The Bungalow Cottage

Statement of Significance

The Bungalow Cottage, Bunbury, a five room residence constructed in Bunbury basalt rock, with an asbestos cement roof and timber framed verandah, is a rare example of the use of Bunbury basalt in the construction of a residence in Western Australia. The 2014/2015 addition constructed to the rear of the property does not contributed to the significance of the place.

Physical Description

The Bungalow Cottage, Bunbury is a modest five room single-storey Victorian Georgian residence constructed between 1894 and 1920. It has an asbestos cement roof and timber framed verandah. The stone is locally sourced Bunbury basalt.

History

The Bungalow Cottage, Bunbury is located at 44 Jarvis Road, Bunbury, west of Big Swamp Parkland to the south of the main Bunbury township. The property was originally part of a much larger allotment, initially owned by Ephraim Mayo Clarke, a well-known Bunbury identity and later Member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia.
In 1912 Clarke acquired the portion of Leschenault Location 26 within which The Bungalow Cottage, Bunbury is located. An annotation on the Certificate of Title notes that Elizabeth Holywell and Ross Jarvis, both of Bunbury, had each arranged to purchase portions of Clarke’s land. By 1919, a significant portion of the Clarke property, including the lot comprising The Bungalow Cottage, Bunbury, was transferred to Mrs Elizabeth Holywell.
It is claimed that Bungalow Cottage was built by the Holywell family in 1894, utilising the local basalt stone that was a significant feature of the local area, however it does not appear to have been in Holywell hands until the early twentieth century.
By 1909, Elizabeth Holywell had established a dairy on Beach Road in South Bunbury, and by 1913 was advertising the supply of fresh milk twice daily as ‘the proprietor E. Holywell of Hildaville Dairy’. The Holywell family and their dairy were well-known in the district. In 1938, Elizabeth Holywell acquired an additional portion of land, approximately two
acres, on the western side of her Jarvis Street property, adjacent to The Bungalow Cottage, Bunbury. Although the Hildaville Dairy was located north of the The Bungalow Cottage, Bunbury, on Beach Road, it is likely that the new
properties were also utilised for dairying and farming purposes. Holywell Road in South Bunbury, located south of the Beach Road dairy, and west of The Bungalow Cottage, Bunbury, is thought to have been named after the Holywell
family and their dairying activities.
Although The Bungalow Cottage, Bunbury was constructed in the Victorian Georgian style that was common in the late nineteenth century, it is possible that it is a late example of the style and could have been constructed as late as 1920.
The Bungalow Cottage, Bunbury is also a rare example of the use of Bunbury basalt in the construction of a residence. Bunbury basalt is the term given for the black basalt formation present along the beach front at Bunbury, and also in
Capel and Black Point in D’Entrecasteaux in the south-Western Australia. As with other basalt formations, Bunbury Basalt is a fine-grained hard rock usually black or grey in colour. The basalt used in The Bungalow Cottage, Bunbury is
thought to have been extracted from the former quarry located along the Bunbury shorefront. The quarry was operational between 1890 and the 1960s and supplied crushed basalt gravel used to make asphalt for road construction.
Bunbury basalt does not appear to have been regularly used in building construction, possibly due to the vesicular texture and rough appearance of the stones.
An 1959 aerial photograph of South Bunbury indicates that The Bungalow Cottage, Bunbury was the only building along Jarvis Street at that time. The surrounding land appears to be partially in use as pasture or farmland.
The Bungalow Cottage, Bunbury is still in use as a private residence

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

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.