House and Shop (fmr)

Statement of Significance

The shop and attached house constructed c1897 in the Late Colonial Georgian style have some historic value demonstrating the character and scale of late 1890’s residential and commercial development constructed on the city fringes during the rapid population increase of the 1890’s Gold Boom and the early years of the 20th Century. The place has some rarity value as an early surviving example of a corner store and attached house that has been in continuous use as a bakery, grocer, delicatessen and lunch bar from c1897 to 2006.

Physical Description

The shop and attached house at Nos. 167 - 169 Fitzgerald Street is located on the corner of Carr Street constructed c1897 in the Late Colonial style of architecture, demonstrated by the simplicity of its design. The house addresses Fitzgerald Street and has a hipped iron roof incorporated into the hipped roof of the shop. A series of concrete steps lead up to a front entry porch. The porch is covered by a bullnose corrugated iron verandah held up by turned timber posts. The entrance to the house is located on the southern most portion of the facade with one double hung sash window and a small arched opening with a brick sill that has been enclosed adjacent to the door. The shop is truncated with a double entry door on the corner. The main shop window faces Fitzgerald Street and three smaller window openings are located along the Carr Street facing section of the shop. A cantilevered steel awning extends around the external perimeter of the shop front. Two brick painted corbelled chimneys are extant on the roofline, together with a bulky air conditioner unit. The shop and attached house has recently been painted cream. Although an internal site visit was not undertaken in the preparation of this assessment, the plans submitted to the Town of Vincent as part of the Development Application for change of use in October 2006 show that the shop section consists of two rooms, essentially the retail area and the kitchen to the rear. An entry leads from the shop section into the house which consisted of two bedrooms projecting from a hallway that runs adjacent to the shop and a laundry and bathroom to the rear. As discussed in the documentary evidence above, the plans for the change of use demonstrate few structural changes to the original layout of the shop and house attached.

History

The shop and attached house at Nos. 167 - 169 Fitzgerald Street were situated on Perth LotY197 located on the former Lake Henderson, which was part of the lake and wetland system covering much of the Perth area. Lake Henderson was drained in the early 1870's primarily by convicts under Government supervision. While market gardens were first operated by British migrants, in the early years of the Colony, from the later 1890's they were largely the province of the Chinese. With the influx of population due to the Gold Boom in the 1890's the city of Perth grew rapidly. New suburbs were formed, including Leederville and North Perth to the north of the city. North Perth, first called 'Woodville', was originally controlled by a Road Board and was elevated to a Municipality on 25 October 1901. It was inevitable that, as the population grew, land usage close to the city centre would undergo change. Western Australia had followed trends of England with regard to the establishment of parks and recreation areas. In the early nineteenth century domain land and government gardens fulfilled the role of parklands. With the growth of industrialisation, however the middle-class desired 'idealised landscapes at the edge of their fast growing towns.' The establishment of parks was closely linked to the wealth with the result that Perth did not begin to develop a comprehensive system of parks until the Gold Boom of the 1890's. In 1900, the Perth City Parks and Gardens Committee was set up to beautify the city. W.E Bold appointed Town Clerk in 1901, was a major advocate of the 'City Beautiful' philosophy, which held that the health and happiness of a city's residents were greatly enhanced by the beauty of their environment. Bold wanted a green belt to connect Subiaco with the Swan River at Maylands. When the idea was rejected, he convinced Perth City Council to purchase various Chinese market gardens for conversion into public parks and gardens. Within what is now the Town of Vincent land was purchased for the establishment of Birdwood Square (Lake Poulett), Hamilton Square, Beatty Park, Perth Oval (Stone's Lake), and Robertson Park (Lake Henderson) which is bounded by Fitzgerald Street, Stuart Street, Randell Street and Palmerston Street. Prior to the commencement of the 'City Beautiful' movement outlined above, the Perth Metropolitan Sewerage Plans dated 1897 indicate a scattering of houses were located along the western side of Fitzgerald Street between Newcastle Street and Cowle Street, with the shop and attached house being one of these early buildings. To the eastern side of the street the 1897 maps show Lake Henderson where market gardening was then undertaken. A scattering of garden sheds and cottages were located within this area. Development of the area allocated for market gardening, which is now Robertson Park began in the 1920's with the filling of the Lake Henderson Basin. The filling began at the Randell Street end and, as it was progressed, the area available for market gardening began to contract toward the south-westren corner. By 1928, market gardening had ceased altogether. From the late 1920's various developments took place within Robertson Park, including tennis courts, a tennis pavilion and children's play area. Few remnants are left today to indicate that Robertson Park was once market gardens, apart from what is known today as 'Lee Hops cottage', whic is located opposite to the subject dwelling. This was originally used by Chinese market gardeners. A survey of Wise's Post Office Directories provides an indication of the varying occupants and operators of the subject shop and house. These Directories reveal that perhaps the first person to occupy the shop and house was grocer Mr James Morrison. During the late 1890's occupancies changed on a yearly basis with store keeper Mr John Colvin operating the shop in 1898, Mrs Ellen Rooke in 1899 and McCausland Bros storekeepers in 1900. Throughout much of the first decade of the twentieth century a baker, Mr H F McSorley occupied the subject place then numbered 195 Fitzgerald Street. In 1908 the numbering of the subject shop and house appears as it is today with Mrs J M Morrison listed as a grocer and occupying the attached house with her husband. The Morrison's remained the grocers at the shop until 1915 when grocer Mr M Spokone occupies the shop for two years. During the World War I and throughout the 1920's the shop continued to operate as a grocer with occupants changing on a yearly basis, one exception being Mrs Gertrude Ferstat occupying the shop and house from 1922 until 1924. A high turn over of occupancy at the shop and house continues throughout the 1930's with Mr Albert Jones being the longest in residence from 1934 until 1937. From 1941 until at least 1949 when the Post Office Directories cease Mrs S Kyriakucis is listed as the grocer and as occupying the attached house. One of these shopkeepers, possible Albert Jones and his wife, allowed local residents to listen to their radio. Reg Axford and Harold Mundy said all the families were too poor to own one so the shopkeeper would open the side window onto Cowle Street when the cricket was on and a group of a local men and boys would gather outside to listen to. In 2006 the shop ceased operation as a delicatessen and Planning Approval was granted at the Ordinary Meeting of Council on 11 October that year for change of use from shop and attached house to an office. The plans approved for the change of use indicate that the floor plan of the shop and house were to remain relatively intact, with the shop being converted to office/reception area and the kitchen being converted to a meeting room. With regard to the house, the original bedrooms were proposed to be converted to an office and a store room. The plans also indicate some minor changes proposed to the rear of the house, with the laundry and bathroom being renovated to accommodate new toilets.

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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.