House

Parent Place or Precinct

25912 Kings Road Heritage Area, Subiaco

Statement of Significance

Kings Road is of cultural heritage significance within the City of Subiaco for the following reasons:
• The existing development along Kings Road continues to represent the rapid development of the higher parts of Subiaco (near Kings Park) with good quality Federation Queen Anne houses during the early the twentieth century (with a particular focus on the c.1901-1914 period).
• The defined period and nature of development along Kings Road resulted in a complementary palette of materials and design idioms, enlivened by a diversity of individual details. Unlike many other local streets, the majority of the properties have retained a medium to high level of authenticity. Collectively they provide a good representative collection of middle-class Subiaco houses dating from the early twentieth century (extending from c.1901-1923).
• The character of the Kings Road streetscape epitomizes the general character of what is now known as the City of Subiaco’s Triangle Precinct.
• The history of the houses along Kings Road helps to demonstrate the original settlement of this part of Subiaco as a solid middle class area, in which the family residences of more senior white-collar workers existed side by side with the smaller, but still well-built, houses of more junior white-collar workers, retail employees and tradespeople.
• The history of the subdivision and early sale of residential lots along Kings Road helps to illustrate the status of Western Australia as a place of opportunity during the gold rush era of the late nineteenth century – attracting significant interest and investment from the eastern states.

Physical Description

Architectural style
• Federation Queen Anne.
This is of a scale and form typical of a middle-class suburban villa of the era, with well executed picturesque detailing.
Plan form at the street frontage
• Generally symmetrical form to the projecting central wing, off-set by an entrance porch along the northern side and a narrower open setback along the southern side.
• Parapet wall along the southern boundary.
Roof form and materials
• Gable roof to the projecting central wing, intersecting with a hipped roof over the wider section of the house towards the rear.
• Tiled roof painted grey (with some evidence of the original terracotta finish).
• Battened eaves.
• Painted brick chimneys with wide rendered caps.
Wall materials and finishes to the main façade
• Picturesque use of varied finishes, including:
Plain rendered plinth to window sill height to the face of the projecting wing; painted rock-faced stone plinth to the face of the side porch; tuck-pointed face brickwork between the plinth and the alignment of the porch beam; wide textured-render eaves panel.
Detailing of main façade
• Prominent flying gable over the central wing.
This features a projecting panel to the apex (aligning with the face of the scribed rafters) and a recessed lower panel, both finished with a smooth face and a mixture of vertical and diagonal timber battens.
On either side of a central window hood, the projecting gable is supported by a robust timber bracket.
• Picturesque window hood clad with notched weatherboards to the upper, vertical, face and pressed metal to the raked lower section, both replicating shingled detailing.
• Distinctive shaped ends to the timber rafters of the window hood.
• Boxed casement window under the window hood, with four openings to the main western face and a single opening to either end. All with square highlights and diamond pattern leadlight glazing.
• Projecting plinth under the window, capped by a wide rendered sill.
• Slender moulded, rendered, stringcourse separating the face-brick and textured render sections to the face of the projecting wing.
• Main entrance located at the rear of the side porch (facing west).
This has traditional moulded timber architraves; a four-panel door; highlights; narrow sidelights; and stained glass panels.
• Simple double hung window to the rear of the setback along the southern side of the central wing.
• Robust and distinctive verandah posts with a mixture of square, turned and raked profiles to each post.
• Dentilled detailing to the face of the porch beams.
Streetscape setting
• Main façade set back approximately 5.5m from the front boundary.
• Front boundary defined by a modern acorn-head, timber picket fence.

History

This part of Subiaco had been laid out as a residential subdivision by September 1891, but there was only one resident listed along the street in the Western Australian Post Office Directory of 1901 (referring to Park Street) and 2 in 1905 (referring to King’s Road). This was followed by a rapid period of development and by 1910 there were 14 houses within the Study Area, being 73 Bagot Road (now known as 3 Kings Road), #s 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21 Kings Road, 12 Hamersley Road (now 28 Kings Road) & 14 Hamersley Road (now 25 Kings Road). Steady infill continued after that time and the street was fully developed by the mid 1920s.
An analysis of information in the Rate Books, Western Australian Post Office Directories and Electoral Rolls indicates that 6 Kings Road was built in c.1906 for Karl Fourdrinier, law clerk, and his wife, Kate (who had been married in SA in 1899). However, they only remained here for about 2 years and offered the house for sale in June 1908:
Messrs. Eben Allen and Co. will, they announce, sell, in their rooms, Weld Chambers, St. George’s-terrace, a superior modern brick villa, situated at No. 6 King’s-road, Subiaco, containing drawing, dining, and three bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom (fitted with enamel bath and bath-heater), and linen closet. The electric light is installed throughout. The grounds, it is stated, are tastefully laid out in lawns and flower-beds, the whole making a very superior and desirable home.
It was then purchased as an investment property by Mrs Annie Harwick and was next offered for sale as part of her deceased estate in late 1914 (together with 15 Kings Road):
ROBERTSON BROS. have been favoured with instructions from the executors in the Estate of the late Annie Hardwick to SELL, as above ……
B.-Lot 85 of Perth Sub. Lot 244 and 245, having frontage of 33ft. to King’s-rd, by a depth of 115ft. to a right-of-way, upon which is erected a pretty brick villa residence (known as No. 6) containing 4 large rooms, kitchen, maid’s room, bathroom, verandahs front and back; detached wash-house, with copper and troughs fitted; electric light. This is a very attractive little property, let at 21s per week.
The next owner was John Fullerton Aarons, a storeman/shop assistant. Online family trees and newspaper notices show that John (c.1881-1917) married Marion Allpress (c.1890-1975) in 1915 and that he died during active service in France in July 1917. Marion remained at 6 Kings Road until the early 1960s, sharing the house for part of this time with her step-father, David Dick Findlay (c.1867-1950), horse-driver, and mother, Jane Anne Findlay (c.1857-1941).
Reference to an inter-war era Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Department plan, plus a review of historical aerial photographs dating from 1964 and 2016, indicates that the building envelope of the front part of the house has remained largely unchanged, although there have been some modifications and additions at the rear.
An analysis of the readily available information suggests that the primary occupants of the property from its time of construction until c.1963 included:
1907-1909 Karl Joseph Fourdrinier, law clerk, and Kate Fourdrinier, married woman
1910-1914 Charles Alfred Richard Hill, civil servant (clerk, Roads and Reserves Branch of the of the Lands Department), and Lucia Marie Louise Hill, married woman
1915 George E Ward
1915-1917 John Fullerton Aarons, shop assistant, and Marion Aarons, home duties
1917-c.1963 Mrs Marion Aarons, widow

Integrity/Authenticity

Medium to high authenticity
The authenticity of the main façade has been diminished by painting the terracotta roof dark grey. However, this impact could be easily reversed by repainting to match the original colour.

Condition

Good

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.