House, 112 Bagot Rd, Subiaco

Parent Place or Precinct

27310 Park Street Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

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
112 Bagot Road was designed as a simple symmetrical cottage and does not clearly represent any major architectural styles of the period. It was designed to a scale and form generally considered suitable for occupiers such as office workers, retail employees and both skilled and unskilled tradesmen.
Plan form at the street frontage
• Symmetrical facade.
This features a central entrance door, flanked by windows to each of the front rooms.
Roof form and materials
• Hipped roof clad with terracotta tiles (in a dappled tone consistent with the mid-twentieth century).
• Battened eaves.
• Rendered chimney.
• Shallow raked verandah roof, clad with tiles (the form and detailing suggests that this is a later reconstruction)
Wall materials and finishes to the main facade
• Painted brick laid in Flemish bond(originally tuck-pointed face-brick).
• Two rendered string courses, one at window sill height and the other at about 2m above floor level. Painted to match brickwork.
Other detailing to main facade
• Centrally located entrance door with a highlight and single sidelight.
• Single double hung window over a projecting moulded sill to each front room.
• Slender turned timber verandah posts with carved brackets.
Streetscape setting
• House set back approximately 2.8m from the Bagot Road frontage.
• Lot width approximately 10.5m.
• Built up to the boundary of the laneway along the western side of the house, narrow walkway along the eastern side.
• Front yard enclosed by a 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.
Lot 33 (112 Bagot Road) had been developed by 1903, when the Rate Books identified J W Fairbanks (carpenter) as the occupant (owner’s name omitted). In 1905 the owner was identified as D Palmer (who maintained ownership until at least the end of WWI ) and the occupant as D Smith.
The property had had at least 9 different occupants in the period c.1903-1921. A review of the Post Office Directories and Rate Books at around 5-yearly intervals (together with reference to contemporary Electoral Rolls) indicates that some of these included:
 1905: Frederick Smith (civil servant)
 1910: Ernest Percival Spear (merchant)
 1915: Frank Volplanes Paton (shipping clerk)
 1920: Gad Townley Dennison (electrician)
The first long-term owner/occupants were the Stuhrk (aka Sturk) family. John Stuhrk (c.1881-1958) (electrician) and Barbara Pauline (‘Paula’) Piopsetski (c.1885-1965) were married in Subiaco in c.1914 and this couple had at least 5 children in the period c.1914-1921. They had settled at 112 Bagot Road by 1921 and John and Barbara remained here until (or near) the end of their lives. John appears to have specialised as a motor electrician and in 1926 a newspaper advertisement placed by Westralian Auto Services Ltd, stated:
…. we have installed Plant for carrying out Motor Car ELECTRICAL REPAIRS. This branch of the business is under the control of Mr. J. Sturk, who is well known throughout Perth and Western Australia as one of the cleverest Electricians here.
An analysis of a historical Metropolitan Sewerage Plan (as revised in 1927 and 1955), and historical aerial photographs, shows that the house was extended to the rear in 2008. The footprint of the front portion has remained relatively unchanged.

Integrity/Authenticity

The authenticity of the house within its streetscape setting has been reduced by the painting of the main facade, the style of the reconstructed front verandah and the mid-twentieth century style roof tiles.

Condition

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

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.