Wandering Road Board Office (fmr)

Statement of Significance

The place has historic value as a demonstration of the confidence felt by the local community in the town's future in the 1920s, even though it was realised that Wandering was not going to become a major administrative centre.

Physical Description

The simple building is rectangular in plan, approximately 6 metres wide and 7.5 metres long. The building is built close to the building line in the grounds of the Municipal Depot. The walls of the building are red brick laid in stretcher bond, built on a stone plinth. The facade features rendered bands at window sill and window head height that stretch across the elevation. The window sills are also rendered. The building bears the name of the place, 'Road Board Office' and date of construction over the doorway. The facade is symmetrically disposed about a central doorway with a single window either side. The openings are heavily recessed with curved heads and each with two casement sashes and two curved fanlights. The entrance doorway has a stone step and timber threshold with a timber and glazed panelled door and a curved sash fanlight. The roof features a tall corbelled brick chimney and a timber gable finial that is half missing. The roof is hipped at the rear of the building. The south wall has a double-hung sash window. The interior of the building comprises a single room with timber floors, rendered walls, simple painted timber skirting boards and new ceilings. A fireplace with new surround and mantle is extant. The building has been extended at the rear with a concrete rendered chimney breast. A doorway has been added to the rear wall, and the front door has been replaced. The roof plumbing has also been replaced and the eaves lining has been boarded over. There is severe wall cracking, fretting bricks and mortar erosion of lower brick courses on the east and south walls. Bricks have been replaced and mortar repaired on the north and west walls.

History

Ten years after the first settlement at Wandering, a small village had been established and its residents realised the necessity for improvement of the old bush roads to enable them to make contact with centres from which food supplies could be obtained. The urgent need for organised Local Government prompted a section of the settlers to approach the Colonial Secretary with the purpose of forming a Roads Board. In 1871, the Legislative Council defined the names of districts recommended for the establishment of Roads Board. The fact that Wandering had been omitted from this list caused unrest amongst the settlers who put forward a proposition to the Colonial Secretary. It did not receive a good response and in 1874 the department granted the Williams River Board authority to serve both districts. However, it was not long before the Government officials realised that the 40 miles separating each centre was a working impossibility. As a result, on 6 October 1874, a new Roads Board at Wandering was constituted. On 27 October a meeting of settlers was convened and the appointment of officers carried out. The meeting was presided over by George Stedman Watts. The boundaries were defined as follows: Bounded on the north by the Canning districts, on the west by the Murray district, on the east by the York and Beverley districts and on the south by the north bank of the Hotham River. To include the Perth to Albany Road. The boundaries were redefined on 10 February 1887. At the initial meeting Mr John Watts was elected the first chairman of the Wandering Road Board. When the local Agricultural Hall was built in 1896, this became the venue for the Roads Board meetings. This practice continued up until the late-1920s when it was decided that the workings of the Board had grown to such an extent that the accommodation at the local hall was inadequate. As a result, it was decided to build a meeting place solely for the Board. This was carried out in 1928, with the construction of the brick Roads Board Office.

Integrity/Authenticity

INTEGRITY High Degree AUTHENTICITY High

Condition

Fair-Poor

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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