Daylesford, Bassendean

Statement of Significance

Daylesford, Bassendean, a two-storey red brick, weatherboard and Marseille tile residence in the Federation Arts and Crafts style in a prominent location overlooking the Swan River, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
• the place is an excellent and finely detailed example of the Federation Arts and Crafts style, both in its external and internal presentation, and is a rare example of a two-storey Federation Arts and Crafts residence;
• the place was built for Cyril Jackson, the first Inspector General of Schools in Western Australia. Jackson played a significant role in the history of education in Western Australia during his appointment (1896 to 1903), and was instrumental in the transformation and reorganisation of State’s education system into a modern public education system;
• Jackson was influential in the formation of the West Guildford Road Board and became its first chairman holding the inaugural and subsequent meetings of the Board at this place until he left the state;
• the place has an in-built, unusual and innovative ventilation system that was especially designed for Cyril Jackson; and
• the place is representative of a small number of large and stately residences that were built by senior Western Australian public servants of the State in landmark locations, such as along the Swan River.

Physical Description

The majority of this dwelling is obscured by dense vegetation; very little is visible.
Information on physical aspects of the building has been drawn from the State Heritage Office documentation prepared in 2012. Daylesford, is a two storey red brick, weatherboard and Marseille tile residence in the Federation Arts and Crafts style overlooking the Swan River set amongst established garden grounds. The front elevation has a single storey section to the south, attached to the main body of the house, which is two storeyed. There is a central, decorative porch. Ground floor walls are red brick over rendered
foundations; the single storey section is in running bond while the remainder of the original brickwork is Flemish bond. The first floor walls are cream painted weatherboard. In the north-west corner of the front elevation the first floor weatherboards sweep down to form eaves over the ground floor windows. Ground floor windows have painted rendered sills, while first floor windows have timber sills with decorative timber scrolls below. At the front of the house the roofs of both the single and double storey sections are shallow hipped, while at
the rear, the roofscape is a combination of hips and gables. At the rear, the east section of the first story is a projecting gable filled in with vertical panelling. The weatherboards on the east and north walls of this section also sweep down to form eaves over the ground floor, with the eaves supported on curved timber corbels. On the south wall of the east gable section, the base of the weatherboard cladding meets the hipped verandah roof of the ground floor. The concave hip of the verandah roof that adjoins the south wall is
infilled with timber louvers. This verandah roof wraps around the building in the south to meet the single storey section of the building. The verandah posts are square with stop-chamfered corners set into brick pedestals. The floor is red painted concrete. A second verandah with a skillion roof clad with Wunderlich tiles has been added to the north elevation. It has circular hollow section posts and a brick paved floor The front porch is approached by two brick pathways: one from the garage and the other from the front of the block on an axis to the front steps. The porch is a decorative structure set out from the front of the house. Three central steps lead directly up to the front door, with very narrow raised concrete platforms
either side. The width of the porch is filled with the front door and side lights. The four panel front door has glass panes above timber, a large central brass handle and brass knocker. The side lights consist of a row of timber panels at ground level, with three rows of four small fixed panes above. There are two matching fanlights above the front door. Running above the fanlights and side lights is another row of smaller square fixed panes. The house contains an unusual ventilation system - a series of primitive ducts channel cool air from ground level to outlets located 4' above floor level of each room.

History

Since the 1850s, the river side lots in the west end of the Guildford town site had been purchased by the more affluent and prominent citizens who constructed grand houses or mansions appropriate to their wealth and social status, this trend accelerated with the onset of the economic boom after the discovery of gold in the 1890s. In 1897, Swan Location Q, a large parcel of land in the West Guildford area on the banks of the Swan River
and which comprised over 94 acres, was purchased by a Harry Anstey. Within a year, Anstey had subdivided this location up into a substantial number of lots, of which Lots 11, 12, 13 & 14 on North Road was purchased by Cyril Jackson in March 1898. Cyril Jackson had been brought out from England in late 1896 by the Western Australian Colonial
Government to take up the inaugural appointment of Inspector General of Schools with the Department of Education. During his time in Western Australia, which lasted just six years, Jackson implemented policies based upon his philosophy of ‘New Education’ and was responsible for the transformation and reorganisation of State education into a modern public education system. Once Jackson purchased the land in West Guildford, he had a commodious and stately house - befitting his position in government - designed for him by Lewis Henry Duval, who lived in the house next door to Jackson. Lewis Henry Duval was the only son of Henry James Burgess Duval, the Deputy Superintendent of Fremantle
Prison from 1853 until 1862, and his wife Mary Ann, who had arrived in Western Australia in 1853. In 1867 the family returned to England, where Lewis Henry trained as an architect before returning to Perth in the early 1880s. The residence, which Jackson named ‘Daylesford’, was built on what was originally Lot 13, with the outbuildings – including the kitchen and servants quarters, on Lot 14. The private jetty that Jackson also had
built was on the south-eastern most corner of the property. The residence was accessed by a circular driveway lined with pine trees and an orchard and several timber outbuildings were located on the property. The building of brick on the ground floor and timber on the second storey a billiard room, an indoor conservatory, five bedrooms and an attic for Jackson's Indian manservant. A feature of the residence was a unique ventilation system for cooling the house. Jackson was a significant member of the Bassendean community as the first Chairman of the West Guildford Road Board and the first official meeting was held at Daylesford on 12 July 1901. Road Board Meetings were held at the house until 1903 when Jackson returned to England. The property was transferred to Rachel Lukin in 1903 and later owners and occupiers were the Burns family, John and Sara Thorpe. During the Thorpe's ownership in the 1960s the landholding was subdivided to accommodate 13 new houses and the creation of Daylesford Road.

Integrity/Authenticity

High
High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

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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.