Residence

Statement of Significance

The house at 148 Palmerston Street is a singular example of the Federation Tudor style, which has become a landmark due to its rarity and uniqueness. It is associated with William W. Dartnall, prominent railways engineer.

Physical Description

An unusual and substantial single storey residence with a complex roof form with gables framing a corner turret, to both facades. These in turn are set within projecting gables which frame the outer ends of both facades. The gable ends and turret base are half-timbered, in an Arts and Crafts detail. The bow verandah returns around the corner of the house and along both principal frontages. It is supported by turned posts and sits on a limestone foundation. The rooms in the projecting gables have bay windows with iron awnings over. Dominant corner Symmetrical design about the corner None apparent

History

Palmerston Street, which was just a dirt track it its very early years, was named after Lord Henry Palmerston, aka Henry John Temple Britain's Prime Minister from 1855 until his death in1865 and interestingly a relative of Perth Government Architect, George Temple Poole. The northern end of the street began to develop towards the end of the 1890s. No. 148 Palmerston Street is situated on town Lot N76. The place is one of several substantial homes, built in Palmerston Street at around this time. It became known as the 'witch's hat', which refers to the conical corner turret of the building. The land was first owned by John R.R. Keane who onsold it to explorer and property developer Alexander Forrest in May 1889. He sold it to C.H. James around 1895, who further subdivided the land and William Whitney Dartnell bought the last piece in 1897. Initially it was numbered 122 Palmerston Street. The house was erected in 1898 for William Dartnell, his wife Eliza and their four children. Dartnell was a railway engineer who had been recruited by Chief Engineer, C.Y. O'Conner. The 1898 City of Perth rate books indicate that it was occupied by his family from the time that it was constructed. He arrived in Western Australia with his family from New Zealand in early 1892 and was appointed as an engineer under O'Connor. Three years later he was appointed as Chief Engineer of Existing Lines but he also worked at developing the railway infrastructure and he helped design the Horseshoe and Barrack Street bridges. The house was constructed by Frederick Wilhelm Gustav Liebe who also built His Majesty's Theatre and the first Perth Art Gallery. It was very lavish, involving costly materials and decorative pieces; and a tennis court was built on the adjacent block. Tennis parties were held there with the spectators reportedly sitting in a 'garden-kiosk' and being served refreshing drinks by a maid. According to Wise's Post Office Directories, the Dartnalls remained in residence until 1927 when it was purchased by Mary Anne Coates. She resided there with Franz Bergman whom she later married but, by 1930 they had moved out and it was leased to Mrs Kate Jeffery. Mrs Jeffery and her husband opened a bake house at the rear, which had a frontage onto Earl Street. Permission to carry out alterations to this was given to Mrs Coates by the City of Perth in 1936. Following this, the bake house was run for many years by the Epis family and was known as 'The Bakery'. Michele (Mick) Epis and his wife Theresa ran the bakery there for nearly 10 years until they amalgamated with another baker and moved to East Perth because of the need for larger premises. The place was then used as a motor mechanic's workshop and in 1949, the last year of the Directories, Ern Leng was listed as the resident. In 1961 building permission was given for additions to the rear factory for Steel Craft. These turned it into a larger industrial workshop where wrought iron work and general engineering was carried out. At that time the premises were owned by Arnold Zweig who had purchased them in 1959. After his death in 1964 it was in the hands of the Public Trustees. It was then used as a hostel. The Caprionas '“ Rose and Santo '“ purchased the property in 1970 and in 1971 alterations and additions were carried out, which included new toilets and a kitchen area. Following this the buildings were used as an after-care home for psychiatric patients and a school. The school was run by the Aranda Marga, who had 15 students there in the late 1970s. By 1982 the house and workshop were being used as a home for aged persons. In 1996 an application for demolition was denied because of the building's heritage significance and local interest. It was purchased that same year (1996) by the Berbatis family company, C.G. Berbatis Holdings Pty Ltd. By this time both the house and the bakery were considerably run down but careful renovation over a period of time successfully restored much of its former glory. This work was carried out under the direction of architect L. Cotter, engineer G. Naoum and builder Terry Bell of Tawbel Pty Ltd. It was then converted into an upper level backpackers/tourist hostel and marketed under the name of 'Witch's Hat'. The 'Witch's Hat' offers shared accommodation, a TV lounge, an internet lounge, a landscaped courtyard and pool and 24-hour check-in. It was described in the Lonely Planet as having 'an air of class' and it took out an award for the Best Small Hostel in Western Australia in 2007. In 2008 it was ranked as No. 2 in WA on Hostelworld, an independent backpacker accommodation website. In 2008 it was managed by Iain 'Hopper' McTavish.

Integrity/Authenticity

Intact

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.