Site of Bell Homestead and Pine Tree

Author

City of Rockingham

Place Number

03637

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Location

43 Rockingham Rd Rockingham

Location Details

Other Name(s)

Bell House
Lone Pine
Malibu Diving

Local Government

Rockingham

Region

Metropolitan

Construction Date

Constructed from 1895, Constructed from 1910

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type	Status	Date	Documents	More information
(no listings)

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type	Status	Date	Documents
RHP - Does not warrant assessment	Current	28 Oct 2005

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type	Status	Date	Grading/Management		More information
Type	Status	Date	Category	Description	More information
Municipal Inventory	Adopted	24 Apr 2018	Category E	Category E Historic site. Recognise- for example, with a plaque, place name, or acknowledge in new urban or architectural design. *Note: The term Heritage Assessment, referred to in Category A, B and C, is defined as: A brief, independent evaluation by a heritage architect or heritage consultant. It is not to be confused with a Heritage Council Heritage Assessment or a Conservation Plan, which are more extensive, detailed and costly documents.

Statement of Significance

• The site has historic value for its association with prominent local citizens the Hanretty and Bell Families.
• The site has social value for the many members of the community who associate the site with the large pine tree which was a local landmark.

History

On this site at the south west corner of Wanliss Street and Rockingham Beach Road (formerly Marine Parade) a house was built in the early 20th century by Thomas Hanretty (1843-1911) and Jane Hanretty, nee Thorpe (1857-1913).
Thomas Hanretty was born in France and arrived in Western Australia in 1853 with his family and married Jane Thorpe in 1879. He worked as a butcher in Fremantle and it is believed the house operated as a boarding house for timber workers and was managed by Jane Hanretty.
By 1920, the house had been purchased by Roy Ramsay Bell (c1889-1945). Roy Bell married Mena Louisa Hymus (1878-1960) in 1922 and the couple and their daughter Yvonne (1923-2004) lived at the house for their married life. Roy died in 1945 and Mena stayed on in the house until her death in 1960. The house was demolished in the early 1960s and a petrol station was built on the site.
The property was well known for the large Norfolk Island Pine tree on the corner of the site close to the boundary of the lot. The tree became an attraction during the Christmas season, when it was covered in a myriad of small lights. This practice of lighting the tree began in 1961, on the urging of the Rockingham Tourist Bureau and with the sponsorship of the State Electricity Commission.
It is believed that the petrol station on the site contaminated the soil and groundwater leading to the removal of the tree in 1997.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: None
Authenticity: None

Place Type

Individual Building or Group

Uses

Epoch	General	Specific
Original Use	FARMING\PASTORAL	Homestead

Creation Date

06 Jun 1995

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

26 Feb 2020

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.