The Loose Box Restaurant (fmr)

Statement of Significance

• the place has aesthetic value for its demonstration of elements of a timber cottage that has evolved in stages as circumstances and requirements have changed. • the place has historic value for its association with chef Alain Fabrègues who has made a major contribution to the development of the restaurant and food culture in Perth and Western Australia which has been recognised internationally. • the place has historic value for its association with the Pretty family who built the original cottage and lived at the house until the 1930s. • the place has social value for the many members of the community who have visited the place and as a landmark on the main entrance into the Mundaring town centre

Physical Description

A single storey timber framed and weatherboard clad building with a hipped and gabled corrugated zincalume clad roof. Projecting from the centre of the hipped roof is a brick constructed chimney with stone crown detailing and two terracotta chimney pots. At the west corner of the south elevation is a projecting weatherboard clad gable section with a timber vent at the apex of the gable. The front entrance is situated in the west projecting section. There is a small hipped portico over the front entrance creating a statement entrance as well as a timber ramp leading to the front entrance. At the east corner of south elevation is another projecting gabled section clad in weatherboard which contains two centrally located timber framed, three-paned casement windows with a timber window sill. Extending along the south elevation from the west projecting section until it abuts the east projecting section, separate from the roof line, is a corrugated zincalume clad skillion awning. It is apparent that the original building has undergone many additions and extensions. The place is located within extensive gardens including vegetable gardens. Several large gum trees are aligned along the property on the Great Eastern Highway boundary. A bitumen driveway accesses a large parking area to the east of the house and six cottages are located to the east of the restaurant building set within formal gardens. A painted brick wall is located on the boundary with a pedestrian entrance and a decorative metal gate has the word ‘Chudleigh’ incorporated into the design.

History

The first building on this site was the home of Edward and Helen Pretty. It was constructed in 1907 according to the Shire of Mundaring 1996 Municipal Inventory. Edward Pretty (1850-1913) was born in Belfast, Ireland and settled in Queensland in 1884 with his Australian wife Helen. The couple, and their family of five sons and one daughter, moved to Western Australia c1895 when Edward Pretty was appointed manager of the New Zealand Insurance Co. Edward and Helen Pretty settled permanently in Mundaring following his retirement in 1909. The cottage is likely to have been a holiday residence prior to this date, alternatively Helen Jane Harrild Pretty, nee Walker (1847-1945) and their daughter, Helen Blanche Pretty lived in Mundaring permanently and Edward lived at their West Perth during the week. The electoral rolls note that the home was named ‘Netheridge’ during the period in which the Pretty’s lived at the residence. Following Edward’s death in 1913, Helen and her daughter remained at the house. In c1926, Helen Pretty left the house and settled in Subiaco following the death of her daughter. Edward and Helen Pretty were active in the Mundaring community. Edward was a Justice of the Peace in the district and he was a member of the committee which former the Mundaring Horticultural Society in December 1909 which was a break-away group from the Darling Range Horticultural society (formed in 1906). Helen Pretty continued her charity work in Mundaring following her central role in fund raising for Perth’s Hospital for Children in the late 1890s. She contributed to the local school and Anglican Church, most notably through the donation of an organ for the Anglican Church of the Epiphany. The owners and occupiers of the residence from the 1930s to the late 1980s have not been determined however it is probable that the residence was named ‘Chudleigh’ during this period. The name is likely to be derived from the small town in Devon, UK. A reference in the local press notes that the North family were living at the house ‘Chudleigh’ in 1932. In c1988, the place was acquired by French chef Alain Fabregues and his wife Elizabeth who had established a restaurant in Sawyers Valley in 1979. They developed this property in several stages with additional seating for customers and most significant by expanding the kitchen to enable the preparation of high quality food. The name of the restaurant was chosen because the original restaurant was indeed a ‘loose box’, barely held together and with no running hot water. Major additions were designed by architect Geoffrey Summerhayes in the early 1990s. In 1995, six cottages were built on the western side of the property for accommodation of guests. The couple were able to make these improvements to the place through the contribution of partner, David Malcolm, former Chief Justice of Western Australia. The Loose Box restaurant became extremely influential to the food scene in Perth and to a generation of chefs in Western Australia. The highly acclaimed restaurant was awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) in 1991, cooking’s highest award and in 1994 and 2004 was knighted by the French government for his services to professional cookery. The Loose Box closed in 2013. The place continues to operate as a restaurant in 2015 under the name ‘Two Sisters and a Chet’.

Integrity/Authenticity

Low

Condition

Good

Creation Date

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