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

10 Redfern Street was designed as a modest example of a Federation Bungalow. Key elements include: • Stepped facade, which steps back twice from the projecting wing on the western side. • Tuck-pointed brickwork to the main façade with a contrasting rendered string course at window sill height (which steps down under the windows to frame the sills). • Gabled-hipped roof, clad with red clay tiles and featuring a pair of flat-capped roughcast rendered chimneys. The roof has a gable to the main façade and then steps back in two stages, with a louvered gablet vent facing the street at the apex. The gable end has a roughcast rendered face, shallow triangular timber baseboard and a decorative pattern of vertical, horizontal and diagonal timber battens. • Verandah extending across the front and eastern side of the projecting wing and then returning across the face of the rear setback, creating a deep shaded porch to the stepped frontage. This has a tiled roof that is continuous with the main roofline, distinctive tapered timber posts, carved timber brackets, and a timber floor. • Triple casement windows to the projecting wing, with traditional chamfered timber frames, square highlights (all with floral motif leadlight detailing), a deep rendered lintel panel (with splayed sides) and a simple raked sill. • Entry vestibule forming the narrow central setback. The main entrance features a deep rendered lintel panel, traditional chamfered timber frames, a high waisted door, highlight and low-waisted sidelights (all with stained glass panels). • Second bank of triple casement windows to the last setback (matching the detailing of the windows to the projecting wing). The house 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 timber picket fence. 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 a Mrs Jewel Falconer (who was almost certainly Janet Louisa Falconer (nee Miller), Annie’s daughter by her first marriage). A house was finally built on the site in 1916, at which time the improved value of the place was given as £485. The first owner/occupiers were James Thomas Kerr (brass polisher) and his wife, Agnes Kerr, who lived here until c.1923. By 1928 the house was owned by Albert Berry, who was living here when his wife, Elizabeth, died in February of that year. The occupants of 10 Redfern Street then changed regularly until the early 1940s, when the house was occupied by the Hales family. Joseph Edward George Hales and his wife, Beatrice Emily Maud Hales, had migrated from England with their young son in 1939 and had settled at 10 Redfern Street by 1941. However, Beatrice died in 1948 (aged only 44 years) and by the early 1950s Joseph had moved to North Perth. Occupants of the property from its time of construction until c.1950 included: c.1916 to 1923 James Thomas Kerr (brass polisher) and his wife, Agnes Kerr 1924-1927 George Edward Tummel (gate maker) and Dorothy Iris Tummel. 1928 Albert Berry and Elizabeth Berry 1929-1932 Norman Job Edwards (manager) and Hilda Edith Mary Edwards 1933-1940 Oswald Gordon Gregson (manager) and Mary Evelyn Gregson 1941-1949 Joseph Edward George Hales (malster, i.e. beer brewer) and his wife, Beatrice Emily Maud Hales.

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

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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