Naval Base Holiday Park

Statement of Significance

The Naval Base Shacks have cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:

• The place is representative of Western Australian coastal shack settlements that developed as holiday destinations from the 1930s to 1960s and demonstrates a way of life during that time as well as the evolution of the site since then.
• The place is one of eleven remaining shack settlements in Western Australia and the only shack settlement located within the Perth metropolitan area.
• The place is highly valued by the community and has been used as a holiday destination since the late 1930s, with ownership of shacks being passed down through generations of families.
• The place has overall uniformity in scale, however each shack has an individual character which has developed over time and collectively they form a distinctive cultural landscape and vernacular style.
• The place has the potential to yield archaeological deposits and provide a greater understanding of Clarence, Thomas Peel’s 1830s settlement.
• The place has the potential to contain archaeological deposits that relate to the residence erected by Thomas Peel in 1830.
Aesthetic
The place contributes to the natural environment of Cockburn Sound, providing residential character in a coastal area that is surrounded by heavy industry. (C1.3)

The distinctive vernacular style of the settlement contributes to the character and landscape quality of the area. (C1.4)

Historic
The place is associated with the evolution of the concept of ‘the seaside holiday’. This began in the early 1900s by booking into a hotel by the sea and developed into one where more people took holidays as they built their own accommodation (shacks) in a popular seaside location that was not located near the popular metropolitan beaches. (C2.1)

The place displays the gradual formalisation of a ‘shack settlement’. These settlements began with an ad hoc collection of structures (caravans with annexes and simple constructed shacks) to one where rules were developed to formalise the size, appearance and design of the shacks. (C2.2)


The place is associated with the training of military personnel, including the 10th Light Horse Regiment, prior to the outbreak of World War II. (C2.2)

Scientific
The place has the potential to contain archaeological deposits related to Thomas Peel’s failed 1830 settlement, Clarence. These deposits have the potential to yield information on how the settlers first tried to establish a foothold in an unfamiliar environment, the types of objects they brought with them and then later abandoned as this frontier environment became too difficult to endure. (C3.1)

This place may contain archaeological deposits associated with the house erected by Thomas Peel at this Clarence settlement. (C3.2)

Social
The place is highly valued by the community and the generations of families that have used the site as a holiday destination since the late 1930s. (C4.1)

The place has high social value for the shack community, with shacks being passed down through generations. (C4.2)

Rarity
The place is one of eleven remaining shack settlements in Western Australia and the only shack settlement located within the Perth metropolitan area. (C5.1)

The place demonstrates a way of life from the 1950s and 1960s and how holiday destinations promoted an outdoor lifestyle not seen as frequently today. (C5.2)

Representativeness
The place is representative of coastal shack settlements developed as holiday destinations from the 1930s to the 1960s in Western Australia. (C6.2)

Integrity
Currently the place has a high level of integrity, however care should be taken to ensure future development and regulation does not extinguish the character of the site.

Authenticity
While the place only contains a few of the original caravan and annexe shacks, those constructed from the 1960s remain mostly unchanged, with the exception of modern additions such as gas bottles and solar panels.

Physical Description

is bounded to the west by cliffs adjoining the Indian Ocean and Challenger Beach, to the east by Cockburn Road and to the south by Sutton Road.

The surrounding area is a mix of heavy industrial and natural reserves with Beeliar Regional Park to the east, the Australian Marine Complex to the north and the Kwinana Industrial area to the south. There are three entrances to the site, two from Cockburn Road, which are situated either side of the ablution blocks and one from Sutton Road at the south boundary of the site.

The site covers an area of 45468m2(26), which includes 178 shacks, which are arranged in five rows running north-south. The site predominately consists of mown grassed areas with an internal bituminised road system looping between the rows of shacks. Vegetation on the site is limited with the exception of a few mature, established trees adjoining some of the shacks including weeping mulberry (Morus pendula), bougainvillea sp. and Agave americana.
In addition to the layout, the size and scale of the shacks contributes to the overall uniformity of the site. While the original shacks consisted of caravans with attached permanent annexes, there are only a few of this type in existence today, such as that shown in Figure 22. The majority of shacks are in the size limit of 5.2m x 5.2m and constructed of varying materials including brick (Figure 25), timber framed building clad with weatherboards both painted (Figure 23) and unpainted (Figure 24), corrugated iron (Figure 20) and fibrous cement sheeting, painted in bright colours (Figures 18 and 19). A number of the timber framed shacks are also clad with weatherboards to the lower half of the structure and the upper clad with fibrous cement sheeting (Figure 21). All of the shacks have low pitched gable roofs clad with corrugated galvanised iron. While the shacks are similar in form, they have been personalised using colour, the use of name boards and being adorned with personal belongings as well as plantings and furniture which gives each shack a different appearance.

All shacks are orientated to the west and there is an unwritten rule that extensions can only be on the east or west sides so as not to block other residents’ views. Some of the shacks that directly face the ocean, are constructed on raised brick or limestone block foundations as shown in Figure 21.

As no mains electricity, water or gas is permitted at the site, many shacks have solar panels or small wind turbines installed as well as external gas bottles. There are public taps located within the site with potable water.

There are two (male and female) brick and tile ablution facilities on the site as well as a brick and tile laundry block, supplied and constructed by the City of Cockburn for use by the residents.

History

Assessment 2019
Construction 1930s, 1950s, 1060s
The area surrounding the Cockburn Sound has been continually occupied by the Beeliar Nyungar Aboriginal people for over 40,000 years. Beeliar Nyungars are a clan of the Whadjuk Nyungar group, whose land covers the Perth Metropolitan area. Beeliar Nyungar means river people and the area now bounded by the City of Cockburn holds a high level of significance for the group due to its high prevalence of wet lands and water courses. While the main areas of significance are situated around the Bibra and North Lake areas, there are two registered Aboriginal sites in the locality of Henderson, Lake Coogee and a site on Cockburn Road. While there are no sites of significance located within Reserve 24308, the area around Cockburn Sound was integral to the cultural practices of the Beeliar Nyungar Aboriginals being an important source of resources and is respected as such today.

The first European settlement to the area was in the December 1829 when Thomas Peel arrived on the Gilmore. Peel had entered into an agreement with the British Colonial Office for a grant of land between the Swan and Canning Rivers if he arrived before November 1829. However the passage from England was delayed and Peel was instead granted 250,000 acres of land around Cockburn Sound. The settlement named Clarence, was conceptualised in England and based on very little knowledge of Australian conditions. As such the settlement struggled from inception, with settlers being unfamiliar with the sandy land and finding it difficult to establish crops. The harsh conditions combined with the lack of supplies led to the settlement being abandoned within two years of establishment. While initially there was some indecision as to where the settlement of Clarence was located, in early 2007 the site, was discovered by Notre Dame University archaeologists and further excavation located the site on Reserve 39584 and Reserve 39752, which are directly adjacent to the site of the Naval Base Shacks. In February 2008 the Heritage Council issued a Conservation Order for the area named Peel Town Archaeological Sites, to avoid confusion with the later Clarence Town settlement located near Woodman Point. The extent of the registration was then updated in 2014 (Figure 5) to include the site of the shacks as well as identifying zones of archaeological potential within the site, particularly Thomas Peel’s 1830s residence (Figure 6). Due to the complexity of the site and ongoing research there is a high potential for archaeological remains in Reserve 24308, the site of the shacks.

Despite the early failure of the Clarence settlement, from 1870 to 1890 there was a steady growth in industry and market gardens around the Cockburn Sound area. This was further expanded during the Gold Boom which saw the development of lime kilns and meat works in the area.8

In 1910, British Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson recommended that a naval base be built in Cockburn Sound, however construction was delayed due to the outbreak of World War I and the venture was eventually abandoned in the 1920s. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, the beaches extending from Cockburn Sound to Woodman Point were utilised for military purposes, including the 10th Light Horse Regiment, which undertook tactical exercises on Challenger Beach. Despite being used as a camp throughout the 1940s, the development of the naval base was never recommenced and by the 1960s the current Garden Island location was allocated for this purpose.

During the late 1930s and early 1940s the first shacks began to appear on the site. At this time there were only a few shacks, which consisted of caravans with temporary annexes that were constructed on an ad hoc basis. In 1955 they were described as “little clusters of weekenders’ shacks” and from aerial photography taken in 1955 (Figure 12) and 1965 (Figure 13) it is clear that it was not until the 1960s that the site began to grow and by 1965, outlines of rows of orderly shacks can be seen, which is not dissimilar to the current layout.

Following World War II and into the 1960s the nearby Kwinana industrial area expanded exponentially and the high demand for import and export facilities led to the construction of large industrial shipping areas along the north eastern foreshore of Cockburn Sound. In light of the increasing pressure on the land a number of reserves were created to protect the natural environment and community interests. In October 1955, Reserve 24308 was created for the purposes of public utility and in July 1957 the reserve was vested to the Cockburn Road Board in trust for the purpose of recreation and camping. The vesting order was then transferred to the Shire of Cockburn in 1961 and is now held by the City of Cockburn.

Coinciding with the management of the site by the Cockburn Road Board in the late 1950s, permanent shacks began to be constructed on the site, with the shack owners leasing the area from the Cockburn Road Board for a small fee. While the size of shacks was limited to 5.2m x 5.2m they could be constructed of any material and as such were often made from recycled corrugated iron and metal struts salvaged from other buildings. In addition to recycled materials, cheap and freely available supplies such as fibrous cement sheeting were also used. The shacks soon became a popular and affordable family holiday destination for residents in the Cockburn region as well as the wider Perth metropolitan area. The outdoor and uncomplicated nature of the shack settlement led to the creation of a strong community atmosphere and generations of families continue to enjoy swimming, fishing, snorkelling, diving, boating and barbequing at the site.

In June 1968 the site was impacted by a severe storm which tore through the caravans and shacks destroying forty caravans and damaging twenty four shacks, requiring extensive repair and causing many to be demolished and reconstructed. During the 1990s, the future of the shacks was threatened by industrial expansion as well as the broader issue of coastal development. Due to the uncertainly of the site, owners were prohibited from buying or selling shacks until 2000 when the expansion of port facilities in Cockburn Sound was suspended. From 2000 the embargo on buying and selling was lifted and between 2000 and 2001 owners sold their shacks privately with prices ranging from $5,000 to $18,000.
While other shack settlements in Western Australia faced demolition under the 1989 Squatter Policy, the Naval Base Shacks were not subjected to the same level of regulation as even though there were regular holiday makers at the site prior to the creation of the reserve in 1955, these dwellings mainly consisted of caravans with ad hoc annexes, and permanent shacks were only constructed on the site after 1955, when it was under the management of the Cockburn Road Board.

Following the introduction of the Land Administration Act 1997, vesting orders were converted into management orders and in May 2009, the City of Cockburn entered into an agreement for twenty one years with the power to lease.

In 2004 the City of Cockburn added the site to the Municipal Inventory at a category B level and in 2009 undertook a heritage assessment of the site. However it was not until 2012 that the heritage status of the site was formally recognised. In 2010 the City of Cockburn considered reducing the category status of the site to C, this decision resulted in an outcry by the community and the National Trust advocated for the site to be listed as category A and included in the Town Planning Scheme. In order to determine the appropriate future management of the site, the City of Cockburn established a Community Reference Group, which enabled shack owners to present their views. Also at this time the Environment and Public Affairs Committee were conducting an inquiry into the shack sites in Western Australia that was released in April 2011. The inquiry found that the shacks differed from other shack sites in Western Australia as not only were they located in the metropolitan area but that the site was carefully maintained in a uniform manner and encouraged continued community consultation in deciding the outcome.19

As a result of community perseverance, in 2012 the City of Cockburn endorsed five year leases at a fee of $2,000 per year20 and a management plan was developed for the site. The designation of the site as a Heritage Area under the Local Planning Policy 4.5, also saw the development of accompanying policy and guidance documentation including an updated lease agreement, buying and selling transfer processes, standard development conditions and the requirement of permits for development or demolition of shacks. Under the policy shack owners are only permitted to occupy the shacks for 120 days per year and the use of generators or the installation of showers or toilets are prohibited.
In 2017 the City of Cockburn agreed to renew leases at the site for another five years.22 This provided a level of certainty and protection for shack owners as prior to 2012, leases were only issued annually and could be cancelled at the discretion of the City of Cockburn at any time with 14 days’ notice.23

The shacks are highly valued by the owners and for the last fifty years the Naval Base Shacks Association has acted as not only a conduit between the shack owners and the City of Cockburn in the management of the site, but also to actively encourage the continuation of the strong community spirit. The Association facilitates the shack community’s events and traditions, including Easter celebrations, annual children’s fun days and Christmas events.24 These events not only demonstrate the level of social cohesion at the site but also contribute to the community’s sense of place.

The Naval Base Shacks have been used by generations of families as a holiday destination since the late 1930s. The establishment of the site as a reserve and the subsequent management by the City of Cockburn enabled families to build permanent dwellings which have an overall uniformity in size and scale but are distinguishable by the level of personalisation and continued use. Each shack has an individual character which has been developed over time and collectively the shacks form a distinctive cultural landscape. While the evolution of the shacks is listed as a distinguishing feature in the City of Cockburn’s Heritage Area documentation,25 there is concern that strict planning controls and increased uniformity will negatively influence the character of the site and the distinctive vernacular style which is key to the heritage value of the shacks.

The Naval Base Holiday Association approached the National Trust in 2018 to undertake a heritage assessment for the purposes of including the place in the National Trust’s Classification list and further strengthen recognition of the heritage values of the place.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.