Rose Hotel Bottle Shop & Sample Room

Statement of Significance

Rose Hotel and Sample Room, a two and three-storeyed brick and iron hotel with decorative cast-iron verandahs and a single storey detached brick and iron sample room, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
the place contributes to the city's townscape, in particular to the intersection of Victoria and Wellington streets, as a notable example of the historic gold boom hotel class of buildings;
the sample room is one of the few extant examples in Western Australia of a detached sample room dating from c. 1900, where commercial travellers could conduct business;
the place provides essential evidence of the historic development of the town centre in the late nineteenth century;
the place’s intrinsic aesthetic value, particularly in its aesthetically and technically noteworthy cast-iron verandah;
the place serves as a benchmark for the assessment of hotels and cast-iron decoration elsewhere in the State; and,
the place is valued by the community as a landmark gathering place with propensity to engender a sense of place and identity of community.

The motel accommodation is considered to be of little heritage significance.

Physical Description

Rose Hotel, Bunbury, comprises an L-shaped, structure addressing the two frontages of its street corner location, being three-storeyed to Victoria Street and to a short return into Wellington Street corresponding to the depth of the three-storeyed structure's rooms. The verandahs to both streets are two-storeyed, sitting above the public footpaths.

The three-storeyed section has a pitched roof between short lengths of raised parapets and over bracketed eaves.

The building is two-storeyed to Wellington Street. From the differing roofs and plan width, this two-storeyed section is evidently of two stages and the street parapet is contrived to conceal and marry this divergence.

The single storey brick and iron Sample Room is located on Wellington Street.

Originally constructed as a separate stand alone building, today it is flanked on the northern side by the two storeyed brick motel building. The Sample Room is a separate building to the main hotel. A driveway is located between the Hotel and the Sample Room. This leads to a carpark area, later motel rooms and the rear of the hotel. A metal deck roof provides a covered link between the Sample Room and the Hotel.

The front façade of the Sample Room is a brick parapet wall. Sections of the wall beneath the windows are face brick. Other sections are painted brick whilst some sections of the parapet top are rendered and painted. The front parapet wall is in two sections with a gabled section to the main room and a flat section to the room to the south. The roofs behind are gabled and skillion respectively.

The gabled section of the front façade is symmetrical with a central timber front door (with fan light above) and a large timber framed window either side with smaller fanlight windows above. The words Rose Hotel Sample Room are located on the gabled parapet.

The front façade to the southern room has a timber framed door and a timber framed window.

The Sample Room roof has a pediment and balustrade at the street eaves that feature finials of the pattern of the main building.

The southern elevation of the Sample room faces the driveway and is utilised for the drive through bottle shop facilities. There is a roller door entrance and glass window fridges.

The rear and northern elevation of the Sample Room are attached to the later motel additions.

History

When Samuel Rose applied for a licence for a new hotel in Bunbury, it was refused on the grounds that the town already had two hotels. However, the townspeople supported Rose and a number signed a petition that was presented to the Governor who instructed the Bench to reconsider their decision. A licence was issued in 1865. The single storey Rose Hotel was then built on Lot 206 facing Victoria Street.

Samuel Rose had arrived in Western Australia on the ‘Parkfield’ with his wife Mary (nee Hallen) and son Samuel (b 1836). The couple had three more children while residing at Picton – William (1842), John (1846) and Mary (1850). Unfortunately, Mary Rose died during their daughter's birth and Samuel married widow, Emma Delaporte (nee Penfold) on 18 May 1855. Samuel and Emma had six children together.

Samuel later built a modest two storey hotel on Victoria Street, near the corner of Wellington Street. The hotel had a bar and dining room downstairs and four small bedrooms upstairs. The upstairs verandahs were enclosed and there were chimneys at either end of the building.

After Samuel’s death in 1867, Emma ran the Rose Hotel before handing it over to her son, Richard Delaporte. Richard was assisted by Joe Naylor. Following Richard’s management, there were a succession of licensees, including Thomas Spencer, P McArthur, Alex Forbes and A E Bonney. Bonney’s death on the day he took over the licence left his widow to carry on trading. She did this under the name of Tolley and Co until September 1890, when she handed the hotel over to J H Darley. Darley had the hotel for only a short time before it was taken over by J C Illingworth. Circa 1888, a billiard room was added.

The Illingworths soon commenced a program of extensive renovation and additions. The hotel was practically rebuilt in 1897/98, and included a two storey building facing Wellington Street. The new building shared a common rear courtyard with the original building on Victoria Street. Over £7,000 was spent to provide accommodation for 40 guests, a large entrance hall and a fine dining room. There was hot and cold water on tap and Mrs Illingworth was a wonderful hostess. Guests were able to house their horses in a stone wall stable on Wellington Street where the sample room was later built.

The Rose Hotel was a popular destination for holiday makers, visitors to Bunbury and locals alike. In 1901, the Rose Hotel was described as ‘one of the favourite watering places in Western Australia’. The Hotel was situated close to the public seabaths and had good views of Bunbury harbour. From the early 1900s a taxi rank operated from outside the Wellington Street building.

Circa 1904, the original wing was demolished and replaced with a three storey building along Victoria Street, which linked with the two storey wing on Wellington Street. At this time a sample room was built on Wellington Street. Sample rooms were used by travelling salesman to display and sell their wares. The salesman travelled the State by any means possible; train, foot, coastal shipping or horse and buggy, and had to be accommodated in boarding houses or hotels. After World War Two the use of sample rooms declined as travelling salesman became more mobile and independent due to the widespread use of the car and improved road conditions. It is not known when the sample room ceased to be used for this function.

The hotel was often a venue for official civic functions. For example, on Armistice Day to mark the ceasefire to end World War I (11 November 1918), the Bunbury Municipal Band performed before a crowd of about 1,000 people, where rousing renditions of ‘God Save the King and ‘Rule Britannia’ were performed.

Circa 1920, Mrs Nenke (Mrs Illingworth’s sister) became the licencee of the Rose Hotel. Later owners and licencees included John Hithersay, E J Saunders (1932) and lawyer J J Monaghan. Monaghan bought the Rose Hotel in 1939; he had previously purchased the Prince of Wales Hotel in 1937. Monoghan quickly engaged Hough and Son to complete renovations and alterations costing £5,000.

Monaghan was prominent in community affairs, including an extensive period as chair of the Bunbury Race Club, president of the Chamber of Commerce, director of the South West Newspaper Co, chair of the South West Licensed Victuallers Association, as well as president of the Bunbury Association.

After Monaghan’s death, his wife Millie took over the Rose Hotel, assisted by Gerry Lightly and Clarrie O’Connor. In the 1960s, the hotel had a number of managers in quick succession. In 1961 plans were revealed for the redevelopment of the Rose Hotel by new proprietors, Col and Meg Sangster. This included the proposed establishment of an ‘ultramodern bottle department’ which was established in the sample room sometime in the 1960s.

John and Elizabeth Drinkwater purchased the hotel in 1969 and Mr Drinkwater retains ownership as at 2013.


This history is based on the Documentary Evidence in Heritage Council of Western Australia, 'Register Documentation: Rose Hotel and Sample Room', prepared by Jacqui Sherriff, 2004.

Integrity/Authenticity

High degree of integrity (original intent clear, current use compatible, high long term sustainability).
High degree of authenticity with much original fabric remaining.
(These statements based on street survey only).

Condition

Condition assessed as good (assessed from streetscape survey only).

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.