Residence

Statement of Significance

The residence at 93 Broadway has aesthetic, historic and representative cultural heritage significance. The house is a nne example of Inter-War California Bungalow architectural design, built ill a prorniuent position to take advantage of river views and proximity to both school and the tramway. An in depth history of the residents of the house shows only four owners. with the original residents living in the house for 38 years. Along with the residence at 89 Broadway the house adds to the sireetscape of Broadway.

Physical Description

The entrance path slopes up steeply towards the left end of the verandah which has a concrete slab with limestone retaining walls. This is a single storey red brick and rendered house with a 'large gable to the right hand side facing the street. The hipped roof has terracotta Marseilles patterned tiles. A room is within the roof space. The majority of the house is at garden level. A bay window is below the Dormer window. The entrance door is to the left All of this is set behind a wide verandah with seven circular Doric columns along the front with a pergola at the left.end. Another pergola is in poor condition at the right hand side towards the front of the block.

History

These hlstorical notes were taken directly from a report. prepared by Dr J Gregory for the owners. III 192& Charles and Florence Harper and thctr three children, moved to their new home ill Nedlands. They were Ii South Australian family. Charles Harper had been sent to Perth to open a branch of Clarkson's, advertised in trade journals as 'the House of Decoration. specialists in Mirrors, Leadligbts. Sanuatyware', and later became the firm's managing director in Western Australia, On arrival tJ1CY rented accommodation. but as Ihc branch prospered. Chartcs Harper bought two blocks of land in Nedlands, eventually deciding to build n home for his family on the block closest to the school and the local shops. The home that Harper built on the block at 93 Broadway is a variant of the Californian bungalow with Old English influences (Ill i~s half timbered ollie gable) lind Georgian revival overtones (ill its rounded verandah columns). The builder is not known. but the internal design and materials of the home were in part dictated by Charles Harper's work. Sixty years later his son remembered: The house was more or less buill as a display house for Clarkson's ... It was two storey. quite elegant. top of the hill ... brick with a tile roof... concrete verandahs with a series of bay windows. full of leadlights, because Clarkson's were leadlight people. it was a feature to try and sell leadlights. They were 'bellied', curved. leadlights which were very new in those days. There was a leadlight front door. The hall, or lobby. was .111panelled in jarrnh, and built into the jarrah was a grandfather clock, That opened into a very nice lounge room with a floor to ceiling tiled jarrah fireplace, a real feature, and beyond that a fairly decent sized dining room. all joined by glass leadlight doors ... The kitchen was also tied up with Clarkson's, because we had a stainless steel sink. which was new, and tiles, again unusual and jazzy taps and a Junker's gas hot water system. There was also a pantry. We ate almost all our meals al tl round table in the kitchen, but 00 Sunday we always had high tea in the dining room ... Then there was the bathroom... Clarkson's had a very strong bathroom section. so it was terrific. We had mottled red tiles on the walls right up to the ceiling, as well as tiles on the floor, which was unusual in those days ... There was also a toilet in the bathroom, which was 'Unheard of in those days. So we had two toilets. one outside as well as the one in the bathroom. And nil the latest ceramic toothbrush holders. which normolly pe-ople didn': have, There was a bath and a separate shower, which again was most unusual, most bathrooms that had a shower had it over the bath ... The masterbedroom, to left of the hall, was a showplace, but my parent's didn't use it, that was for guests. When my parents invited some of their friends from the church or from business, they were invited into the master bedroom: 'Can I take your hat and coat?' My parents slept in an attic bedroom upstairs. Apart from my parent's bedroom in the attic. at the back, there was a very pleasant large room overlooking the river. We had a ping-pong table there. The roof upstairs was very high and there were doors leading into several store rooms in the roof. We used to play in lots of Little secret cubby holes up there. The block sloped towards the rear. and retaining walls. made of rough limestone. were built to terrace the land as is indicated in the I92R sewerage plan. The garden 'MIS landscaped and a walled terrace was built behind the house with a grotto and stone seating. Inset in the limestone wall were large coloured gemstones (or maybe Clarkson's tiles). Pergolas ran down both sides of the house, The Harpers lived at 93 Broadway for 38 years. Their children grew up and were married from the home, and grandchildren played in the garden. They grew old. Florence predeceased Charles who died in June 1966. Charles Harper had been a stalwart of 111e Methodist Church and was President of the Deaf and Dumb Society for many years. his son recalling that 'he always said that it was better 10 give than receive. and since he had received too much, he fell be had to give it back'. Yet despite his activities in the public world. his obituary recorded the centrality of borne and garden in his life, especially in his latter years. He was never happier than when planting a seed or striking a cutting. Under that great palm tree which was the centre of his garden at Broadway, he always had a big collection of flower pots and tins, each with its own carefully tended seedlings. The house at 93 Broadway was sold to Gustaaf and Paulina Brugman in 1966. but within three years had been sold again to Gerrit and Mary Grooters who owned the local bakery. Eight years 011 and the bouse was on the market again. The Grooters were not young and the steps and approach to the house proved too steep for them. Clive and Kamala MacVic bought the house in July 1977 and in 1998 they still live in the house. In seventy years the house has changed little. At some time, possibly when the Grooters lived in the house in the early seventies. the south west rear comer of the house was altered and a porch enclosed to form another bedroom The windows in the attic were replaced by larger ones nnd in the process the half timbers were removed. Some work also appears to have been done in the kitchen at this lime. More recently some electrical rewiring has been necessary. and 111e light switches have been replaced. As the trees and shrubs nround the house grew up. the roots regularly invaded the tcrracoua pipes and ill 1990 they were replaced by plastic pipes. A few years ago a neighbour complained that the original brick front wall, which had developed a decided lean, was unsafe and. under a Council order. the MacVie's replaced it with a limestone wall. But that is all. The entry, lounge and dining rooms look virtually the same as they did when they were first photographed in the late 1920s. The wood panelling and the bevelled leadlight glass doors seem to have dictated particular furnlshlng styles and so the dining table and chnirs Are Jacobean style. The carpet has been taken up and the jarrah Iloor boards polished and covered with Indian rugs. but the colours used in the son furnishing pick up the colours of the original tiles in the fireplace, as the lone of the carpet must once have done.

Integrity/Authenticity

High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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