Group of five houses 77-85 Heytesbury Road

Child Places

• 05434 House
• 05436 House
• 05435 House

Statement of Significance

77, 79, 81, 83 & 85 Heytesbury Road has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: • For their very high aesthetic contribution as a group of early twentieth century houses in a largely intact Heytesbury Road Streetscape. • As good representative examples (77, 79 & 81) of a well designed and detailed bungalows of Subiaco dating from the early twentieth century. • As good representative examples (83 & 85) of the application of materials and detailing which were derived from the Federation Queen Anne style, but which were applied in a more restrained manner that suited the budgets and expectations of the middle classes in Subiaco during the early twentieth century. • For their historic value as a demonstration of the period in which Subiaco underwent rapid development in the early 20th century. The existing rear lean-to additions at 81 and 83 Heytesbury Road are of little/no cultural heritage significance.

Physical Description

77 Heytesbury Road 77 Heytesbury Road is a single storey face brick dwelling with a corrugated steel hip and gable roof displaying characteristics of the Federation Bungalow style of architecture. The residence has a symmetrical form with two gables addressing the street. The gables have decorative inset panelling to the apex with turned timber finials and decorative timber bargeboards. The small gables are positioned above the rectangular window bays. A corrugated steel bullnose verandah extends along the front façade set below the eave line. The verandah is supported by turned timber posts with a timber valance and decorative corner brackets. The central timber entry door features highlights and sidelights. Beneath each gable there is a timber framed double-hung window. An extension is located to the rear with an exposed gable visible above the main ridge line. The front yard is well maintained with a row of roses in front of the verandah. The place is enclosed to the front by a contemporary timber fence atop a limestone base. A gate is located at the western end of the fence, leading to a paved parking space within the front yard. The place is serviced by a rear laneway. 79 Heytesbury Road 79 Heytesbury Road is a single storey face brick dwelling with a corrugated steel hip and gable roof displaying characteristics of the Federation Bungalow style of architecture. The residence has an asymmetrical form with a projecting bay addressing the street. The projecting gable has half-timbered panelling with a rough rendered infill. A corrugated steel skillion verandah extends along the recessed portion of the front façade supported by pairs of circular concrete posts atop rendered masonry plinths. The external walls are tuckpointed face brick with a rendered string coursing at approximately sill height. The entry door is timber framed with a highlight. A double hung timber framed window is located within the verandah with a rendered sill. Within the projecting bay is a double casement window with a central fixed pane, rendered sill and decorative under-sill panel. The front garden is well maintained with some plantings lining the inside of the fence and a brick paved path. The place is enclosed to the front by a timber picket fence atop a limestone base with a timber picket gate. A mature jacaranda tree partially obscures the dwelling from the street. The place is serviced by a rear laneway. 81 Heytesbury Road 81 Heytesbury Road is a single storey face brick dwelling with a corrugated steel hip roof displaying characteristics of the Federation Bungalow style of architecture. The residence has a symmetrical form with a corrugated steel bullnose verandah extending across the front façade. The verandah is supported by turned timber posts and features a simply detailed timber valance. The external walls are tuckpointed brick with a rendered string course at sill height. The central entry door is timber framed with highlights and narrow sidelights. Flanking the front door are three double-hung windows, with a central sash flanked by narrow sashes. The windows have projecting rendered sills with decorative under-sill panels. The front yard is well maintained with low-lying shrubs, roses and a central paved path. The front yard is enclosed by a timber picket fence with a recessed central timber gate. A mature jacaranda tree partially obscures the dwelling from the street. The place is serviced by a rear laneway. 83 Heytesbury Road 83 Heytesbury Road is a single storey face brick dwelling with a corrugated steel hip and gable roof designed in the Federation Queen Anne style of architecture. The residence has an asymmetrical form with a projecting bay addressing the street. The pitched roof has two face brick and decorative rendered chimneys. The projecting gable has half-timbering with a rough cast rendered infill and a turned timber finial. A corrugated steel bullnose verandah extends along the recessed portion of the front façade supported by turned timber posts with a timber valance and decorative corner brackets. The external walls are tuckpointed face brick with a rendered string coursing at sill height. The entry door is timber framed with highlights and a narrow sidelight. Two double hung timber framed windows are located within the verandah with a continuous rendered sill and decorative under-sill panels. Within the projecting bay is a triple casement window with square highlights and a corrugated steel awning above. The awning has a timber valance and decorative corner brackets. The front yard is well maintained with low-lying shrubs, roses, a lemon tree and a central paved path. The front yard is enclosed by a timber picket fence with a central timber gate. Attached to the fence is a letterbox with the name ‘MOERAKI’ inscribed across the top. The place is serviced by a rear laneway. 85 Heytesbury Road 85 Heytesbury Road is a single storey face brick dwelling with a corrugated steel hip and gable roof designed in the Federation Queen Anne style of architecture. The residence is located on the corner of Heytesbury Road and Coolgardie Street. The residence has an asymmetrical form with a projecting bay addressing Heytesbury Road. The pitched roof has two face brick and decorative rendered chimneys. The projecting gable has half-timbering with a rough cast rendered infill and a turned timber finial. Below the gable is an angled window bay. A corrugated steel bullnose verandah extends along the recessed portion of the front façade supported by turned timber posts. The base of the verandah is clad with tiles. The external walls are tuckpointed face brick with a rendered string course at sill height. The entry door is timber framed with stained-glass highlights and sidelight. Two double hung timber framed windows are located within the verandah with a continuous rendered sill and decorative under-sill panels. Within the projecting bay are three double hung windows with rendered sills, decorative under-sill panels and brick voussoirs above. Three casement windows with a corrugated steel awning are located on the western wall addressing Coolgardie Street. The western wall forms the boundary with a zero setback. Attached to the rear is a rendered masonry structure with a detached garage in the south west corner of the property accessible off Coolgardie Street. The front yard is predominately a grass area with low shrubs and a tiled path. The front yard is enclosed by a low, painted brick pier fence approximately 800mm high with a steel infill, fleur de lis steel detailing and a steel gate. A mature gumtree partially obscures the dwelling from Heytesbury Road. The western façade is obscured by a row of mature trees lining Coolgardie Street. The place is serviced by a rear laneway.

History

Most of the land south of the railway, including future West Subiaco, was subdivided into four or five acre lots in 1883. Investors purchased most of the lots within two years, but it was not until 1890s that residential subdivisions took place. Perth Lot 276 had been subdivided into 42 lots and Coolgardie Street by c.1895, creating Lot 39 to 41 (future 79 to 85 Heytesbury Road). The future 77 Heytesbury Road was still an undivided portion of Perth Lot 277 at this time. Post Office Directories list only one resident on Heytesbury Road in 1901 to the west of Rokeby Road (being Austin Bastow, the Mayor of Subiaco). This increased gradually to 14 by 1905, but by 1910 there were around 50 houses. Development then continued steady with around 75 houses in 1915, 90 in 1920, 115 in 1925 and 135 (most of the available lots) in 1930. A c.1903 plan shows no structures at 77 to 85 Heytesbury Road. Post Office Directories first list residents in this block in 1907. It appears all five residences at 77-85 Heytesbury Road were built at the same time, probably in 1906. Occupants of the residences are listed in the Post Office Directories as follows: 77 Heytesbury Road • 1907-1908: Mrs A. W. Castle • 1910-1912: Timothy E. O’Donoghue • 1915-1919: Ernest B. Banfield • 1920: George Fitzgerald • 1921-1922: Joseph H. Purser • 1925-1929: Mrs J. Purser • 1930: Mrs E. Williss • 1931-1932: James W. Snowley • 1933: John C. Buck & George E. Maylor • 1935-1944: John C. Buck • 1945-1949: Mrs Vera Buck John Buck married Vera Naylor in 1914. Mrs Vera May Buck (home duties) and John Edward Buck (cabinet maker) are listed as resident at 77 Heytesbury Road in 1954 but both had moved to South Fremantle by 1958. A large rear addition was added to Number 77 in the mid-1970s. 79 Heytesbury Road • 1907: Andrew Dunlop • 1908-1949: William W. Watson William ‘Poss’ Watson was married to Mary Jane Bracken. They had seven children: Agatha, Frank (both of whom died as children), Sidney, Lawrence (Laurie), John (Jack), Geoffrey and Alice. Mary Jane died in 1948, aged 82. Poss Watson had played AFL (then known as Victorian Rules Football) in the 1890s, to some acclaim. One of his sons subsequently played in the WAFL for Perth, in the 1920s. Watson died in 1950, aged 82, at which time he lived at Sunset in Dalkeith. At the time of his death, he was remembered as a passionate football player and supporter, attending WAFL games up to the very day he died. In 1893, Watson was voted Australia’s Greatest Footballer in the middle of playing for Essendon through four straight premierships (1891-1894). He then relocated to Western Australia, where he was captain of Fremantle from 1895 to 1898, then inaugural captain of Perth Football Club in 1899. By 1901, he was training a Subiaco team. Watson was also an acclaimed swimmer and trained his own greyhounds for racing. He was born in Warrnambool, Victoria. William Wright Watson is listed in the Electoral Rolls as a painter. His son Geoffrey Joseph Watson, printer, is also listed at 79 Heytesbury Road through the 1930s and 1940s, but he had left by 1954. Changes were made at the rear of Number 79 in 2014, which may have involved removing an early rear extension and replacing with a larger modern addition. These changes also included replacing a red corrugated steel roof with the current white corrugated steel. In c.2019, the front façade was further renovated to remove the exterior paint revealing the tuckpointed face brick finish beneath. 81 Heytesbury Road • 1907-1917: Arthur Filear • 1919-1921: Frederick T. Black • 1922-1928: Arthur Filear • 1929-1932: Whitwell • 1933: Mrs N. Wren • 1935-1938: Misses L. & L.A. Powell • 1939-1949: Mrs Leta Rogers Mrs Leta Rogers was not one of the Misses L Powell; she was Leta Thomas until she married George Rogers in 1916. Electoral rolls list both Leta Louise and Dora Rogers at the residence in 1949. There were no Rogers at 81 Heytesbury Road by 1954. 83 Heytesbury Road The lots 41 and 42 (Number 83 and 85) were purchased in October 1902 as investment properties by Mrs Margaret Street. Margaret was the widow of the former mayor of Dunedin, William Parker Street. The cottage was constructed in 1903 and was the ninth home to be built in Heytesbury Road. The dwelling is first referenced in the 1904 Post Office Directory with Mrs A. Plummer listed. It is assumed this is in reference to Helena Plummer, wife of accountant Alfred Willcox Plummer. The couple lived in the dwelling with their two children Margaretta and Alice. Alfred Plummer died in 1907 and it is assumed that the family moved soon after as a Mrs P. Glenney is listed at No.83 in the 1907 Post Office Directory. The dwellings along Heytesbury Road were not numbered until 1908. As a result, many were given names to identify them. The house was given the name ‘Moeraki’ after a fishing village north of Dunedin, New Zealand. The village is a popular holiday destination for people from Dunedin. ‘Moeraki' is a Maori word meaning 'place to rest by day' or 'place of sleepy skies'. The Street family owned or occupied a number of properties in Subiaco, all of which were named after towns around Dunedin. Another example is 15 Kings Road, which was named 'Otago' after the university that her son attended. The front façade of the cottage was constructed using a Flemish Bond compared to the standard Stretcher Bond. This method of construction is more expensive and time consuming however provides a stronger bond. The primary occupants of the property from 1907 until 1949 included: • 1907-1908: Mrs P. Glenney • 1910: not listed • 1911: Arthur George Morris • 1912: John Wardrop • 1915-1916: Frederick E. Harrison • 1917: vacant • 1919: Mrs Florence Hubber; Frederick E. Harrison • 1920: Harold Dore • 1921-1925: Arthur Browne • 1927-1930: W.H. Cooper • 1931-1936: Claud H. Smith • 1937-1938: Louis C. Gilfuis • 1939-1949: John T. Baird 83 Heytesbury Road was advertised for let in 1913 and 1914 as a four-room house with kitchen and bathroom, copper and troughs, fitted with electric lighting, for 21 shillings per week. John Thomas Baird died in 1948, aged 76. He was married to Mabel and they had five children (Estelle, Bill, Harold, Jim, Jean). Presumably Mabel continued to live at the residence without immediately changing the Post Office Directory listing. There were no Bairds at 83 Heytesbury Road by 1954. 85 Heytesbury Road The lots 41 and 42 (Number 83 and 85) were purchased in October 1902 as investment properties by Mrs Margaret Street. Margaret was the widow of the former mayor of Dunedin, William Parker Street. In 1903, there was a building boom in Perth and as a result builders were hard to come by. This resulted in the delay of construction on No. 85 Heytesbury Road and a drop in standard compared to the paired cottage No. 83 Heytesbury Road. The cottage was completed and first occupied in 1904. The first occupant was Geoffrey Robert Tassy, accountant of the drapery firm D & W Murray, and is first listed in the 1905 Post Office Directory.23 Tassy lived there with wife May and daughter, Jean May (born 1905). Geoffrey contracted Typhoid and died aged 25 in June 1906. The dwellings along Heytesbury Road were not numbered until 1908. As a result, many were given names to identify them. The house was given the name ‘Leamington’. There is no association with this name with anyone in the Street family, so it is assumed it was named by the Treens. The Treens would later move to Bagot Road using the name 'Leamington' in their new home, indicating its personal significance. The primary occupants of the property from 1907 until 1949 included: • 1907: William L. Treen; James Stewart • 1908: William L. Treen • 1910-1912: Ernest E. Legge • 1915-1949: Joseph Jones • 1917, 1920-1949: Miss P. Jones ‘teacher of painting’, from the early 1920s Mrs P. Nagel ‘music teacher’ • 1922-1927: Sidney Nagel Joseph Jones arrived in Western Australia in 1892 and walked to Kalgoorlie seeking gold. He worked in mines for 43 years, having started in copper mines in South Australia as a twelve year old. Joseph was married to Elizabeth Ann (birthname unknown). They had three children, Edgar, Pearl and Stanley. Elizabeth died in 1931, aged 66. Joseph died in 1952, aged 93. Miss Pearl Jones opened an art studio at 85 Heytesbury Road in 1914. She advertised herself as a ‘teacher of drawing, oil painting and photo tinting’ who also took orders for commissioned art works. Sidney Nagel married Ida Pearl Jones in 1919. In January 1920, Mrs Nagel (nee Miss Pearl Jones) advertised that she was resuming tuition at her 85 Heytesbury Road studio for ‘ALL classes Arts’ including drawing, painting and pen painting. By the latter 1920s, Mrs Nagel was advertising as a teacher of violin, mandolin, banjolin, mandola, banjo, Hawaiian guitar, ukulele and steel guitar. She also ran an orchestra for her students. The marriage between Pearl and Sidney was not a happy one. In 1926, Sidney Nagel moved to Sydney. In 1930, Ida Pearl Nagel was granted a divorce on the grounds of desertion. The judge noted that Sidney Nagel had been a heavy drinker who was ‘cruel’ to his wife. After her father died, Pearl Nagel left 85 Heytesbury Road, moving to Joondanna to live with Henry Arthur Nagel and Olive Mary Nagel. Ida Pearl Nagel died in 1986, aged 97, still living in Joondanna. Number 85 had a smaller rear section added c.1980 and was extended again in the latter 1990s. ---------------- A sewerage plan from 1926 shows 77-85 Heytesbury Road as five free-standing brick residences. Numbers 83 and 85 are almost a mirror, with front elevations of a projecting bay (each of slightly different design) beside a half-width verandah. Number 79 also has an inset half-width verandah but no projecting bay. Numbers 77 and 81 have verandahs across the full front (north) elevations. Number 79 appears to have been built in multiple stages, as it is partly brick and partly timber with large areas of rear verandah, probably at least partly enclosed. Its brick core is substantially smaller than the other residences in the group and it may originally have been a two-room cottage, where the others were more likely to have been four or five rooms. Number 77 is on a larger lot and is a slightly larger residence. All five houses have small rear outbuildings, brick toilets facing the rear lane and a number of additions to their rear verandahs (likely bathrooms, laundries, washhouses etc). The five residences as depicted substantially match the extant buildings, with alterations to the rear. A 1948 aerial photograph shows all five residences much as depicted on the 1926 plan.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity - High Authenticity - High (81,83, 85) Medium (77, 79)

Condition

Based on a streetscape inspection the buildings appear to be in a good condition.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update