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 standard of modest rental accommodation built for people such as tradesmen, junior employees, labourers and single women/widows in Subiaco during the early twentieth century.
• As a good representative example of the application of materials and detailing which were common in the early 20th century, but which were applied in a more restrained manner for investment properties.
• For its association with the rapid development of Subiaco in the early 20th century.
• For its association with Goldfields Labor MLA Thomas Henry Bath who occupied this place from 1904-1920.
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
134 Townshend Road was designed as symmetrical weatherboard cottage which, while finely detailed, does not represent any of the major architectural styles. It was designed to a scale and form generally considered suitable for occupiers such as office workers, retail employees and skilled tradesmen.
While the detailing of the main façade was more ornate than many of Subiaco’s relatively modest symmetrical cottages of the period around the turn of the century, this was by no means unique. For example, the symmetrical brick cottage at 92 Heytesbury Road (c.1906) used the identical cast iron frieze and bracket detailing, together with its own distinctive ornate eaves panels and verandah gablet.
Plan form at the street frontage
• Symmetrical façade, featuring a central entrance door, flanked by windows to each of the front rooms.
Roof form and materials
• Hipped roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting.
• Chimney with a projecting rendered cap (located towards the rear of the front section).
• Separate raked, hipped verandah roof with a central gablet.
• Carved timber gable boards and turned timber finial to the gablet.
Wall materials and finishes to the main facade
• Weatherboards detailed to imitate coursed stonework.
• Moulded timber skirting.
Other detailing to main facade
• Convex trim under the gutter.
• Moulded timber cornice to the eaves (immediately above the verandah roof).
• Paired timber eaves brackets with a turned timber detail to the upper end.
• Alternating square and rectangular moulded panels between the eaves brackets.
• Chamfered and grooved square verandah posts.
• Cast iron frieze and quadrant brackets with a finely detailed floral pattern.
• Traditional timber trim under the verandah gutters.
• Centrally located entrance. This features a 4-panel door, moulded architraves, narrow sidelights, highlight and stained glass panels.
• Single double-hung window to each of the front rooms, with moulded timber architraves and decorative panelled sills.
• Chamfered square verandah posts.
• Modern brick-paved finish to the verandah floor.
Streetscape setting
• House set back approximately 3m from the Townshend Road frontage.
• Lot width approximately 10.9m.
• Side setback of approximately 1m from the northern boundary and 600mm from the southern boundary.
• Front yard enclosed by a scalloped 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 Lot 220 was subdivided as Deposited Plan 1552 in 1896 and advertised as the “Parkerville Estate”. This comprised 38 lots with frontages along the eastern side of Townshend Road (between Barker and Bagot Roads), part of the southern side of Barker Road, part of Salisbury Avenue (renamed as part of Park Street in 1901) and part of the northern side of Bagot Road.
The Townshend Road part of this subdivision was developed at an early date. The Post Office Directories identified 8 primary residents in this area in 1901 and all 14 lots had been developed by 1905 (11 of which appear to have been occupied by weatherboard cottages).
In 1901, a man named George William Hatswell (builder) occupied a house in the vicinity of 134-142 Townshend Road, and the readily available evidence suggests that this may have been #134. Further research into early Certificates of Title would determine if he owned lot 29 at that time and may have been responsible for its construction. The house was occupied by Alfred G Davies in c.1903-1904 (by which time Hatswell was living in Katanning) and Horatio Robson in c.1904-1905.
The first long-term occupants of 134 Townshend Road were Thomas Henry Bath (c.1875-1956) and his wife, Elizabeth, with T Bath (MLA) being identified as the owner/occupier in the Rate Books of 1905. The weatherboard house was occupied as the family’s city residence in c.1905-1920, although newspaper notices suggest that it may have also been occupied by others from time-to-time. For many years Bath also had a farm at Tammin, and in the early 1930s maintained another city residence at 101 Townshend Road.
Thomas was born in NSW. He began work as a miner, sailed for the West Australian goldfields in 1896 and went on to become an Australian politician, trade unionist, newspaper editor and writer. In September 1900 he became first editor of the Westralian Worker. A member of the Australian Labor Party, he served as a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly between 1902 and 1914 for the constituencies of Hannans, Brown Hill and Avon. He was Minister for lands and Education in 1905; Leader of the Opposition in 1905-1910, and Minister for lands and Agriculture in 1911-1914.
The name “Fernlea” was used for a house in Townshend Road (near Bagot Road) in a series of advertisements during 1904. It was more specifically used for the home of the Bath family when they announced the birth of a daughter at this address in July 1905 (Hazel Rosalind) and a son in September 1910 (John Hampden).
After 1920 there was a high turnover of occupants, with most only staying here for 1-4 years. A review of the Post Office Directories at 5-yearly intervals (together with reference to contemporary Electoral Rolls) indicates that some of the primary residents during c.1925-1949 included:
 1925: Reginald Lusted (grocer)
 1930: Mrs Hutchinson
 1935: Mrs Jane Griffin
 1940: Bernard Merritt (labourer)
 1945 & 1949: Mrs Dorothy Morgan
Dorothea Morgan and her husband, Phillip (engineer), occupied the place from c.1942 until the mid 1950s.
A plan of the site prepared in the 1920s and reviewed in 1954 for the purpose of planning sewerage and water supply services shows that the original residence has been extended to the rear removing a small verandah which was located across the rear elevation. Aerial photographs of the place since the mid 20th century indicate that the place was originally clad with red corrugated iron which was replaced in c1982. Further extensions to the rear were undertaken in the early 1990s. The extent and form of the original residence are still clearly evident
Townshend Road was adopted on the City of Subiaco Local Heritage Survey in 2003. It has been assessed as level 2 (very important to the heritage of the City of Subiaco).

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity - High: The place continues to be used as a private residence.
Authenticity - Moderate - High: The original external form is largely intact although the details are potentially later insertions.

Condition

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

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.