House

Parent Place or Precinct

25394 Union and Redfern Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

The Union and Redfern Street Heritage Area is of significance for:
Aesthetic Value:
The area contains aesthetically pleasing streetscapes with a strong heritage character. In particular, cohesive streetscapes have been created by a limited palette of materials and styles.
The area contains many good, representative, suburban examples of Federation Queen Anne houses and Federation Bungalows. These include both gentlemen’s villas and modest suburban houses, and collectively illustrate a gradual evolution in architectural detailing of these places between 1899 and the early Inter-war years.
Historic Value:
The residential subdivision of this area represents the early development activities of Sydney and Melbourne based real estate agents and property developers. In this context it helps to illustrate the status of Western Australia as a place of opportunity during the gold rush era of the late nineteenth century – attracting significant interest and investment from the eastern states.
The collection of houses in the heritage area helps to demonstrate the manner in which the family residences of professional men and business owners (such as senior civil servants and merchants) existed side by side with the smaller houses of semi-professional and tradespeople.
The collection of houses in the heritage area helps to illustrate the scale and standard of housing considered appropriate for these families in the early twentieth century.
The area was a place of residence for a number of people who were prominent in the local business community or were otherwise public identities of the early to mid-twentieth century.

Physical Description

While 16 Campbell Street was built in the late 1920s it used design forms and details more consistent with many of the modest Federation Bungalow houses constructed in Subiaco in the period c.1910 to 1920.
The main façade features tuck-pointed face-brickwork, with a projecting stringcourse at approx. 1.8m above ground. Above this level there is a deep rough-cast rendered panel up to the eaves. The tiled roof has prominent hipped-gabled forms with a continuous broken-back alignment over the front verandah. It features curved terracotta finials and a simple face-brick chimney with a terracotta pot.
On the southern side of the main façade the projecting front wing features a prominent gable, finished with vertical timber battens over a plain face. The window to this wing has a fixed central panel flanked by casement openings – all with slim, vertical proportions. The window sits under a tiled awning set on simple timber brackets and has a moulded sill.
North of the projecting wing, the façade steps back twice, creating a deep verandah area. The roof of the verandah is set back from the main façade and is supported at the NW corner by a large, tapered masonry pylon (the only feature specifically derived from the Californian Bungalow style).
The main entrance, which is located at the face of the first setback, is high waisted, with stained glass to the top panel. The only other feature of this narrow bay is a name plate with the word ‘Anzac’ in Art Nouveau lettering.
The second setback has a single, casement style, stained glass window over a moulded sill.
The front of the house is set back approximately 4.5m from the boundary, which is defined by a scalloped picket fence. The front yard has been laid out with lawn and garden beds.
Based on a streetscape inspection the building appears to be in good condition.

History

Perth Suburban Lot 253 was purchased by John Brandon, John Thomas Lawler and Thomas Tate of Sydney in October 1889 and, about six months later, it was transferred to Thomas Read of Sydney, solicitor. Read did not develop the 5 acre site and it was on-sold to the Intercolonial Investment Land and Building Company of Sydney in October 1897. Building lots in Deposited Plan 1933 began to be sold along the Rokeby Road frontage of PSL 253 from May 1898 and the first sites to be sold along Campbell Street (Lots 31 and 32) were transferred to a new owner in June 1899. However, development was slow and the first houses were not built until 1903/04.
Lot 28 was sold to Annie Augusta Hornby Spear (a resident of NSW and wife of the Rev. Hornby-Spear) in September 1902. However, the site remained undeveloped for many years and the available information suggests that 16 Campbell Street was not constructed until c.1927, when it was owned and occupied by Robert and Mary Lindsay.
Robert, a survey hand, lived here until his death in July 1938 (aged 79 years), after which his widow, Mary, continued to live here until 1943.
Perth Suburban Lot 253 was purchased by John Brandon, John Thomas Lawler and Thomas Tate of Sydney in October 1889 and, about six months later, it was transferred to Thomas Read of Sydney, solicitor. Read did not develop the 5 acre site and it was on-sold to the Intercolonial Investment Land and Building Company of Sydney in October 1897. Building lots in Deposited Plan 1933 began to be sold along the Rokeby Road frontage of PSL 253 from May 1898 and the first sites to be sold along Campbell Street (Lots 31 and 32) were transferred to a new owner in June 1899. However, development was slow and the first houses were not built until 1903/04.
Lot 28 was sold to Annie Augusta Hornby Spear (a resident of NSW and wife of the Rev. Hornby-Spear) in September 1902. However, the site remained undeveloped for many years and the available information suggests that 16 Campbell Street was not constructed until c.1927, when it was owned and occupied by Robert and Mary Lindsay.
Robert, a survey hand, lived here until his death in July 1938 (aged 79 years), after which his widow, Mary, continued to live here until 1943.
Newspaper articles confirm that the next resident, Mrs Joyce, occupied the place as a furnished rental property (during which time her son was convicted for fraudulently selling some of the furniture from the house).
Occupants of the property from its time of construction until c.1949 included:
1928-1938 Robert James Lindsay, survey hand
1939-1943 Mrs Mary Lindsay, widow
1943-1946 Mrs Cecily Rose Joyce
1947-c.1949 Mervyn Leake Broun, bank officer

Integrity/Authenticity

Note: while this was built in the late 1920s the design of the house is more comparable to the simple bungalows of the pre-war period than with the Californian Bungalows of the Inter-War period.
The external character, finishes and detailing of this place are largely consistent with its original design.

Condition

Good

Uses

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.