Subiaco Museum

Statement of Significance

Subiaco Municipal Light Supply Office and No 2 Electrical Substation (former), 239 Rokeby Road, Subiaco, is of cultural heritage significance: • As a place that was purpose built in 1923 for the provision of electricity to consumers by a Municipal authority, which was relatively uncommon after the establishment of East Perth Power Station and the centralization of the provision of electricity by the State government from c.1914; • As a rare example of a purpose built sub-station that also included the main office for a local government electricity supply department, plus associated work and store rooms; • As a rare remnant component of the early electricity transmission network in Western Australia; • For its association with Walter Reynolds Groom (1870-1952) who, as Subiaco’s electrical engineer, managed the electricity supply service from its establishment in 1903 until his retirement in 1939. In this position Groom was responsible for the operation of the electricity supply and the development of related services, such as street lighting. • For its association with the compulsory acquisition of Subiaco’s electricity supply services by the State Electricity Commission in 1951, and the subsequent provision of £120,000 compensation money, plus interest, in 1953 - which contributed directly to the building of a new civic centre; • As the only place that remains from the cluster of early twentieth century buildings that housed the Municipality of Subiaco until the new council administration building was completed in 1968; • As an aesthetically pleasing utilitarian building, designed with architectural elements reminiscent of a simplified Federation Warehouse style; and, • For its adaptation as a museum in 1973, which was associated with a rise in community interest in local history and heritage and the formation of the Subiaco Historical Society.

Physical Description

The Subiaco Municipal Light Supply Office and No 2 Electrical Substation (former) was designed with architectural elements reminiscent of a simplified Federation Warehouse style. It has a simple rectangular floor plan, with face brick stretcher bond walls and a corrugated profile Zincalume roof. The latter has a hipped form with louvered gablets. The original transformer room occupied the southern third of the building and is distinguished externally by large, high level, semi-circular arch windows to the east façade (which appear to be primarily a decorative architectural element), large wall vents to each external wall (made up of either 6 or 9 terracotta vent bricks), and brick buttresses and double timber doors (boarded ledge and brace) to the southern elevation. This door is the only external opening with a flat concrete lintel rather than a semicircular arched head. The original use of this part of the building is still clearly demonstrated by the entry and exit points for the electricity cables. The main input was located at the top of the southern end of the main, eastern façade, and is still marked by a rendered panel bearing 3 large high voltage insulators, above a metal sign with the words “Danger 6000 Volts.” On the southern façade (partly concealed by a later downpipe) there are 8 small circular holes through which the reduced voltage cables exited the building. On the western façade (under the eaves) there are a series of metal frames carrying insulators that would have been part of the consumer distribution system. The main entrance to the building is centred on the northern two-thirds of the eastern (Rokeby Road) façade, and relates to the internal design of this part of the building with an entrance hall, office, meter room, workroom and store. This entry has a plain rendered semicircular arched head and fan-light over double doors, the latter having three moulded panels to each leaf. Tall double hung windows with semicircular fanlights and rendered caps open onto the rooms on either side of the entry hall. The northern façade has a window to the room at the north-eastern corner of the building and timber boarded double doors opening off the room at the north-western corner. Both openings have rendered semi-circular fanlights with rendered caps. To provide the additional height required to match the window, the doors also have an additional square highlight. The western façade has two tall double hung windows with semicircular fanlights, rendered caps and simple raked window awnings. Internally the transformer room is a large rectangular space with painted face-brick walls and internal buttresses to the northern wall. The concrete floor has been clad with polished timber, but the panel and batten ceiling retains its original detailing, including three large ceiling vents (originally linked to metal roof cowls). The other main room is the former office (which would have been originally occupied by Subiaco’s electrical engineer, W.R. Groom). This has more refined detailing to the ceiling battens and cornice, a moulded plaster picture rail and (like the entrance hall) a deep square profile skirting and decorative interwar style architraves to the doors and windows (with tapered side frames, plain skirting blocks and triangular profile head frames). The other three rooms are very functional with the exception of the architectural detailing of the external windows. These rooms have painted face brick walls, plain panel and batten ceilings (with the exception of the current Museum office, which has a modern flush panel ceiling), functional square profile architraves, and large quarter round skirtings. The original building fabric remains relatively intact, although the original internal doors have been removed; the floors have been re-laid in polished timber; the western end of the entrance hall has been adapted for storage; the external door and window awnings have been removed from the north and south elevations, and the three roof cowls have been removed from over the transformer room. Based on the architectural style and detailing of the place it is also possible that the roof was originally clad with terra-cotta tiles. Internally, there is no extant evidence of the use of the place as a substation, although the combined function of the building is still capable of interpretation through the internal and external detailing.

History

In the early twentieth century the Municipality of Subiaco decided to develop its own direct current (DC) power supply for street lighting and private use. The Subiaco Municipal Power Plant was erected in 1903, on a site leased from the West Australia Railways, near the Axon Street Railway Crossing. It commenced operations in August, and its establishment, which was regarded as progressive, was a source of civic pride. Demand quickly exceeded supply and the service was progressively expanded. By 1912 the State government began to take responsibility for the provision of electricity in the metropolitan area. Small individual power stations were decommissioned in favour of centralisation, and the East Perth Power Station was opened in c.1914. Subiaco, however, continued to maintain its own service. By the beginning of the 1920s, the Axon Street power station was no longer adequate. It was then decided that the most economical option was to purchase electricity in bulk from the State government and transform it within the Municipality for on-sale to consumers – requiring a change over to the alternating current (AC) system. Three new substations (also more accurately referred to as step-down transformers) were constructed in Subiaco and these came online in June and July 1923. When completed, these operated with aerial conductors and transformed the electricity supply from 6000 volts to consumer usage levels. All three of these buildings, and their plant, were designed by the city’s electrical engineer, W.R. Groom. A fourth substation was erected in Jolimont in 1928, but the location of this building has not been confirmed. Walter Reynolds Groom was born in Victoria in 1870, but had moved to Western Australia by the time he was married in 1897. In c.1903 he was appointed as the City of Subiaco’s electrician (later electrical engineer) as part of the establishment of the local electricity supply service, and he continued in this role until his retirement in 1939. Numerous contemporary newspaper articles attest to his important role in designing and maintaining the municipal electrical and lighting services throughout this period. Unlike most known buildings of this type, the No 2 Substation in Rokeby Road (now the Subiaco Museum) was designed to also accommodate the office of the electricity supply service, plus workshop and storage areas. It then became the operational centre of the service, and it may be assumed that it continued in this role for the next 28 years. In 1946 the State Electricity Commission (SEC) was formed in an attempt to regulate the management of the State's power supply. In 1951, Subiaco’s profitable electricity service was compulsorily acquired by the State Electricity Commission. Following negotiations between the State government and the 6 metropolitan local governments whose electricity supply services were affected by this takeover, Subiaco finally received a compensation payment of £120,000, plus interest, in 1953. In 1954 a percentage of this money was allocated directly to the construction of a new civic centre in Hamersley Road. Following its closure in 1951, ownership of the No 2 substation in Rokeby Road was retained by the City of Subiaco (unlike the No 1 substation in Hay Street which remains in use today). In 1959, the Rotary Club converted the building to community rest rooms (which at that time typically meant a public lounge for women and children, sometimes including small meeting rooms) and was then used for a variety of purposes, including storage, through to the 1970s. In 1975 the building was converted for use as the Subiaco Historical Society Museum. In 1994 the City of Subiaco took over the ownership and management of the museum and the building has continued in this use to the present day.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity - Medium: The use has been altered, but the original use is still clearly evident through interpretation of the fabric. Authenticity -Medium: The original/significant fabric of the building is largely intact, but most of the equipment associated with the original use of the place has been removed. Rarity/Representativeness - Based on the available evidence this appears to be a rare example of a purpose built substation (transformer room) that also accommodated the administrative and works functions of a municipal electricity supply system. Like the No 1 Substation in Hay Street, it is also now a relatively rare component of the early electricity transmission network in Western Australia.

Condition

Restored 1985.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update