Stirling Street Heritage Precinct

Child Places

• 05724 House
• 05620 Cottage & old Paperbark Tree
• 00358 House, 82 Stirling Street, Bunbury
• 05722 House
• 05708 House
• 05619 House
• 05721 Haywood Cottage
• 05711 House (fmr)
• 00355 The Residency, Bunbury
• 05614 House
• 05713 House
• 05710 Red Mill Store
• 05653 House
• 05723 House site
• 03310 Thomas Trott Cottage
• 00359 House at 84 Stirling Street
• 05650 House
• 05715 House
• 05618 House
• 05706 Valdemar
• 05651 House
• 03425 House - site
• 05616 House
• 05719 House
• 05690 Outdoor Brick Lavatories
• 05720 House
• 00356 State Government Infants' School (fmr), Bunbury
• 05709 Flats
• 05712 House
• 05617 House
• 05652 House
• 05714 House (fmr) - Site
• 05705 House
• 05704 Bunbury Townsite Peg No 1 - site
• 05707 House
• 05615 House

Values

The place has aesthetic value for its simple buildings with hipped and gabled roofs create interesting streetscapes, and their green leafy setting along a protected body of water provides a picturesque residential area.

The precinct is one of few residential areas adjacent a city that contains such a comprehensive stock of late Victorian and Federation buildings.

The place has historic associations with the development of Bunbury since the mid nineteenth century. The precinct is indicative of Bunbury’s early residential development.

Physical Description

The precinct is predominantly a late 19th century residential area, planned in a relatively informal manner along the Leschenault Inlet, with its main internal arterial roads running east to west.

Stirling Street precinct is sited along the southern edge of the Leschenault Inlet, and covers an area of approximately 2.0km square. It is bound to the east and west by Blair Street and King Road respectively, with Mervyn Street and Herbert Road forming its southern boundary.

Its planning form remains largely intact, including its leafy character and open foreshore to the north, with the major areas of change consisting of hard landscape elements such as the bitumised roads, curbing, power poles etc,.

The precinct contains around 200 residences. The north and eastern parts of the Precinct comprises a mixture of predominantly single storey timber framed and masonry buildings on individual lots, as well as a few grouped dwellings, the Red Mill Store and the Parade Hotel. Its character is largely formed by the overall simplicity of the form, scale and detailing of the buildings, with their picturesque pitched and gabled roofs within a leafy domestic garden setting.

The western portion of the precinct, as described above, has been largely redeveloped.

While the overall condition of the precinct is generally good, the condition of individual buildings varies enormously, with ongoing development pressure resulting in new additions, conservation and some demolition.

The buildings are predominantly of the late Victorian and Federation periods, and collectively reflect a simple vernacular form of timber and masonry residential design with a scale and symmetry that can be traced to the Victorian Georgian style of architecture.

History

‘The Stirling Street Precinct evolved out of the gradual subdivision of the historic land grant, Location 26, which Governor Sir James Stirling took up in lieu of wages in 1830. The huge grant of 3940 acres straddled the Preston River and hemmed in the townsite of Bunbury [Port Leschenault]. In the late 1850s, the northern side of White Road [now Stirling Street], was divided into 1 acre Pensioner Lots, allocated by captain Bruce to those Pensioner Guards who volunteered to relieve the post garrisoned by the Bunbury detachment of the 99th Regiment at Australind in 1851. Initially the Guards were housed in the old Military Barracks until they had built their own cottages with Government assistance of £15 towards costs incurred. The scheme proved sound judgement on the part of Captain Bruce as he could report to the Governor in 1852, the success of the scheme and the satisfaction expressed by the eight pensioners. During the 1890s, the former Stirling Estate, now administered by inheritors and known locally as the Stirling-Mangles Estate, was sold as suburban lots along Stirling Street and the Inlet shores. The precinct represents the initial expansion of Bunbury beyond the townsite area to the gradual development of suburbs at East Bunbury and Rathmines. South Bunbury would soon follow and the Council would divide into Central, North and South Wards during the 1890s. Many allotments were subdivided down from earlier small farms and market gardens. Today, the built heritage of the Precinct comprises a cross section of Bunbury suburban homes ranging between the years1875 to pre-WW1. many dwellings are vernacular bungalow and cottage forms built for families whose main occupations could well have been associated with maritime, lumper or railway activities. A number of successful businessmen built graceful villas in the area. They must have experienced the advantage of residing in close proximity to the town and their workplaces/businesses.’

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity- High
Authenticity- Moderate

Condition

Good

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.