Offices and Dental Surgery

Statement of Significance

Assessment of Significance: Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street has aesthetic value as a fine and rare example of the Victorian Tudor style of architecture adapted for the Goldfields. (Criterion 1.1)

Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street is a distinctive pair of semi-detached buildings in the streetscape and contributes to the identity of Dugan Street and to the townscape character of the town of Kalgoorlie. (Criterion 1.3)

The construction of Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street in 1898, illustrates the rapid development of the town as an outcome of the prosperity resulting from the exploitation of the Eastern Goldfields in the 1890s. (Criterion 2.1)

Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street is representative of the third phase of early construction in Kalgoorlie between c. 1898 and 1908, when substantial brick structures were built. The place was constructed to provided much needed accommodation in the Goldfields town. (Criterion 2.2)

The changing use of Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street from largely residential to wholly commercial, is indicative of the growth of the town of Kalgoorlie. (Criterion 2.2)

Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street was built for William Brookman and Charles de Rose who were involved in the development of the gold mining industry on the Golden Mile, and in development in the town of Kalgoorlie. (Criterion 2.3)

Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street is valued by the local community for its connection with Kalgoorlie's gold boom past, for its aesthetic appeal, and its rarity value as the only pair of semi-detached buildings remaining of a group of four pairs. (Criterion 4.1)

Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street contributes to the local and wider community's sense of place as a reminder of the 1880s and 1890s goldrushes in Western Australia, a period of prosperity, population growth and development, and as a distinctive element of the streetscape. (Criterion 4.2)

Of a group of four pairs of semi-detached buildings in the Victorian Tudor style built at the same time in Dugan Street, Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street is the only pair remaining. (Criterion 5.1)

The application of the Victorian Tudor style, particularly to a pair of semi-detached buildings, is rare in the Western Australian context. (Criterion 5.1)

Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street is a fine example of a pair of semi-detached buildings demonstrating the characteristics of Victorian Tudor style. (Criterion 6.1)

The pair of semi-detached buildings represents a distinctive way of life and land use in close proximity to the commercial heart of the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie. (Criterion 6.2)

Statement of Significance: Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street, a pair of single-storey brick and iron, semi-detached buildings constructed in 1898 in the Victorian Tudor style, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:

- the place has aesthetic value as a very fine, rare and substantially intact example of the Victorian Tudor style of architecture adapted for the Goldfields;

- the construction of the place in 1898, illustrates the rapid development of the town as an outcome of the prosperity resulting from the exploitation of the Eastern Goldfields in the 1890s;

- the place was built for William Brookman and Charles de Rose who were involved in the development of the gold mining industry on the Golden Mile, and in development in the town of Kalgoorlie;

- the place contributes to the local and wider community's sense of place as a reminder of the 1880s and 1890s goldrushes in Western Australia, a period of prosperity, population growth and development; and,

- the place is a distinctive element of the streetscape, and is valued for its rarity as the only pair of semi-detached buildings remaining of a group of four pairs.

Physical Description

Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street is located on a level site on the south east side of Dugan Street in Kalgoorlie. It is set back from the front boundary with a front garden comprising recent plantings amongst mulch, brick paved pathways and a mature Jacaranda tree central in the front setback.

The rear of the property is accessed by a right of way, and the entire rear area is bitumenised.

Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street shows some characteristics of the Victorian Tudor style, which was predominantly residential (Apperly, 1989: 86-89). Traditional load bearing masonry construction often incorporated battlemented parapets, bay windows, and verandahs in symmetrical designs.

Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street is a pair of single storey brick and iron buildings, divided along their length by a parapet wall along the roof ridge. The roof has been reclad with long sheets of custom orb colorbond sheeting. The roof is highlighted by three distinctive chimneys, one central over the ridge, and the others symmetrical either side. The chimney stacks are laid in face brick stretcher bond and have moulded trims including a decorative rendered relief curved element on each corner. The predominantly hipped roof has distinctive bracketed eaves, a hipped gable at centre front, and a gable on each side elevation. The gables, all have reconstructed turned timber finials. The gables are face brick and the front gable features two vertical format louvred vents with stucco moulding. Below the front gable is a rendered castellated parapet extending from the bay windows.

The symmetrical frontage is divided in the centre by the parapet wall, and each side is a mirror image in plan and elevation. Central on the front elevation is the gable, battlemented parapet, and bay windows, one each side of the central wall. A verandah extends across the entire front and down each side of the building.

For clarity, the left side of the building will be described. Where there are differences with the mirrored image right side, it will be noted.

The face brick work of the front walls under the verandahs is laid in a Flemish bond. The side walls are laid in English bond, and there is a cement render over the bricks to sill height along the walls. Across the front facades the original tuck pointing has been painted over. Recently some of the paint has been removed. The turned posts supporting the verandah have been reconstructed, and a concrete floor has replaced the original timber verandah floor. A small gable at the end of the verandah is aligned with the front entry door. The four panelled front door has sidelights and a fanlight which no longer have the original stained glass. Two sets of original French doors also open onto the front verandah.

Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street in its entirety has been refurbished. Floors, ceilings, skirtings, architraves, ceiling roses, and windows have been restored. New internal doors are in place, and new hardware has been installed to all the doors. The front door opens into a small entry with a door on the right. The front room has the bay window, and a corner fireplace with the original mantelpiece. A decorative flat arch decorates the bay window opening. The original ceiling rose has been retained in the new ceiling. On the left of the entry is the corridor leading to the back door, with the party wall on the right. The first room on the left has had the corridor wall removed.

That wall is intact in the other unit, but a small opening has been made instead between the entry and the room.

The room is otherwise intact, with restored double hung sash windows with safety glass, and restored mantelpiece.

The identical mantelpiece in the other unit has been painted.

The corridor has decorative archways at two positions down its length. The next room on the left down the corridor is a treatment room. The ceiling is new, the fireplace boarded, and the fitout extends above the window opening with no intrusion to the original fabric. An original wall has been removed and a new stud wall has been inserted to increase the size of the room. The mirrored plan is intact.

The next two rooms on the left are refurbished but retain the original fabric. In the third room, there is no internal evidence of the external chimney. The original fabric of the place finishes at the end of the corridor. The original back door with fanlight above, opens into a recently constructed brick and iron extension. The corridor continues to the rear of the building with the kitchen, bathroom and toilet facilities along the left side of the corridor. The layout of the extension differs slightly in the other unit.

History

: Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street is a pair of single-storey brick and iron, semi-detached buildings, constructed in 1898. The place was designed by local architect D. T. Edmunds, and shows characteristics of the Victorian Tudor style adapted for the Goldfields. Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street was one of four semi-detached buildings, situated on adjoining lots. The other three are no longer extant, and were probably demolished in the 1970s. The place was renovated in 1994, and is occupied as a dental surgery and offices.

In June 1893, Paddy Hannan and his partners discovered alluvial gold thirty miles (48 kms) north-east of Coolgardie. A camp, known as Hannan's Find, quickly developed at the site, with bough huts and hessian and canvas structures erected along the edge of the track from Coolgardie. Later that year, William Brookman and Sid Pearce located gold reefs three miles south of Hannan's Find, at what was to become Boulder. On 4 September 1894, Hannan's Find was declared the townsite of Kalgoorlie. The track from Coolgardie became the main street and was named Hannan Street (Webb, 1993: 91; King, 1995: 15; Laurie, 1995: 2-4).

Housing for the miners and others who came to the district consisted of similar bough, hessian and canvas structures, which were erected wherever there was space. As the townsite grew these structures were replaced with iron and timber, and then brick houses. The supply of housing could not keep up with demand however, and land in Kalgoorlie was expensive. Among the land released for sale from the first town survey were eight lots on Dugan Street, Lots 111-118, which were purchased by William Gordon Brookman and Charles Henry de Rose in 1896 (C/T Vol. 81, Fol. 133, 14 April 1896 & Vol. 221, Fols. 4 & 5, 21 May 1901). In October 1898, the following newspaper item appeared:

"A long felt want is about to be supplied in the town by the erection of a number of stone and brick cottages or villas, for leasing. Messrs Brookman and De Rose who own a large number of town blocks, have made a start in this direction by letting a contract for the erection of four semi-detached villas in Dugan Street. The contract has been secured by Messrs J. V. Mills and Co, who will make a start on the buildings on Monday. The cottages will be situated immediately opposite the State School in Dugan Street, and the first part of the work comprises four houses and it is probable a much larger number will be put in hand almost at once.

Already several enquiries have been made from the architect Mr. D. T. Edmunds, from people wishing to rent the villas and two out of the four have been bespoke.

There is a big demand for nicely furnished cottages within reasonable distance of the business centre of the town and no doubt sufficient inducement will be offered to Messrs Brookman and De Rose to continue building till the whole of the ground between Cassidy and Maritana Streets has been covered with dwellings (Western Argus, 13 October 1898: 15).

The four pairs of semi-detached buildings constructed at this time were the only ones built on the land however. Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street was sited on Lot 113, third in line from the right. The date of completion is not clear. Three were occupied by 1901, and the fourth first appears in 1902 (Wise's Post Office Directories, 1989-1902). Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street was one of the first buildings constructed. Architect D. T. Edmunds was also responsible for the York Hotel (1900) and the City Markets (1901) on Hannan Street (King, 1995: 548, 583).

William Brookman's financial affairs may have had something to do with the fact that no more residences were built on this land. His lavish lifestyle, which included a sea-going yacht, a two-storey mansion in Adelaide Terrace, a farm at Cannington, a seaside residence at Mandurah, and a coach attended by liveried footmen, left him bankrupt by 1903. Originally from Adelaide, his brother George, (later Sir George), had sent him and Sid Pearce to investigate the West Australian goldfields after the finds at Coolgardie (King, 1995: 15; King, 1996: 56-58; Webb, 1993: 247-248, 286-287).

Following their discovery of the Boulder reefs, William, and partner and school friend, Charles de Rose, became big investors in Kalgoorlie property. They were also the original owners and developers of Hannans Club (1896). William Brookman left Kalgoorlie to live in Perth, and was mayor of Perth for eight months in 1900, as well as a member of the Legislative Council for the Metropolitan -Suburban Province from 29 August 1900 to 15 December 1903, when his seat was declared vacant through non-attendance. In 1904, ill and with his fortune gone, he returned to Adelaide to live with relatives until his death in 1910 at the age of forty-seven (King, 1995: 15; King, 1996: 56-58; Webb, 1993: 247-248, 286-287).

Charles de Rose had returned to Adelaide to live with his wife and family about 1900, having made a substantial fortune. Both his and Brookman's affairs in Kalgoorlie were handled at that time by T. F. Brimage and Co. De Rose lived at Adelaide until his death in 1957, at the age of ninety-five (King, 1995: 15; King, 1996: 56-58; Webb, 1993: 247-248, 286-287).

Occupancy of Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street changed rapidly in the early years. In 1902, Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street was occupied by dentist Ralph Potts, and James Brennan, of Brennan Brothers, merchants of Hannan Street. For a few years, from 1903, medical practitioner, G. A. Kearney occupied half of Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street. Tenancy of the other semi-detached residences also changed regularly, and they were often occupied by women, whose occupations are not listed. Between 1904 (when street numbering first appears) and the late 1930s, the semi-detached residences were numbered 73-87 Dugan Street. Until 1910, they were the only buildings on the block between Cassidy and Maritana Streets, except for plumber Claude Gregory, who occupied the Maritana Street corner site (Wise's Post Office Directories, 1900-1940). Most of this land was still owned by Brookman and de Rose.

In 1915, three of the four pairs of semi-detached buildings, those on Lots 111-113 and including Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street, were purchased by Janet Fyfe Walsh (C/T Vol. 621, Fol. 180, 24 June 1915). The buildings continued to be rented out. That year, Mrs Edward Rice was running a lodging house in Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street, at No. 77 (45), while Edward Rice is listed as residing in the residence next door at No. 75 (43), and another lodging house was operating at No. 73 (41), run by Mrs Treloar. Mrs Rice's lodging house was still operating in Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street in 1920, but Edward Rice had moved on from the residence next door (Wise's Post Office Directories, 1915-1920).

Nos. 87 (55) and 77 (45) were vacant in 1925, which was probably a reflection of the depressed state of the goldfields, a situation which occurred following World War One (Wise's Post Office Directories, 1925). The following year, Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street and its two right hand neighbours were purchased by widow Janet Johnson, and three years later by Robert Bates (C/T Vol. 621, Fol. 180, 14 October 1962 & 2 January 1929). Tenancies continued as none of the owners occupied any of the semi-detached residences. A new house appeared on the vacant land on the corner of Cassidy Street, on the far right hand side of the residences, in 1930, and by 1935, there was a house on left hand side of the group as well. The street block quickly filled up over the next five to ten years (Wise's Post Office Directories, 1930-1945; sewerage plan, January 1940, supplied by the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder).

In the late 1930s, the street numbering changed, but it still did not quite match current numbering. Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street was numbered 49-51 at this time (Wise's Post Office Directories, 1930-1945. It is not known when street numbering changed to the present configuration). When Robert Bates died in 1945, his wife Helen inherited Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street, and its neighbours on Lots 111 & 112. In 1948, the three pairs of semi-detached residences were purchased by Jessie Blackmore who was residing at 45 Dugan Street at the time (but whether this was the current No. 45 is not known) (C/T Vol. 621, Fol. 180, 19 August 1948).

In 1967, title for Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street was transferred to a separate certificate (C/T Vol. 27, Fol. 322A, 24 May 1967). Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street changed hands a number of time over the ensuing years, and may have been occupied as offices in the latter years (C/T Vol. 27, Fol. 322A, 22 January 1973; 24 November 1977; 11 February 1980; 13 October 1982; 12 February 1990; 17 October 1991). In 1996, Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street was purchased by Peter Dawson, dentist, of Kalgoorlie who proceeded to restore the place (C/T Vol. 27, Fol. 322A, 12 March 1996).

"Peter and Anthea Dawson say there was plenty of heartache involved in restoring their Victorian duplex at 45/47 Dugan Street, but it was all worth it.

For six months the Kalgoorlie couple, with the help of a variety of local tradespeople, worked non-stop on the ornate dwelling built in 1898 for William Brookman and Charles De Rose, members of one of the Golden Mile's early successful syndicates.

The building … is the only remaining example of a substantial attached dwelling close to the commercial centre of Hannan Street, according to City of Kalgoorlie-Boulders Municipal Heritage Inventory.

Most of the original brick-and-iron building remained when the Dawsons bought it earlier this year, but it was in a poor condition. They researched the duplex's history assisted by the knowledge of local identity Rip Hayhow. Also, they followed strict Heritage Council guidelines to restore it to as close to its original condition as possible.

Their first step in achieving this, Anthea said, was to bring the building "back to basics". After that, there was a wealth of work to be done, including re-pointing exterior brickwork, re-roofing the building, painting the interior and replacing the old windows with security glass.

Anthea said … 'It's a credit to the local tradesmen that this building looks so good and it's also a great credit to the people who built it originally.' The duplex now hosts Peter's dental surgery on one side - coincidentally, it is believed the second person to own the building was also a dentist - and a suite of offices on the other (Goldfields Magazine, 6 September 1996: 12-13).

Other work carried out in the restoration included the re-laying of all the floorboards to remove built up dirt, damp proofing treatment (not successful to date), and removal of all extensions and outbuildings at the rear (information provided by Anthea Dawson at the time of the physical inspection). While it is not correct that Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street was previously owned by a dentist, it was occupied by dentist Ralph Potts, in 1902, and also by a doctor for a few years between 1903 and 1910.

In August 1998, Residences, 45 & 47 Dugan Street was strata titled and Lot 113 was subdivided into Lots 1 and 2. Lot 1, No. 45, is owned by Peter Dawson and occupied by him as his dental surgery. Lot 2, No. 47, is owned by Kaldent Pty Ltd and is occupied as offices. The owners share common property at the rear of the lot (Strata Plan 34464, registered 20 August 1998, C/T Vol. 2140, Fols. 155 & 156, 20 August 1998).

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: Low
Authenticity: High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

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