Save the Dimmeys Mural

The new owners of Richmond thrift store Dimmeys have supported a submission the landmark property be added to the Victorian Heritage Register, in a move that will protect the distinctive Swan Street building and its clock tower from inappropriate redevelopment.

The 102-year-old building is considered one of the city's best examples of large development stores built during the pre-World War I retail boom, following the 1890s depression.

The Heritage Council of Victoria, a statutory authority, is expected to formalise the decision to add Dimmeys to the Victorian Heritage Register by next year, where it will join landmarks such as the Melbourne GPO, Queen Victoria Market and the Palais Theatre.

This petition advocates for the protection of the Dimmeys building, including the mural on the eastern side of the building, facing along Green Street, Richmond, that took more than four years for Hayden Dewar, 31, to paint. All the while he braced himself to see the work destroyed.

Even visiting it now, Dewar is struck by the fact it has - barring one incident - been untouched by graffiti. That, for the street artist, is the ultimate compliment. But it makes it all the more painful that developers are planning to do to the wall what vandals didn't. Dewar said that despite the ephemeral nature of his art, he had hoped people could enjoy it for a few more years.