Robert Juniper Property, Darlington

Values

· The collection of buildings and the surrounding landscape demonstrate the artistic vision of Robert Juniper, Western Australia’s most significant artist, in a three-dimensional environment.
· The 1974 residence, 1980 bridge and gate, and 1981 studio have extremely high aesthetic and architectural value, and have features which may be unique in Western Australia as a complex.
· The various parts of the complex can be seen as a response to the Perth Modernist aesthetic, which was a significant movement from the 1950s.
· The place is associated with artist Robert Juniper (1929-2012), who won many prizes throughout his life for his work, was declared a ‘State Living Treasure’, and whose work is collected in a number of significant institutions across Australia.

Physical Description

The Robert Juniper property is a unique group of buildings and structures comprising: (1) the original A-frame studio, built in the early 1970's which was later used as a dwelling; (2) the atrium, which links the A-frame to (3) the gallerty and (4) the "new" living area built in the 1990s; (5) a stand alone blacksmith's forge; (6) the "studio on the rock", a large
sandstone studio built on a single granite tor that overlooks the city and the ocean beyond and (7) a full-sized japanese bridge that spans an enhanced natural waterway on the property. Other features includes a red metal gazebo screen, numberous ponds, and internal and external decorative features including a Spanish cupola on the roof of the gallery.

History

Alfred Waylen was the first European to purchase land in Darlington. He obtained three 50-acre blocks in 1883 on which he established a vineyard. The second stage of the Eastern Railway, between Guildford and Chidlow's Wells (Chidlow), was completed in 1884. After the line was opened, the area close to Waylen’s vineyard was surveyed and sub-divided into 21 suburban lots. In 1889, a railway siding called 'Darlington Vineyard' was constructed and, in 1902, this was shortened to Darlington. Land sales in Darlington finally took off in the 1890s and a number of orchards were established. Although a number of artists have made Darlington their home since the 1920s (or at least their temporary home) little research has been undertaken to indicate if any surviving residences are associated with members of this group. Robert Juniper was born in Merredin in 1929 but the family moved about as his father worked as an itinerant welder on the Mundaring to Kalgoorlie pipeline. The family returned to England during the Great Depression and Robert studied commercial art and industrial design at the Beckenham School of Art in Kent. He returned to Perth as an assisted migrant at the age of 20 after WWII. After a range of jobs, he began working in graphic design and eventually began painting and exhibiting. He went on to teach art at Perth College and Hale School in the 1950s and at Guildford Grammar School in the 1960s. In the 1960s his excursions into the Australian outback with Ian Parkes was the inspiration for a large part of his abstract style of art. His works are held in many collections, including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Queensland Art Gallery and Parliament House, Canberra. In 1957 Juniper and his wife, Robin, purchased a hilltop block in Darlington. The move was one of many made at that time by artists seeking a home in the hills. After a short period of sleeping in a shed, the Junipers commenced work on their new home. Originally built as a one-room temporary structure in 1959-60 by Robert, Robin and a few friends, the house grew haphazardly around the site to accommodate a growing family. Perth’s domestic architecture in the late 1950s and early 1960s was very different to its pre-war equivalents. With money difficult to borrow, architects were working out a new approach to housing, with a minimalist approach to ensure best quality for the available resources. An increased use of glass, flat and skillion roofs, and open planning were characteristic of Perth Modernist architecture. Although it meets these requirements, the original Juniper House was constructed less from a commitment to Modernist orthodoxy than from a necessary frugality. In the early 1970s, according to the nominator, Juniper erected an A-frame studio on the eastern side of the property. However, he later told a journalist that his 1981 studio was the first he had ever worked in. After his separation from Robin c.1974, Juniper moved into the A-frame building as his new residence, and the block was subdivided. The new house, like its predecessor, grew organically over a period of seven years. In January 1981, Juniper began construction of a limestone studio, measuring 13m x 10m. As noted above, Juniper claimed this was the first studio he had worked in as a professional artist, with every previous painting having been undertaken within the limitations of a house. As part of the overall setting there is a red Japanese-style bridge with a torii (Japanese gate usually associated with a Shinto shrine) which is on the path made of sawn stumps from the road. Juniper explained the theory behind the bridge: The idea of the bridge, built by George Haynes and myself in 1980, was to do what the Japanese do and place a formalised object in a natural environment. It is modelled on the shrine gateway at Miyajima near Hiroshima and is a ‘bonsai’ version. Although there was no water under the bridge in 1981, Juniper had plans for it to flow into an already-constructed dam, and also to have the water run into a pond at the entrance to the studio. Juniper was named a State Living Treasure in 1998, awarded a Centenary Medal of Australia in 2003 and made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2011. He died in 2012 from complications resulting from a small medical procedure the previous year.

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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.