Kershaw Street Heritage Area

Child Places

• 26023 House
• 26019 House
• 26043 House
• 26022 House
• 26027 House
• 09188 House
• 04070 House
• 24181 House
• 04068 House
• 24182 House
• 04071 House
• 26042 House
• 26036 House
• 04061 House
• 18581 Myara Hostel
• 26020 House
• 26015 House
• 24183 House
• 26028 House
• 26034 House
• 05431 Hostel (Elizabeth House)

Statement of Significance

The Kershaw Street Heritage Area is of cultural heritage significance within the City of Subiaco for the following reasons:
• As an aesthetically pleasing streetscape with a strong heritage character, featuring a narrow avenue of mature street trees, which frame views of the largely intact Federation and early Inter-War vials.
• For its retention of many good, representative examples of Federation Queen Anne villas (which collectively illustrate a gradual evolution in architectural detailing between 1904 and c.1918).
• For the cohesive streetscape created by a limited palette of materials and styles.
• As a representative collection of houses that illustrate the scale and standard of housing considered appropriate for the families of professional men, such as merchants, bankers and civil servants in the early twentieth century.
• For the evidence it provides about the manner in which the residences of senior professional men and business owners existed side by side with the smaller residences of more junior employees in early twentieth century Subiaco.
• For its association with the subdivision of this area by James Chesters, an investor from Melbourne, in 1892. In this context it also represents the status of Western Australia as a place of opportunity during the gold rush era of the late nineteenth century – attracting significant investment from the eastern states.
• For its association with the efforts of James Chesters as a local land agent and property developer, following his move to Western Australia in 1905.
• For its association with Joseph (Joe) Totterdell, who was responsible for the construction of many Subiaco houses (including some in Kershaw Street), and who, for a brief period (1916-17), lived at 25 Kershaw Street (one of his development properties).

Physical Description

The Kershaw Street Heritage Area includes a good representative example of the early twentieth century housing developed on the elevated areas of Subiaco, near Kings Park. These houses, and their setting, create an attractive streetscape with a distinctive heritage character, as described below:
Kershaw Street is a narrow side street lined by mature plantings of Camphor laurels (Cinnamomum camphora) and Queensland box trees (Lophostomon confertus). More recent street trees include three Weeping bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis) and one Kurrajong (Brachychiton populneus). These trees create a continuous avenue along much of the street and frame all streetscape views – although the loss of some trees and the introduction of the Weeping bottlebrush (which have a very different scale and canopy structure) has, to some degree, diminished the visual impact. The street trees are set in narrow grassed verges, framed by a concrete kerb and, on the inner face, with a variety of pavement treatments. The verges also include areas of garden beds (generally planted with clumping grasses and low shrubs) and paving. The mismatch of paving treatments (to the footpaths, hardstands and cross-overs), and the poorly maintained condition of some sections of the verge currently detracts from the aesthetic quality of the streetscape.
The houses along Kershaw Street, and at the Hamersley Road and Heytesbury Road entries, have a generally consistent early twentieth century character, with a predominance of Federation Queen Anne detailing. Single storey facades, face-brick walls and highly articulated corrugated metal or tiled roofs are a dominant feature, while other important streetscape elements include the retention of many of the original chimneys and the diversity of the decorative timber detailing to front verandahs. Within this context the street trees, building materials, setbacks and the Federation and early Inter-War architectural styles, provide an overall sense of consistency, while the varying block widths, and the individual designs and detailing add a richness and complexity to the streetscape.
None of the front fences are original, but many houses have low picket fences and modern cottage gardens, which are sympathetic to the building stock. Fences that have high masonry walls or tall brick piers impact upon streetscape views and are intrusive, while others, with vertical timber boards, are inconsistent with the traditional character of the area.
The only two storey facades are to the modern house at 24 Kershaw Street, and the rear extension to 14 Heytesbury Road. The latter is one of only two early twentieth century houses that have been assessed as making no contribution to the heritage character of the street, due to major alterations in the mid-twentieth century. Of the other eighteen properties, twelve have been assessed as making a considerable contribution to the heritage character of the street (due to a high degree of authenticity). The remaining six have had more alterations, but still retain clear evidence of the original detailing and form, and have been assessed as making some contribution.
Off-street car parking is generally at the rear of the blocks, or under open carports at the side of the houses. The only significant variations from this are the modern garages to houses at 65 and 67 Hamersley Road and 16 Heytesbury Road. All of these have been designed with ‘heritage’ detailing, but their construction against the street frontage and the use of large face-brick walls and high decorative gables has had the effect of emphasising their visual impact at the entries to Kershaw Street.

History

During the early years of settlement most of the Subiaco area formed part of the Perth Commonage. The original Perth Suburban Lots were surveyed for Subiaco in 1883, but no development took place in the study area until after its purchase by James Chesters in 1891, as part of a 20 acre (8ha) block of land comprising Perth Suburban Lots 249, 250, 251 and 252 (bounded by Hamersley, Townsend, Heytesbury and Rokeby Roads). Following the purchase of the Subiaco land in 1891, Chesters subdivided it into residential lots, including the area shown on Deposited Plan 504, which created Chester and Kershaw Streets. Residential lots on Suburban Lots 249 and 251 (Deposited Plan 504) were sold from April 1892. However, these early land purchases were held as investments and the first house in Kershaw Street was not built until c.1904.
In 1891, and again in 1901, Chesters’ place of residence was given as 7 Little Bank Street, St Kilda Road, Melbourne and it was not until 1905 that he moved to Western Australia. By 1907 he was working as a ‘House & Land Agent’ with offices in Rokeby Road, and he lived with his wife, Sith Annie Chesters, in properties he had built in Heytesbury Road from 1907 until 1921.
During this time James Chesters also undertook speculative residential development, building houses on some of the allotments still in his ownership, and offering them for sale. For example, research into Federation houses by the Australian Heritage Council, refers to this type of development in nearby Chester Street:
In 1907 Chesters created lots 126 and 127 (part), 498 square metres in total, as a separate title, and also lots 128 and 127 (part). On these he had two identical houses built, federation-style of course, probably constructed by Joe Totterdell, a builder-developer active in Subiaco.
Amalgamation of the original lots to create larger building blocks was common, and from the 26 lots originally facing Kershaw Street, this eventually resulted in 17 houses, 10 on the east side and 7 on the west (only 5 houses being built on the original narrow allotments). The area was gradually developed between 1904 and 1926 (James Chesters sold his last block in Kershaw Street in 1917).
Based on information in the Western Australian Post Office Directories and the Electoral Rolls, the settlement of the street in the first half of the twentieth century generally attracted the middle classes, including civil servants, senior retail managers, businessmen, bank managers and clerks. Throughout this period, ownership remained spit between owner-occupiers and investors, the latter renting their houses to a quite mobile population of tenants.
The original (c.1904-1926) housing stock has remained largely intact, with only one property, Lot 177 (#24) developed with a modern dwelling.

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.