Hungerford's Shop (fmr)

Statement of Significance

• The place has aesthetic value for its remaining elements and form of the Inter War Stripped Classical style as applied to a small commercial premises.
• The place has historic value for its demonstration of the small retail businesses established during the Inter War years which served the local community.
• The place has historic value for its association with well known Western Australian writer Tom Hungerford and his family, notably his parents Arthur and Minnie Hungerford who built the place and operated the shop during the 1920s whilst living in the rear residence.
• The place has historic value for its association with the development of South Perth in the Inter War years.
The place has social value for its continuity of function as a commercial premises since the 1920s which is well known to the local community.

Physical Description

The Corner Shop/Café: 254 Mill Point Road is located on the north-eastern corner of Mill Point Road and Douglas Avenue, and is one of a group of shops clustered around the intersection.

Alterations have occurred to the inter-war building which has reduced its level of authenticity but some of the original design intent remains visible.

The building is located on a corner, with windows to Mill Point Road and Douglas Avenue with the entrance located into the truncated angled wall. The original shop windows have been replaced although the existing windows are sympathetic to the building’s design. The shop entrance door has also been replaced. The parapet is devoid of any articulation and just presents as a plain element with some moulded capping. The parapet is rendered whilst the elevations are brick, both have been painted. Rendered lintels are visible above the window to the recessed section of façade, albeit painted to match the rest of the building.

History

This portion of South Perth was subdivided for residential development in 1897. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the houses built in South Perth were centred around Mill Point, Mends Street and the South Perth Esplanade. Between 1890 and 1900, the few roads which were built were mostly surfaced with oyster shell dredged from the river. By 1904, Suburban Road (later Mill Point Road) and Mends Street were the only metalled roads.

It was not until the Inter War period that South Perth was more densely settled. As one of the main roads in the district Suburban Road (Mill Point Road) was a logical site for commercial development and for a clustering of commercial premises to occur on these locations. This junction of Mill Point Road (formerly Suburban Road) and Douglas Avenue (formerly River Street) was one of these sites of clustered commercial development with the four shops typically offering a butcher, tea rooms, grocer and fruiterer.

This place was built c1921 although previous research has identified that the land was owned by Arthur Townsend Hungerford (1869-1939) from 1914. Arthur Hungerford was born in Cork, Ireland and arrived in Sydney in 1875. He worked in different parts of Australia until settling in Western Australian in the early 1900s. In 1909, he married Minnie Hedley in Busselton and the couple settled in Perth not long afterwards. The Hungerfords including their four children lived at this shop and premises until 1929 and then relocated not far to 7 Jubilee Street.

In 1926, in addition to the grocery business, Arthur Hungerford ran a lending library, charging three pence a time. The youngest Hungerford child, Thomas Arthur Guy (Tom) Hungerford, AM (5 May 1915 – 19 June 2011), was an avid reader and later became a prolific and highly acclaimed writer. His book ‘Stories from Suburban Road’ has been popular, reflecting life in South Perth during the Great Depression years of the 1930s. These stories were later adapted into a sell-out play (performed by the Old Mill Theatre company) and television series.

The shop and premises continued to be used as a combined shop and residence throughout the 20th century. Between 1930 and 1949 the Post Office Directories record that the property was used as a grocery store and a Post and Telegraph Office, with a public telephone.

The building underwent modifications in 1987, involving the removal of a wall of the shop to expand it into the adjoining former house. Further alterations to the building took place in 1996 to adapt it for its current function as a bookshop and café.

Aerial photographs indicate the form and extent of the original shop and premises can still be readily determined despite these later additions.

Integrity/Authenticity

moderate / Moderate

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

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.