Residence

Statement of Significance

• The place has aesthetic value as good intact example of a Inter War Californian Bungalow timber residence in good condition. • The place has historic value for its association with two periods of development of the Bayswater Town centre; the early 1900s and the 1920s. • The place has historic value for its association with the war time efforts by civilians, and the contribution and care of war widows. • The place has social value for its demonstration of the form and scale of accommodation for working families in the 1920s.

Physical Description

A single storey house of timber framed construction with weatherboard cladding on a large lot on the high side of the street. The house is set behind a limestone retaining wall with mature plantings and limestone and brick steps aligning with the front door and leading up from ground level. The house has a laneway to one side and the rear, allowing rear vehicular access to the lot. The house has a hipped and gabled corrugated metal roof, penetrated by one short face brick chimney with corbelling on the right side. The house has a projecting wing to the right with a set of three casement windows below a traditional awning and a gable above. The front entry door is adjacent the projecting wing with a second set of three casement windows on the left. The roof above extends to create a wraparound verandah that meets the projecting wing and is supported on square timber posts with decorative timber brackets. It has a simple open timber balustrade with a gate aligning with the front door.

History

The subdivision plan for this portion of Bayswater was approved by the Department of Lands and Surveys in 1904. During the period 1905-1908, there was a building boom in the district, following the release of land for residential subdivision. Developers saw the potential in the area for the increased population in the region following the gold rushes of the 1890s. Specifically, the relocation of the WAGR workshops in 1904 to Midland made Bayswater an attractive place for workers to settle. The current owner has proved the information that a foundry was located at the rear of this lot in the early 20th century which fronted Glyde Street, at that time a busy focus of the small community. From the readily available documentary evidence there was a simple cottage on this site in the early 1920s which was occupied by Edward and Eliza Smart. In 1929, the Bayswater Road Board approved an application to build a jarrah weatherboard cottage on the site costing £550. It is suggested by the current owner that the earlier cottage was integrated into the current residence. The Smart called their home 'Hill Crest'. Edward (Ted) Smart recorded his occupation as a painter in the electoral rolls and a case maker in the Post Office Directories. Eliza Smart (c1870-1943) was a housekeeper. The couple had seven children and lived at the house until the 1940s. Following Eliza's death in 1943, Ted Smart lived on in the house until 1945. The residence was subsequently occupied and owned by Mrs Gertrude Tovey, nee Spencer (1890-1981). Gertrude Tovey was born in Victoria and married Joseph John Tovey in 1915 in the Murchison district of Western Australia. The couple had three children, the youngest born in 1919. Sadly Joseph Tovey died in 1922 leaving Gertrude with three small children to raise. Joseph Tovey is recorded as dying at Woorooloo so it is likely he succumbed to Tuberculosis. Gertrude Tovey lived in other addresses in Bayswater prior to moving to 3 Murray Street in 1946. It is understood she undertook renovations to the place during the 1950s including the installation of new windows and tuck pointing of the fireplaces. The house was believed to have been a boarding house and divided to provide accommodation for war widows in the post war period. Information has also been provided that the house was used as a sewing school during World War Two which produced parachutes for the AIF. Gertrude Tovey lived at the house until c1980. A feature of the property is a large mulberry tree in the back yard which has been a source of fruit and leaves for the population of school children in Bayswater for many decades. Aerial photographs indicate that an addition was constructed across the rear of the building in the late 1990s. Since that time the form and extent of the building has not changed.

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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