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

8 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. • 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 bank of three casement windows, shaded by a raked awning with simple raked timber brackets. From the street, the detailing of the sill is concealed by a clipped hedge that has been planted across the face of the wing. • Raked entry verandah, abutting the projecting wing and extending across the remainder of the façade. This slopes down towards the side boundary with a triangular end panel facing the street. • Main entrance located under the verandah, along the side of the projecting wing. • Modern French doors opening onto the verandah on the northern side. The cottage was built up to the eastern boundary and has a parapet wall along this side. It is set approx. 4.5m back from the front boundary, which is defined by a flat topped picket fence capped by a pair of horizontal rails. 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, according to the Subiaco Rates Books, the property was then transferred to Mrs Ruth Marphesy (who was almost certainly Ruth Morfesse (nee Miller), Annie’s daughter by her first marriage). The property changed hands on at least one more occasion before a house was finally erected on the site in 1922, and advertised for sale in January 1923: SUBIACO, beautiful New Modern Tiled Brick Villa, conveniences, garden, lawns, etc. £800. 8 Redfern-st, Subiaco. The first owner/occupier was Ernest Ward, a draper who, later in life, became a Departmental Manager of the Foy and Gibson Emporium in Perth. Ernest Ward and Susan Kennedy had married in Fremantle in 1907 and had two children, Horace (born 1908) and Doris (1913). The children were still living at home in the late 1930s, when Horace was working as a clerk and Doris as a music teacher. The children married in the early 1940s, but still gave their address as 8 Redfern Street in the Electoral Roll of 1943, when both Horace and Doris’ husband, Peter Clarke, were serving in the AIF. After Ernest died in 1943 (aged 70 years), Susan remained at 8 Redfern Street until c.1958. Occupants of the property from its time of construction until c.1958 included: c.1923-1943 Ernest Ward (draper) and his wife, Susan Drummond Ward 1943 to c.1958 Susan Drummond Ward (widow)

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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