HOUSE, 72 STIRLING HIGHWAY

Parent Place or Precinct

22385 North Fremantle Precinct

Statement of Significance

House, 72 Stirling Highway, is a typical weatherboard, asbestos and iron single storey cottage dating from c1934. It is representative of the typical building stock located within the residential areas of North Fremantle. Historically significant as a representation of typical workers' houses in the North Fremantle area.

Physical Description

House, 72 Stirling Highway, is a single storey weatherboard, asbestos and tile cottage with asymmetrical facade constructed in 1934. Walls are painted weatherboard to dado height with asbestos sheeting above. Roof is hipped and tiled with shortened eaves. Verandah has been infilled with asbestos sheeting and aluminium framed windows. Front elevation is asymmetrical with a protruding front room. There is a timber framed window with awning above to this room. A brick chimney remains intact.

History

The portion of Stirling Highway to the north of Queen Victoria Street was originally part of Perth Road. The area developed with mixed residential, commercial and industrial uses from the 1860s following the construction of the North Fremantle Traffic Bridge and the upgrading of Perth Road by convicts. The portion of Stirling Highway that runs between the Swan River and the junction with Queen Victoria Street was formerly called Bruce Street. It was named after Colonel Bruce, head of the Pensioner Guards. In the early days of North Fremantle’s development, the favoured residential area for settlement was slightly west of the North Fremantle oval and named ‘Brucetown’. Settlement of North Fremantle began in earnest in the late 1890s and Bruce Street was characterised by a mix of building types. On the southern side of the street between Queen Victoria Street (formerly Perth Road) and Tydeman Road (formerly Pensioner Road and then John Street), the buildings were predominantly residential. Industrial use was more common on the northern side. Stirling Bridge was constructed across the Swan River at the end of Bruce Street in 1974. As Bruce Street was now the major arterial link between the bridge and Stirling Highway, the street was widened and renamed as an extension of Stirling Highway. In recent years, new high-density residential development of the areas adjacent to the river on either side of Stirling Highway has seen a significant change in the mix of buildings in the southern section of Stirling Highway. In 2004, the street continues to have a mix of residential, retail and industrial land use. House, 72 Stirling Highway was constructed in 1934 for Charles Percival Rule. The land had been vacant until this time. A returned serviceman, Charles Rule was a long-term councillor for North Fremantle (1948-60) and Fremantle (1961/62; 1968-73), a member of various boards and committees (including Works and Lighting and the Fremantle Cemetery), was a life member of the Fremantle Surf Club and Fremantle Bowling Club. He is locally remembered in the naming of Rule Street. The property remained in the Rule family until 1990. A 1939 diagram shows House, 72 Stirling Highway soon after it was built. It was a mall house located to the north-west of the lot, with a vineyard in the remainder of the large lot and all of the adjoining lot on White Street. The place is identified in the North Fremantle Heritage Study (1994) as being of cultural heritage significance to the development of North Fremantle. Fenced off and appears vacant as at 2016.

Integrity/Authenticity

Medium degree of integrity (original intent clear, current use compatible, high long term sustainability, some later unsympathetic materials). Medium degree of authenticity with some loss of original fabric. (These statements based on street survey only).

Condition

Condition assessed as poor to fair (assessed from streetscape survey only).

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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