Ascot Racecourse Complex

Statement of Significance

Ascot Racecourse Complex, comprising the Racetrack, and the collection of Federation Free Style buildings constructed in 1903, namely the Grandstand, Gate Cottage, Totalisator building, Administration building, Members' Stand and Jockeys' Quarters, Shelter Shed, First Aid building and Mens' Toilets; and associated grounds (fencing and landscaping elements), has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
• the place demonstrates the popularity of horseracing in Western Australia, and the allocation of public funds by Government in order to provide facilities for this popular sport and maintain revenue generated by gambling;
• the place has significance as a substantial collection of Federation Free style buildings which exhibit subtly varied repetition of similar motifs, asymmetrical planning and massing, and prominent skyline features in particular, the Totalisator and Administration buildings are distinctive and well resolved;
• the place demonstrates the economic prosperity and population increase generated by the Gold Boom of the 1890s, which resulted in dramatically increased building activity;
• the place is important in contributing to both the Belmont, and wider Perth community's sense of place, and is a landmark site that is highly valued by the people associated with the port of horseracing industry in Western Australia, and by the wider community, as a place of summer recreational activity and social interaction since the 1850s;
• the place is significant for its associations with prominent figures in Western Australian life including early colonists such as John W. Hardey; explorer and politician, Alexander Forrest; and architect, J.W. Wright, M.L.C.;
• the place is a rare example of a largely intact group of buildings, parts of a horse racing complex, that still relate to the original form and function of their surrounding spaces;
• the continuous staging of the summer.race season at the place since the mid 19th century has allowed the ongoing demonstration of a distinctive way of life and customs associated with horse racing; and,
• the place is significant in demonstrating the way that the presence of particular land features influences the uses to which land is put, and the way in which the programmatic requirements of horse racing and gambling activity shape building design and spatial planning.

Physical Description

Ascot Racecourse Complex comprises a racetrack, landscaped grounds and a collection of predominantly red brick and tile Federation Free Style buildings. The place includes the Racetrack (1853, 1876, 1982) part of the original Grandstand (1903, 1969), a Gate Cottage (c.1903, 1988), Totalisator building (1903, 1978), Administration building (1903, 1982), Members' Stand and Jockeys' Quarters (1903), Shelter Shed (1903, 1978), First Aid (c.1903) and Men's Toilets (c.1903, modifications undated). Other buildings and facilities within the complex include the ticket turnstile, the members' carpark, the Main Bar, the Totalisator control building, a child minding facility, new toilet block, three new undercover pavilions (including Ascot Pavilion), horse stalls and the Jockey's Weigh-In station and mounting pens.

Ascot Racecourse Complex is located on riverfront land, directly south of the Swan River. Access is off the northern side of Grandstand Road, which runs in a northwest-southeast direction.

Access to the Racecourse is via the main gate off Grandstand Road. The main gate is flanked by the Gate Cottage to the south, and the ticket turnstile (constructed in 1992) to the north, and comprises a steel gate and high brick fence with piers. An avenue of mature plane trees (Platanus acerifolia) lines the bituminized roadway that leads from the gate and connects to the main group of buildings further east.

Expansive landscaped areas featuring mature Flame trees (Brachychiton acerifolium), a small lake, a playground, and the brick and tile new toilet block are located on the south side of the roadway. The grounds can be described as a recreational type designed landscape in a naturalistic/informal style.

The Totalisator building (Tote) is also located south of the roadway. An octagonal shaped timber and tile pavilion is located to the west of the Totalisator building and connected by way of an undercover walkway. The large rectangular Ascot Pavilion (1995) is located immediately east of the Totalisator building forming an expansive undercover area constructed with brick piers, steel roof structure and terracotta roof tiles. The Grandstand is adjacent to the Totalisator building and faces the Racetrack.

A large paved area containing the Jockey Weigh-In station and mounting pens, are found in front of both the Grandstand and the Ascot Pavilion and provides access to the Administration building. The Totalisator control building and the child minding facility are both located southwest of the Grandstand.

The brick and tile Main Bar and the Shelter Shed are both located southeast of the paved area. The Members' Stand and Jockeys' Quarters are east of the Administration building and connected by way of a covered area. The First Aid building and Men's Toilets are located further east, alongside the outer racetrack fence. Horse stalls are located south of the Men's Toilets and also east of the Totalisator building with direct access to the Racetrack.

The Gate Cottage is a painted brick and iron residence, in the Federation Queen Anne style, originally constructed in c.1903. The place exhibits asymmetrical massing with projecting gables on two elevations (south and west elevations), a bull-nose verandah on three elevations, and three prominent masonry chimneys with terracotta pots. The residence has timberframed doors and windows, with a canted bay window to the southwest (front) elevation. A weatherboard extension is attached to the rear of the place. The Gate Cottage was significantly modified internally in 1988 and 1989 in order to accommodate changing uses. The front door has been relocated from the southwest elevation to the northwest elevation, a number of internal walls have also been removed to open the interior spaces.

The Totalisator building is a Federation Free Style building, originally constructed in c.1903, comprising a 64m x 7m masonry structure, running in a northwest-southeast direction, with a central tower over the centre of the plan. The building has a hipped tile roof with upper roof monitor and clerestory windows. The roof also has prominent eaves with exposed rafters and eaves brackets, painted white. The red-brick masonry walls have distinctive painted white and yellow horizontal banding across both the long elevations (northeast and southwest). The southwest elevation features large semi-circular 'ticket' windows, while the northeast elevation has a combination of original and new double-hung sash 'pay out' windows, (the new windows were added in 1978 when the original narrow windows were enlarged). Two large openings with roller shutters provide access through the centre of the building, while roller shuttered windows are also located at each of the short ends. A clock (1927) is positioned above the northeast opening. Internally, the Totalisator building comprises two long narrow spaces with in-built timber benches lining the two longest walls, and exposed timber roof trusses. A timber staircase is located on the southwest wall, providing access to the central tower. The central tower has a hipped tile roof with a projecting gable on the southwest elevation and is currently used as an archive store.

Adjacent to the Totalisator building is the three-storey Grandstand, originally constructed in 1903. Parts of the original Grandstand fabric are still extant beneath the 1969 additions, including the majority of the Victorian cast iron columns that once supported the roof, and the two levels (ground floor and first floor) located behind and underneath the tiered seating. Original masonry walls with painted cement balustrades form the base of the ground level walls, especially visible on the northeast elevation. Two levels are built upon this base, namely the open tiered seating level with an enclosed socializing room behind (first floor), and the upper refreshment level (second floor), which cantilevers over the tiered seating area and is enclosed by glass on three sides. A ground floor level is located beneath the tiered seating and is accessible externally through a large central opening. The ground floor space is characterized by a grid of classical columns and coffered ceilings, with some parts occupied by refreshment stands. In the middle of the ground floor level is the special 'VIP' area, the Edward VII Room, featuring ornate timber paneled doors and leadlight windows. Most of this ground floor area is carpeted, with the circulation area having painted concrete floors.

The Main Bar (construction date unknown) is a rectangular plan, doublestorey brick and tile building with contrasting white and yellow banding across each elevation. The ground floor features a wide encircling verandah, portions of which are enclosed with lattice screens on the southeast elevation to hide mechanical and refrigeration services. The northwest first floor elevation features semi-circular windows, designed to match motifs evident in the Totalisator building. Timber framed casement windows are found on the other three elevations. As well as the bar on the ground floor, the Main Bar houses the" Apprentices School" on the first floor.

The Shelter Shed, a Federation Free Style pavilion (1903, 1978), also known as the "Sunspeed Bar", is located southeast of the main bar and comprises a timber-framed octagonal plan rotunda with terracotta tile roof, adorned with a spire and finial. A bar, added in 1978, and an assortment of tables and chairs occupy the underneath of the Shelter Shed.

The Administration building (commonly referred to as the '1900 building') is a brick and tile double storey building with a lightweight timber paneled 'scratching tower' extruded out of the masonry base. The tower features a hipped tile roof topped with a roof lantern, and has exposed timber rafters. The red-brick walls of the masonry base feature yellow and white horizontal banding and large semi-circular arches and windows. Wide verandahs, under separate roofs, are found on each elevation. The front (south) ground floor verandah is the most distinctive, comprising timber turned posts and ornamental brackets. The first floor balcony on the south elevation follows the form of the building and features two different kinds of balustrade - white painted timber lattice, and ornate cement balusters. The first floor balcony on the north elevation also features ornate cement balusters but has been enclosed on all sides, becoming an extension of the first floor bar. A large masonry stair is located on the east side of the Administration building and provides external access to the first floor balcony. The whole building is crowned with a suitable turret as a finish. The roof has been laid with the handsome Marseilles tiles made by Guichard, Garvin et Cie, at St Andre - which not only add grace to the general appearance, but provide the essential requisite of great coolness, so necessary in our climate. (Michelides, in 'Ascot- A Legacy')

Internally, The ground floor provides handsome and spacious rooms for the stewards and club officials plus the secretary's office, which faces south. The public office, where the entries are checked officially before the weighing in, faces the racecourse. The stewards' room faces the judges' box, the weighing-in, and the secretary's office are open to public view on the side of the lawn. The two rooms on the east are set aside for the use of members, for who a reserve has also been fenced off in the bird cage enclosure. A handsome verandah extends right around the whole block. These spaces are characteristically bright, illuminated by the distinctive and colourful semi-circular fenestrations. On the first floor, which is approached by an ornate central staircase inside, and another outer stairs from the members' reserve, are three commodious rooms, the large center one being the 'inquiry room' and the others for the conveniences of witnesses etc. A roomy balcony extends all around the first floor, with a wide open balustrade walk, which would serve as a stand, capable of holding 300 comfortably. There are lavatories and conveniences on this floor. The top floor is devoted to the glass scratching tower, a peculiar distinctive feature of the Perth racecourse.

The Grandstand was late Victorian in all its detailing, involving the use of cast iron columns, pressed metal ceilings in the public areas under the seating, and in the tower, which was similar in design to the Palace Hotel in St Georges Terrace, built in 1895. In form, the grandstand comprised two levels of tiered seating facing the course, with a smaller third level for the Press, all protected from the weather by a large pitched gable corrugated iron roof.

The Members' Stand and Jockeys' Quarters is a single-storey brick and tile building constructed in 1903 in the Federation Free Style and is located east of the Administration building, facing the racetrack. The north elevation comprises six structural bays, defined by masonry pilasters and large semicircular windows. The wall is topped with an ornate cement balustrade. The south elevation is similarly divided, however each bay is instead filled with roller shutters. Two triangular frontispieces are located on the south elevation, and are adorned with two horse heads framed by a horseshoe. The east and west walls are both parapets. The whole building is characterized by the horizontal banding of white, yellow, green, and red brick. Internally, the Members' Stand and Jockeys' Quarters comprises two primary spaces, the northern most room is used as a Bar, while the southernmost room, with the roller shutters, acts as a tote. The interior of the Bar is brightly painted and features exposed timber roof trusses. The main entry door is located on the west wall.

The First Aid building (1903) is a single storey red brick building in the Federation Free Style with hipped tile roof, featuring a distinctive roof lantern. The form comprises a rectangular plan with a projecting porch, under a separate roof. A lightweight aluminium awning is attached over the main entry, which faces west. Double-hung timber framed casement windows are located on each elevation. The building also features rendered quoining on each corner.

The Men's Toilets are located east of the First Aid building. The place comprises a single storey brick and tile building with hipped roof constructed in 1903 in the Federation Free Style. As with most of the other buildings at the site, the walls are red brick with horizontal bands painted yellow, white and green. Brick pilasters articulate the structural bays, which are revealed internally by exposed roof trusses. Entry to the male toilets (occupying the majority of the toilet block) is from the east. A single female toilet has been constructed between the First Aid building and the Men's toilets (undated modification).

The Racetrack is two thousand metres long and is located northeast of the Ascot Racecourse buildings. It is encircled by a combination of fencing materials, including open steel-paling fencing and brick fencing. The track comprises four different race surfaces - Main Grass, Wood Fibre, Big Sand and Little Sand - plus a drain and Jump-Out area. A series of lakes are located in the in-track (also known as the semaphore). The finish line is located approximately seventy metres northwest of the Administration building.

History

Belmont was one of the first areas settled after the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829. This was to be the first British colony in Australia founded exclusively for private settlement, and the only one to be founded on the basis of a land grant system.

After an area was reserved for a town site, surrounding lands were surveyed for settlers whose land grant entitlements were apportioned according to the value of the goods and labour they had brought with them into the Colony.

Within twelve months of the arrival of European settlers, nearly all the river frontage from Perth to Guildford had been divided into grants. An area to the south-east of the main Perth town site was named Belmont, after 'Belmont Farm', the property of Captain Francis Byrne, who had taken up the land in 1831. Despite grants being allocated in the Belmont area, population growth was very slow. Soils were sandy and transport was difficult, with the river the main means of carrying people and goods to Perth and nearby areas. Local land owners pressed for a causeway to connect them to the Perth town site, and in 1848 this was constructed over the Heirrison Island flats. Communications were also enhanced by the construction of a bridge across the Helena River, making the journey through Belmont the main route to the Darling Ranges. After the opening of the causeway, a mail run commenced from Perth to Guildford, three times a week. By 1845, the mail service was daily.

Horse racing had been held in the colony as early as October 1833, when Timor ponies were raced at Fremantle. Further races were held at Fremantle in the following year, at Guildford in 1836, and near City Beach in 1838. Although horse racing was extremely popular with all classes of colonists, race meetings were held only sporadically over the next decade or so. They were usually held as part of the commemoration of some particular event, and often included plowing competitions and special tests of skill for Aboriginals.

It was on 17 March 1848 that the first race meeting was held at Belmont on 'Grove Farm', John W. Hardey's property on the Swan River. In an account of the same meeting in the Perth Gazette it was claimed that the race ground was the 'best we have yet seen in the colony', being:

“quite firm for the tread of the horses, with that spring at the same time from the surface, which they require to give them more electricity in their quick movements. In the winter season the ground is boggy, but at the present time quite firm.' (Perth Gazette, 18 March 1848)

The Belmont course was used for the next two years until John Hardey informed affected parties that they would need to find a new venue for the Colony's horse racing.
On 22 October 1852, meetings were held to establish a Turf Club, having as its objects the improvement of the breed of horses in Western Australia and the establishment of regular race meetings. A committee of eight was elected to draw up the rules of (what would become) the Western Australian Turf Club (WATC) and to find a suitable place for a permanent racetrack. T.R.C. Walters, who owned land to the east of John Hartley's, offered the club riverfront land that was considered suitable, and the WATC began planning for the future of racing in the State. A new track was laid out under the direction of the WATC committee and the first meeting was held over two days in April 1853. The main event at the meeting was the Queen's Plate, which was run over three miles for a prize of 50 pounds, an amount that was doubled the following year. The new course was low-lying and boggy in winter, but ideal for summer racing. While there were few permanent facilities for competitors or spectators, initially, in 1854 the track was fenced, in 1856 the track was made available for training sessions, and in 1862 the lowering of a hill on the site enhanced the course.

Convict labour was introduced to the Colony in 1850 and, between this time and 1884, the population in Perth increased almost five-fold. During this period, various changes to horse racing in Western Australia occurred that impacted on the Belmont site. In 1877, the State Government granted the WATC a 999 year lease on the land that comprised the Perth (later Ascot) Racecourse, and vested the land in the Chairman of the Club. Various improvements were made to this area for the comfort of spectators, while the construction of yards and bough sheds provided some shelter for the horses. In 1876, the shape of the track at the Perth Racecourse was altered to improve the quality of racing. In 1879, the Queen's Plate run at the course was superceded by the Metropolitan Handicap, which was held annually until 1887, when the event was replaced by the Perth Cup.

Transport to the Ascot area was improved in 1885, when a spur line from the Perth-Guildford railway (built in 1881) was constructed across the river to a platform on the south side of the racecourse. This meant that special carriages could be used to bring horses directly to the course, instead of swimming them or pulling them over the river on a pulley system, as some owners had previously done. The railway also made the journey to the track easier and faster for spectators, and so increased crowd numbers. Access to the course for pedestrians was also improved after the State Government constructed a footbridge across the river in 1891. This structure had a midsection that could be withdrawn to allow the passage of larger river craft.

The discovery of gold in 1885, and the subsequent gold boom of the 1890s, saw a four-fold increase in the State's population, which led to a large increase in race day attendances. Increased optimism and prosperity also meant that people were far more willing to gamble greater amounts of money on racing. Changes in betting methods also made gambling at Ascot more enjoyable. In addition, stakes were raised, and by 1900, amounted to as much as £35,000 annually. The State Government promoted the racing industry and continued to improve access to the racecourse at Ascot. At the Bayswater end of the Ascot spur line, a yard for horses and a cabin for those accompanying them was constructed. The horseboxes themselves were usually left on the Belmont part of the line, until they were required. In 1896, a survey was carried out for the duplication of this line, which consisted of one and a half miles of track from the Bayswater junction at Mt Joanna to the Racecourse siding. This was done both for safety reasons and to increase the quantity of traffic that could be carried on the line. The work, which included a new bridge over the river, and a 600-foot-long platform for 'dealing in an expeditious manner with race traffic', was completed in 1898 at a cost of over five and a half thousand pounds.
Racing in Western Australia was given impetus with the WATC Act of 1892, which gave the Club statutory recognition under a private Act, but did not change its identity as a private club. This gave the WATC the power to set admission fees, to set penalties for infringements at the course, and to borrow funds. Facilities at the Ascot course could now be upgraded more easily, without having to appeal to the State government beforehand. One of the Club's first acts of improvement to the course was to put in an artesian bore. Water had previously been carted in barrels, but now, with a potential water flow of 600,000 gallons a day, lawns and gardens could be laid out, and the track maintained in good condition.

It was in 1903 that major improvements were undertaken at Ascot, with most existing buildings demolished to make way for greatly improved facilities. Plans for a new administration building, members' stand and jockeys' quarters, totalisator, gate cottage and grandstand were all prepared in the office of James William Wright, M.L.C., engineer and architect to the Club. The new Administration buildings at Ascot were described thus:
The new administrative buildings have been erected on the entirely demolished site of the old building, abutting on the Racecourse. They occupy a ground space of 80 by 80 feet, and here, again, the accommodation has been increased over fourfold.

The imposing Grandstand was built on the same lines as that in Williamstown (Melbourne), 'admitted to be one of the handsomest in Australia'. Behind the seating area was a lower two level adjoining structure, surrounded by a verandah space on the upper level, and with the lower level providing an area for refreshments, dining and socializing, as well as various administrative functions. In the middle of the lower level was a special 'V.I.P.' area called the Edward VII Room.

The outbreak of war in 1914 badly affected the racing industry in Western Australia. Many jockeys, trainers, patrons and others were away at war and, although the summer racing carnival continued, it was in much reduced circumstances. However, a positive advance during this time was an Act of Parliament in 1917, which made the WA TC the controlling authority for thoroughbred racing in Western Australia. Ascot was made the State's racing headquarters, and no race could be held in Western Australia without permission from the WATC. In addition, the WATC was responsible for allocating racing dates; registering race clubs, horses and owners; licensing of jockeys and trainers; and overseeing the operation of country clubs.

During World War One the racecourse grounds were occupied by the Australian Infantry Forces (AIF) as a campsite.

Racing began to pick up soon after the end of the War and, by the 1920s, the industry was experiencing boom conditions, with every fixture attracting a large crowd. Attendance was so large at Ascot that the Belmont Roads Board became concerned about damage to the roads in the vicinity of the track through excessive use. The positive conditions for racing at Ascot continued until the end of the 1920s, when the economic depression of the 1930s affected racing adversely, as it did all aspects of life in the State. The field events at Ascot were much smaller, as was attendance. There were also fewer breeding stock being imported, with a subsequent decline in standards. Straitened economic circumstances also led to increased cheating by owners, trainers and jockeys in order to improve their odds of winning on their betting.

The Second World War also created conditions that were not conducive to a thriving racing industry. Meetings were restricted and racing permitted only once a fortnight in the metropolitan area. The racecourse was again occupied by the AIF as a campsite.
It was during this time, however, that the WATC took over the proprietary clubs in the Perth area. Belmont Park was taken over in 1944, Helena Vale and Goodwood in 1945 and Canning Park in 1946. Further significant changes in the racing industry came about in the immediate post-War period and the 1950s.

In 1951, the photo finish camera was introduced. In 1955, Starting Price (SP) bookmakers were licensed and so could operate legally. However, because the racing clubs were taxed at thirteen and a half percent on course tote turnover, while the SP operators paid a turnover tax of only one and a quarter percent, Ascot and other clubs were disadvantaged, as their income was derived from a percentage of on-course tote turnover.
As a result of the financial disadvantage experienced by the race clubs compared to off-course bookmakers, a Royal Commission into SP betting was established. The recommendation of a semi-Government TAB system was implemented early in 1961. Almost immediately the dividend received by the WATC increased considerably. The WATC's income was increased further in the 1960s, when it sold a plot of land at Bull Creek- originally bought with the idea of establishing a track to replace Belmont Park- for $6.4 million. With these proceeds, the WATC built a new grandstand at Belmont Park (opened in 1967), and constructed a new grandstand (opened on 8 December 1969) over the lower levels of the original 1903 grandstand at Ascot. In 1975, the WATC constructed a new all-weather track at Belmont Park.

Parts of the Ascot Racecourse were remodeled and renovated between 1976 and 1978. Changes included the construction of a child minding facility and the construction of the totalisator control building to the south west of the Grandstand. Modifications were made to the Shelter Shed (now the Sunspeed Bar), and alterations to the existing Totalisator Building. In 1982, the existing track was dug up and re-shaped to provide better contours and a banked run to the home turn. The Administration building was also renovated, a new jockeys' room and scales area built. The funds for these projects came from the sale of the old Helena Vale Racecourse.

In 1986, the WATC moved into new offices opposite Ascot Racecourse Complex, built with proceeds from the sale of the Club's existing offices on the corner of Howard Street and the Esplanade in the City (built in 1925).

In 1988, major renovation and re-modeling to the Gate Cottage was undertaken. A new toilet block was constructed to the east of Gate Cottage in 1989. The Grandstand was refurbished in 1991 and a new members' car parking area was built between the Grandstand and Grandstand Road. In 1992, a new ticket office and turnstile was built opposite the Gate Cottage on Grandstand Road. Construction of a large covered area, the Ascot Pavilion, in front of the Totalisator building, and a new weigh-in shelter was carried out in 1995 under the direction of Oldfield Knott Architects. Also in 1995, two pavilions were constructed to the northern side of the new Ascot Pavilion.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High
Authenticity: Moderate

Condition

Excellent

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.