From horse and cart to motor car, this Prahran warehouse has seen it all
The Hinton family had been doing business at 49-51 Izett Street, Prahran since 1890. Photo: Supplied

Hinton family to sell Prahran warehouse after 130 years

A commercial property in the heart of Prahran that has been home to the same family business for 130 years is set to go under the hammer for the very first time.

The warehouse, at 49-51 Izett Street, was most recently home to A.W. Hinton & Sons motor body repairers, which closed in December 2019, marking the end of 130 years of the Hinton family business at the site.

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49-51 Izett Street during its coach building phase. Photo: Supplied

It will go to auction in March and is expected fetch between $5 million and $5.5 million, according to listing agent Michael Gross, director of Gross Waddell.

Mr Gross said current inquiries from interested buyers showed that the site, zoned “activity centre”, was likely to be redeveloped.

“It’s mainly private developers to date that are looking, either to do small-to-medium residential development or small-to-medium office development,” he said.

Rodney Willcox, 73, whose grandfather ran the business and is cousin to the current owner, said the 557-square-metre site had humble beginnings.

“The business was started in 1890. It was started by my great-grandfather, Arthur Wheatley Hinton, who used to live on the premises. Originally it was a house, and the business built up around the house gradually. They were a coach builder, they used to build horse-drawn carriages.” 

All that remains of the original house is a single wall on the property and the structure is not subject to heritage listing, Mr Willcox said.

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Hinton family members and workers standing outside 49-51 Izett Street. Photo: Supplied

A large source of business in the early years came from the horse-drawn milk carts that used to deliver to homes and businesses in Melbourne’s inner suburbs – although high-profile jobs included work on a carriage used as a TV stage prop and one that had been used by the royal family.

During this time there was a blacksmith and forge stationed at the site and a horse was also kept in order to collect customers’ vehicles for repair.

Tools from this period remain stored in the warehouse and will likely be auctioned off at a later date, Mr Willcox says.

The property and business were passed on to Arthur Tracey Hinton and then Arthur William Hinton – Mr Willcox’s uncle – before being passed on again to his son and Mr Willcox’s cousin, current owner Adam Tracey Hinton, who ran the business for a time with his late brother, Arthur “Bill” William Hinton.

With Mr Hinton’s two daughters pursuing other opportunities, the time had come to sell.

It’s the end of a line,” Mr Willcox said. “It’s a bit of a wrench but it’s time that it occurred.” 

Changing with the times 

The business went through a significant transition in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the widespread introduction of motor cars.

“It’s always been A.W. Hinton & Sons but they had to go from horse-drawn vehicles to motor vehicles,” said Mr Willcox, who was born next door to the property and lived there until he was 21. 

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The property is in close proximity to some of Prahran's largest stores. Photo: Supplied

Mr Willcox has seen plenty of change during his time living next to and visiting the business, including the Boxing Day fire that destroyed a large chunk of the Prahran Market, which is across the road.

He also witnessed companies such as Foys department store and the Carreras Tobacco Company leave nearby sites, to be replaced by car parks and mixed-use apartment developments.

And he thinks this site could meet the same fate.

“I would be surprised if it wasn’t offices or apartments,” said Mr Willcox, adding that the site was “really right in the middle of Prahran”.

Similar Prahran properties had been been turned into apartments in recent years, Mr Waddell said, although the recent strength of the fringe office market could tip the balance in favour of a commercial redevelopment.

Although pockets of Prahran still have industrial properties, current trends show that many are headed for the same fate as the A.W. Hinton & Sons warehouse.

“In the past 10 years probably 50 per cent have gone but you still have in some of the adjoining streets [to Izett], you have the old warehouses that will probably disappear over the next 10 years,” Mr Gross said.

49-51 Izett Street, Prahran is scheduled for auction on March 12, 2020. 

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