Residence, Ivicevitch/Miyat

Statement of Significance

Residence, Ivicevitch/Miyat has high streetscape value and is a fine example of a stone and brick house built in the interwar period (c.1915-40).
Residence, Ivicevitch/Miyat is representative of residences built during this period by Slav immigrants who were attracted to the Cockburn district for the market gardening potential.

Physical Description

Set back from Rockingham Road behind a low limestone fence on a large suburban block, Residence, Ivicevitch/Miyat is an interwar residence with strong design influences from Federation period.
The place has a symmetrical facade, with walls of limestone block and red brick quoins around doors, corners and windows. The verandah under the main roof is on three sides of the house, and is raised on limestone footings with a concrete floor with solid wooden verandah posts.
The hipped corrugated iron roof has a single unadorned brick chimney.

History

This house was initially the home of Ivan and Katie Ivicevitch. It was built by Ivan around 1928. Ivan was a stonemason by trade and also worked in the local lime kilns. He passed away in 1932 leaving his widow Katie living in the house.
Ivan Miyat was born in 1903. In 1928, at the age of 25, he immigrated to Australia from Croatia. Owing to his initial language problems he had to work in labouring jobs including bush clearing, cutting railway sleepers, farming and gold mining. Ivan worked in the mining industry for eight years, leaving him a legacy of dust in his lungs which prevented him from serving in World War II. Miyat arrived in Perth to work in the trucking business but split from his partners ‘when everyone wanted to be boss’. He met and married Katie Ivicevitch c.1938.
Ivan and Katie continued to live in the house Ivicevitch built and raised their daughter there. Ivan grew flowers commercially on the five acres that surrounded the house. He specialised in blue irises, carnations, zinnias and calendulas.
Cockburn’s urban sprawl put pressure on the market gardening areas of Spearwood and Munster resulting in the subdivision of many rural properties for residential building blocks. The Miyats excised land around their house for housing development. In 1994 Katie Miyat passed away leaving Ivan to continue living at the house. At the age of 98, Ivan was still growing flowers and vegetables for his own consumption.

Integrity/Authenticity

INTEGRITY: High
AUTHENTICITY: High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

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