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, particularly 77 and 87 Olive Street and 91 Park Street which
have strong similarity of design and detail.

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

Physical Description

Note: While the houses have different footprints, the detailing to 85 & 87 Olive Street and 91 Park Street is similar, reflecting their development by a single owner, over a short timeframe.
Architectural style
Typical of many well built 2-3 bedroom suburban houses of the early twentieth century, 85 Olive Street 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
• 85 Olive Street has an asymmetrical façade, featuring a projecting wing on the southern, with a verandah across the remainder of the frontage. A matching east facing wing to the attached house (81 Park Street) gives the streetscape impression of a generally symmetrical frontage to Olive Street and the overall impression of a large corner villa.
Roof form and materials
• Hipped-gabled roof clad with corrugated metal sheeting.
• Two tuck-pointed brick chimneys with corbelled caps.
• Prominent verge gable featuring a roughcast rendered face; a pattern of vertical, horizontal and diagonal timber battens; and shaped gable boards.
• Bull-nosed verandah roof.
Wall materials and finishes to the main facade
• Tuck-pointed brick walls. Note: the lower section of the projecting wing, which has been rendered, has been coloured and ruled to imitate face brick.
• Two rendered stringcourses, one at door head height and the other at window sill height.
Other detailing to main facade
• Entrance door under the verandah, adjacent to the projecting wing. This features a 5-panel door, traditional moulded architraves, sidelights, highlight and stained glass panels.
• Bull nose window hood to the projecting wing, with a frieze and brackets to match the detailing to the verandah.
• Two double hung windows to the projecting wing with a simple raked sill.
• Two double hung windows under the verandah, matching those to the projecting wing.
• Turned timber verandah posts; carved timber brackets, and a decorative frieze of alternating vertical and horizontal square members.
Streetscape setting
• House set back approximately 3.5m from the Olive Street frontage.
• Lot width approximately 10.1m. Setback of approximately 500mm from the south boundary.
• Front yard enclosed by low brick wall, large brick piers and palisade fence.

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 Lots 218 and 219 were subdivided as Deposited Plan 214 in the early 1890s. This comprised 52 lots, including 24 lots with frontages to Ivy Street, which extended between Barker and Bagot Roads (renamed as part of Olive Street in c.1901). In 1903 the City of Subiaco Rate Books identified the owner of Lots 8 and 9 as Annie Watts, and development of these sites may have been supported by an inheritance of £1,162, which Annie Johannah Catherine Watts (nee Kelly) (c.1839-1905) received from Edward Kelly (grocer, late of Subiaco) in May 1903. Annie died in June 1905 (leaving an estate valued at £1,130), after which the houses on Lots 8 & 9 appear to have been owned by her son, Edward Watts, until at least 1910-1911.
The 1903 Rate Book listed 3 houses across this site, with the occupants identified as ‘Baxter’ (81 Olive Street, now known as 91 Park Street), ‘Hilde’ (85 Olive Street) and Annie Watts (87 Olive Street). The first two were developed as conjoined houses and the third as a narrow free-standing house.
85 Olive Street had a high turn-over of occupants until at least the mid-1930s, which suggests that it was primarily used as a rental property. A review of the Post Office Directories at around 5-yearly intervals (together with reference to contemporary Electoral Rolls) indicates that some of the primary residents during this period included:
 1906: Hugh Francis Helsham (clerk)
 1910: Frank Reginald Leslie Morrison (clerk)
 1915: Isaac Hutchinson
 1920: Mrs Ellen Mercy Hutchinson (widow)
In April 1920, the group of “Three well built houses” at 81 [91 Park St], 85 and 87 Olive Street were offered for sale at £525, £525 and £350, respectively.
 1925: Mrs Clare Storen
 1930: Harry Vincent Tate (engineer)
At this time the house was owned by Harry’s father, Arthur Tate, who was also the long-term owner/occupier of the co-joined house.
 1935: Campbell
The first long-term occupant of #85 was Sarah Ann (‘Annie’) Boland (c.1894-1969), who was listed in the Electoral Rolls as a ‘housemaid’. She had settled here by 1936 and remained until the late 1950s.
A plan of the lot prepared in 1927 and reviewed in 1955 for the purpose of planning sewerage and water supply services shows that both sides of this pair of conjoined residences have undergone significant rear additions. Aerial photographs from the mid 20th century demonstrate that the place was previously clad with red corrugated iron and there have been a number of programs of work since 1964. The most significant of these were in the early 1990s and 2019.
85 Olive Street 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

Integrity - High: The place continues to be used as a private residence.
Authenticity - High: The external detailing of 85 Olive Street appears to be largely intact and/or sympathetically restored/renovated.

Condition

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