Captain Stirling Hotel, Nedlands

Statement of Significance

Aesthetic Value The hotel exhibits particular aesthetic characteristics consistent with the 1930s in Western Australia. The building represents arguably the most impressive architectural project undertaken by the sign ificant partnership of Marshall Clifton and Herbert George Parry, two of the leading architects of the time. The masterly adaption of “Mediterranean stylistic elements into a cohesive composition suited to the climate and needs of Western Australia set an example and a standard for the establishment of an indigenous architectural style. The building has stylistic connections with the University of WA buildings nearby on Stirling Highway and is recognised as a major landmark on this main Perth-Fremantle road and adds The building has stylistic connections with the University of WA buildings nearby on Stirling Highway. It adds considerable street value to Stirling Highway and is a major landmark on this main Perth-Fremantle thoroughfare. Historic Value As well as associations with the eminent architects Parry and Clifton, the building has connections with Senator B. Johnson, the original owner, and though its name commemorates Captain James Stirling, the leader of the first settlement in Western Australia. The hotel is significant in the development of architectural history in Western Australia.

Physical Description

The Captain Stirling Hotel is designed in the Mediterranean style by Marshall Clifton and George Parry. (in partnership 1932-37) although authorship of the individual design is difficult to establish. The hotel’s terra cotta tiled roof and stuccoed arcades with pillars and “treacle twist” columns on the second floor verandah relates to Parry’s St. Bridget’s Convent at Lesmurdie (1921). They are also typical of one phase of Marshall Clifton’s work. The general Mediterranean character of the building is reinforced by the later east entrance additions by Erich Leach when in partnership with Clifton. The building offers a strong ‘central’ statement made by the tall vertical round arched window and featuring the decorative balcony under an ornamental gable. This, when coupled with the slightly projecting façade end blocks gives a strong impression of symmetry to what is essentially an asymmetrical façade. The ground floor of this main frontage features a seven bay arcade of circular arches supported on Tuscan columns with a complementary series of four windows set in shallow circular arched recesses on the other side of the ‘central’ feature. The upper floor also features sheltered verandahs on three sides. The exterior walls are all painted brick and and majority of the fenestration is comprised of simple rectangular window openings divided into square mullioned panes. The upper floor of end end of the main façade features circular arches supported on ‘treacle twist’ columns, the left hand end providing three openings to a deep balcony and the right hand end a window immediately behind the two pillars. The building is covered by a complex hipped roof of Marseilles pattern terra cotta tiles with a steeper section behind the gable. The sealed projecting eaves are supported on moulded corbels. Note.. Cordova tiles are used around the parapet on the eastern end of the building on additions carried out by Eric Leach. Note..The attached list of alterations provided by the owner demonstrates the continued upgrading and excellent state of repair of the building, enhancing its commercial viability without seriously compromising the essential characteristics of the external appearance.

History

Assessment: 1998 Construction 1935 Architect: Marshall Clifton & George Herbert Parry (known as Herbert) The Captain Stirling Hotel was built for Senator Bertie Johnson in 1935. Senator Johnson died in 1941 and later Mrs. Marie Louise Wordsworth, daughter of the Senator, purchased the building in 1985. After that time Mrs. Wordsworth refurbished the building and it re-opened in 1986. The hotel was designed in the partnership of Marshall Clifton and George Parry. (See Notes on Marshall Waller Clifton below) Although it has not been possible to define the extent of contributions made by both partners, the Southern European influence is clearly consistent with the work of Marshall Clifton who travelled to Europe in the early 1930s, designing many buildings in this manner on his return to Perth. Clifton said: “When we travel abroad we are struck by the similarity of our climate and scenic conditions to that of the Mediterranean. The time proven styles of Spain, Southern Italy and Provence would seem much more suitable than any based on English or Northern European examples”. Clifton was greatly influenced by peasant Spanish architecture, an embodiment of a social and physical environment with a sensitive response to climate. His Spanish style, with its rambling design was seen as an ideal for the casual, relaxed, suburban life that was, and still is, characteristic of Perth. The Captain Stirling Hotel embodies many of these principles. Marshall Clifton ( 1903-1975) (Extracts from “Marshall , Architect and Artist” by Barbara Chapman and Duncan Richards, Fremantle Arts Press, 1989) - by Valerie Simms Marshall Gervase Waller Clifton was a direct descendant of the Australind pioneer Marshall Waller Clifton. He was born at Wokalup, where his parents were farmers, on 11th September, 1903. When he was 7 years old his parents moved to Northampton. It has been said that Clifton had a natural vitality, good looks, an easy pleasant personality, warmth and intelligence. During his high school years he lived with the Hughes family in Northam. In 1921 gained an Engineering Matriculation pass for the University of WA and began his 4-year cadetship with the Public Works Department in March, 1922. He soon came to realise that his primary interest lay with architecture. He was employed as a junior draughtsman, and later as an architectural cadet, taking a course with the International Correspondence School in Sydney and attended a course of lectures on the History of Architecture at UWA. He completed his cadetship in 1926 and was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of Architects of WA. In 1927 he was made Assistant Architect at the Public Works Department until October 1929. For a few months in 1929 he worked with George Herbert Parry before travelling to England in 1930 to extend his knowledge and experience. There he attended the School of Architecture at the Royal Academy while working with one of London’s leading architects, E. Vincent Harris, travelling then to Ireland, Holland and Belgium. Later he travelled Europe on a motorbike, sketching as he went, visiting Russia and (more importantly) Spain before his return. On his return to Perth he joined Herbert Parry in a partnership which offered opportunities with important clients in the hotel industry and with the Anglican Church. It was difficult to obtain work in Perth during the years of the Great Depression, but in the mid 1930s the partnership received the commission to design the Captain Stirling Hotel, the Highway (now Coronado) Hotel at Claremont and the hotel at Big Bell near Cue. Clifton continued to be influenced by the Mediterranean style and designed domestic architecture in this genre in suburban Perth, including a home for his own family at 70 Johnson Street, Mosman Park (1937) and the Day House, Claremont (1939) Marshall Clifton joined the Army during World War Two, serving with the Works and Parks Company of the A.I.F. Engineers from 1941 to 1944, attaining the rank of Captain. After the War and with the easing of building bylaws and the availability of building materials, there was an increased demand for his work. In 1936 Clifton had been appointed Honorary Artist and Architect for the Royal Western Australian Historical Society, a position he held for the rest of his life. In 1952 he became a Fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, London. In 1953 Clifton and his family travelled overseas and in 1956 he became the President of the WA Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, often visiting the Eastern States. In 1959 he was made Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Artists and also became Honorary Architect of the National Trust of Australia (WA) from 1965 until his death in 1972. During this time he was responsible for the restoration work on the National Trust properties Strawberry Hill Farm in Albany and Woodbridge, Guildford. He also lent his support in the saving of the old Fremantle Asylum. In 1956 Clifton formed a partnership with Eric Leach, who was a most able and articulate exponent of modernism in WA. The partnership dissolved in 1953 when Clifton was 50 years old and over the next two decades he produced some of his finest architecture. Although he was an Anglophile and an enthusiastic traveller, he never really left the physical realities of the WA environment, with its harsh climate, its sunshine and warmth. It is said that he was obsessed by the sun and the value of light as a source of all beauty. This was reflected in his architecture. As an artist Clifton painted in watercolour from childhood. He was opposed to any over painting of original washes, which resulted in sparkling transparency and pure clear colour which gave his work an enviable individuality. He held many exhibitions and people who owned his paintings value them highly. His architectural practise spanned 50 years- a half a century which was characterised by remarkable discontinuities in architectural thought and practice. The 1920s saw the emergence of “modern architecture” as a challenge to traditional methods. However Clifton focussed on continuity which permeated his life and shaped his artistic and architectural vision. Many attributes from Clifton’s character and architecture sprang from his early family life with its continuity, stability, support and encouragement and he consistently designed with this social environment in mind in his creation of successful and harmonious environments. He was a domestic architect par excellence - homes (large and small and blocks of flats and hotels. He excelled at design and drawing and had a sound grasp of materials and constructional methods. In addition he possessed artistic abilities and great social skills.

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