House, 85 Guildford Road

Statement of Significance

• This place has aesthetic value as a largely intact example of the Federation style.
• The place has historic value for its association with the development of this area in the early 20th century.
• This place has social value as the house demonstrates the form and scale of housing in the early 1900s.

Physical Description

A single storey brick and iron house with a verandah around all elevations. The deep hipped roof extendsm down at the same pitch to form the verandah canopy. The verandah canopy is supported by square timber posts with a simple timber balustrade and timber deck. Full height timber framed sash windows/doors are featured on the front elevation, flanking centrally placed French doors. The doors are timber framed with frosted leaded glazing and a fanlight. The face brick has been painted with a black rendered band across the façade. The two front chimneys are constructed of brick with rendered flues, whereas the back
chimney is constructed with brick with corbelling. The property has hard paving to the front and side and a mature frangipani tree in the front garden.

History

Guildford Road was originally called Perth Road, or Perth Street and its alignment was roughly established from the mid-19th century. As the primary land route between Guildford and Perth many settlers and services were established alongside the road. The formal subdivision of lots for residential use occurred at different times from the late 19th century and this portion between Chapman Road and Fisher Street was subdivided in c1910.
From the available evidence this residence was constructed c1914 for Axel Stefanus Wahlsten (1873-1945). Wahlsten was born in Finland which was then part of Russia. He migrated to Australia in 1891 and lived in Sydney for some years before moving to Western Australia in the late 1890s. He undertook a variety of work including as a hotel keeper in Mount Barker. He applied for naturalisation in 1917 and in those documents held in the National Archives he records that he is a contractor although entries in the Post Office Directories indicate that he was a produce merchant. As a contractor it is possible that Wahlsten was responsible for the construction of this building although further research is required to confirm this. Axel and Minnie Florence Wahlsten, nee Wilson (c1891-1940) married in 1916 and had six children. The family lived at the house until 1940 when Minnie died. The form and extent of the house have not changed significantly since the mid-20th century although the original roof cladding, which appears to have been red corrugated iron, was changed to corrugated iron in the mid-1980s. A strata plan for the house was lodged in 2009 and the new house at the rear of the property was built in the same year.

Integrity/Authenticity

Moderate
Moderate

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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