Traditional crafts at the Cobblebank Community Hub

As modern construction techniques bring Melton City Council’s Cobblebank Community Hub to life, one part of the project is being built much as it would have been more than 150 years ago. 

Traditional dry stone waller David Long is using locally significant building techniques to construct a dry stone wall at the new community hub, creating a connection between one of our city’s newest community facilities and the landscape and history that came before it. 

Dry stone walls are a distinctive feature of the City of Melton’s rural landscape and an important part of the area’s European farming heritage. Built entirely by hand without mortar, the walls rely on the careful selection, placement and interlocking of individual stones, using their weight and gravity to create a strong and enduring structure. 

The technique was brought to the area by early European settlers from Ireland, Scotland and England, who made use of the field stone readily available across Victoria’s volcanic plains. The walls were used to create farm boundaries, stockyards and other agricultural structures, with many surviving across the City of Melton today. 

More than a century later, the same principles are being applied by David at the Cobblebank Community Hub. 

Working stone by stone, David selects and positions each piece to create a stable structure using traditional dry stone walling techniques. 

His work provides a striking contrast to the highly technical construction taking place around him, where modern engineering, technology and contemporary building methods are creating a major new community facility. 

Bringing the two together is a way of recognising that building for the City of Melton’s future does not have to mean leaving its past behind, with the wall replicating a historical property boundary that extended for kilometres. 

Council has long recognised the heritage and landscape value of the City’s dry stone walls, with significant examples protected through the Melton Planning Scheme. 

In fact, the City of Melton was the first municipality in Australia to undertake a comprehensive study of its dry stone walls, recognising their importance as the city continues to grow and its landscape changes. 

The new wall continues that story in a contemporary setting, preserving not only the appearance of dry stone walling, but also the traditional skills and craftsmanship required to create it. 

As the Cobblebank Community Hubtakes shape, the wall will provide a lasting connection to the generations who shaped the City of Melton’s landscape before us, while sitting alongside a facility designed to serve generations to come. 
 
The project received $15 million through the Australian Government’s Thriving Suburbs Program and $4.6 million from the Victorian Government’s Growing Suburb Fund, with Council contributing around $53 million. 

Find out more about the City of Melton's historic Dry Stone Walls: Melton Dry Stone Walls Melton City Council