Railway Hotel

Statement of Significance

Some • The place has historic value for its association with the development of Armadale as a tourist destination of in the early 20th century. • The place has social value for the members of the community who have visited the place for social events since its construction in 1902. • The place has aesthetic value as a landmark in the community due to its prominent location adjacent to the railway line and terminating the Jull Street mall.

Physical Description

Railway Hotel (fmr) building is a much altered federation era structure which bears little resemblance to its former presentation. The building originally presented with a face brick and rendered brand decorative finish with an extensive double height verandah to the front elevation, returning around the south elevation. The building has now been completely rendered and the verandah removed which creates a completely different aesthetic. The two timbered gablets have been retained in the roof form which provides an indication of the former federation features that once characterised the Railway Hotel. The actual plan form of the building appears to be similar to the original hotel with an asymmetrical façade with two small gablets above large openings in the projecting section of the elevation. The rear of the former hotel is characterised by two winged sections with a covered central area between the wings. The entire building has now been rendered with no contrasting elements. Although the window and door elements remain in the same place as the original openings, the majority of the actual doors and windows have been replaced with contemporary styled openings. The window and door arrangements to the upper level of the front elevation that originally opened out onto the verandah have been replaced with large multi-paned window arrangements with individual skillion canopies over each window. The side doors to the upper level of the front elevation have also been replaced with long windows. To the ground level of the front elevation, the French door and sash windows have been replaced with full height windows, again with skillion canopies above. To the west elevation, openings to the ground level have been blocked up with little visible evidence of their former presence remaining. One of the former single sash windows towards the northern end of the elevation has since been converted to a door opening. All openings to the upper level remain, though the sash frames have been replaced with metal frames to match the rest of the openings. The east elevation has undergone the same treatment with doors on the upper level being converted into full height windows and sash frames being replaced with modern versions of the style. To the ground level, the larger openings have been reformatted to incorporate window and door openings presented in a contemporary office/shop format with other former sash window and door openings being converted into full height windows. All openings are shaded by skillion window awnings. The rear elevation is partially obscured by subsequent development to the rear but the twin winged form of the building is still discernible. Windows have been replaced to match the remainder of the building or original frames have been retained and painted. Not all openings have awnings. Aerial photographs show the complex hipped roof form of the building which is similar to the original. The gablets to the front elevation have been retained and vented apexes in the rear hipped and gablet forms also remain extant. The roof has been reclad with a silver grey colorbond cladding, which matches all the window canopies but the majority of the chimneys have been removed. A single chimney remains extant on the north pitch of the rear southern wing of the building but the brick and corbelled form has been painted to match the colour of the rest of the building. A further flue projects from the central rear section.

History

The former Railway Hotel was built in 1902 at the instigation of Edwin Higgs (c1866-1928). Higgs was born in England and travelled to Australia in 1869. He married Hannah Maria Edwards in 1888 and the couple settled in Koorooman, Victoria where Edwin worked as a sawmiller. Edwin and Hannah Higgs relocated to Armadale in 1897 where the first of their eight children was born. Edwin prospered in Armadale where he acquired land and established his own sawmill. At the turn of the century the settlements of Kelmscott and Armadale were increasingly popular with weekend visitors and many small businesses were established by local residents to cater for the tourists. In 1900, Edwin Higgs applied to the Perth Licencing Court for a provisional certificate for a new hotel proposed for the location on the Government Road and Eleventh Avenue Armadale. The applicant (Higgs), who held a wine license and a wayside inn license, stated that he was proposing to erect a hotel to contain 19 rooms, including seven bedrooms and would cost between £1200 and £1300. The application was refused largely due to opposition from other local business that; … the district was more than served by the present wayside inn license and wine license. The Bench refused the application, holding that the hotel was not required and also intimating that the unpretentious character of the proposed new building did not meet with their approval. The West Australian, 15 June 1900, p. 2. Higgs, a member of the Armadale Roads Board between 1901 and 1902, was not to be dissuaded and again applied for a publican’s license in March 1902. He also engaged well known architect Louis Bowser Cumpston to design a grander hotel which was estimated to cost £2500, or double the previous estimate. With the achievement of the provisional license in March 1902, Cumpston called for tenders from builders to construct the brick and stone hotel. The bricks used to construct the hotel came from the Cardup brick manufacturer. The hotel could not operate until the architect issued the certificate of completion which was estimated to be three months from the September session of the Licensing Court. Therefore the hotel is believed to have been completed circa December 1902 with Higgs seeking plasterers in September to finish the project. In October 1902, Higgs engaged solicitors to secure tenders for the purchase of the lease of the hotel. The advertisement the lease stated; The Hotel is well adapted to the carrying on of a first-class Hotel Business, and will become the frequented resort of tourists and those seeking a health sanatorium. The West Australian, 14 October 1902, p. 1. It appears that the lease was taken up by Walter J.P. Wing as in 1903 he was noted as the publican of the hotel. In 1904, the hotel licence and the ownership of the property were transferred to Mr F. Nicholl who formerly operated the Cleopatra Hotel in Fremantle. His new management was advertised as follows; One of the nicest hotels to stay at in W.A. is undoubtedly the Railway, and with Mr Nicholls’s well known ability to cater for the comfort of his guests, combined with the shooting and driving available, a visit to this picturesque spot is a treat, and one which can be had at a very small outlay. The Daily News, 21 October 1904, p. 3. The publican’s of the Railway Hotel did not stay long in the early years of the 20th century as the following list indicates. 1905 Captain and Mrs Price, 1906 - 1907 Mrs Nicholl 1908 - 1911 Henry Carter 1912 - 1913 George Johns Between 1914 and 1932, the publican was recorded in the Post Office Directories as Patrick Scanlon. His long period at the Railway Hotel was blemished with incidents of dilution of spirits and the serving of customers during prohibited hours. The first of these fines was in 1913 indicating that Scanlon was managing the place prior to being recorded in the Post Office Directories. In 1930, the license was transferred to Walter A Gordon of Moora and Waroona. Following the death of Walter Gordon in 1937 his wife continued to manage the hotel until it was transferred to Mr Jock C. Gillam in 1942, who was the licensee until 1949. During the 1940s and 1950s the hotel appears to have been well patronised with visitors from the city and was a popular venue for darts competitions. The trophies for the competitions were regularly donated by Jock Gillam and the subsequent licensee, Ken Dorsett. In the 1960s, the verandah and balcony were removed and it is probable that the initial render of the external walls was undertaken at this time as a photograph of the building in 1972 shows rendered walls and a red corrugated iron roof in contrast to the original face brick work and unfinished corrugate iron roof. In the 1970s the exterior of the hotel was given a ‘mock Tudor’ finish. This finish was removed in the mid-2000s and new larger windows have been installed on the upper and ground levels. Information from the current owner states that the internal finishes and layout have been substantially changed including the removal of the internal staircase. In 2014, the building is vacant and the interior shows evidence of fit out for a former use as a gallery space and café.

Integrity/Authenticity

Low Low

Condition

Fair to Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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