Residence, Novak/Separovich (site)

Statement of Significance

Residence, Novak/Separovich (site) has historic value as a part of the development of the Spearwood area. A photographic record of this property is held by the City of Cockburn Planning Department.

Physical Description

The former Novak/Separovich home was a rendered brick cottage and corrugated iron shed. Both buildings are Australian Vernacular in design and were located on the west end of the 1207 square metre block. The house had two small windows either side of the door. A garage connected to the north end of the house and was under the main roof which was of gabled corrugated iron. The property was in the middle of an urban setting. The house was set on a block totally devoid of any landscaping. Entry to the house was through an exposed front door (the verandah was removed some time ago). This led straight into the lounge room and on the right was a bedroom. In the lounge room was a trap door that led down cement stairs to a cellar. Access to the cellar could also be gained from an external point in the south wall. To the rear of the house was a dining area and kitchen. A bathroom was added on to the rear under a skillion roof. The garage under the main roof was enclosed by corrugated iron doors (not securely fixed). At the rear of the property was an outside toilet. The corrugated iron shed was located on the south side of the house. The house and garage were in a deteriorating condition. Internally some of the render was falling away and ceilings were sagging. The garage doors were not hinged correctly and were unsafe, as the doors fell forward when unlatched. Though the scale of the extensions had not changed the integrity of the house, the finishes and the removal of the front verandah compromised the authenticity of the house. The shed was a single rectangular structure with corrugated iron walls. It was divided into two storage and packing spaces. The integrity of the shed was high.

History

The Novak/Separovich House and Shed was a brick and corrugated iron building constructed in Australian Vernacular style. The place was built in Spearwood c.1932 for Spiro and Katie Novak. The Spearwood district was part of the earliest land grants in the Swan River Colony, granted to Thomas Peel in December 1829. Peel an early entrepreneur, proposed that a township to be known as Clarence be established at Woodman Point. Early maps show the Clarence Town site occupying the area between Cockburn Sound and Lake Coogee. Peel brought 490 settlers with him from England on the Gilmore in order to establish his new colony. Owing to a series of disasters and mistiming the settlement was abandoned within three years, leaving approximately sixty graves behind. These are located in the sand dunes between Woodman Point and Lake Coogee. (Exact location unknown) Despite the failure of Clarence the best potential for settlement was the Spearwood Basin – the land between the coastal limestone ridge and the inland chain of lakes, Beeliar Wetlands. Large pastoral leases were obtained in the 1860s which prevented closer settlement of the area until the 1890s when the large land holdings began to be subdivided into smaller parcels. During the gold rush years, after gold was discovered in various parts of WA, Spearwood was settled by small landowners including the Smart and Mell families. George Smart and John Mell established market gardens and orchards. During the period 1890 to 1914 a small community grew in the Spearwood area, the increased population partly owing to a vigorous State immigration policy. Establishing a property at Spearwood was hard work as the land often supported large stands of tuart trees and stone that needed clearing. However, settlement became widespread as market gardening was recognised as a commercial proposition on the land. Market gardeners grew marrows, beetroot, pumpkin and beans as well as developing orchards of fruit trees. Between 1911 and 1929 Cockburn was strongly influenced by an influx of Slav migrants. Spiro Novak and George Separovich were part of this influx. The Slav settlers at Spearwood were the last of the major groups who came to the Cockburn district to work on the land, and as such they marked a watershed in the settlement of the District. Spiro Novak was a man of many interests. He worked as a woodcutter in the south of Western Australia, as a market gardener and also held a partnership (with Ante Zuvela) in owning and operating a large limestone quarry on the Winterfold Estate. Novak also had a good relationship with fellow Slav immigrant, Jeri Separovich, who helped build his house in Rockingham Road. The house appeared to have remained in the hands of the Novak family until purchased in 1973. In 1981 it was sold to Ivan Separovich the son of Jeri Separovich. It was sold for development purposes to Westkey Properties Pty Ltd in 2000.

Integrity/Authenticity

INTEGRITY: Site only AUTHENTICITY: Site only

Condition

Site Only

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update