Northcote Tip

All Nations Park in Separation Street, Northcote is situated on a 13 hectare site with grassy play and picnic areas, contemporary Indigenous gardens, a skate park, an ANZAC memorial and a hill with wide ranging views.

 

But not so long ago the site was home to a large quarry being used by the adjacent brickworks. 

 

The Northcote Brickworks Company ceased operations in 1977 and sold the quarry to Northcote Council for $1.5million in installments over 7 years.

 

The remainder of the ‘hard’ site became Northcote Plaza after the kilns and chimneys were demolished a few years later.

 

From 1977 the Council used the ‘hole’ as a landfill area and huge amounts of waste were deposited there for a number of years until 1998. The tip was used to dump timber, car bodies, concrete and garden waste.

 

A newspaper report at the time explained that when full, the land would be planted with trees and shrubs and would be used primarily for public open space ‘with provision for passive and active recreation’.

 

When the landfill site was full to capacity, the redevelopment process took place with All Nations Park opening to large crowds in 2002.

 

The photographs show the enormous area and depth of the quarry. In the aerial view you can see Separation Street at the top of the image with Santa Maria College in the right hand corner.

Lemon, Andrew. (1983).The Northcote Side of the River. North Melbourne: Hargreen.

Rubbish Tip costs $1.5m. (1977, December 1). Northcote Leader (Northcote, Vic: 1882 - ). p5