Windsor Park

Child Places

• 02522 South Perth Bowling Club (inc Greens)

Statement of Significance

• The place has aesthetic value as a well maintained publicly accessible parkland with integrated interpretation and public art that is a contrast to the built up urban environment adjacent. • The place has historic value for its association with the provision of recreational public space, as a Village Green, for the South Perth community since 1886. • The place has historic value for its association with many sporting groups which have used this site since the early 20th century. • The place has historic value as a demonstration of the co-ordination between various government organisations to develop a community space that recognises historic uses. The place has social value for the many members of the community who have used this place for formal sports, passive recreation and social events since the early 20th century.

Physical Description

Windsor Park and South Perth Bowling Club is a large open space bounded by Labouchere Road, Mends Street, Mill Point Road and Perth Zoo. All evidence of other organised sporting activities is gone, apart from the Bowling Club, situated on the Labouchere Road / Mends Street corner. The clubhouse building is functional and has been modernised and expanded over time. The external brick walls have been rendered and painted and full height aluminium windows and doors dominate the west elevation, with similar openings to the east elevation. The bowling club and associated car park form the western edge of Windsor Park, whilst the former Mechanic’s Institute and Roads Board building form the north corner of the park. Following its redesign, Windsor Park has been maintained as a formal public garden, featuring a wide boulevard leading from the north-western corner of the Park directly to the main public entrance to the Perth Zoo. The gardens contain an oval and other minor paths, seating, formal flower beds and statuary, including the ‘Magic Tree’ by artist Coral Lowry, Mandurah (2005); and the ‘May Gibbs Inspiration’ by artists Joan Walsh-Smith and Charles Smith (2005) which depicts a girl seated on a bench under a tree reading a May Gibbs book. The work recognises the special relationship between the South Perth area and May Gibbs – an artist, cartoonist and children’s book author who arrived with her family in South Perth in 1890 and who lived in the area for 20 years. The sculpture is inspired by May Gibbs’ love of the bush and wildlife and her love of writing for children.

History

Windsor Park was established as a reserve in 1886 as a village green for South Perth and has been used by residents of the district for recreational purposes since that time. Over the years, the sports of tennis, lawn bowls, cricket, rugby, football and soccer have been played on the green. The South Perth Bowling Club is the last remaining formal sporting body. The South Perth Bowling Club was established in 1916 with one green and a small weatherboard clubhouse. In 1958, the South Perth Men's replaced their old clubhouse with a new one and in 1978 when the men were planning extensions to the main clubhouse, the women joined them. Previously the Women's club had a small clubrooms and green adjacent, originally established as a croquet green. Extensions were completed in 1979 and all members unified in the new facility. Significant renovations were undertaken in 2013 including the replacement of the original tile roof with corrugated zincalume. In 1987, Architects and Planners, Oldham Boas Ednie-Brown, along with Hassell Planning Consultants Pty Ltd, Scott and Furphy Engineers and Tract Landscape Architects, undertook the ‘Mends Street and Perth Zoo Precinct Study’. The study partners were City of South Perth, Perth Zoo Board, State Planning Commission (later renamed ‘Western Australian Planning Commission’), and the South Perth Bicentennial Committee. At the conclusion of the Study, a Development Concept was produced. The Development Concept recommended that wider or regional community interests be given priority, particularly in respect of Windsor Park and the Perth Zoo. In order to facilitate the proposed works for improvement of the Zoo and related access and parking, during the 1990s, more than one hectare of land was transferred from Windsor Park to the Perth Zoo site. The transfer required the removal or relocation of some of the long-standing uses from Windsor Park, including the Scout Hall, tennis courts (in 1988), rugby/football oval, and some of the bowling greens. In 2004, following the reduction in size of Windsor Park, to better serve the changing needs of the community, the City of South Perth undertook major redesign and landscaping improvements to the Park, including a grand pedestrian avenue leading from Mill Point Road / Mends Street through to the Perth Zoo entrance, commissioned sculptured artworks and rearrangement of flowerbeds.

Integrity/Authenticity

High / High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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