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 homes which were built in Subiaco during the Inter War period 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 of the Federation Queen Anne style but applied in a more restrained manner that suited the budgets and expectations of the middle classes in Subiaco during the Inter War period. • For its association with the rapid development of Subiaco in the Inter War period 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

Note: 127 and 129 were both constructed in the mid-1920s, and were designed with matching footprints and very similar detailing. Architectural style 129 Townshend Road was designed in a restrained, functional style, and does not represent any of the major architectural styles of the inter-war era. It was designed to a scale and form generally considered suitable for occupiers such as office workers, retail employees and both skilled and unskilled tradesmen. Plan form at the street frontage • Asymmetrical facade. This features a slightly projecting wing on the southern side, with a verandah extending across the remainder of the frontage. Roof form and materials • Gable-hipped roof with a stepped double gable to the main façade and a hipped roof at the rear. • Clad with corrugated metal sheeting. • No extant chimneys. • Plain weatherboard cladding to gables, with iron lace trim to the gable boards. • Bullnose verandah. Wall materials and finishes to the main facade • Bevel edged weatherboards. Other detailing to main facade • Hipped, bullnose window awning to the projecting wing, featuring iron lace trim and brackets. • Two triple casement windows with square highlights and a simple timber sill, one to the projecting wing and the other under the verandah. • Main entrance located adjacent to the projecting wing (no sidelights or highlight). • The Metropolitan Sewerage Plan (1955) suggests that the verandah originally extended in a continuous line to form an awning in front of the projecting wing. At some stage after the mid-twentieth century it was redesigned as a verandah and separate window awning. In the 1990s the verandah was extended forward to create a deeper bull-nosed porch. The surviving detailing suggests that the earlier verandah had a simple raked roof and was enclosed by weatherboards at the northern end. The current verandah has turned timber posts, an iron lace frieze and iron lace brackets. Streetscape setting • Extended verandah set back approximately 3m from the Townshend Road frontage (original verandah set back approximately 3.9m. • Lot width approximately 10.1m. • Set back of approximately 1m from north boundary. Minimal setback from south boundary. • Front yard enclosed by a scalloped timber picket fence. • Hardstand car parking bay on the southern side of the front yard.

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 221 was subdivided as Deposited Plan 1535 in 1896 and advertised as the “Salisbury Estate”. This comprised 42 lots, including 14 lots along the western side of Townshend Road between Barker and Bagot Road. Entries in the Post Office Directories indicate that Lots 30 and 31 (originally known as 127 & 131 Townshend Road) had been developed by 1905. However, these sites were listed as vacant in the Post Office Directory of 1922 and both houses were described as ‘new’ or ‘modern’ in advertisements placed in the mid-1920s. Based on the physical and documentary evidence it is possible that Lots 30 & 31 were redeveloped with matching timber cottages in as early as 1922 (which was also the time when #131 was re-numbered as 129). In April 1925, 129 Townshend Road was advertised to let as “A fine new JWB (jarrah weatherboard) house”. The first long-term occupants were members of the Opie family who settled here in c.1929. William Henry Opie (c.1890-1937) (telegraph linesman) and his wife, Rose May (nee Yates) (c.1893-1982) were married in 1913, and had two children, Marjorie (born 1915) and William (1920). At his funeral it was noted that William, snr, had suffered poor health since WWI, during which he had received the Distinguished Conduct Medal for continuing to serve as a stretcher bearer under heavy fire until he was heavily wounded. Marjorie married in 1936 and while her husband was on active service during WWII she returned to live with her mother, together with her two sons. Rose remained here until the mid 1950s. 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 residence has been extended to the rear under a skillion roof. Aerial photographs of the place since the mid 20th century indicate that alterations (which included increasing the depth of the front verandah) were predominantly undertaken in the early 1990s. These works replaced the roof cladding, which was previously either terracotta tile or red corrugated iron. The extent and form of the original residence is still clearly evident. Note: the building footprints shown on the Metropolitan Sewerage Plan suggest that the front verandah was originally the same as for 127 Townshend Road. 129 Townshend Road 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 - Medium: The authenticity of the house within its streetscape setting has been reduced by the reconstruction of the front verandah to a different footprint and style, and the introduction of iron lace detailing.

Condition

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

Uses

Creation Date

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