SHC Elderly Couples Flats, 397-399 Vincent St, West Leederville

Values

• The place is an early example of residential housing constructed for elderly persons in the mid-twentieth century.
• The place was specially designed to suit the land parcel on which it sits and is thus a relatively unusual example compared with later places which used a standard plan.

Physical Description

The property is three grouped dwellings on a 680.5sqm lot. Each unit has one bedroom, a kitchen, a combined bathroom and water closet and lounde room. A separate combined laundry is located at the rear of the site. There is a covered verandah at the front of the dwelling facing Vincent St W, which is under one roof, separated by internal walls for each of the units and access is provided by steps.

The place, situated 400 metres from the south eastern corner of Lake Monger, comprises a brick and tiled triplex, each with one bedroom, a kitchen, a lounge and a combined bathroom and toilet. Walls and ceilings are plastered throughout and window and door frames are timber. Flooring is timber floorboards which are exposed in the hallways and in the lounge rooms, whilst the bedrooms are covered in vinyl. The bathrooms and toilets are tiled. There is a brick fireplace in each unit with a wooden mantelpiece. There is a separate combined laundry at the rear of the site. Each dwelling has a small covered verandah.

History

Prior to European settlement Lake Monger, or Lake Galup as it was then known, was a camping and hunting ground for the Noongar people. It is said that the Waugal formed the Lake by rising from the ground at that point. The area was valued for its food resources, and Aboriginal camps were recorded to the south and west of the lake in the 1860s. This way of life began to be disrupted with European settlement. The lake was named Monger’s Lake in 1831, after John Henry Monger who received a grant along its shores, and in 1932 it was renamed Lake Monger.
The area around Lake Monger saw occupation from this earliest period. However, it was not until 1902 that the suburb of Leederville was becoming established. Issues with the Lake’s swampy margins caused it to become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and the dumping of refuse, a common method of reclamation at that time, caused further offensive odours. In the 1950s and 60s large areas of the lake were reclaimed with sand removed from areas such as Floreat where housing estates were being established, used in the reclamation work.
The Workers’ Homes Board began construction of homes c.1913, and the McNess Housing Trust scheme of the 1930s provided some government-assisted housing for the elderly. However, non-institutional housing for the elderly, provided by the government, did not officially commence until the 1950s.

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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.