House

Parent Place or Precinct

25394 Union and Redfern Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

Union and Redfern Street Heritage Area is significant for: Aesthetic Value: The area contains aesthetically pleasing streetscapes with a strong heritage character. In particular, cohesive streetscapes have been created by a limited palette of materials and styles. The area contains many good, representative, suburban examples of Federation Queen Anne houses and Federation Bungalows. These include both gentlemen’s villas and modest suburban houses, and collectively illustrate a gradual evolution in architectural detailing of these places between 1899 and the early Inter-war years. Historic Value: The residential subdivision of this area represents the early development activities of Sydney and Melbourne based real estate agents and property developers. In this context it 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. The collection of houses in the heritage area helps to demonstrate the manner in which the family residences of professional men and business owners (such as senior civil servants and merchants) existed side by side with the smaller houses of semi-professional and tradespeople. The collection of houses in the heritage area helps to illustrate the scale and standard of housing considered appropriate for these families in the early twentieth century. The area was a place of residence for a number of people who were prominent in the local business community or were otherwise public identities of the early to mid-twentieth century.

Physical Description

Brick and iron house designed in a traditional asymmetrical plan form with projecting wing and verandah across the recessed section of the front elevation. The projecting wing has a feature tri-partite window with a large timber framed sash window, 1-over-1 design, with the upper pane being leaded lights. Either side of the main window, and set a small distance from the opening, are two long thin leaded fixed-pane lights. The window section of the gable projects in a bay form though it is a full height design feature rather than just a projecting window. The apex of the gable is decorated with a simple timber detail and matching finial. The elevations consist of painted brickwork to the lower sections of the wall with roughcast render to the upper sections all painted in a muted grey. The door arrangement consists of a timber panelled door with a round glazed upper panel, two timber and glass side lights and three fan lights. The windows in this section of the elevation are timber framed casements. The verandah canopy is an extension of the main roof but is at a shallower angle than the roof itself. The canopy is supported on timber and masonry columns with a simple timber arched frieze.

History

In June 1903, Sydney accountants William James Douglas and Frank Dyson purchased PSL 254 and portion of PSL 253. The land was subdivided into 36 lots and in August 1903, the pair divided the ownership of the lots evenly. Each owned half of the properties facing Rawson Street, Hamersley Road and Heytesbury Road. The lots were sold from 1904 onwards and the first home on Rawson Street, the subject area, was built by 1904. From the available evidence Douglas and Dyson never visited the properties in Subiaco and the sale of the land was managed by local land agents, Ebernezer Allen & Co. The lot was originally owned by Christopher Jobson of 11 Campbell Street until 1916/17 when it was purchased by Edward Leo Hazel (Auctioneer & Jute Broker) who had been leasing No. 6 since 1909. In 1918 Edward Hazel constructed the house at No. 4. Edward Hazel died in 1933 and his wife Harriet continued to reside at the property until her death in 1934 when it was sold to William S Kelly who lived there until 1946. Miss B Green is listed as living at No. 4 and she was still there in 1949 when the Post Office Directories stopped being produced. Occupants 1918-1934 Edward and Harriet Hazel 1936-1946 William S Kelly 1947-1949 Miss B Green

Integrity/Authenticity

The decorative elements on the front elevation are good simple representations of the Federation style. Of particular note are the treatment of the windows in the main front elevation and the verandah timberwork

Condition

Good

Uses

Creation Date

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