Brisbane & Wunderlich Wishing Well

Statement of Significance

• The well has historic value for its association with the successful manufacturing firm H.L. Brisbane and Wunderlich Ltd, its managing director H.L. (Lance) Brisbane and his father, local resident Hugh Brisbane.
• The well has aesthetic and social value as an element in this public open space since the 1930s.

Physical Description

Small wishing well located in a public open space along Surrey Street. Small pale brick round well, projecting approximately 5 brick courses above ground level with a timber and
corrugated iron canopy with carved timber brackets. There is no winding handle but the spindle for the winding of the rope connected to the pail remains extant. The well has been filled in with sand.

History

This wishing well was constructed as an advertising feature by the local manufacturing firm, H.L Brisbane and Co. This local firm achieved great success through the energy and determination of Hugh Lancelot (Lance) Brisbane (1893-1966). Lance Brisbane's parents lived in Devon Road, Bassendean and his father, Hugh Brisbane, was a member of the West Guildford Road Board from 1921-1922 and the Bassendean Road Board from 1929-1935, 1935-1937. Hugh was an active member of the Bassendean and Districts Horticultural
Society and a great worker in the Methodist Church. Hugh Brisbane died in 1937 and it may have been at about this time that the wishing well was erected at this site. H.L. Brisbane Ltd did erect a number of these display structures around the metropolitan area in the 1930s.
The first of these was in the early 1930s, on a residential lot leased for the purpose in Stirling Highway, Claremont, not far from Lance Brisbane's family residence. The reserve for this well was created in 1939 but the wishing well may have been in existence prior to this date.
H. L. Brisbane and Company Ltd. built the first landscaped outdoor display area in Perth, to exhibit the company's products. It featured a large waterwheel. Over the next twenty years, numerous display parks were developed in the Perth metropolitan area. They were generally on small plots of land which were too small for other purposes, leased from a local authority and maintained at the company's expense, located alongside major traffic arteries, and near to developing residential areas.

Integrity/Authenticity

High
High/moderate

Condition

Fair

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.