House

Parent Place or Precinct

27310 Park Street Heritage Area

Statement of Significance

The place has cultural heritage significance:
• As a good representative example of the many 4-5 room brick homes which were built in Subiaco during the early twentieth century to meet the needs and aspirations of middle-class residents such as public servants, senior office workers, small business owners, skilled tradesmen and single/widowed women of private means.
• As a good representative example 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 its aesthetic contribution to a largely intact group of early twentieth century houses.
• For its association with the rapid development of Subiaco in the early 20th century and the small scale development by local builders of many residential properties.

For information on the significance of the Park Street Heritage Area refer to the Local Planning Policy for the Heritage Area.

Physical Description

Architectural style
Typical of many modest but well built 2-3 bedroom suburban houses of the early twentieth century, 184 Barker Road incorporated elements of the Federation Queen Anne style. It was designed to a scale and form generally considered suitable for occupiers such as professional men, office workers, retail employees and skilled tradesmen.
Plan form at the street frontage
• Symmetrical facade.
This features a central entrance door, flanked by bay windows to each of the front rooms. A verandah extends across the full width of the house and part way along the western side (the latter now truncated by a modern addition)
Roof form and materials
• Gable-hipped roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting.
• Prominent double, ‘M’ shaped, gable across the main frontage.
Each of these features a tall turned timber finial, rough-cast rendered face and a decorative pattern of timber battens
• Two face-brick chimneys with rendered caps.
• Reconstructed verandah with a raked roof.
Wall materials and finishes to the main facade
• Tuck-pointed brickwork, laid in Flemish bond.
• Prominent, curved, stepped parapet to the rear wing of the house (facing Townshend Road)
• Modern face-brick extension on the western side of the house, extending out to the Townshend Road frontage.
Other detailing to main facade
• Centrally located entrance with panelled door, highlight, sidelights and stained glass panels.
• Single double-hung window to each front face and splayed side of the bay windows.
• Square timber verandah posts and carved timber brackets.
Streetscape setting
• House set back approximately 7m from the Barker Road frontage.
• Lot width approximately 15.2m.
• Modern additions constructed up to the street boundary on the west. Setback of approximately 1.5m from the east boundary.
• Original depth along the Townshend Road frontage reduced from about 43.4m to about 23m by the subdivision of the lot.
• Front yard enclosed by a high brick wall with high metal gates. A garden shed is positioned against the centre of this boundary wall, with parking on the eastern side.
• Original rear yard redeveloped with townhouses in the late 1970s.

History

Subiaco's population increased significantly in the 1890s due to an economic depression in the eastern states and the discovery of gold in Western Australia. During the 1890s property developers bought large landholdings for subdivision in the Perth metropolitan area. The original subdivisions in Subiaco were generally simple grid pattern developments with small lots suitable for occupancy by working families. However, the more elevated parts of the suburb, particularly towards Kings Park, also attracted business and professional men and some lots were later amalgamated to accommodate their larger homes and gardens. Mixed development occurred and within the Park Street Heritage Area this ranged from narrow, single storey terrace housing through to a large 2-storey house set in spacious grounds. The readily available evidence indicates that the number of houses within this area increased from around 24 in 1901 to 72 in 1906; 86 in 1910; 91 in 1915, 94 in 1920 and 13 by 1925. Development then stabilised, with 106 houses and 1 block of flats identified in 1949.
Perth Suburban Lot 208 was subdivided as Deposited Plan 1125 in the mid 1890s. This comprised 42 lots of which Lot 33 and part Lot 34 were developed with 184 Barker Road.
An analysis of the sequence of entries in the Post Office Directories of 1901-1906 suggests that 184 Barker Road may have been constructed prior to 1900 – when William James Henry Wilkinson (printer) and Andrew Davenport (builder) were both listed in this immediate area. In May 1900, W J H Wilkinson had announced the birth of twin sons at his home at the corner of Townshend and Barker and, based on the readily available information, it is quite possible that this was the property later known as 184 Townshend Road.
The Wilkinson family lived here for a relatively short time and were followed by Robert Wilson McKay (carpenter) (who lived here in c.1903) and James Murdoch(saddler) (c.1903-1906). The latter was identified as the owner/occupier in the Subiaco Rate Books of 1903 and as the occupant in the Post Office Directories of 1903-1906. Murdoch was already the owner/occupier of a house in Barker Road in 1898 (location not determined), when he served as a councillor and mayor of Subiaco. He then appears to have moved away from Subiaco in c.1899-1902. Further research into early Certificates of Title would determine if Murdoch owned Lots 33 & 34 from the late 1890s and rented the property out for a period around 1900.
From 1910-1911 through until at least 1917-1918 the Rate Books identified ‘A Birch’ as the owner of 184 Barker Road, with several different tenants during this period. In mid-1919 it was offered for sale:
SUBIACO.--D.F. Brick Residence five large rooms and kitchen, newly renovated inside and out, modern conveniences, verandahs front side, and back; £685. Owner; 184 Barker-rd., cor. Townshend-rd.
A review of the Post Office Directories at 5-yearly intervals (together with reference to contemporary Electoral Rolls) indicates that some of the primary residents during the first half of the twentieth century included:
 1910: Charles Alan Wilde (draftsman, Department of Lands and Surveys)
 1915: Cyril Joseph King (grocer’s assistant)
 1920: William Douglas Taylor (clerk)
 1925 to 1935: Thomas Rothery (builder)
Thomas Rothery was a prominent builder in the Western Australian community, undertaking many projects including the construction of the University of WA in 1929. In the Subiaco Rate Books of 1929-1930, Mary Rothery was identified as the owner of this property.
 1940: Mrs Doris Brown
 1945 & 1949: Mrs Elizabeth Campbell McMeiken
Aerial photographs of the place since the mid 20th century indicate that new units were constructed on the rear of the lot in the late 1970s and a new strata plan was created in 1986 to formally acknowledge this arrangement. The street numbers designate the units as 84 & 86 Townshend Road and the original house as 184 Barker Road.
A plan of the site prepared in the 1920s and reviewed in 1954 for the purpose of planning sewerage and water supply services shows that the original footprint of the residence has not changed significantly since 1964. Works undertaken to the original house in around the late 1970s appear to have included a western addition; reroofing in corrugated metal sheeting; and an abutting carpark at the rear. The extent and form of the original residence are still clearly evident.
The original house was adopted on the City of Subiaco Local Heritage Survey in 2003. It has been assessed as level 3 (contributes to the heritage of the City of Subiaco).

Integrity/Authenticity

Medium to Low: The form of the reconstructed verandah appears to be inconsistent with the style/period of the house (by comparison with other similar houses with verandahs in front of bay windows).
The traditional presentation of the house to the primary frontage (Barker Road) has been diminished by the construction of a high masonry wall along the front boundary and the placement of a large garden shed in the centre of the front yard. The traditional presentation to Townshend Road frontage has been altered by a prominent side addition, extending out to the street boundary.

Condition

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

Uses

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.