House

Parent Place or Precinct

24362 Shenton Park Conservation Area

Statement of Significance

The place has aesthetic significance as a good representative example of its type. It has historic significance reflecting the development and settlement of the area.

History

By c.1897, Perth Suburban Lots 298 and 299 (to the west of Fortune Street) had been laid out with 57 spacious residential lots (DP 895), while Lots 300 and 301 (to the east of Fortune Street) had been laid out with 61 smaller residential lots (DP 291). These had lot frontages to Railway Road, Waylen Road (southern side only), Morgan Street, Evans Street and Onslow Road (northern side only). Fortune and King Streets had also been surveyed as north-south cross streets. However, like many mid-late nineteenth century subdivisions in Subiaco, no residential development took place at that time.
Evans Street had been identified in the Western Australian Post Office Directories by 1903, but the first resident was not listed until 1910.
Despite its proximity to the West Subiaco Railway Station, which had opened in 1908, development was slow and there were only 4 residents listed in 1915, and 5 in 1920. Until this time Evans Street may have been little more than a track, as in April 1921 the Subiaco Council called tenders for the construction of approximately 22 chains (440m) of roadway in Evans Street, West Subiaco.
Slow development in the early years may also have been influenced by ongoing problems with flooding associated with the nearby swamp (now Jualbup Lake).
Despite these problems, the rate of development along Evans Street accelerated in the mid-1920s, as available land in Subiaco declined, and by 1925 there were 13 houses along the street, doubling to 26 by 1930.
Little information is known about the people who constructed most of the early twentieth century houses, but builder/developers are known to have been active in Shenton Park in the mid-late 1920s. Lists of building licences published in the West Australian confirm that at least 7 of the houses erected in Evans Street in the period 1927 to 1933 were built by the following developers:
John Smallwood
 Brick residence, £800 (April 1927)
Walter Lay
 Brick residence, Evans St, £600 (April 1927)
Wilhelm Grundmann
 Four room brick residence, £800 (August 1927)
Dudley & Dwyer:
 Four room brick residence, £750 (Dec 1927)
Reginald Lloyd
 Four room brick residence, £779 (April 1929)
 Four room brick residence, £694 (June 1929)
 Five room brick residence, £843 (Aug 1929)
Alexander Anderson
 Four room brick residence, £450 (May 1933)
A further 9 houses were built during the 1930s, after which the total number remained steady at 35 until at least 1949. Since that time a number of additional houses have been erected on blocks that were subdivided following the demolition of an original house, and in 2015 there are 44 houses along the street.

Integrity/Authenticity

High integrity and authenticity

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.