House, 37 Leake St, Peppermint Grove

Values

• The place is a rare, fine and intact example of a c.1890s two-storey weatherboard residence, built at a time when most two-storey residences in WA were constructed from stone or brick.
• The place is associated with the late nineteenth-century subdivision and development of Peppermint Grove, an area marketed to elite residents which remains one of the most affluent suburbs in WA.
• The place is associated with, or was occupied by, a number of notable Western Australians.
• As a substantial two-storey residence, the place contributes to the Leake Street streetscape, and overall character of Peppermint Grove.

Physical Description

The place is a two-storey timber framed, weatherboard clad residence with elements of the Victorian Rustic Gothic architectural style on a 2380 square metre lot. It is located in the south-west corner of the lot, fronting Leake Street, and adjacent to a right of way. External features include a pitched corrugated iron roof, timber verandahs, and reinstated sheoak shingles to bay window roofs. Internal features include jarrah and pine floorboards, and original stained-glass windows, fireplaces, and staircase. A contemporary limestone addition (2023) is located to the north which contains a kitchen and bathrooms, and further north is a limestone garage (2023) facing the eastern right of way. Lawns front the residence to the immediate south and east. North of the garage is an undeveloped landscaped area with original trees.

History

The area that is now the Shire of Peppermint Grove was once Swan Location 84, allocated to John Butler in 1832, where he established an inn. Butler left the Colony for New South Wales in 1835 and died there in 1841. His wife Ann maintained ownership of Swan Location 84 until her death in 1886. In 1887, the land was sold to a syndicate of businessmen, comprising former government surveyor Alexander Forrest, George Leake, and Charles Crossland. The land was subdivided into large blocks to attract wealthy buyers, with the river foreshore excised into an A Class Reserve, and the first sales began late 1891. Of the 67 buyers, supposedly only seven built houses and lived in Peppermint Grove. Some of the earliest residents include Premier John Forrest and Edward Keane, who owned over 8 acres of land along the river in an area known as ‘Butler’s Hump’. In 1894, Thomas William Whiteley, a builder and contractor from Fremantle, purchased Lot 10 of Section 11 from the subdivided land. It has been suggested the place was constructed in 1895, presumably for Whiteley, as a prefabricated timber house brought over from North America. However, recent conservation works found the original weatherboards were jarrah indicating it was more likely constructed locally. In 1896, architectural firm Wilkinson & Smith advertised tenders for a two-storey weatherboard house on Leake Street which could have been the current house at No. 37. However, Wilkinson & Smith appear to have designed numerous residences in Peppermint Grove at this time so it may have been another along this street which has since been demolished. In 1897, the land was sold to Alexander Forrest, a prolific investor in land and industries following the success of the gold rush. The house may have been built by Forrest if the above does not refer to this property, but no information located to date suggests Forrest resided here. Following Forrest’s death in 1901 the property transferred to the executors of his will. In 1902, ownership transferred to Cora Henrietta Barrymore, wife of Frederick William Barrymore, from Cottesloe. Originally from Queensland, Frederick Barrymore was a merchant and imported goods including Jeyes’ Fluid with his company F.W. Barrymore Ltd. For a time, Barrymore was manager for Guthrie & Co, and Chair of the Fremantle Chamber of Commerce. The Barrymore family may have been the first residents. When the property was sold in 1925, the ‘commodious family residence’ was described as: 'Lot 10 of Sec 11 Swan Loc. 84, containing ½ an acre, with substantial J.W.B Residence, lath and plastered, containing drawing room… 6 good bedrooms, kitchen, scullery, pantry, bathroom, e.l. , and all conveniences, well and windmill, 5,000 gallon elevated tank, motor garage, grass tennis court; grounds nicely laid out in lawns and garden, fruit trees, and vines.' The property was purchased by John Thomson, the General Manager for Westralian Farmers in 1926. In the 1930s, Thomson instigated the concept of co-operative bulk handling in WA. Other initiatives Thomson is known for include founding the first milk pasteurisation plant and establishing the first radio station in WA, 6WF. From 1951 to 1960, the property was owned by Dr Vincent Harry Cooper (general practitioner and obstetrician) and his wife Dorothie. Professor John David Martin (Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology) and his wife Margaret then purchased the property in 1960. It was sold to the current owner in 2017. Extensive conservation works were undertaken to the property between 2018 and 2023, along with a contemporary limestone extension and landscaping. It remains a private residence.

Condition

Intact and well maintained in 2008

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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