House, 133 Townshend Rd, Subiaco

Parent Place or Precinct

27310 Park Street Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

For information on the significance of the Park Street Heritage Area refer to the Local Planning Policy for the Heritage Area.

Physical Description

Architectural style Typical of many well built 2-3 bedroom suburban houses of the early twentieth century, 133 Townshend Road incorporated elements of the Federation Queen Anne style. It was designed to a scale and form generally considered suitable for occupiers such as small business owners, office workers, retail employees and skilled tradesmen. Plan form at the street frontage • Asymmetrical facade. This features a projecting wing on the southern side, with a verandah across the remainder of the frontage. Roof form and materials • Hipped-gabled roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting. • Prominent gable over the projecting wing. Finished with roughcast render, set with a pattern of diagonal timber battens to either side of a central vertical timber batten. Traditional shaped gable boards, modern gable board capping. • Raked verandah roof. Wall materials and finishes to the main facade • Painted brick laid in Flemish bond (originally tuck-pointed face brick). • Two rendered string-courses, one at door head height and the other at window sill height. Other detailing to main facade • Two double hung windows to the projecting wing, with projecting rectangular sills. • Main entrance adjacent to the projecting wing. Highlight, no sidelights. • One double hung window under the verandah, with projecting rectangular sill. • Chamfered square verandah posts. Iron lace frieze and brackets. Streetscape setting • House set back approximately 4.3m from the Townshend Road frontage. • Lot width approximately 10.1m. • Built up to a parapet wall on the southern side. Setback of approximately 800mm from northern boundary. • Front yard enclosed by a scalloped timber picket fence. • Hardstand car parking bay on the southern side of the front yard.

History

Subiaco's population increased significantly in the 1890s due to an economic depression in the eastern states and the discovery of gold in Western Australia. During the 1890s property developers bought large landholdings for subdivision in the Perth metropolitan area. The original subdivisions in Subiaco were generally simple grid pattern developments with small lots suitable for occupancy by working families. However, the more elevated parts of the suburb, particularly towards Kings Park, also attracted business and professional men and some lots were later amalgamated to accommodate their larger homes and gardens. Mixed development occurred and within the Park Street Heritage Area this ranged from narrow, single storey terrace housing through to a large 2-storey house set in spacious grounds. The readily available evidence indicates that the number of houses within this area increased from around 24 in 1901 to 72 in 1906; 86 in 1910; 91 in 1915, 94 in 1920 and 13 by 1925. Development then stabilised, with 106 houses and 1 block of flats identified in 1949. Perth Suburban Lot 221 was subdivided as Deposited Plan 1535 in 1896 and advertised as the “Salisbury Estate”. This comprised 42 lots, including 14 lots along the western side of Townshend Road between Barker and Bagot Road. The first confirmed occupants of 133 Townshend Road were the Forrestal family, who were living here by 1906. However, the house may have been built in as early as 1900 (with one house being listed in the vicinity of 133-139 Townshend Road in 1901 and two in 1902). John Joseph Forrestal (a bootmaker) and Mary Gertrude Hanretty were married in Subiaco in May 1903. John and Mary lived in Subiaco for most (if not all) of their married lives, with homes in Barker Road (c.1904-1905), 133 Townshend Road (c.1906-1915) and 93 Redfern Street (c.1916-1950s). Entries in the Subiaco Rate Books of 1909-1910 through to 1914-1915, confirm that the Forrestal family were renting the property, with the owner being identified S Craig. The next long-term residents were the Plunkett family. Daniel Charles Henry Plunkett (railway employee) and Esther Elsie Ellis were married in England while Daniel was serving in the Australian armed forces during WWI. They lived at 133 Townshend Road in c.1921-1938, after which they moved to Daglish. During the 1940s the house was occupied by the family of another former serviceman, Harold Sheppard (c.1898-1941) (labourer). Harold’s wife, Lavinia, remained here until at least 1949, but by the early-mid 1950s she was living with her son and daughter-in-law in Nicholson Road. An analysis of a historical Metropolitan Sewerage Plan (dated 1927, updated 1955) and historical aerial photographs indicates that this house has been extended to the rear (including a large addition in the early 1980s), but that the footprint of the front portion of the house has remained relatively unchanged.

Integrity/Authenticity

Medium: The authenticity of the house within its streetscape setting has been reduced by the painting of the brickwork.

Condition

Based on a streetscape inspection the building appears to be in a good condition.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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