Limestone Wall and Ruins, Munster

Statement of Significance

Limestone Wall & Ruins, Munster, is significant for its association with the market garden industry, which was the predominant source of employment in the area for most of the 20th century. Limestone Wall & Ruins, Munster, has high archaeological potential to reveal aspects of the market gardening industry from the mid-20th century. Limestone Wall & Ruins, Munster, has scientific value as representing a method of dry stone walling uncommon in Western Australia. Limestone Wall & Ruins, Munster, is associated with Jakov and Jakubina Vidovich, Croatian (Slavic) market gardeners who arrived in Western Australia in 1939, and who settled in Munster in 1946. Limestone Wall & Ruins, Munster, if appropriately interpreted, has the potential to be an educational/ recreational resource for the community, demonstrating the market gardening industry in the City of Cockburn.

Physical Description

Limestone Wall & Ruins, Munster, comprises a section of dry stone wall, up to 2m high, running for part of the length of the southern boundary of the associated Lot, and associated ruins of a number of small storage sheds. Both the wall and the ruins are constructed as double skin walls, with smaller rubble infill. This technique does not appear to be common in Western Australia, and may have been introduced from Croatia. One remnant storage shed is easy to read on site, although there appear to be the remains of various other walls and structures in the immediate area which would require archaeological investigation to determine their exact functions. A couple of remnant buildings, including a cement-fibre shed, appear to have been associated with the market gardening business previously carried out on the site.

History

Limestone Wall & Ruins, Munster, was erected in 1946, or shortly after, by Jakov Vidovich, a Croatian (then known as Slavic) market gardener. Mr Vidovich arrived in Western Australia in 1939, and he purchased the subject site in 1946. Having been a vineyard worker in Croatia, he established himself as a market gardener in South Coogee (later renamed Munster), growing potatoes, onions, carrots and beans. The limestone wall and associated storage sheds were erected using the dry stone method. Also on the site were olive trees, fig trees and fruit trees, which were for family consumption, rather than retail. The gardens continued to operate until the death of Mr Vidovich in 1997. The majority of the site is currently vacant, although the residence is leased to a tenant. New estates have been erected or are being (as of May 2014) around the subject land, changing its original setting of market gardening district to a more mixed-use area.

Integrity/Authenticity

INTEGRITY - Low AUTHENTICITY - High

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