Semaphore Chambers

Statement of Significance

Assessment of Significance: Semaphore Chambers is one of the finest examples of the Federation Anglo Dutch style in Western Australia, with its elaborate upper gable and exuberant parapet line. (Criterion 1.1) Semaphore Chambers is a distinctive building in the streetscape and contributes to the identity of Hannan Street. (Criterion 1.3) Semaphore Chambers is a distinctive element of the Hannan Street streetscape which, spanning four blocks, is the most extensive, intact and significant commercial street representing the 1880s and 1890s goldrushes in Western Australia. (Criterion 1.4) The construction of Semaphore Chambers was a result of the successful exploitation of the Coolgardie Goldfields and the continuing development of Kalgoorlie as the major administrative and commercial centre of the goldfields. (Criterion 2.1) Semaphore Chambers is representative of the third phase of construction on Hannan Street between about 1898 and 1908, when the timber and iron buildings were replaced with brick structures. (Criterion 2.2) Semaphore Chambers is valued by the Western Australian community as a distinctive element of the Hannan Street streetscape which is the most extensive, intact and significant commercial street representing the 1880s and 1890s goldrushes in Western Australia. Spanning four blocks, the Hannan Street precinct has been identified by the National Trust, and listed on the Register of the National Estate, as a significant turn of the century goldfields' town streetscape which extends over three street blocks and comprises one and two storey buildings of various styles of the period. (Criterion 4.1) Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie, including Semaphore Chambers, contributes to the local and wider community's sense of place as a substantial reminder of the 1880s and 1890s goldrushes in Western Australia.. (Criterion 4.2) Semaphore Chambers is an excellent example of the Federation Anglo Dutch style, of which there are few examples in Western Australia. (Criterion 5.1) Semaphore Chambers is representative of the commercial buildings of Kalgoorlie, dating from the late 1890s, particularly along Hannan Street. The shopfront at Semaphore Chambers is typical of those located at Hannan and Burt Streets, with display windows, recessed entrance, and features such as timber and glass panel doors and rendered dado masonry (Criterion 6.1) Statement of Significance: Semaphore Chambers, a double-storey brick and iron commercial building constructed in 1899, in the Federation Anglo Dutch style, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: - the place, with its elaborate upper gable and exuberant parapet line, is one of the finest rare examples of the Federation Anglo Dutch style in Western Australia; - the place is valued as a distinctive element of the Hannan Street streetscape which, spanning four blocks, is the most extensive, intact and significant commercial street representing the 1880s and 1890s goldrushes in Western Australia; - as a part of Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie, the place contributes to the local and wider community's sense of place as a substantial reminder of the 1880s and 1890s goldrushes in Western Australia; - the place is representative of the commercial buildings of Kalgoorlie, dating from the late 1890s, particularly along Hannan Street. Its shopfront is typical of those located at Hannan and Burt Streets, with display windows, recessed entrance, and features such as timber and glass panel doors and rendered dado masonry; and, - the construction of the place was a result of the successful exploitation of the Eastern Goldfields and the continuing development of Kalgoorlie as the major administrative and commercial centre of the goldfields in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The recent interior refurbishment and construction of the verandah are assessed as having little significance. The pressed aluminium replica cast iron lace panels are considered to be intrusive.

Physical Description

Semaphore Chambers is situated on the south side of Hannan Street, amongst other commercial premises of similar size and proportion. Its distinctive facade gives it a landmark quality in the streetscape. Semaphore Chambers displays characteristics of Federation Anglo Dutch style of architecture (Apperly et al, 1989: 112-115). The symmetrical street facade is double height with a decorative gable embellished in stucco with quoining and banding, in a contrasting colour, originally a striking contrast against the dark brown face bricks. The gable has curvilinear elements and has a pediment crowning gable. The detailing on the facade also shows Gothic influences in the windows and window bays. A single-storey steel framed verandah has been constructed recently. This extends the width of the building and the full width of the footpath. The upper level of the verandah forms a first floor balcony. At ground floor level the recessed doorway is central within the symmetrical facade, flanked by the original shop fronts with transoms above, angled towards the doorway. The doorway is a stepped arch with decorative capital banding on the piers each side. The original arched fanlight is above the door. The original corner copper mullions are still in place on each front window. The piers on each external side of the building and each side of the central doorway, have a painted granite base. The external piers have a recessed and moulded vertical detail in the painted face brick. The ground floor interior is entirely a recent fitout. It has concrete floors throughout with quarry tiles in the hallway. The ceilings are gyprock and ceiling roses have been installed. Some original brick and plaster walls have been retained, although they are indistinguishable in appearance from the gyprock stud walls. New MDF skirtings, architraves and other detailing have been installed. The central hallway has office tenancies on each side. The left hand side wall is original brick, but much of the right wall is recent stud work with gyprock linings. The office fitouts feature new timber framed doors and associated windows along the hallway walls. Behind the office on the right is the original staircase. The lower half of the staircase has been moved from its original position which was about two metres closer to the front on the same side, to facilitate a larger front office space. The lower section of the staircase is now situated beyond the original exterior back wall of the building. The hallway continues into the new extensions with toilet facilities on the left behind the stairs, a full glazed wall at the end of the hallway, and a double entry into the rear space on the right hand side. The rear space is open plan and was established as a residential apartment with a kitchen fitout and bathroom facilities. It has a series of three monitor skylight roofs along the centre of the roof. Double doors give access to the rear of the property. The stairway accesses a mezzanine area at mid level. The original upper section of the stairs remains in its original location, with a window on the original rear wall, and an internal window with etched glass pattern on the interior wall of the stairwell. The stairs open onto a reception area ahead, and the front of the building on the right hand side down a short corridor with an office each side. In the reception area, a wall has been removed and a flat arch constructed over the reception counter. There is evidence of a fireplace which has been boarded over, and a recessed arched opening which has been bricked in. The arched opening possibly gave access through to the adjoining building. The office on the left has a large recessed flat arched former opening which has been bricked up. The short corridor opens into a large room which previously comprised two rooms and a central corridor. The removal of the walls has created one large space across the front of the building. The corner fireplaces remain, with reconstructed mantelpieces, in the two outside corners of the space. Central within the room on the front facade is a door which has replaced the original window, to give access onto the front balcony. The balcony is a recent construction. It is steel framed with ply board floors overlaid with indoor outdoor carpet. The balustrading comprises pressed aluminium panels in a replica cast iron lace design. The upper floor is almost a complete refurbishment with pine floors, gyprock ceilings, new ceiling roses, decorative cornices, and flat moulded arches to match an original arch. There are no new stud walls in the original section upstairs, but several walls have been removed. On the left at the top of the staircase is a step up which signals the rear of the original building and the beginning of the rear extension. On the right hand side are amenities, and a door opens onto a small verandah on the left hand side. The face brickwork of the original rear wall remains. From the small rear verandah looking to the rear of the property, the roof of the ground floor extension dominates the site. The zincalume gable roof spans the entire property. Three monitor windows are in place along the ridge of the roof, and along the north side boundary (the left side looking to the rear of the property), a timber deck walkway runs the length of the roof providing rear access from the upper level.

History

Semaphore Chambers is a two-storey brick and iron commercial building, with a single storey back section, constructed in 1899. The place is designed in the Federation Anglo Dutch style (Apperly, 1989: 112-115). Semaphore Chambers replaced an earlier timber and iron building (c. 1895) also known as Semaphore Chambers, which was burnt down early in 1899. In the 1990s, Semaphore Chambers has been extensively refurbished and enlarged to serve both a residential and commercial function. In June 1893, Paddy Hannan and his partners discovered alluvial gold thirty miles (48 kms) north-east of Coolgardie. A camp, known as Hannan's Find, quickly developed at the site, with bough huts and hessian and canvas structures erected along the edge of the track from Coolgardie. Many of these structures housed businesses to serve the prospectors who flocked to the area. Later that year, George Brookman and Sid Pearce located gold reefs three miles south of Hannan's Find, at what was to become Boulder. On 4 September 1894, Hannan's Find was declared the townsite of Kalgoorlie. The track from Coolgardie became the main street and was named Hannan Street (Webb, 1993: 91; King, 1995: 15; Laurie, 1995: 2-4). With the establishment of the townsite, the second phase of building along Hannan Street began. This was facilitated by the arrival of the Eastern Goldfields railway line in September 1896, which made the transport of more substantial building materials much easier. The original structures were replaced with timber-framed buildings clad in galvanised iron, and usually lined internally with hessian or canvas. The early buildings presented a very real fire hazard, and there were a number of fires in Hannan Street over the ensuing years. Between 1898 and 1908, substantial brick buildings replaced the timber and iron and hessian structures in the town centre, although many timber and iron residences remained in the town (Webb, 1993: 430-432; 540). Lot 16 was sold at the second auction of Kalgoorlie town lots, on 25 October 1894. It was purchased by Walsh & Son for £154. It had £95 worth of improvements on it at the time of purchase (Webb, 1993: 419-421). What these improvements comprised is not certain, but they may have been made up of more than one building. In 1896, William Lovely, Thomas Brimage and Henry Taylor, obtained title to the section of Lot 16, comprising about one third of the lot, on which was situated the original Semaphore Chambers (C/T Vol. 101, Fol. 122, 15 December 1896). "When built the old Semaphore Chambers was considered to be one of the most advanced set of offices in the place... This original building had a frontage of 25ft, and was simply divided down the centre, with a narrow passage, from which five small offices opened on each side. Messrs T. F. Brimage & Co then occupied two of these apartments, and the others were tenanted by various well-known goldfield's professional firms, the most prominent of which was the firm of Pilkington and Hall, solicitors" (Western Argus, 28 September 1899: 12). Semaphore Chambers was named after William Lovely's home suburb in Adelaide (Blainey, 1993: 24). In 1899, fire destroyed the building. Henry Taylor withdrew from the partnership, and Thomas Brimage and William Lovely had Semaphore Chambers rebuilt, adding a little more land to the site in the process (C/T Vol. 148, Fol. 33, 5 April 1899). Some of the extra land came from Lot 17, which was owned by Isidor Cohn (C/T Vol. 247, Fol. 192 & Vol. 247, Fol. 194, 28 June 1902). "Amongst the many new additions recently erected in Kalgoorlie is the handsome new Semaphore Chambers which have just been completed. This structure has been erected by Messrs Brimage and Lovely on their property in Hannan-street to replace the old corrugated iron building which was demolished by fire some months ago… In looking at the building which has risen Phoenix-like out of the ashes of the past, one cannot help contrasting it with the old; nor can one help contrasting the then state of the town with the present position of rapid advancement and solidity which is so apparent almost everywhere and exemplified in a marked degree by the new and up-to-date Semaphore Chambers. Before rebuilding Messrs Brimage and Lovely were successful in obtaining an additional three foot frontage on one side and one foot on the other side of their old site, thereby increasing the frontage to 29 ft. On this frontage and back for a depth of 70ft the new building has been erected. With granite for the base, machine-pressed bricks of dark brown color for the general face work, red bricks for the piers, black bricks in the spandrils of the window heads, white stone for the quoins, arches, and mullions of the window openings, white stone corbelling for the gable, and cement stucco for the moulds, scrolls, foliage and other enrichments of the finishing details, the architects have been successful in obtaining a most pleasing scheme of contrast even without taking into account the form of the design, which has been treated in the Gothic style. Rising above the verandah, which shades the ground floor front, this building presents perhaps one of the most pleasing fronts in Hannan-street... From the main entrance a passage 4ft 6in wide continues through the whole depth of the building. On either side of the entrance are plate glass windows, with cathedral glass lights over, and with fanlight doors opening from the street. One of these windows, that on the left, is the front of a well-finished shop, and the other on the right is the front of Messrs T. F. Brimage and Co's business office. Immediately behind, and opening from this front office, is Mr T. F. Brimage's private office, which has a strong room attached. At the rear of the front shop before mentioned is the stairway that leads to the upper storey. At the rear of the two-storey portion is an open light court, and then comes the single portion of the building, which comprises four comfortable offices, access to which is obtained from the passage before mentioned. The first floor contains five very neat and comfortable offices, three of which are occupied by Messrs T. F. Brimage and Co, whose rapidly increasing business has necessitated increased accommodation. This floor also contains a lavatory. The whole of the apartments throughout the building have well-finished plastered walls, and are floored with well-seasoned jarrah, which has a capital surface. The ceilings have fluted iron covering, neatly panelled out with molds. The architects… hav[e] provided a fireplace in each office, and splendid ventilation throughout... The ceiling and joinery work in the various apartments is tastefully painted. Electric lights have been installed throughout the building… [and p]rovision has been made for conserving rain water from the roof, and this has been placed at the disposal of the tenants. Messrs Hawkins and Sprigg were the architects for this work, and it has been carried out and completed under their supervision by Mr. A. H. Galpin…" (Western Argus, 28 September 1899: 12-13). Thomas Brimage and William Lovely traded as T. F. Brimage & Co, 'mining engineers, accountants, legal managers, mining and land agents' (Wise's Post Office Directory, 1904). When Semaphore Chambers was constructed, Hannan Street was already paved, with electric street lighting and street trees. By 1904, electric trams ran along Hannan Street and on to Boulder, and the street had developed into the major commercial and shopping precinct in the eastern goldfields (King, 1976: 1). In that year, Semaphore Chambers was tenanted by Citizen Life Insurance and the Commercial Union Insurance Co, while the rest of the building was still occupied by T. F. Brimage & Co. By 1910, Brimage & Co were operating largely as sharebrokers, and Semaphore Chambers was home to music teacher Professor G. Marshall, tailor Henry Cope, T & G Mutual Life, and Mrs Cohen's registry office (Wise's Post Office Directory, 1910). Thomas Brimage died on 25 May 1915, and title passed to his wife Marie Louise, who had moved to Narrogin. Thomas Brimage had raised a mortgage on the building with the Western Australian Bank in October 1912 and, in 1922, title to Semaphore Chambers passed to the Bank suggesting that the mortgage conditions may not have been met (C/T Vol. 247, Fol. 194, 2 October 1912, 25 May 1915, 9 July 1915 & 5 August 1922). Much of Semaphore Chambers was empty in 1920, perhaps due to the uncertainty of ownership. One tenant was a Mrs McEvoy. It is not certain in what capacity she occupied the building, but she was a tenant for over twenty years. It is possible she ran a boarding house in the building, behind or above the shop spaces and offices (Wise's Post Office Directories, 1920-1942). Thomas John Martin, an investor who purchased Semaphore Chambers in 1942, is listed as running a 'lodging house' in the place in the late 1940s (C/T Vol. 810, Fol. 143, 2 December 1942; Wise's Post Office Directories, 1942-1949). Other tenants of the place over the years included Norwood Bros stationery and library, and Roycroft Library & Bookshop. A beauty salon and later a pastry cook occupied part of the ground floor in the 1940s (Wise's Post Office Directories, 1920-1949). Semaphore Chambers changed hands a number of times following Thomas Martin's death in 1963 (C/T Vol. 810, Fol. 143, 20 November 1969, 8 October 1970, 14 July 1981). Photographs of Semaphore Chambers in the 1980s, show that at that time the facade had been painted to reflect almost a 'negative' of the original finish, with dark brown and red brickwork painted white and white stone quoining painted black (photograph, 1982, HCWA File 1303). The colour scheme highlighted the Gothic influences in the style of the windows. In 1981, Semaphore Chambers was purchased by Arrowville Pty Ltd, engineering and mining services, who appear to have occupied the entire building for about five years (C/T Vol. 424, Fol. 154A, 14 July 1981). The place changed hands a few more times until purchased in 1994 by current owners David and Wanda Johns. During their ownership, Semaphore Chambers has been extensively renovated and enlarged for both residential and commercial use, which may more closely reflect the actual usage of the place in the past. The facade has also been given a new colour scheme. In 2001, commercial tenants of Semaphore Chambers included an Insurance Broker, GEHA and the Police and Nurses Credit Union.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High Authenticity: Moderate to High (exterior); Low (interior)

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

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