Northbank Heritage Trail

STOP 16
Goods Shed on Berth No 5

Location: Near Crane

Berth No.5 North Wharf consists of a shipping berth, a concrete and timber wharf apron, a steel framed goods shed and an electric travelling crane. Heritage-listed, the area has been a wharf since 1855, dealing mainly with domestic cargo.

Goods Shed No.5

Goods Shed No.5 is the last example of the many goods sheds which once lined this section of North Wharf. It is a vast space which has been used for many, many purposes beyond maritime trade, such as for mustering troops in wartime. Built in 1894 by W.M. Dalton and J.C. Johnson & Son in response to the sudden influx of cargo resulting from Melbourne’s gold rush boom, the original goods shed on this site remained in use until 1939 when the growth in maritime trade prompted the Port of Melbourne Authority to commission G.A. Winwood to demolish the old shed and to construct the now heritage-listed Goods Shed No.5.

Goods Shed No.5 reveals our maritime heritage port infrastructure technology in cargo handling pre-containerisation. Riverlee is to be commended in investing a great deal in preservation and restoration works on the heritage-listed Goods Shed No.5, including cautious dismantling and re-purposing of shed components.

Crane No.5

Adjacent to Goods Shed No.5 is the last example of an electric crane travelling on metal tracks. Built in 1948, it was locally designed and made by Malcolm Moore Limited. It is notable for the retention of its original semi-portal electric crane. The crane berth on North Wharf is an example of important port infrastructure, demonstrating cargo handling methods of the pre-containerisation era.

The wharves were also occasionally the site for struggles by wharf workers in protest action against difficult and dangerous working conditions. Times were desperate on the wharves during the Depression of the 1930s. Competition for work was great and exploitation common. In April 1930, when a crowd of between 3000 and 4000 unionists and volunteers gathered at a new ‘pick-up’ ground at No.5 North Wharf, scuffling broke out when the men offered themselves for work on the vessels Ormiston, Time, and Goulburn. 

After almost a century as the most-used wharf on the Birrarung/Yarra north bank, Goods Shed No.5 became redundant as a cargo shed in 1975 when the newly completed Charles Grimes Bridge left insufficient clearance in the river for cargo ships to pass beneath. Goods Shed No.5 degenerated, but fortunately survived intact until recent preservation and restoration works by its owners Riverlee. 

FURTHER READING

IMAGE CREDITS
1. Berth No.5, showing goods shed and crane, 1960s, Public Record Office Victoria
2. Remnant crane and mooring bollards, photographer Jeff Malley, 2024