Beaumaris Flats

Statement of Significance

Beaumaris Flats has some aesthetic value as a well designed Inter-War apartment complex. The place has some aesthetic value for its contribution to the streetscape. Beaumaris Flats has considerable value as part of the peak of construction of apartment complexes in the Inter-War period. Beaumaris Flats is representative of the trend to build apartment blocks in Nedlands in the late Inter-War and Post-War periods

Physical Description

Beaumaris Flats is a two-storey rendered masonry and tile apartment complex comprising four flats in a two up two down configuration. The complex is located on a wide block, set well back from the street in an unfenced garden. A central path, flanked by two low masonry letter boxes, leads to a central masonry quarter turn staircase leading to the upper flats. The building has a hipped tile roof, with small projecting bays to either side of the staircase. Timber-framed windows in banks of two and three are set symmetrically into the front facade.

History

The first purpose built flats (Kumara, Smyth Road, and Stirling Court, Stirling Highway) were first listed in the post office directories in 1935. Over the next 6 years another 27 blocks of flats were constructed, and a small number after WWII. Following the easing of the Depression c.1933 a strong trend for flats as an alternative to single houses emerged. During the Depression flats had received bad press due to the large number of large houses converted to flats, often without council approval. From the 1930s in Nedlands, and elsewhere, new flats had to conform to the ambience and qualities of the suburb in which they were built. A large number of flats were designed by leading architects. Beaumaris Flats were constructed in 1936, and designed to fit with the domestic housing in the neighbourhood

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Historic Themes

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