St Luke's Nursing Home

Statement of Significance

429 Rokeby Road, Subiaco is of cultural heritage significance: • For its aesthetic and historical value as a place that demonstrates the skill of the original owner-builder, Frederick Edward Sedgley. • For its aesthetic value as a good representative example of an Interwar California Bungalow. • For the historical values associated with its design and occupation as the family home of Frederick Edward Sedgley, who was a prominent builder and speculative developer in Subiaco from the first decade of the twentieth century though until the end of the 1920s – and who was also responsible for the construction of other local buildings such as the Subiaco War Memorial Clock Tower (1923). • For the social and historical values associated with its use as a local private hospital since the early 1960s – which helps to illustrate the ongoing history of private hospital development in the elevated areas of Subiaco, near Kings Park, which commenced in the early twentieth century.

Physical Description

429 Rokeby Road was constructed as an Inter-War California Bungalow. Key elements include the: • Asymmetrical plan; • Visually prominent sweeping roofline, now clad with pre-painted corrugated metal sheeting; • One tall rough-cast rendered chimney with a flat cap set over slender rectangular ‘brackets’; • Slim-line dormer window on the northern side of the roof. • Two flying gables to the main (eastern) facade; One of these is located at the apex of the roof and is designed around an east facing gable dormer. The face of the gable is clad with shingles and the wide slatted eaves are supported on exposed rafters with protruding shaped/geometric ends. The dormer is fitted with three wide casement windows, which are shaded by a modern curved canvas awning. Note: it is possible that this originally had four casements of narrower proportions. The second gable is located on the northern side of the original street façade and is set over a bay window (see below). This also has wide slatted eaves and projecting rafters with shaped geometric ends, but the face of the gable has a plain roughcast rendered face over an elongated triangular baseboard. • Secondary gable to the side (southern) façade The third gable sits over a secondary bay window along the southern façade (overlooking what would have been a formal side garden). This also has very wide slatted eaves, but the face is finished with vertical timber battens. • Wide overhangs with exposed rafters at the gutter line to all visible facades; • Painted brick walls to the main façade and under the verandah (originally face-brick), with a deep roughcast rendered eaves panel; • Unpainted face-brick walls to parts of the side facades. • Bay window at the northern end of the main façade; This has five faces, each fitted with a casement window with a curved top frame and plain glazing. Above each casement there is a highlight fitted with a geometric leadlight glazing, with a diamond and ribbon design. At the base of the windows there is a wide, raked, rendered sill above a contrasting rock-faced stone plinth. The walls around the window have a roughcast finish and are framed by painted brick (formerly face-brick) pilasters, each of which has a roughcast cap set with a projecting horizontal ledge and vertical ‘brackets’ (reflecting the detailing the chimney cap). At the southern corner of the bay a second, wider but otherwise matching, pilaster marks the beginning of the verandah. • Bay window facing onto the eastern section of the return verandah. This generally matches the bay window described above, but the casements have retained simple, elegant geometric leadlight detailing. • Deep return verandah, wrapping around the south-east corner; The roof of the verandah continues as an unbroken line from the main roof. It has robust masonry posts, which are painted, but were originally face brick. These match the detailing of the pilasters that frame the front window bay and are linked by a roughcast rendered verandah beam and a balustrade of closely spaced, vertical concrete balusters with a pared-back classical form. • Main entrance facing on to the southern (side) section of the verandah. This is not clearly visible from the street, but appears to have a highlight and half-height sidelights. • French doors opening onto the verandah at the western end. • Bay window immediately west of the return verandah; This is a timber framed bay over a face-brick base, with single casements to the splayed sides and a set of four casements to the eastern face – all with highlights and simple but elegant geometric leadlight detailing. • Boxed bay window near the rear of the south elevation; This has single, narrow double-hung windows to the sides and a matching pair of double hung windows to the eastern face (all with plain glazing). • Two storey, gable-roofed, brick addition to the south-west (rear) portion of the site (constructed in the early 1960s); • Brick additions along the front half of the northern elevation (set under an extension of the main roofline) – possibly constructed in the early 1960s; • Modern corrugated steel additions along the rear half of the northern elevation (set under an extension of the main roofline). The house is set approximately 4.5m back from the street and approximately 9m from the southern boundary. The front boundary is defined by the original fence, which has a low, rock-faced stone base (matching the plinth to the main bay window, but now painted cream) with face-brick piers and flat caps (now painted in grey). At the southern end of the fence a taller pier reflects the detailing of the verandah posts and the chimney. The surrounding streetscape is mixed, with a combination of contemporary houses and late twentieth century re-development. The area opposite the house is laid out as the Nicholson Road Reserve.

History

By the late 1890s Perth Suburban Lot 284 had been subdivided as 20 residential allotments (with frontages to Rokeby Road, Nicholson Road, Arthur Street and Keightley Road). However, while development did take place in this area in the early twentieth century, the subject site remained vacant for many years and there were no properties listed in the Post Office Directories for 429 to 433 Rokeby Road prior to 1926. The subject site (which extended across Lots 11, 12 and 13 of the above subdivision) was purchased by Frederick Edward Sedgley in c.1925 and in the following year he developed it with a large family home. This was the second family home he had built in this area, having previously lived at 39 Nicholson Road (which was built across lots 18 and 19 of the same subdivision, on the corner of Nicholson Road and Arthur Street, in c.1908). Frederick Sedgley (c.1878-1958) married Matilda Kelly in South Australia in 1902 and by the following year they had settled in Subiaco. In the 1903 Electoral Roll Frederick gave his occupation as “labourer”, but in 1912 it was noted that he had soon: established himself in business on his own account as a builder and contractor. Since that time his connection has steadily increased, the work undertaken being of a very varied character, ranging from church erection to the building of the humble cottage. Frederick Sedgley was listed as a builder & contractor in the Trades section of the Post Office Directories from 1909 to 1941 and undertook extensive speculative residential development in Subiaco and the surrounding suburbs in the period c.1906 to 1930, advertising at least nineteen houses for sale in Subiaco during that period – ranging from compact jarrah cottages through to a substantial 7 room villa on the corner of Francis Street and Hamersley Road (1917, asking price £950). He was also involved in other local building works, including the Subiaco Council Chambers (1909), Subiaco Congregational Sunday School rooms (1914) and the Subiaco War Memorial Clock Tower (1923). The extent of Sedgley’s development activities towards the end of this period (and his intent to cease speculative building) is reflected in a report he gave to an Arbitration Court hearing in 1930: Frederick Edward Sedgley, builder and contractor, said that he had about 27 cottages on his hands at present; he had built them as speculations, but owing to the prevailing depression was unable to dispose of them. They were all being rented, but he could not sell them. The cost of bricklaying to the contractor had greatly increased in consequence of the scarcity of labour prior to the present depression. Bricklayers had been in a position to demand practically anything they chose, and their demands had to be met if the jobs were to be done. Witness had only done one contract job this year, and he had altogether abandoned speculative building, and did not intend to resume it. Other newspaper articles indicate that Sedgley served terms as the President of the Western Australian Master Builders and Contractors' Association (c.1921-25) and President of the Western Australian Master Builders Association (c.1952). His associated business interests also included acting as Managing Director of the West Australian Brick Co., Ltd. (c.1924), and owning a foundry business in West Perth (for which he paid £5,250 for the property in 1928, in addition to the cost of purchasing the business). Members of the family who lived in the house included Frederick; his wife, Matilda; son, Roy; daughter, Mavis; and daughter-in-law, Amelia. Roy and Amelia (who were married in 1928) had moved away by the early 1930s, but Mavis lived with her parents until their deaths in 1956 and 1958 respectively. An aerial photograph dating from 1948 suggests that the grounds to the front and south were traditionally laid out with a curved entrance path, lawns, shrubs and flower beds (similar to the existing layout, although the existing ramped entrance has replaced a set of entry steps). There was a driveway along the northern boundary, leading to what appear to have been large sheds or other additions in the back yard. The house was transferred into Mavis’ name in 1956 and in 1962 she sold it to Roy and Maxine Messenger. The available evidence indicates that they had undertaken major additions at the rear of the site prior to 1965 and adapted the house as a private hospital or nursing home – with Roy acting as manager and Maxine as matron. There were a number of changes of ownership during the 1970s and 80s, but it is known to have been operating as St Luke’s Nursing Home under the management of Peter and Dorothy Gordon in 1980. In 1992 it was taken over by Michael Hall and Graeme Prior and became the first of many nursing homes that are now managed by the Hall & Prior Health and Aged Care Group in Western Australia and New South Wales. In 2015 it is known as St Luke’s Aged Care Home.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity - Moderate: The place is no longer occupied as a private residence, but its original use can be readily interpreted from the surviving physical evidence. Authenticity - Moderate: The former house has been renovated and extended as part of its progressive adaptation as a nursing home since the early 1960s and some of the traditional character of the house has been diminished by the painting of the face-brickwork and the front fence. However the place has still retained considerable evidence of its original detailing and form. Rarity/Representativeness - 429 Rokeby Road is a good representative example of an Interwar California Bungalow and the detailing and craftsmanship illustrate the skill of its original owner-builder.

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Historic Themes

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