House

Parent Place or Precinct

25394 Union and Redfern Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

For information on the significance of the Union and Redfern Heritage Area refer to the Local Planning Policy for the Heritage Area.

Physical Description

21 Union Street was designed as a modest suburban house, partly influenced by the Federation Bungalow style. Key elements include: Symmetrical façade, accentuated by the hipped roof, a small centrally placed gable (over the main entrance). Tuck-pointed brickwork to the main façade with two contrasting rendered string courses – one at window sill height and the other at door head height. Hipped roof with a short, north-south ridge line. The roof is clad with terracotta tiles and, as noted above, features a small decorative gable over the front door. This gable has a rough-cast rendered face divided by three vertical battens. One tall brick chimney, with rendered, moulded detailing to the cornice and cap (now all painted white). Note: Historical aerial photographs confirm that there was originally a second chimney on the southern side of the house. Front verandah extending across the full width of the main façade. The raked roof of this verandah continues as an unbroken extension of the main roof line. The square timber posts have chamfered edges, which finish below two square-profile grooves at the springing point for the valance. The latter forms a wide, shallow, arch between each pair of posts, with square timber balusters flanking a solid timber ‘key’ at the apex (matching the verandah detailing to 19 Union Street). Centrally located door with highlights and narrow high-waisted sidelights – all with stained glass panels with flower motifs. Modern windows. The windows to the two front rooms have been replaced as part of refurbishment works. On the southern side of the entrance door the opening remains intact, with its original moulded projecting sill. What would have probably been a bank of three casement windows of equal width has been replaced by two narrow casements with a wider central panel. On the northern side of the entrance door, modern French doors with sidelights open onto the verandah. The house is set back approximately 4m from the front boundary, which is defined by a low brick wall with brick piers and scalloped metal infill panels – all set behind a neat clipped hedge. On the northern side of the block a driveway leads to the carport addition which sits forward of the house. This has a gabled roof, with the finish to the gable end detailed to match the gable to the house.

History

Perth Suburban Lot 255 was purchased by the Intercolonial Investment Land and Building Company Ltd of Sydney in August 1890. Two years later it was transferred to James Chesters of 155 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, estate agent, and by 1894 Chesters had subdivided this land as Deposited Plan 899, with 42 lots laid out around Queen Street (soon renamed Union Street). The allotments to the west of Union Street were numbered 1 to 21, with four of these facing Hamersley Road (Lots 1 to 4) and four facing Heytesbury Road (Lots 18 to 21). An early subdivision plan showed 13 lots facing Queen Street but, prior to sale, these were re-subdivided as nine slightly wider lots (Lots 5 to 13 on Diagram 4432). Lot 13 was transferred from James Chesters to Camelia [sic] Elizabeth Wiffen on 21 February 1916, and the Subiaco Rates Book of 1915/16 states that a new house was owned by Mrs C Wiffen in that year. Note: based on the similarities between the general design of this place and 7 Union Street, and the similarities with the verandah detailing of 19 Union Street, it is quite possible that this was one of a number of houses built by James Chesters along Union Street in the period c.1914-1916. Advertisements for the sale of the house, such as the following, appeared from November 1917 until October 1919: AT SUBIACO: Superior tiled-roof brick Residence, 5 rooms, vestibule, e., mantels, and grates, lawns, hedge, near park tram and school, all conveniences, good locality. Cash or terms. Owner, 21 Union-st. In the Rates Book of 1918/19 the new owner was listed as T S Booth (sic). Thomas Shearer Cook (a traveller) then lived here for a short time before moving across the road to 22 Union Street. In c.1921, 21 Union Street became the long-term home of the Kennedy family. John Kennedy (a storekeeper) had married Rose McLennan in 1915 and they moved into 21 Union Street with their four young children, Abigail, Donald, Alexander and Marguerite. Rose had been widowed in 1914 and also had five children by her first husband, Robert Head – Dorothy, Albert, Thora (Isabel), Alfred and Olga (born c.1904-1911). John Kennedy’s WWI records confirm that he was responsible for all of his step-children in 1917 and it therefore seems likely that at least some of these also lived at 21 Union Street. John Kennedy died at the end of December 1934. Members of the family still living at 21 Union Street in 1943 included Rose, Abigail (a typist), Donald (clerk) and Marguerite (clerk). After the children moved away Rose Kennedy remained at 21 Union Street until the late 1950s (prior to her death in Collie in 1962, aged 80 years). Historical aerial photographs show that major additions were undertaken at the rear of the house in the period 1985 to 1995.

Integrity/Authenticity

Note: The form and detailing of this house remains largely consistent with the original design (noting that the alterations to the front windows and addition of a prominent carport have to, some degree, impacted on the authenticity of the place within its streetscape setting)

Condition

Based on a streetscape inspection the building appears to be in a good condition.

Uses

Creation Date

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