House

Parent Place or Precinct

27310 Park Street Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

The place has cultural heritage significance:
• As a good representative example of the many 4-5 room brick homes which were built in Subiaco during the early twentieth century to meet the needs and aspirations of middle-class residents such as public servants, senior office workers, small business owners, skilled tradesmen and single/widowed women of private means.
• As a good representative example of the application of materials and detailing which were derived from the Federation Queen Anne style, but which were applied in a more restrained manner that suited the budgets and expectations of the middle classes in Subiaco during the early twentieth century.
• For its aesthetic contribution to a largely intact group of early twentieth century houses, particularly 77 and 87 Olive Street and 91 Park Street which have strong similarity of design and detail.
• For its contribution to a largely intact group of early twentieth century houses in the portion of Park Street from Olive Street to Townshend Road.
For information on the significance of the Park Street Heritage Area refer to the Local Planning Policy for the Heritage Area.

Physical Description

Architectural style
Typical of many well built 2-3 bedroom suburban houses of the early twentieth century, 85 Olive Street incorporated elements of the Federation Queen Anne style. It was designed to a scale and form generally considered suitable for occupiers such as professional men, office workers, retail employees and skilled tradesmen.
Plan form at the street frontage
• 95 Park Street has an asymmetrical stepped façade, which addresses both street frontages.
Roof form and materials
• Hipped-gabled roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting.
• Tuck-pointed brick chimney with corbelled cap.
• Prominent gable to each street frontage, one across the eastern end of the house and the other over a projecting wing at the western end of the Park Street façade. Each of these feature a roughcast rendered face set with a pattern of vertical, horizontal and diagonal timber battens.
• Bull-nosed verandah roof. This follows part of the stepped alignment of the northern side of the house and abuts a projecting wing at the western end.
Wall materials and finishes to the main facade
• Tuck-pointed brick walls.
• Two rendered stringcourses, one at door head height and the other at window sill height.
Other detailing to main facade
• Bull nose window hood to the eastern (Olive Street) façade, with a frieze and brackets to match the detailing to the verandah.
• Full-height double hung window under the verandah (facing Park Street).
• Entrance door near the western end of the verandah, adjacent to the projecting wing. This features a 5-panel door, traditional moulded architraves, sidelights and highlight.
• Two double hung windows to the projecting wing with a simple raked sill integrated with the stringcourse.
• Two double hung windows to the projecting wing, set over a plain projecting sill.
• Turned timber verandah posts; carved timber brackets, and a decorative frieze of alternating vertical and horizontal square members.
Streetscape setting
• House set back approximately 4.5m from the Olive Street frontage.
• Lot width approximately 8.4m to the Olive Street frontage and 37m to the park Street frontage.
• Front yard enclosed by post and rail fence with capped vertical timber pickets.

History

Subiaco's population increased significantly in the 1890s due to an economic depression in the eastern states and the discovery of gold in Western Australia. During the 1890s property developers bought large landholdings for subdivision in the Perth metropolitan area. The original subdivisions in Subiaco were generally simple grid pattern developments with small lots suitable for occupancy by working families. However, the more elevated parts of the suburb, particularly towards Kings Park, also attracted business and professional men and some lots were later amalgamated to accommodate their larger homes and gardens. Mixed development occurred and within the Park Street Heritage Area this ranged from narrow, single storey terrace housing through to a large 2-storey house set in spacious grounds. The readily available evidence indicates that the number of houses within this area increased from around 24 in 1901 to 72 in 1906; 86 in 1910; 91 in 1915, 94 in 1920 and 13 by 1925. Development then stabilised, with 106 houses and 1 block of flats identified in 1949.
Perth Suburban Lots 218 and 219 were subdivided as Deposited Plan 214 in the early 1890s. This comprised 52 lots, including 24 lots with frontages to Ivy Street, which extended between Barker and Bagot Roads (renamed as part of Olive Street in c.1901). In 1903 the City of Subiaco Rate Book identified the owner of Lots 8 and 9 as Annie Watts, and development of these sites may have been supported by an inheritance of £1,162, which Annie Johannah Catherine Watts (nee Kelly) (c.1839-1905) received from Edward Kelly (grocer, late of Subiaco) in May 1903. Annie died in June 1905 (leaving an estate valued at £1,130), after which the houses on Lots 8 & 9 appear to have been owned by her son, Edward Watts, until at least 1910-1911.
The 1903 Rate Book listed 3 houses across Lots 8 & 9, with the occupants identified as ‘Baxter’ (81 Olive Street, now known as 91 Park Street), ‘Hilde’ (85 Olive Street) and Annie Watts (87 Olive Street). The first two were developed as conjoined houses and the third as a narrow free-standing house.
91 Park street had a high turn-over of tenants until 1922. A review of the Post Office Directories at around 5-yearly intervals (together with reference to contemporary Electoral Rolls) indicates that some of the primary residents during these years included:
 1906: Leslie James McGregor (civil servant)
 1910: George Kidson (agent)
 1915: Edward Carroll (insurance inspector)
 1920: Horace Leopold Button (clerk)
In April 1920, the group of “Three well built houses” at 81 [91 Park St], 85 and 87 Olive Street were offered for sale at £525, £525 and £350, respectively. This indicates that the three houses still had one owner at that time, which is consistent with the similarity of design detail and turnover of occupants.
The first long-term occupants of 91 Park Street were the Tate family. Arthur Charles Tate (c.1877-1954) (engineer) and Edith Annie Parker (c.1877-1948) were married in England in c.1904 and had at least 2 children: Frank Holt (born in England, c.1905) and Harry Vincent (born in WA, c.1908). They migrated to WA in 1907, settled in Subiaco by 1909 and had moved into the house on the corner of Park and Olive Streets by 1923, remaining here for the rest of their lives. In the Rate Books of 1929-1930, A Tate (engineer) was identified as the owner/ occupier of this house.
A plan of the lot prepared in 1927 and reviewed in 1955 for the purpose of planning sewerage and water supply services shows that both of the conjoined residences have undergone significant rear additions. Aerial photographs from the mid 20th century demonstrate that the place was previously clad with red corrugated iron and there have been a number of programs of work since 1964. The most significant of these were in the early 1990s and 2019.
91 Park Street was adopted on the City of Subiaco Local Heritage Survey in 2003. It has been assessed as level 3 (contributes to the heritage of the City of Subiaco).

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity - High: The place continues to be used as a private residence.
Authenticity - High: The original external form and detailing of the building is largely intact.

Condition

Based on a streetscape inspection the building appears to be in excellent condition.

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.