House

Parent Place or Precinct

25394 Union and Redfern Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

For information on the significance of the Union and Redfern Heritage Area refer to the Local Planning Policy for the Heritage Area.

Physical Description

20 Union Street was designed as a modest villa that displays restrained elements of both the Federation Bungalow and Federation Queen Anne styles. Key elements include: • A simple asymmetrical plan. • Gable-hipped roof, clad with corrugated metal sheeting. The main hipped roof features a short, north-south ridgeline with louvered gablets. Aligning with the front façade there is a pair of small, decorative, west facing gables with roughcast rendered faces. • Central chimney with terracotta pots, rendered base, face-brick sides, and a projecting plain rendered cap over a convex, rough-cast rendered panel. • Tuck-pointed face-brick façade with two plain rendered stringcourses. • Return verandah. The verandah extends across the full width of the main façade, before returning part-way along the northern side of the house. This has turned timber posts, but no other decorative detailing. • Entrance door and windows Under the north-facing section of the verandah there are two shallow rectangular window bays (located directly under the pair of small roof gables). Each of these has a full-height double hung window, with a timber base plate. The main entrance is located near the eastern end of the return verandah, facing north. Adjacent to this, and facing west, there is another full-height double-hung window. The house is set approx. 4.5m back from the front boundary, which is defined by a decorative timber fence with a simple timber lynch gate.

History

Perth Suburban Lot 255 was purchased by the Intercolonial Investment Land and Building Company Ltd of Sydney in August 1890. Two years later it was transferred to James Chesters of 155 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, estate agent. By 1894 Chesters had subdivided this land as Deposited Plan 899, with 42 lots laid out around Queen Street (soon renamed Union Street). James Chesters transferred part Lot 27 and Lot 28 to a new title in March 1911 and (based on his activities in other subdivisions) it is possible that he constructed 20 Union Street as a speculative development at that time. The Subiaco Rates Books listed Bartholomew Stubbs (tailor) as the owner/occupier of a new house on this site in 1912/13. Bartholomew and his wife, Alice, moved here from their previous home at 9 Rawson Street, together with their two children Norman and Marie, naming the house “Cooee”. Stubbs was involved in the union movement and was elected to the Legislative Council for the seat of Subiaco, serving in this role from 1911-1917. During World War One he took the unusual step of enlisting at the age of 44 and was killed in Belgium in 1917. Stubbs Terrace is named in his honour. Between 1917 and 1923 there were at least four short-term residents, before 20 Union Street became the family home of William and Ethel Treen. Newspaper advertisements show that William Treen & Co, Wellington Buildings, Perth (formerly Threkeld & Treen) were agents for a wide range of products, including Nugget Polish, Skipping Girl Vinegar, Tindex Dyes, Armco iron tanks and Bardsley’s Eau de Cologne. The place returned to short-term occupancies during 1936 to 1941, after which it once again became a long-term family home, this time for John Nichols (a retired railways employee) and his wife, Pauline – who remained here until the early 1960s. At some stage in the period 1995-2001 the house was extended towards the rear and the tiled roof was reclad with corrugated metal sheeting.

Integrity/Authenticity

20 Union Street is of some historical significance as the home of Bartholomew Stubbs, a local businessman who represented Subiaco in the Legislative Council in the period 1911-1917. The external streetscape character, finishes and detailing of this place are largely consistent with its original design (although the tiled roof has been reclad in corrugated metal sheeting).

Condition

Based on a streetscape inspection the building appears to be in a good condition.

Uses

Creation Date

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