Shop, 79-81 Victoria Street

Statement of Significance

Shop, 79-81 Victoria Street, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: • The place retains architectural detailing to the buildings parapet that positively contributes to the Victoria Street streetscape. • The place is directly associated with the original development of the Lyric Theatre and its attached shops. The parapet retains details which reflect the original architectural character of the place prior to the major refurbishment of the theatre in the late 1930s. • The place is representative of the many small business premises that were established to serve the varied needs of the Bunbury community and surrounding rural districts during the first half of the twentieth century.

Physical Description

Shop, 79-81 Victoria Street is a single storey adjoined masonry building with a concealed roof displaying characteristics of the Federation Free Classical style of architecture. The building has a symmetrical form consisting of two adjoined tenancies sharing a single parapet roof. The parapet has a central raised pediment with rendered cornicing and corner scroll detailing. The shops feature a cantilevered box awning across the front facade and pavement. The shopfronts appear to maintain the original alignment but the materials have been changed. The shopfronts have angled recessed entries with a central dividing wall. The doors are timber framed with central glazed panels and highlights. Number 79 has a set of retractable timber framed windows atop a rendered masonry half wall. Number 81 has a large fixed glazing addressing the street. The recessed entries are raised with a tiled concrete plinth.

History

At the beginning of the 1890s, Bunbury had a population of only 572. By the end of that decade, the population had risen to 2,970 – reflecting the rate of increase experienced by the colony as a whole following the discovery of significant gold deposits. This was matched by improvements in infrastructure, including the opening of the Perth to Bunbury railway line in 1893 and significant development of the port. From this time on the town developed not only as an important regional centre, but also as a seaside tourist resort. Despite the adverse impact of war and depression, Bunbury continued to experience residential and business development during the Inter-War era, and the population reached around 6,000 in 1939. The ongoing development and consolidation of the town over time continues to be reflected in its local heritage places. As the town developed through the early twentieth century the number of prominent two storey buildings increased within the main business centre, with hotels, banks, offices and emporiums creating local landmarks. However, the majority of retail premises continued to be housed in relatively modest single storey buildings, typically with simple stepped parapets and recessed entries flanked by display windows. These attracted little attention in the public records, but these small shops offered a wide range of important services and were essential to the local community. Bunbury Town Lot 192 (now known as 73-81 Victoria Street) was offered for sale in 1902/1903, by which time it had been partly developed with a brick warehouse. The new owner was Hyam ("Harry") Weiss who, in 1905, developed the Lyric Theatre on the northern half of the site. According to the Heritage Council of Western Australia Assessment Documentation for the Lyric Theatre, the new development included “the pair of single storeyed shops of brick construction with stuccoed and painted parapet, in Victoria Street.” While the façade of the theatre was extensively redesigned in 1937, the Heritage Council assessment concluded that the facades of the adjacent shops continue to embody elements of the original design by F.W. Steere, architect: The Italianate masonry façade which can be seen in simplified form at the Symmons Street side and in the pedimented shops in the Victoria Street front, formerly returned about the theatre front to the extent of the present Art Deco remodelling, with a pilastered parapet surmounted by obelisk topped cast cement urns, and at the centre by a raised pediment. …. The verandah of the attached shops was of single storey skillion form supported on posts at the footpath edge, connecting to that of the Grand Central Hotel. And …. The external form and style of the attached shops is that of a simple shed structure with symmetrical façade of glazed shop-fronts and cantilevered street footpath canopy. The canopy is of modern construction of differing dimensions to that on the theatre, and replaces the former post-supported verandah. The main façade wall which evidences the shops’ age is surmounted by a pilastered parapet surmounted by damaged end finials that probably would have matched those obelisk-lidded cast cement urns on the main theatre parapet. The parapet is surmounted at the centre by a pediment stilted on pilasters supported (flanked ) by reduced scrolls. This too probably could be taken as evidence of the up-scaled, higher-stilted pediment and flanking scrolls of the centre pediment of the main theatre parapet. Entries in the City of Bunbury Rates Books confirm that Weiss was a long-term owner of the two shops at 79-81 Victoria Street. The readily available evidence suggests that one of the longer-term tenants was Harry Phillips, a hairdresser and tobacconist who had worked in Bunbury from the 1890s. In 1905, it was announced that a partnership between Harry Phillips and George Teede was being dissolved and that Phillips was taking over their premises in Victoria Street in his own right. In 1909 his shop was more specifically described as being next to the Lyric Theatre (79 Victoria Street) and he was still operating in this location in 1951. In 1936, Bunbury underwent a major reallocation of street numbers which resulted in the property changing from 58-60 Victoria Street to its present address of 79-81 Victoria Street. In the 1990s, the number 79 was extended to the rear. As of 2022, 79 & 81 Victoria Street are occupied by a single tenant, Arlows Closet which sells children's clothing.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High Authenticity: Medium Date of survey: 16/02/2022

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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