Locals dismayed at torn up laneway in South Melbourne for NBN rollout

One of Melbourne’s iconic bluestone laneways has been ripped up and replaced with “ugly bitumen”, with angry neighbours calling it “civic vandalism”.

A worker rips up bluestones in Wilson St, South Melbourne. Picture: Supplied.

Neighbours in South Melbourne are furious after NBN workers tore up a bluestone laneway to lay cable, then patched it up with bitumen.

Photos show bluestones — which date back to the 19th century — ripped up along Wilson St.

South Melbourne’s Andy McShanag was upset to see the street gutted by workers to lay fibre optic cables.

He said they had shown no “care or respect” by finishing the job with bitumen instead of the stones, which could have been laid as early as 1840, when South Melbourne — then known as Emerald Hill — was established.

What Wilson St looks like now. Picture: Supplied

“What these workman have done to this beautiful bluestone laneway is nothing short of civic vandalism,” Mr McShanag said.

“It’s … defacing the suburb of its history.”

Mr McShanag said he had heard workers offering the bluestones to neighbours because they wouldn’t be putting them back.

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But NBN local manager Russell Kelly promised the stones would be restored in July.

“NBN uses non-invasive construction techniques such as underboring to avoid impacts to surfaces such as bluestone pavers or blocks,” he said.

“There are times when trenching cannot be avoided due to the proximity of other underground services or physical limitations to set up drilling equipment.

“In these instances, the area is made safe through temporary restoration of bitumen until appropriate tradespeople can restore the original finish.”

“Wherever possible, NBN uses non-invasive construction techniques such as underboring to avoid impacts to surfaces such as bluestone pavers or blocks,” Mr Kelly said.

“There are times when trenching cannot be avoided due to the proximity of other underground services or physical limitations to setting up drilling equipment.

“In these instances, the area is made safe through temporary restoration of bitumen until appropriate tradespeople can restore the original finish.”