Edgewater Towers

Edgewater Towers is a high-rise apartment building in St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia. Completed in 1961, it was Melbourne's first high-rise residential apartment block,[1] and the tallest in Victoria until the completion of Domain Park Flats in 1962. The building was designed by émigré architect Mordechai Benshemesh, who designed numerous multi-storey buildings in St Kilda and Elwood.[2] Edgewater Towers is regarded as one of Benshemesh's most notable works.[3]: 79  The building is 44 metres (144 ft) tall and has 13 storeys.[4]

History

Edgewater Towers was the first multi-storey residential high-rise project in Melbourne. It was developed by Bruce Small, the former owner of Malvern Star bicycles and mayor of the Gold Coast. Small conceived the project following his retirement as chairman and managing director of Bruce Small Industries in 1958.[5]: 37 

Marketed as "sophisticated living with beautiful views", the project included "own your own" luxury housing.[6] Designed between 1959 and 1960, construction began in 1960. [7] The project encountered financial instability, and work ceased after the completion of the lower floors. The development was subsequently sold for £A 500,000 (approximately A$16.6 million in 2022 value), allowing construction to resume.[8] Original plans for a rooftop restaurant and lounge bar were ultimately abandoned.[9]

The building was officially opened on 4 March 1961 by Horace Petty,[10] the Victorian Minister for Housing and Immigration, who supported high-density urban development.

Edgewater Towers is included in the City of Port Phillip's Heritage Review, which describes it as the "first of St Kilda's residential high rise developments".[11] The review noted that the structure resembles a "towering section of a stranded ocean liner" that defines the "nautical cosmopolitan zone" of the area's southern approach.[11]

Standing 13 storeys high with views across Port Phillip Bay, the building is regarded as a significant example of post-war modernism. While it experienced a period of neglect, it has since been recognized as an iconic representation of Melbourne's mid-century architectural progress.[3]

Evolving fire safety regulations for high-rise residential buildings led the Port Phillip Council to utilize Edgewater Towers as a test case for compliance in the late 1980s.[12][13] The building underwent a series of comprehensive safety improvements between 1989 and 1995 to achieve a one-hour fire-resistance rating.[14] In 2002, the Port Phillip Council mandated further upgrades.[15] Edgewater Towers has been subject to ongoing concrete degradation. The building underwent extensive concrete remediation and repainting in 1995 and 2011.

Flats

The residential units at Edgewater Towers follow a standardized floor plan, with one- and two-bedroom flats, each with two or three balconies, of up to 82.7 m2 or 890 sq ft.[a] At the time of its opening, sale prices for a one-bedroom ground-floor flat began at £A 5,625, equivalent to A$183,606 in 2022, while a two-bedroom flat on the twelfth floor cost up to £A 8,830, equivalent to A$288,221 in 2022.[b][16] Despite the luxury branding, it took over two years to complete the sale of all units.[17]

Description

The building originally had 100 flats with shops, a restaurant and offices on the ground floor. Facing Marine Parade, the building originally had a large illuminated fluorescent white plastic sign "Edgewater Towers" in red gothic script (Blackletter) until it was brought down by a storm in 1988.[18] The original building plans were lost when fire gutted the St Kilda Town Hall and partial plans are stored in the State Library of Victoria.[19]

Edgewater Towers residents have access to rooftop terrace (building), originally marketed as "ideal for sunbathing or showing the panoramic views to your friends".[20]

Edgewater Towers originally had a garden open to Marine Parade which included very limited planting, extensive pebble and decorative concrete screen block walls (Besser block).[21] The gardens were reviewed and redesigned to incorporate Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) access and replanted in 2012. The front patio, strip and pocket gardens are planted with indigenous species of the St Kilda area.

Notable residents

One Edgewater Towers' resident was cyclist and politician Hubert Opperman and Lady Mavys Opperman.[22] In December 1972 when Gough Whitlam led the Labour Party to victory, ending twenty three years of Conservative leadership Opperman quipped to John Menzies that he and Mavys had made their flat 'fit for retired people to sulk in when they read of Whitlam's wicked political progress'.[23] Both lived at Edgewater Towers until 1985.[24] Other residents include:

Heritage recognition

Edgewater Towers was honoured with a City of Port Phillip Heritage Recognition Plaque, unveiled on 23 September 2017 by councillor David Brand with a short ceremony. It reads:

Designed by architect Mordechai Benshemesh and built in 1961, Edgewater Towers was Melbourne's first privately developed high rise apartment block. Its multi-storey slab construction and international style promised Melburnian's sophisticated living with a beautiful view.

Noted residents include Josef Ganz, the Jewish automotive engineer who was the originator of the Volkswagen. After fleeing Germany during World War II, he emigrated to Australia and worked for General Motors Holden.

Hubert 'Oppy' Opperman, renowned cyclist and politician also lived here for almost 30 years.

— Heritage Recognition Plaque

Edgewater Towers has been included for its architectural, social and cultural significance. The building is significant in the architectural development of St Kilda and of Melbourne post-WW2; and also for the diverse residents, famous and otherwise, across all areas of life, who have lived there.[44]

In 2019 City Port Phillip proposed to commence the process to amend the Port Phillip Planning Scheme.[45] Edgewater Towers was proposed to be included in a new Heritage Overlay (HO510) and the property identified as a place of individual heritage significance.[46] Edgewater Towers is now heritage listed. Edgewater Towers amendment was gazetted (i.e. approved by the Planning Minister Richard Wynne for heritage listing) on 24 December 2021.[47]

In the media

An early image of Edgewater Towers together with floor plans appeared in Property writer Harry Perrot's column for the Herald Sun 5 February 1960.[48]

Edgewater Towers features on the cover of Foundations Magazine: the journal of architecture, engineering and building, Edition No. 5 in 1960. It included a 'Special Report' on Redevelopment and Flat Construction in Melbourne with an interview with the Minister for Housing (Victoria) (the Hon. H.R. Petty M.L.A.) and an article on "Edgewater Towers" with typical and ground floor architectural plans dated 6 May 1960.[49]

A photo of the architectural model of Edgewater Towers can be seen in The Age Newspaper 4 November 1960.[50]

A full-page advertisement and image of Edgewater Towers by Alexandra Advertising for Nichols & Borrow Pty Ltd can be seen in The Age Newspaper, 4 November 1960.[51]

Edgewater Towers' Architect Mordechai Benshemesh once debated the merits of multi-storey flats on radio with other prominent Architects of the time Harry Seidler and Neville Gruzman, and Dick Dusseldorp, founder of Lendlease, the transcript of which was published in Foundations Magazine the month after Edgewater Towers opened.[52]

Edgewater Towers photographed in September 1962 by photographic artist Lyle Fowler is held by State Library Victoria.[53]

Edgewater Towers featured in Homicide (Australian TV series) – Episode 9 (1964) 'The Silent Witness'. [54]

Edgewater Towers featured in Homicide (Australian TV series) – Episode 24 (1965) 'Ladies Man'. [55]

Edgewater Towers appears in the photos of 'St Kilda Marina Lighting' 1969[56] and 'Mr Hans Tholstrup drives "Tom Thumb" into St Kilda Marina' 1971.[57]

Hubert Opperman was interviewed by journalist Mel Pratt at his office in Edgewater Towers on 4 March 1975 for the Oral History Programme for the National Library of Australia.[58]

Dora Irene Nolan (Mother of Artist Sidney Nolan) was photographed by Maggie Diaz at Edgewater Towers in 1977.[59]

"In the 1987 film 'A Matter of Convenience'..... Beach scenes were filmed opposite 'Edgewater Towers'.....".[60]

Allan Zavod, pianist, composer, jazz musician and occasional conductor whose career has mainly been in America was photographed precariously on the rooftop of Edgewater Towers in 1987.[61]

Edgewater Towers was "one of the dozens of images included in '45 Storeys', an exhibition of 45 Melbourne Jewish architects" in 1993.[62][63][64][65]

Edgewater Towers featured in 'Dangerous Remedy' (2012). "Set in 1969 Melbourne, Dangerous Remedy tells the fascinating story of Dr Bertram Wainer who put his life at risk to expose police corruption in an effort to change the law on abortion".[66]

Edgewater Towers painted by artist Garry Pumfrey is published in the book The Art Of Being Melbourne, "Edgewater Towers becomes much more than an apartment block: it looms over the beachfront like a bleached carapace, twinkling with opportunistic nesting life forms".[67]

Edgewater Towers is included in the Footpath Guide, Melbourne St Kilda 1850–1960 Architectural Walking Tour.[68]

Edgewater Towers features in the Age newspaper article "St Kilda engineer given credit for Volkswagen".[69]

Edgewater Towers features in the exhibition of post-war Modernist architecture in Melbourne "Excavating Modernism" along with other buildings designed by architect Mordechai Benshemesh, together with works by Ernest Fooks, Kurt Popper and Herbert Tisher. "These architects contributed to the socio-cultural landscape and Melbourne's development at the time, particularly in the south-eastern suburbs".[70]

Edgewater Towers features in the documentary "Ganz: How I Lost My Beetle". "Josef Ganz attempts to revolutionise society by partnering with Adolph Hitler to introduce the car to everyday people. As Hitler gains power, he turned on Ganz and threatens his life, forcing him to flee".[71]

Edgewater Towers is included in the Guide to Historic St Kilda.[72]

Edgewater Towers is the subject of the article "Sixty years of Melbourne's iconic first [high-rise] apartment building". "Revolutionary for its time, architect and former local councillor David Brand suggests the starkly, white, Modernist-style Edgewater Towers could probably only have happened in the cosmopolitan context of St Kilda". "which was always different from everywhere else in Melbourne".[73]

Edgewater Towers features in the official biography of Bruce Small from Malvern Star to Mr Gold Coast. "Bruce Small Enterprises spruiks the 'Manhattan' appeal of the new Edgewater Towers development in St Kilda".[74]

Location

Edgewater Towers is located at 12, Marine Parade (Beach Road), St Kilda between Marine Parade, Brooks Beach and Spenser Street, Peanut Farm Reserve.

American influence

1960 advertising material described Edgewater Towers as: "Melbourne's newest exclusive American inspired home unit project presents the most imaginative design with convenience, comfort and luxury of the largest home".[75] "Manhattan living comes to Melbourne".[76] "everything you'd find in a luxury Manhattan building is yours only minutes from Collins Street, Melbourne"[77]

Philip Goad writes "this white, generously glazed slab seems more akin to 1950s Miami Beach, Florida, than New York City".[78]

Edgewater Towers developer "Bruce Small visited Miami, USA, in 1958.....he studied the great land reclamation projects in which the area (Everglades) abounded. His imaginative mind was seized with the parallel that existed on Queensland's own Gold Coast – Land awaiting development at the hands of a bold and enterprising builder.....Bruce Small".[79]

In November 1960 Bruce Small sold the Edgewater Towers project during construction to Nichols and Borrow Finance and Development Corporation Ltd. of Sydney. "Bruce Small.....had recently bought the property Questa on the corner of Robe St. and the Esplanade near Earls Court....plans are being prepared for an American-type motor-hotel (Motel) with 250 units estimated to cost £A 600,000, equivalent to A$20 million in 2022. Bruce Small said his organisation hoped to get approval to build to 20 storeys in the case the lower floors would be used for car parking."[80]

Height

Edgewater Towers is taller than Kinkabool, the first high-rise development (10 storeys, 1960) at Surfers Paradise, the forerunner of Gold Coast high-rise development.[81] At the time Edgewater Towers was completed in 1961, the tallest residential building in Australia was Torbreck, Highgate Hill, Brisbane, 18 storey, completed 1960. Blues Point Tower, Sydney, 25 storey, completed in 1962, was then tallest residential building until 1970.

The tallest building designed by Edgewater Towers' architect Mordechai Benshemesh was Nylex House, 10, Queens Road Melbourne, 20 storeys, completed 1971. Prior to Edgewater Towers his confirmed tallest buildings were four storeys, including next door at 11 Marine Parade, 'Bay View Marina, 1959.

Robin Boyd's Domain Park Flats at 20 storeys and Bernard Evans (architect)'s Emerald Hill Court, South Melbourne at 17 storeys for Housing Commission of Victoria, both taller than Edgewater Towers, completed in 1962.

The Melbourne Building Act 1916 limited building height to 132 feet (40 metres) (i.e. 11 to 12 storeys) and plot ratios with height limits were introduced in 1957. The Edgewater Towers' site planning requirement was minimum 300 square feet (28 square metres) open space per flat and the large L-shaped site allowed Edgewater Towers to achieve 147 feet (45 metres), 13 storeys.[82] Edgewater Towers' views cannot be built out by other tall(er) buildings because there is a planning height limit of 11 metres (36 ft).[83]

Notes

  1. ^ Areas calculated from original sales brochure 1961, not by survey.
  2. ^ Edgewater Towers price list approximately 1961/2.

References

  1. ^ Butler-Bowden & Pickett. Homes in the Sky. p118.
  2. ^ Built Heritage Pty Ltd. "Mordechai Benshemesh". Builtheritage.com.au. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  3. ^ a b Edquist, Harriet (2010). Australian Architecture.
  4. ^ "Edgewater Towers, Melbourne | 179463". Emporis. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  5. ^ Hall, Sandra (8 February 1969). "The not-so-sunny side". The Bulletin Magazine.
  6. ^ The Age. Melbourne's Finest Home Investment Project. 4 November 1960.
  7. ^ St Kilda City Council Permit No. 57/1323 issued 27 May 1960.
  8. ^ The Sun. £500,000 for 13 Storeys. 4 November 1960.
  9. ^ The Herald. Up in the Air With Flats. 5 February 1960. H. Perrot. P15.
  10. ^ Peter Neish. "Parliament of Victoria – Re-Member". Parliament.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 23 August 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  11. ^ a b City of Port Phillip Heritage Review, Edgewater Towers, Citation No. 2049.
  12. ^ The Age. Flat owners, brigade in conflict over fire safety. 4 July 1988. R. Smithers, p .15.
  13. ^ The Herald. St Kilda Council's Fire Safety Plan to be Tested. 3 November 1988.
  14. ^ Edgewater Service Ltd Archive. Fire Protection Services General Contract Document, Revision D; Lincoln Scott Australia Pty Ltd, October 2005.
  15. ^ City of Port Phillip Council – Building Notice: Fire safety upgrade required, No. 311/2002/NOT, 27 June 2002
  16. ^ Edgewater Towers Service Agreement, Third Schedule, 1.(a) The Quarterly Service Charge, approximately 1961/2.
  17. ^ Age Newspaper. 'Only a few left'. 2 & 23 February 1963. P5.
  18. ^ ESL Board meeting minutes, 11 July 1988.
  19. ^ "State Library of Victoria". Slv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  20. ^ Original Sales Brochure 1961.
  21. ^ Proposed Landscaping For Edgewater Towers St Kilda, M. Benshemesh & Associates Architects, City of St Kilda Planning Resolution, 17 September 1962.
  22. ^ Sands & McDougal Directory, 1963, 12 Marine Parade, Oppy Star Pty Ltd.
  23. ^ Melbourne Books. The Life Of Sir Hubert Opperman. David Oakman. P 320.
  24. ^ Age Newspaper, 14 January 1988, For 'Oppy' and partner, a diamond celebration, D. Bruce.
  25. ^ The Age. Gun dealer 'angry' over Wainer article. 25 February 1970.
  26. ^ The Canberra Times. Wainer tells of attempts on his life. 20 February 1970. P3.
  27. ^ Melbourne University Press; 2008; Gideon Haig; The Racket: How Abortion Became Legal in Australia; P165 & 185.
  28. ^ Transfer of Land between Edgewater Towers Pty Ltd to Gilbert Joseph Cullen Dyett 22 March 1963.
  29. ^ Sands & McDougal Directory, 1963, 12 Marine Parade, Dyett, Sir Gilbert.
  30. ^ Dawes, J. N. I. (1981). "Sir Gilbert Joseph Cullen Dyett (1891–1964)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 8. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 6 January 2026. At Brighton and elsewhere which he let at low rentals to ex-servicemen [...].
  31. ^ Building Registration 57/2556, Sketch Plans - Penthouse Layout at Flat 12A-12B Edgewater Towers, 12 Marine Parade, St Kilda for Leighton Homes Pty Ltd. 1963.
  32. ^ Sands & McDougal Directory, 1963, 12 Marine Parade, Leighton, S, K.
  33. ^ Testimony of John Leighton (Son), resident since 1961.
  34. ^ RVP Publishers; 2012; Paul Schilperoord; The Extraordinary Life of Josef Ganz; P. 246
  35. ^ Sands & McDougal Directory, 1963, 12 Marine Parade, Ganz J.
  36. ^ Age Newspaper, "St Kilda engineer given credit for Volkswagen". 24 July 2017, Carolyn Webb, P2.
  37. ^ The Australian Jewish News, Sydney Edition, The intrepid traveler at 85, Michael Shannon, 10 June 1994,
  38. ^ Journey's End, Full Circle, "In Edgewater Towers, Marine Parade, a high rise apartment where I live....", F.H.Halpern, 1994, P147.
  39. ^ The Final Chapter (Five Minutes Past Mid-nite), "One of the best known addresses in St Kilda, the popular beach township in Melbourne, is Edgewater Towers....I lived there on and off for 25 years...", F.H.Halpern, 1997, P95.
  40. ^ Prisoner of the British, Diary of a Suspected War Spy, "suspected association with the Haganah (later to become the Jewish Defence Force)" F. H. Halpern, 1991, Preface.
  41. ^ Sands & McDougal Directory, 1963, Morrey J. Ladies Hairdresser.
  42. ^ Curriculum Vitae (CV); John Morrey; Salons: 1962-1970 John Morrey Salon, Edgewater Towers, St. Kilda. "Brother, Ian Morrey took over in 1963 and changed the name to Ian Morrey Salon."
  43. ^ The Australian Jewish Newspaper, Ian Morrey Takes Double, Friday 24 July 1970, Page 10, "After completing his apprenticeship, Ian opened a small salon at Edgewater Towers, St Kilda."
  44. ^ A tribute to Edgewater Towers, residents Ganz and 'Oppy'. City of Port Phillip Press Release. 20 September 2017.
  45. ^ City Port Phillip, Letter RE: Port Phillip Planning Scheme - Amendment C161 - Update Amendment, 13 March 2019.
  46. ^ The Port Phillip Heritage Review Update (February 2019), Citation 2049, David Helms Heritage Planning.
  47. ^ C161 Port Phillip Pt2 Statement of Significance 12 Marine Parade, St Kilda, December 2021, Approval Gazetted.
  48. ^ The Herald. Up in the air with flats. 5 February 1960.
  49. ^ Foundations Magazine: the journal of architecture, engineering and building, No.5, May 1960, Cover and P.28-34.
  50. ^ Age. Big Flat Deal. 4 November 1960.
  51. ^ Age. Melbourne's finest home Investment Project. 4 November 1960.
  52. ^ Foundations Magazine: the journal of architecture, engineering and building; Vol 2, No.1, May 1961 "Multi-Storey Flat Buildings"; P34-39.
  53. ^ "[Edgewater Towers, Marine Pde., St. Kilda] [picture], State Library of Victoria". Slv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  54. ^ Homicide TV Show, Episode 9, 1964, DVD Crawford Productions Ltd.
  55. ^ Homicide TV Show, Episode 24, 1965, DVD Crawford Productions Ltd.
  56. ^ State Electricity Commission, St Kilda Marina Lighting, October 1969, Museum Victoria, National Archives, Canberra.
  57. ^ Immigrant Circumnavigates Australia in an Open Boat; Mr Hans Tholstrup drives "Tom Thumb" into St Kilda Marina, 1971, Dept. Of Immigration and Multicultural Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA).
  58. ^ Sir Hubert Opperman, Oral History Programme, National Library of Australia, Mel Pratt, 4 March 1975.
  59. ^ State Library Victoria; Maggie Diaz; incorrectly entitled 'Mrs Landells (mother of Sidney Nolan) taken at Edgewater Towers, Marine Parade, St. Kilda'; The subject is not the image of Flora Annie Margaret Landells (Painter and Potter); Dora Irene Nolan is the subject (confirmed as same person photographed in 'Dora Irene Nolan and Son Artist Sidney Nolan'; Fairfax Photos; Taken Art Gallery NSW 12 September 1967; by G. Henderson); daughter Lorna (Gosling) is seated behind right (confirmed by longtime resident building manager Johannes (Jonas) Le Ferink) and possibly other daughter (not confirmed) Marj. seated left. The paintings in the two photos include a Sidney Nolan from the Ned Kelly series and there are two Sidney Nolan books in the book case. The raised flooring platform (which covers a concrete upstand) on which the three subjects are seated improves the views out from the flat and is very typical of one bedroom Edgewater Towers flats that have enclosed their once open balconies.
  60. ^ St. Kilda Historical Society, The Screening of St. Kilda, Peter A.D.Fogarty, 9 December 2003.
  61. ^ "Running the gamut with a jazz hat on". 1987 Newspaper Article.
  62. ^ 45 Storeys, Access Gallery of the National Gallery of Victoria, 1993.
  63. ^ The Australian Jewish News Paper, Architects make their mark on Melbourne, Miriam Bulwar, 19 February 1993, P15.
  64. ^ The Australian Jewish News Paper, 1945-1993: Jewish, Friday 26 March 1993.
  65. ^ Good Weekend, 45 Storeys, 1993.
  66. ^ Dangerous Remedy, ABC Telemovie 2012.
  67. ^ Melbournestyle Books, 2012; Maree Coote; The Art Of Being Melbourne; P.180
  68. ^ Footpath Guides; August 2015; J. Sheard, S. Post & D. Roper; Melbourne St Kilda 1850-1960; P72-75.
  69. ^ Age Newspaper "St Kilda engineer given credit for Volkswagen". 24 July 2017. Carolyn Webb. P2.
  70. ^ Excavating Modernism, Melbourne School of Design, The University of Melbourne, 7–24 March 2019, City of Glen Eira Council Offices.
  71. ^ Ganz: How I Lost My Beetle, May 2019, Director: Suzanne Raes.
  72. ^ St Kilda Press, Nov. 2019; David Willis; Guide to Historic St Kilda; P74-79.
  73. ^ Jenny Brown, 30 January 2021.
  74. ^ Debanne Pty Ltd. 2023. Sir Bruce Small from Malvern Star to Mr Gold Coast. Rachel Syers. P100.
  75. ^ Alexandra Advertising, 1960.
  76. ^ Original sales brochure.
  77. ^ The Age Newspaper, Melbourne's finest home investment project, 4 November 1960, P11.
  78. ^ The Watermark Press, Edgewater Towers, P. Goad, P183.
  79. ^ The Australian Ugliness: Text Classics, R. Boyd, 1960, P.88.
  80. ^ The Sun Newspaper, £500,000 For 13 Storeys, 4 November 1960.
  81. ^ "Kinkabool", entry 601477, Queensland Heritage Register, Queensland Heritage Council.
  82. ^ M. Benshemesh & Associates; Proposed 13 Storey Block of Flats; Car Park, Car Ports & Details (including calculations); 28 November 1961; amended 14 February 1963.
  83. ^ City of Port Phillip Fact Sheet - New Residential Zones (NRZ), NRZ27 Marine Parade DD06-09 "mandatory build height 11m". Undated. Estimated 2014.

37°52′12.6″S 144°58′35.3″E / 37.870167°S 144.976472°E / -37.870167; 144.976472

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