House

Parent Place or Precinct

25394 Union and Redfern Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

The 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

2 Redfern Street was designed as a modest example of a Federation Queen Anne house. Key elements include: • Simple asymmetrical plan, with a projecting wing on the eastern side of the main façade. • 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. • Gabled-hipped roof, clad with corrugated metal sheeting. • Tall face brick chimneys with corbelled brick caps. • Prominent gable to the projecting wing. The face of the gable has a flush panel finish, overlaid by seven vertical timber battens. • Shallow rectangular window bay to the projecting wing. This features a pair of individual double hung windows, shaded by a raked awning with carved timber brackets, and a valance of square timber balustrettes. Below the two windows there is a continuous moulded sill set over a raked plinth with a roughcast finish. • Entry verandah, abutting the projecting wing and extending across the remainder of the façade. This verandah has been modified as a carport (and was probably originally either raked or set at a lower height). The current detailing includes a bullnose roof, square posts to the western side and a valance of square timber balustrettes. • The main entrance to the house is located under the verandah/carport, along the side of the projecting wing. • There are no windows opening onto the verandah/carport and the only other detail is an arched niche with a plain rendered finish to the north-facing wall. The house was built up to the eastern boundary (abutting the side laneway). It is set approx. 6.5m back from the front boundary, which is defined by a low face-brick wall with tall face-brick piers (both with rendered caps) and simple metal infill panels. On the western side of the block a gated driveway leads to carport. Based on a streetscape inspection the building appears to be in good condition.

History

A Certificate of Title for Perth Suburban Lot 256 was issued in the name of The Intercolonial Investment Land and Building Company Ltd of Sydney NSW on 22 August 1890. This was bounded by Hamersley Road to the north, Hensman Road to the west and Heytesbury Road to the south. In June 1896 the whole of this property was transferred to James Thomas Peet and Austin Bastow of Melbourne, Estate Agents, and by August of that year Peet and Bastow had subdivided this as Deposited Plan 938, with Lots 25 to 30 along the northern side of Beryl Street (later renamed Redfern Street) and Lots 31 to 36 along the southern side. By 1903, Lots 25 to 30 were all owned by Annie Wilson who, at that time, was living at 12 Redfern Street with her husband Charles (whose occupation was variously given over time as labourer, carpenter and railway employee). Annie died in 1912 and in 1915/16 the Subiaco Rates Book identified the new owner of Lot 30 (and Lot 25) as a C. Miller – who was Charles Henry James Miller, one of Annie’s children by her first marriage. A house was under construction in 1917/18 and by the following year this was owned by Jessie Maxwell Boyd, who settled here with her husband, William (a grocer). Jessie died in August 1933 (aged 54 years), after which William remained at 2 Redfern Street until c.1936. After one short-term occupancy the house then became the family home of Bridget Mary Bishop. Bridget had been widowed in 1934 and settled at 2 Redfern Street in c.1938 with some of her adult children including Alby (born 1893), Maud (1901), Flora (1904) and Hector (1905) – all of whom were listed at this address in the Electoral Roll of 1949. After Bridget’s death in August 1951 (aged 84 years), Flora Bishop continued to live here until at least 1980, sharing the house with Maud (died 1977) and Hector (died 1979). Occupants of the property from its time of construction until post 1979 included: 1918-1936 William Boyd (grocer) and his wife Jessie Maxwell Boyd 1936- 1937 William Isherwood (painter) and his wife, Rosalind Isherwood. 1938-1951 Bridget Mary Bishop (widow) To post 1979 Flora Bishop

Integrity/Authenticity

Note: The external form and detailing of this place remains generally consistent with the original design and the key elements of the traditional streetscape.

Condition

Good

Uses

Creation Date

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