House, 61 Kent Street, Victoria Park

Values

• The place is representative of the basic type of housing constructed by working class families in the metropolitan area after WWI.
• The place was likely constructed by, then owned and occupied by the Pegram family for over 45 years.

Physical Description

The place is a single-storey timber framed cottage clad with fibrous cement (probably asbestos) with a terracotta tile roof. The front façade has projecting verandah to the left side, with matching windows either side of a central front door. Windows are primarily three-paned timber-framed casement. The interior comprises a central hallway with room openings to each side including two bedrooms and a lounge. There is a red brick fireplace to the lounge with an art deco styled design and mirror above. The lounge and main bedroom also have art deco styled ceiling roses. Although typically associated with an earlier period, art deco detailing remained popular after the inter-war period and continued to be applied through into the late 1940s. The smaller bedroom ceiling has timber battens. Doors throughout are timber and appear to have retained their original hardware. The kitchen and bathroom also appear to have retained their original fittings. There is a small sleepout to the rear.

History

In 1894 the Victoria Park Roads Board was created, and the Town became a municipality in 1897. As with many inner city areas in the post gold rush era, population increases were seen. The following year the suburb had a population of 1,197. Joined with the City of Perth in 1917, Victoria Park again became a separate municipality in 1994. Between WWI and WWII the creation of residential lots increased exponentially. The area then saw significant development post-WWII. House, 61 Kent Street, Victoria Park is believed to have been constructed c.1949. Although in appearance the place is consistent with a State Housing Commission constructed residence of this era, there is no evidence to indicate that it was built by the State Housing Commission, or that the land was owned by the State Government. Information contained in certificates of title suggest that the original lot, bounded by Tuam Street at the northwest, Berwick Street (formerly Fitzroy St?) to the southwest, and Kent St (formerly Argyle St?) to the southeast, was purchased by Mercer Armstrong in 1940. The lot then appears to have been subdivided with the lot on the corner of Berwick and Kent Streets (Lot 10) purchased by Frank Pegram, Assembler, in 1945. The property stayed in the Pegram family from that time, occupied by Frank and his wife Annie, and then their son Frank Jnr and his wife Olive. Both Frank Snr and Jnr were soldiers during WWII then worked as mechanics after the war. The property was transferred to the Western Australian Planning Commission in 1992.

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