Residence - 377 Cockburn Road

Statement of Significance

Watchman’s Residence (fmr) is a good example of Federation Carpenter architectural style.
Watchman’s Residence (fmr) reflects a long association with the development of Woodman Point first as a potential Naval base and then as a place for storing explosives.

Physical Description

The place is set back above Cockburn Road on a rise. It is raised on stumps and set on large property, now used as Woodman Point Work Centre for the Department of Conservation.
The former residence is a Federation Carpenter style building with timber walls, and a projecting gabled wing with prominent bay window. It has two brick chimneys, a steeply-pitched gabled corrugated iron roof, and a broken-back roof shades the front verandah.

History

In 1910 the Commonwealth Government chose the Cockburn Sound anchorage as an important strategic site for a naval base. In 1913 land was acquired for this purpose. Some construction work and much planning took place. Amongst the work completed were the two houses on Cockburn Road. Around 1914 the Australian Navy built the residences on Cockburn Road for Officer quarters. However, World War I intervened and plans for the Naval Base collapsed. The project was officially abandoned in 1918.
Between the Wars the two houses were private residences. There may be link between these residences and Woodman Point Quarantine Station as it is thought a doctor from the station lived in one of the houses in the interwar period.
During World War II the houses again became Officer quarters. The officers who lived at the houses were in charge of the Submarine Base.
After the war the houses were used as residences for the watchmen of the Explosive Magazine. The Explosive magazine had been established on Woodman’s Point (now Woodman Point) alongside the Quarantine Station in 1903-04. The purpose of the magazine was to store, sample and test explosives being imported into the state.
In the 1970s the government recognised the recreational potential of Woodman Point and the location of the Explosive Magazine was no longer appropriate. The Explosives Magazine was vacated in 1982 with all explosives transferred to the new magazine at Baldivis. The former watchmen’s houses on Cockburn road became the homes of the Sports and Recreation rangers in 1984.
In 1998 Sports and Recreation transferred control of the reserve to CALM (now Department of Conservation), and in 2011 the residences are part of Woodman Point Work Centre.

Integrity/Authenticity

INTEGRITY: High
AUTHENTICITY: High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

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