HOUSE, 2 LYNCH PLACE

Statement of Significance

Of some significance as an intact example of a State Housing Commission house built during the initial period of development of Hilton Park.

Physical Description

A single storey timber construction former State Housing Commission house. The front façade is simply composed with a window set on either side of the central porch. The porch has a lean-to roof that is integral with the main roof but set at a lower pitch. The house is of timber construction. It has a Marseilles pattern terracotta tiled hipped gabled roof. The walls are faced with fibrous cement sheeting and are divided into three horizontal bands by the cover battens. The floor void is faced with spaced timber battens. The porch has a timber floor and ‘St Andrews Cross’ balustrading. The windows are aluminium framed replacements. The house occupies a corner site and is set at 45 degrees to face the truncated corner. The property has a ‘bush’ garden to the street verge and front garden. A recent timber picket fence runs along the front boundary. There is no garage.

History

The demand for leasehold public housing escalated dramatically in the post-World War Two period with the return of servicemen and the concurrent post war immigration to Australia. In the mid to late 1940s, both State and Commonwealth Governments formulated new legislation in response to this public need. The Workers Homes Board was renamed the State Housing Commission and was responsible for the administration of public housing schemes operating in the State. As early as 1946 and 1947, negotiations had taken place between the City of Fremantle and the Commission regarding the release of more Commonage land for public housing purposes. Council’s primary aim was to ensure that the subdivision allowed for public space and amenity and one of the ways it did this was by stating in the Act, which laid out the transfer of land, - ‘the land, when subdivided into building allotments, shall be granted to the State Housing Commission after provision has been made for all necessary road and reserves.’ In 1949, the Fremantle City Council made 135 acres of land in the Fremantle Commonage available to the State Housing Commission for public housing purposes to the east and south-east of the initial Commission project in Hilton Park. This subdivision of Hilton Park comprised 144 residential lots, 5 lots for commercial purposes, 5 acres for community purposes, and 14 acres for a school site. Some of the public facilities eventually established in Hilton Park included an infant health centre, a recreation reserve, children’s playgrounds, a school, and a row of shops. By 30 June 1948, 41 houses had been completed at Hilton Park under the Commonwealth and State Rental Homes Scheme (CSRHS). A total of 97 homes were built by June 1949 and, by June 1950, 164 had been constructed with 28 under way. In the 1940s/1950s period, due to the high cost of homes of brick construction, the Commission focused on a timber houses building program: ‘special attention was again give to the provision of cheaper wooden homes for lower paid workers’. (At this time, timber houses could only be constructed in some parts of the metropolitan area because of local planning by-laws and this in turn meant that the Commission was only able to acquire land for these purposes in certain areas.) Work continued of the development of the Fremantle Commonage area in Hilton Park throughout 1951 in preparation for its subdivision and building construction. This included the clearing of land, the completion of roads, and the extension of water mains. By June 1951, 355 vacant lots were made available for public housing at Hilton Park.

Integrity/Authenticity

High Front façade high

Condition

The house appears to be in fair condition.

Uses

Creation Date

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