Weatherboard Cottage

Statement of Significance

The weatherboard house at No 245 Vincent Street is a fine and notable example of a Late Colonial Cottage style, which has associations with the Bourne family, early residents of Leederville, who owned and occupied the place from 1915 to 1973.

Physical Description

The cottage is in a style and material from the Late Colonial period, with its simple rectangular plan form of four basic rooms arranged around a central passage, covered by a hipped roof with clipped eaves over the weatherboard walls. The principal façade has a central door flanked by symmetrical sash windows, with a full width bullnose verandah. The symmetry of the composition is not reflected in the one double chimney between the two eastern rooms. The window on the eastern façade is sheltered by an awning. Street oriented cottage set close to and below the level of the street, behind a reconstructed picket fence. Extensive refurbishments

History

The property was purchased by William James of Yarloop on 20 January 1897. Although the 1900 PWD Sewerage Plan show a building that appears to be on the site, no entries for the place were listed in the Wise's Post Office Directories during the first decade of the 20th century. On 31 October 1913, Albert George Bourne acquired the title to the property and in 1914 he took a mortgage to finance it. He is recorded in the Post Office Directories as occupying the dwelling in 1915. This coincides with Albert Bourne's children being told that their father had either built the house himself, or had it built, around 1915. The house was formerly listed as No. 1 Vincent Street in 1915 and 1916 and renumbered as No. 245 in 1917. The house had two bedrooms, lounge and kitchen and a back verandah. The children slept in the second bedroom and the lounge room until a sleepout was added on the verandah. Albert Bourne was born in Perth in 1886. On 4 July 1910, he married Charlotte Elizabeth Ellen Walpole, born 1882 in South Australia. Their first two children, Mavis and George, were born before the family moved into No. 245 Vincent Street. Another five children were born at the house, three of whom, Florence, Howard and Dorothy, survived childhood. Albert Bourne was a carrier, and his two draught horses were kept in a stable at the rear of the property. He later bought a Willy's Knight motor vehicle, which he operated as a taxi, and later still added a Studebaker, which he employed someone to drive. In October 1931, title to No. 245 was transferred to Charlotte Bourne when Albert left the family for several years. He returned in 1935, and died shortly after. Charlotte continued to live at No. 245 Vincent Street. Her children went to work, married and left the home. Following her death in 1961, No. 245 was inherited by her eldest son George Albert. He transferred the title to his sister Florence (Dalton), because she had '˜done a lot for Mum'. When Loftus Street was being widened, the work of demolishing houses along the route and making the road created cracks in the house. Rather than repair the place, the City of Perth purchased the property for £17,000 in July 1973, and Florence moved to a unit in Labouchere Road, Como, to be near her sister Mavis. In 1995, ownership of the property was transferred to the Town of Vincent. The Town restored the cottage as a joint project with the Aboriginal Program at Central TAFE and the conservation works were completed in 2001. The Patricia Giles Centre, a domestic violence counseling service for children and mothers, was the first tenant to occupy the cottage. An interpretative signage, illustrating the cultural heritage significance of the cottage, is currently located along the street frontage of the subject dwelling.

Integrity/Authenticity

High

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Historic Themes

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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.