Shop with attached house

Statement of Significance

The shop with attached house, at 45 Hobart St is a fine example of an Interwar Art Deco style corner shop that has continued to operate as a corner store and provides a focal point in the local community. It was located at the heart of the Merredin Park Estate that was developed by the Land & Building Company of Sydney at a time of economic depression in the eastern states.

Physical Description

The single storey shop is assymmetrical about the truncated corner, with different length facades to each street frontage. The main shop entry is recessed on the truncated corner and that is flanked by similar shopfronts. The main street frontage has another shop front with a recessed entry. The suspended boxed canopy extends around the shopfronts but does not include the skillion wall on the secondary street. The parapet is distinctive art deco with recessed horizontal banding contrasted by vertical stepped parapet elements on the truncated corner and central on the Hobart Street frontage. Zero setbacks to street. Security mesh over shopfronts

History

The Mount Hawthorn area was first subdivided for urban development in 1887. It was in the late 1890's that a syndicate formed by C.L.W Clifton (Undersecretary for Lands), James A. Hicks and E.H wittenoom (laterMinister in WA Government and Agent General in London) purchased the land. James Hick called his portion 'Hawthorne Estate' after the area of Melbounre, which he had apparently recently visited. Some of the purchasers were later dissatisified with the name and lobbied to have it called 'Mount Hawthorn', as the use of the word 'Mount' was fashionable at the time. Hobart Street was part of a further subdivision, the Merredin Park Estate which was developed by the Intercolonial Investment Land & Building Company Ltd of Sydney, and was released in three stages. The subject block was part of Stage 9, situated on Swan Locations 658 and 660. The land was advertised as 'splendid mansion and villa sites' and it was offered for sale by public auction on 25 June 1901, the auction being held at the Mechanics Institute in Perth. The auctioneer was James Gardiner and the terms were 10 per cent deposit and the balance in eight quarterly payments without interest. A five per cent discount was offered for cash. A number of lots were sold prior to the June 1901 auction but the subject place was not among them. There were no residents listed for the street in the 1905 Post Office Directory, and only four in 1910. In 1913 a Baptist church was listed and in 1914 the North Perth Municipal Yards and Pound were shown as being in roughly the same area as the subject place but on the opposite side of the road. These were run for many years by poundkeeper, Thomas Walker. A house is shown on the corner of Hobart and Auckland streets in the MWSSDD sewerage plans of the 1920s. The house is set back from the street corner. In 1929 Stephen Carslaw was listed as residing at the house and he was still there until at least 1935. In the 1930s (circa 1934) a large corner shop was added to the front of the residence. It was not uncommon in Vincent at that time for people to build shops at the front of their existing homes or alongside and in particular along the busier streets, such as Oxford Street. The first business listed as 45A Hobart Street was C.Carter, grocer and in 1949 it was a mixed business known as Phillips Store.s At this time Thomas Maynard, a butcher was listed for No. 45. It is not known whether he operated a butcher's shop there or resided there. In later years, the shop at No. 45A was known as Hobart Deli. In the 1950's it was run by Stanley Morris, who had emigrated from Burma in October 1948 with his wife and six children. A seventh child, Maureen, was born after they arrived in Australia and the family moved to No. 110 Loftus Street, Leederville. Mrs Morris ran the shop in Hobart Street while Stanley, a qualified engineer, worked at the Taxation Department. The delicatessen was continuing to operate in 2007. The shop is known as the Hobart Deli and continues to operate.

Integrity/Authenticity

High degree

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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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.