Old Serpentine Settlement

Author

Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale

Place Number

04050

Location

Gordon Rd, Falls Rd, Karnup Rd & South Western Hwy Serpentine

Location Details

Address includes: 8, 32 & 65 & Lots 27 & 99 Gordon Rd; 2 & 5 Falls Rd; 2427 & 2464 South Western Hwy; 1631 & Lot 24 Karnup Rd; Serpentine. MI notes address as Gordon Rd, Falls Rd, Karnup Rd & South Western Highway.

Other Name(s)

Serpentine Conservation Area
Serpentine Townsite Precinct

Local Government

Serpentine-Jarrahdale

Region

Peel

Construction Date

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type	Status	Date	Documents
(no listings)

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type	Status	Date	Documents
RHP - Assessed - Below Threshold	Current	14 Dec 2012

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type	Status	Date	Grading/Management
Type	Status	Date	Category
Local Heritage Survey	Adopted	18 Sep 2020	Category 3
Municipal Inventory	Adopted	31 Jul 2000	Category 1B

Child Places

02357 St Stephen's Anglican Church
04048 Old Serpentine Cemetery
02359 Baldwins Cottage
08601 Bishop Hale's Cottage
08614 Teacher's Quarters (fmr)
02360 Turner Cottage
08633 Summerfield Cottage

Statement of Significance

The old townsite has a high degree of cultural heritage significance, having survived relatively intact and possessing a good representation of 19th Century village life of a close-knit farming community.

Physical Description

The old townsite contains intact the key elements of a village centre of the late 1800s. These include original settlers cottages flanking the main highway, old school, former teacher's quarters, church and the cemetery containing graves of early settlers. Old Serpentine Settlement comprises Turner Cottage (1856), Bishop Hale's Cottage (1864), Baldwin's Cottage (1871), Serpentine Bridge School (1902), Old Serpentine Cemetery (1907), St Stephens Anglican Church (1913), Summerfield Cottage (1922), Teachers Quarters (relocated c.1927), Serpentine Road Bridge (1935), Serpentine Falls Roadhouse (former Don Ronzio's tearooms, date unknown), a memorial to Clontarf student Michael Bowman, and a portion of the Serpentine River.

History

The settlement originated in the 1830s but was never gazetted as an official townsite. It was superseded by the new Serpentine settlement after the opening of the East Perth to Pinjarra railway line. Collectively, the place forms a significant cultural environment, which retains a high level of integrity and authenticity and illustrates the development of a settlement over time. Settlers arrived in the area in 1849 to purchase farmland under the Government sponsored Immigration Scheme. The old Serpentine townsite was centred at the point where the road crossed the river and therefore developed as an important stopping place for Cobb & Co. coaches during the 1880s. The opening of the railway in 1893 1.5 km west of the bridge marked the beginning of the demise of this once busy townsite. Although the population of Serpentine grew rapidly, particularly after the First World War and with the advent of Group Settlement in the 1920s, new facilities such as shops and a hotel were now being built near the railway, shifting the focus away from the settlement at the bridge area.

Condition

Fair-Good

Place Type

Precinct or Streetscape

Uses

Epoch	General	Specific
Original Use	EDUCATIONAL	Combined School
Original Use	RESIDENTIAL	Single storey residence
Original Use	RELIGIOUS	Church, Cathedral or Chapel
Original Use	Transport\Communications	Comms: Post or Telegraph Office
Original Use	COMMERCIAL	Hotel, Tavern or Inn
Original Use	MONUMENT\CEMETERY	Monument

Historic Themes

General	Specific
TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATIONS	Mail services
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY	Land allocation & subdivision
PEOPLE	Early settlers
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES	Religion
OUTSIDE INFLUENCES	Water, power, major t'port routes
TRANSPORT & COMMUNICATIONS	Road transport
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES	Education & science
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES	Sport, recreation & entertainment
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY	Settlements
OCCUPATIONS	Hospitality industry & tourism
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES	Community services & utilities

Creation Date

01 Aug 1995

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

22 Jan 2024

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.