House

Parent Place or Precinct

25912 Kings Road Heritage Area, Subiaco

Statement of Significance

Kings Road is of cultural heritage significance within the City of Subiaco for the following reasons:
• The existing development along Kings Road continues to represent the rapid development of the higher parts of Subiaco (near Kings Park) with good quality Federation Queen Anne houses during the early the twentieth century (with a particular focus on the c.1901-1914 period).
• The defined period and nature of development along Kings Road resulted in a complementary palette of materials and design idioms, enlivened by a diversity of individual details. Unlike many other local streets, the majority of the properties have retained a medium to high level of authenticity. Collectively they provide a good representative collection of middle-class Subiaco houses dating from the early twentieth century (extending from c.1901-1923).
• The character of the Kings Road streetscape epitomizes the general character of what is now known as the City of Subiaco’s Triangle Precinct.
• The history of the houses along Kings Road helps to demonstrate the original settlement of this part of Subiaco as a solid middle class area, in which the family residences of more senior white-collar workers existed side by side with the smaller, but still well-built, houses of more junior white-collar workers, retail employees and tradespeople.
• The history of the subdivision and early sale of residential lots along Kings Road helps to illustrate the status of Western Australia as a place of opportunity during the gold rush era of the late nineteenth century – attracting significant interest and investment from the eastern states.

Physical Description

Architectural style
• Federation Queen Anne, but with some historical and physical evidence suggesting that the detailing has been modified over time.
Plan form at the street frontage
• Asymmetrical stepped façade.
This has a prominent gabled wing at the front (facing east) and a secondary gabled wing set back along one side (facing north).
An “L” shaped verandah extends across the front and returns to abut the secondary wing.
Roof form and materials
• Gabled-hipped roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting.
Note: a historical photograph attached to an online family tree (Walter Beck, ancestry.com.au) shows the house with a painted short-sheet corrugated iron roof. This had the same form as the existing roof to the main part of the house.
• Battened eaves.
• Bullnose verandah roof.
Note: the historical photograph shows this with a raked roof, returning along the side facade, before extending out as a porch/sleep-out with small gables (since demolished). At that time sections of the verandah had been enclosed.
Wall materials and finishes to the main façade
• Painted face-brick walls with two plain rendered string-courses.
• Contrasting roughcast rendered panels over the window at the north-eastern corner of the main façade.
Detailing of main façade
• Prominent street-facing gable with a rough-cast rendered face set with a simple pattern of horizontal, vertical and diagonal timber battens. Timber finial.
• Original main entrance set at the rear of the side verandah (facing north).
This has traditional moulded timber architraves, narrow sidelights and a highlight.
• Corner window at the elbow of the return verandah.
This has two casement windows to each face. Each of these has diamond pattern leadlight glazing.
• Wide French doors at the centre of the front façade, set under a rendered shallow arched lintel.
• Turned timber verandah posts with small, carved brackets.
Note: the historical photograph shows the verandah with paired, square timber posts set on half height masonry piers with contrasting brick and rendered detailing. This is more consistent with Inter-War detailing than Federation Queen Anne.
Streetscape setting
• Front of verandah set back approximately 5m from the front boundary.
• Front boundary defined by a modern painted brick fence, with a low base, tall piers and spear capped metal bar infill panels.
• Double carport aligning with the front of the verandah, and finished with detailing to match the existing house.
• Two storey additions at the rear with gable detailing to match the original house.

History

This part of Subiaco had been laid out as a residential subdivision by September 1891, but there was only one resident listed along the street in the Western Australian Post Office Directory of 1901 (referring to Park Street) and 2 in 1905 (referring to King’s Road). This was followed by a rapid period of development and by 1910 there were 14 houses within the Study Area, being 73 Bagot Road (now known as 3 Kings Road), #s 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21 Kings Road, 12 Hamersley Road (now 28 Kings Road) & 14 Hamersley Road (now 25 Kings Road). Steady infill continued after that time and the street was fully developed by the mid 1920s.
An analysis of information in the Rate Books, Western Australian Post Office Directories and Electoral Rolls confirms that this site was vacant in 1907/1908, and was developed by the owner, Walter Beck, in 1908/1909.
Walter Beck (c.1878-1962) was born in Beechworth, Victoria, and joined the Western Australian Public Works Department as a clerk in 1896. Online family trees suggest that he married Hilda Daphne Wood (c.1879-1964) in West Perth in c.1903, and that they had at least two children: Ronald (born c.1909) and Gwendoline (c.1911)
In 1909 Walter took up a position as clerk on ledgers for the Agricultural Bank and, by the time of his retirement in 1931, had risen to the position of chief accountant with that organisation.
Both Walter and Hilda remained at 7 Kings Road for the rest of their lives.
Reference to an inter-war era Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Department plan, a historical photograph of the house, plus a review of historical aerial photographs dating from 1964 and 2016, indicates that the house previously had a projecting porch (sleep-out) at the rear of the side verandah. This had been removed by the mid 1980s to provide an open car-parking area near the front of the block, replacing an earlier side driveway to a rear garage (which had in turn been replaced by a swimming pool). During 2006 major alterations and additions were undertaken at the rear of the house and by 2008 the open car-parking area had been developed with a double carport.

Integrity/Authenticity

Medium to low authenticity
The authenticity of the main facade and streetscape setting has been reduced by the painting of the original face brickwork, modifications to the verandah detailing and the construction of a double carport near the front of the site.
Some of the physical evidence and detailing shown in a historical photograph suggests that the main façade may have also been renovated during the inter-war era.

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.