LIMESTONE WALL, 10 STIRLING STREET

Statement of Significance

The use of limestone is part of the Fremantle landscape and gives the City coherence and character. Limestone walls were built around properties in Fremantle to prevent sand drift in response to an early building regulation dating from the 1830s. Limestone walls are one commonly encountered example of use of this stone as a building material, most of them dating from the 19th century and early years of the 20th century. Most of the limestone in these early walls came from local quarries. The wall at 10 Stirling Street was constructed in the 1880s when this property was on the perimeter of the town of Fremantle. It illustrates the development of the area and the growth of the town.

Physical Description

The limestone wall is constructed from random rubble capstone flush pointed with lime mortar and capped with a rendered, weathered coping. The stone is typical of material sourced during the late 19th century from local stone outcrops and remnants of original mortar contain small pieces of unburnt lime and charcoal suggesting it was manufactured and slaked on site. The wall shows evidence of later repairs with cement mortars in different colours.

History

By 1832, the townsite of Fremantle had been laid out, and some building had commenced. On the eastern side the townsite ended at Stirling Street which ran parallel with the limestone ridge that extended up into Monument and Church Hills. Development in the Swan River Colony was slow through the period to 1850, when the commencement of transportation of convicts to the small colony heralded a period of rapid development. A wide program of public works was carried out by convict labour, including the building of Fremantle Prison and the Lunatic Asylum (Fremantle Arts Centre). A rough track was established along the ridge that connected these two buildings. Fremantle continued to gradually expand but it was not until after the construction of the Fremantle Town Hall in 1887 that High Street was finally extended eastward from William Street, past Stirling Street to the track that later became Ord Street. A plan of Fremantle dated 1887 shows that the land where 10 Stirling Street now stands had not yet become a town lot. In the late 1880s and early 1890s, sub-division commenced of some of the large lots to the east of the town of Fremantle. Fremantle merchants who had acquired wealth through their commercial enterprises began to move into the area, to take advantage of the higher ground which had views to the Swan River and the ocean. In the late 1880s the triangle of land that is now bounded by High, Stirling and Ord Streets was owned by Lionel Holdsworth. An 1888 engraving of a view of Fremantle from Monument Hill shows this site. A substantial stone house with encircling verandahs had been constructed in the centre of the site facing onto Stirling Street and a small cottage stood adjacent. The simple limestone boundary that still stands on Ord Street today can be seen in the foreground. By 1892 Ord Street is shown on plans of Fremantle and the site had been subdivided into lots 883, 884, 885 and 929. Lots 883 and 885 were owned by James Lilly, steamboat proprietor, shipping agent and Manager at Fremantle for the Adelaide Steamship Company, and the houses 237 and 239 High Street had been constructed as investment properties. The original house on Lot 884 (now 10 Stirling Street) was owned by the McKay family and known as Braeside. The cottage alongside was known as Willis cottage. Metropolitan Sewerage Map, Sheet No. 36 from 1908 shows the residential development on this block. Limestone walls extend for the full length of Ord Street from High to Stirling Street. A short section of wall returns around the High Street corner and it also continues for around two thirds of the length of Stirling Street. Limestone walls also divide the properties in the block. The Metropolitan Sewerage Maps from the 1950s shows little change occurs in over 40 years. Aerial mapping indicates that 10 Stirling street was redeveloped between 1974 and 1981. The 1880s house, cottage and out buildings were demolished and the existing brick and tile town houses were constructed. In 1986 a survey of limestone features and walls in Fremantle was carried out by Silvana Grassadonia. This report identified the northern section of the 1880s Ord Street wall at 237 High Street but the southern section at the rear of 10 Stirling Street was overlooked. In 2019 the surviving southern section of the 1880s Ord Street wall at the rear of 10 Stirling Street was identified as suitable for inclusion in the annual update of the Municipal Heritage Inventory and Heritage List. On 25 July 2019 Fremantle Council resolved to add this place to the Heritage List and to the Municipal Heritage Inventory as a category Level 3.

Integrity/Authenticity

The wall is largely intact and has undergone little change it has a high level of authenticity. The wall has a high level of integrity as it is still used for its original intended purpose.

Condition

The wall is in reasonable condition but has had some cement patching which will be damaging the original stone and lime mortar pointing.

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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