Historic Bayswater Wine Cellars set to be sold for development

A HISTORIC former wine cellar in Bayswater, which dates back to the Victorian era and is believed to have held the state’s longest continuous liquor licence, is set to be sold for development.

The old wine saloon was built in 1897 and is thought to be the Knox area’s oldest surviving shop. Picture: Heritage Council Victoria/Victorian Heritage Database

THE historic Bayswater Wine Cellars — believed to have held Victoria’s longest continuous liquor licence — is set to be sold for development.

The 19th century building, set on a 4800 sqm site on the corner of Mountain Highway and Bayswater Rd, is up for auction as a “rarely offered” site with “diverse” development options.

The old wine saloon is on the National Trust’s Victorian Heritage Database as having “local historical significance” because of its association with the wine industry in Lilydale in the early 1900s.

The wine cellar as it looks today. Picture: Daniel Pockett

You can still see some of the old writing. Picture: Daniel Pockett

The single-storey simulated stone and weatherboard building, probably Knox’s oldest surviving shop, was built in 1897 and was previously used as a boarding house and as the headquarters for the Dodd family bus service.

The database said the building was one of the few remaining in the area from Victorian times.

It will be auctioned on November 2 by Colliers International.

Colliers’ executive Richard Wilkinson said 25 potential buyers had already registered interest.

Mr Wilkinson said the site was listed as industrial zone 1 but the old saloon had a heritage overlay, meaning any developer would have to apply for a permit if they wanted to demolish it.

He said he did not want to comment on expected sale price and would “let the market decide”.

The shop was a popular stop-off point for punters on their way to the Dandenongs. Picture: Heritage Council Victoria/Victorian Heritage Database

He said the auction would attract “strong interest” because it was so rare that a property that size, so close to the centre of Bayswater, came on the market.

Apart from the old saloon, the site is largely empty apart from trees and rocks, he said.

Bayswater state Liberal MP Heidi Victoria said the wine saloon was historically important and she hoped it would be preserved.

Ms Victoria said it was for years a popular stop-off point for thirsty punters on horseback on their way to the Dandenong Ranges.

“It’s part of Melbourne’s history,” she said.

“The last thing I would want to see happen is for a mod-con office building to go up on the corner there.”

Knox Council’s city development director Angelo Kourambas said a the site could be used for industry, warehouse, commercial and some recreational uses.

He said the council “would encourage uses that conserve the historical significance of the site”.