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 Inter War period 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 Inter War Spanish Mission style, 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.

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
This house does not clearly illustrate any of the major architectural styles defined for the Inter-War period, but has characteristics that are typical of suburban housing of the 1930s – such as the rendered finish with contrasting brick detailing (the inverse of Federation era styles), autumn-toned tiles (providing more texture than the earlier Marseille tiles), and geometric leadlight windows (quite distinct from the earlier stained glass windows).
The house was built to a scale and form generally considered suitable for occupiers such as business owners, professional men, office workers, retail employees and skilled tradesmen.
Plan form at the street frontage
• 95 Olive Street was carefully designed for its corner location, with the main entry facing Olive Street and a separate porch opening onto the garden along Bagot Road. Overall, it has an asymmetrical design, but the main portion of the Olive Street frontage is symmetrical, with matching windows flanking a central entry porch.
Roof form and materials
• Hipped roof clad with autumn-toned clay tiles.
• Half-hipped gables over the Bagot Road entry porch; the eastern side of the Bagot Road façade, and the porch to the western side of the Bagot Road façade.
• Simple timber gable brackets.
• Rams-horn finial to the end of each ridgeline.
• Dropped gable roof over the porch facing Bagot Road.
• Exposed rafters.
• Two rendered chimneys with flat, brick edged caps, located towards the rear of the house.
Wall materials and finishes to the main facade
• Tuck-pointed face-brick skirt to window sill height, with lightly textured, rendered brick walls above.
• Slimline (half-height) bricks forming a contrasting edging to the arch over the main entry.
Other detailing to the Olive Street façade
• Recessed entrance porch located midway along the main section of the Olive Street façade. This is framed by an ogee arch with face-brick edging, as above.
• Double entry doors at the rear of the entry porch. These are set under a flat face-brick lintel and fitted with geometric pattern leadlight glass.
• Triple casement windows with geometric pattern leadlight glass, located to either side of the entry porch.
• Raked, tiled window hoods, with plain timber brackets over each of the triple casement windows.
• Double casement window with geometric pattern leadlight glass and a face brick lintel, located in the skillion at the rear of the house.
Other detailing to the Bagot Road façade
• Double casement window with geometric pattern leadlight glass, set under a raked, tiled window hood.
• Gable roofed porch with tapered masonry piers, located at the western end of the south façade.
Streetscape setting
• Frontage of approximately 27.7m to Olive Street and 10.1m to Bagot Road.
• Setback of approximately 1.2m from Olive Street and 2m from Bagot Road.
• Front yard enclosed by a tall timber picket fence.

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). At an early date, two lots at the southern end of Olive Street (western side) were re-subdivided to create four smaller lots with frontages to Bagot Road (Deposited Plan 930).

During the first half of the twentieth century the corner site (Lot 1) was known as 86 Bagot Road (now 95 Olive Street). In May 1932, this property was advertised for sale with a 3-roomed weatherboard house and, based on the physical evidence, the site appears to have been redeveloped in the early to mid-1930s.
The first longer term occupants of the new house were the Coatham family, who settled here in c.1937. Thomas Bond Coatham (tailor) (c.1881-1968) and Ethel Rowe (c.1877-1972) were married in Boulder in 1906 and lived in the Leederville/Subiaco area from at least the mid 1920s. Coatham established a tailor’s shop at 121 Rokeby Road in c.1925 and remained there until c.1934, after which he relocated his business to 151 Rokeby Road. He then continued in business in that location until c.1946. He was also an active member of local community groups, including the Football Club and Bowls Club. Thomas and Ethel were still living here in 1949 but had moved to Nicholson Road by 1955.
A plan of the lot prepared in 1927 and reviewed/updated in 1955 for the purpose of planning sewerage and water supply services shows that the original footprint of the cottage is unchanged. Aerial photographs from the mid 20th century demonstrate that no significant changes have been made.
85 Olive 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 external detailing of 95 Olive Street appears to be largely intact and/or sympathetically restored/renovated.

Condition

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

Uses

Historic Themes

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.