House

Parent Place or Precinct

25376 Duke Street Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

The Duke Street Heritage Area is of:
Aesthetic Value
• Duke Street has a distinctive urban character that has been primarily created by the local road closure and public landscaping of the late twentieth century.
• Within this setting the heritage character is derived from the modest, single, storey suburban houses dating from the Federation and early Inter-War era (c.1902-1924). Only one of these houses has been replaced (#3, c.1980s) and the defined period and nature of development has resulted in a complementary palette of materials and design idioms.
Historic Value
• The subdivision of this area was undertaken by the Intercolonial Investment Land and Building Company of Sydney. This represents part of a much wider role that this company took in the development of Subiaco in the 1890s and early 1900s.
• The collection of houses in the study area helps to demonstrate the scale and standard of houses built and occupied by people such as small business owners, clerks and tradesmen in the early twentieth century.
• The study area was generally the place of residence for people who left only a small mark on the written records. However, it also accommodated at least two men who were prominent in the local community or were otherwise public identities of the early to mid twentieth century (see Associations - Residents, below).
Representativeness
• The study area includes a good representative collection of modest early twentieth century brick and timber housing developed in close proximity to the Rokeby Road tramway.

Physical Description

The underlying form indicates that 8 Duke Street was designed as modest, single storey, Federation Queen Anne house, but much of the traditional detailing has been modified by later alterations.
Key elements include:
• Asymmetrical plan, in this case simply articulated by a projecting wing on the eastern side of the main façade.
• Rendered walls (formerly tuck-pointed brickwork to the main façade).
• Gabled-hipped roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting.
The roofscape has been extensively modified by the construction of second storey rooms. The windows of these additions have been expressed as a stepped pair of south-facing cross-gables at the apex of the original hipped roof.
The remaining chimney has been raised in height as part of the modification of the overall roofline.
• Plain rendered gable over the projecting wing.
• Bay window to the projecting wing, capped by a raked, three-panel, roof clad with flat metal sheets.
This bay has a single, tall, rectangular opening to each of the three principal faces.
• Front verandah.
This abuts the projecting wing and extends across the remainder of the façade. It has a dropped, bullnose roof, one plain square timber post and no decorative detailing.
Under the verandah the main entrance door is located adjacent to the projecting wing. Consistent with the relatively modest nature of the house this has a single width entrance, with a highlight but no sidelights.
Opening onto the centre of the verandah, from the main front room, there is a tall double hung window (with the sill set just above the verandah floor).
The house is set back approximately 4.5m from the front boundary, which is defined by a rendered masonry wall with rendered masonry posts and timber picket infill panels. Together with the mature shrubs in the front garden this partly conceals the house from casual streetscape views.

History

A Certificate of Title for Perth Suburban Lot 277 and part Perth Suburban Lot 276 (totalling 5 acres and 18 perches) was issued in the name of The Intercolonial Investment Land and Building Company Ltd on 18 September 1901. This area was subsequently laid out as a new subdivision, including ten building allotments facing Duke Street (Lots 13 to 17 and 18 to 22 of Plan 2352).
On 30 May 1902, Lot 15 was transferred to Frederick Samuel Herbert Tipping (clerk), who also purchased the adjoining Lot 16 in July 1902. Frederick, who had married Blanche Eleanor Allen in that year, built a house on Lot 15 and they lived here until c.1916, when the following advertisement was placed in the “To Let” column of The West Australian:
Five-roomed Brick HOUSE, all conveniences, 8 Duke-st., Subiaco. F. Tipping, Government Printing Office.
8 Duke Street was then occupied by at least three different families until c.1921 when Harry Edmund Hunt (cabinet maker) took up residence. Towards the end of his tenure, in 1927, the property appears to have been offered for sale:
SUBIACO: Brick House, 5 rooms, dining room 16 x 14, back verandah 20 x 10 minute tram. 8 Duke-st.
It then had at least two more relatively short-term occupants before 1933, when it became the home of Walter Adam Grier (clerk) and his wife, Florence, who remained here until Walter’s death in 1949.
Note: Walter and Florence Grier had previously lived at 7 Duke Street (c.1919-1927) and 11 Duke Street (c.1928-1932), making them long-term residents of the street.
Occupants of the property from its time of construction until c.1949 included:
1903-1916 Frederick Samuel Herbert Tipping, clerk, Government Printing Office
1916-1918 Frederick Matthew Oliver, wickerworker
1919 Robert Hardingham
1920 Albert Barker
1921-1927 Harry Edmund Hunt, cabinet maker
1928 Mrs Kate Cocks
1929-1932 William Kirby
1933-1949 Walter Adam Grier, clerk

Integrity/Authenticity

The rendering of the main façade and the modification of the roofline to incorporate second storey additions have significantly impacted on the authenticity and traditional character of the place. However, the underlying form is still recognisable.
The place is also of some local historical significance as the first house to be built in this street.

Condition

Good

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.