016