Midland Junction Town Centre Conservation Area

Child Places

• 02525 Anglican Church of the Ascension
• 09655 Brown's Drapery Emporium (fmr)
• 09667 Midland Emporium (fmr)
• 02526 Masonic Hall
• 02511 Midland Courthouse (fmr)
• 02510 Council Club Hotel - Site of
• 02508 Midland Police Station & Lockup (fmr) - site
• 02514 Eastern Hotel
• 02509 Midland Town Hall
• 02513 Midland Post Office

Values

Together the buildings in the Midland Town centre are a collection of civic and commercial buildings that make up an historic precinct.

The development of the town in the first decades of the twentieth century reflects the growing importance of the town both in its own right and as a commercial centre servicing the rural hinterland.

The place has been the commercial, or part thereof, centre of the Midland Junction and outlying areas and is therefore associated with the community’s sense of place.

The place is the location of four buildings already entered into the RHP, which reflects the historic importance of the area.

Physical Description

The Midland Junction Town Centre Conservation Area incorporates portions of Great Eastern Highway, Spring Park Road, Great Northern Highway and Helena Street in the immediate vicinity of the triangular piece of ground in the centre of the town site dedicated to municipal and public purposes. Buildings are generally brick commercial and public buildings erected in the early decades of the twentieth century.

History

The following information is quoted directly from the documentary evidence for the heritage assessment of Midland Emporium (fmr). This was prepared by historian Robin Chinnery. Refer to that document for full referencing.

In late September 1829, the first rural land grants in the Swan River Colony were assigned, in the Swan district, including a 4,000 acre grant adjoining the proposed townsite of Guildford to Lieutenant-Governor Stirling, who named it Woodbridge after his wife’s English birthplace. On 19 July 1832, Swan Location 7, 400 acres in area, originally part of Woodbridge, was granted to Alexander and Thomas Anderson, who named it Spring Bank.

In 1884, a proposal from a private syndicate to build a railway line between Guildford or York and Geraldton on the land grants scheme, was approved conditional upon the line commencing at Guildford and connecting with the proposed Government line between Geraldton and Walkaway. On 1 May 1885, an Indenture of Conveyance was registered between William Dear, gardener, and his wife, Mary Anne, of Guildford, whereby for the sum of £5 they granted portion of Swan Location 7, 400 acres, known as ‘Anderson’s Grant’, at The Junction of the York and Toodyay Roads, to Robert Wilson of Guildford and Edward Connor, publican, of Perth.

In March 1886, work began on the Midland Railway. The workshops were set up at a site near The Junction, where the main camp for the railway workers grew up. The area became known as The Midland Junction. In 1887, work ceased due to financial difficulties, and did not resume until July 1890.

In 1890, the town site of Midland Junction was declared, to accommodate the activity associated with the resumption of work on the Midland Railway. Helena Street was reputedly named after Mrs. Helen Barbara Dance, who ceremoniously felled the tree marking the foundation of Perth on 12 August 1829. The Government reserved a triangle of land, about an acre in area, a portion of Swan Location 7, for the purpose of public buildings and released for sale a number of lots for private building purposes located around it. This area developed as the nucleus of the town and its central business district. Many of the early buildings were ‘flimsily built of corrugated iron or wood’, as it was not known whether the town would be merely associated with the railway construction or be of a permanent nature.

In April 1891, the first section of the Midland Railway, between Midland Junction and Gingin, was opened to traffic. As the railway construction advanced, more people were attracted to Midland Junction and more businesses were established. In 1893, a railway station was established on the Government line at Midland Junction, enabling workers to travel there by train, as many who worked in Midland Junction preferred to live at Guildford or Bayswater, where land and housing were less expensive.

In early 1895, the Midland Railway line to Walkaway opened to general traffic. The decision was made to locate its southern terminal at Midland Junction, which required a new, large terminal station (built 1895, demolished 1968). In 1895, the proclamation of a municipality was approved. Although given the name Helena Vale, Midland Junction continued in common usage.

In 1895, the Government announced its intention to re-locate the Government Railway Workshops from Fremantle to Midland Junction, on the railway reserve, on the south side of the Government railway line.

In 1896, a number of streets in the central area of the town were cleared, including Helena Street. By 1897, the population of Midland Junction had increased to 1,000. In this year, the two storey brick Helena Vale Post Office was built at the north-west corner of the York Road (present day Great Eastern Highway) and Helena Street, and at the rear, fronting Helena Street, a public hall. A two storey commercial building, The Medical Hall, was built for Thomas Matthew Clune (present day nos. 62-64 Helena Street), which became generally known as Clune’s Pharmacy.

In the late 1890s, Midland Junction languished, and the population declined as the Government had yet to fulfill its promise to relocate the railway workshops.

In 1900, a poll of ratepayers on the subject of the name of the municipality decided in favour of Midland Junction. The Government’s announcement of the decision to build a larger and more substantial complex at Midland Junction than originally planned encouraged commercial activity. A foundry to manufacture steel pipes for the Goldfields Water Supply was established by G. Y. C. Hoskins. In 1900-01, vigorous progress was made in ‘the busy and thriving township’ as the population increased to 1,850.

In 1902, construction of the Government railway workshops commenced, and it was completed in 1904, with transfer of operations from Fremantle completed in early 1905. Their establishment further encouraged development of Midland Junction, and they served as the mainstay of the town’s growth and prosperity through into the post World War Two period, enabling it to develop as one of the three main growth nodes of suburban development in the metropolitan area.

In late March 1904, the area of portion of Lot 137 was reduced to one rood two and a half perches, when one half perch in area, was transferred to Clune. In 1904, a plan shows the development of Helena Street between The Crescent and the Newcastle and Victoria Plains Road, including the Post Office (six rooms), and Public Hall and Mechanics Institute on the left side; and on the right side, buildings at Lot 138 (10 rooms), at Lot 137 (six rooms), at Lot 136 (10 rooms, The Morning Herald), at Lot 135 (six rooms) and Council Club Hotel (20 rooms).

In 1907, Midland Courthouse was built within the public triangle, fronting Helena Street. Officially opened on 5 November 1907, it served its intended purpose to 1987, when the new court house was opened in Spring Park Road. The former court house is included in the State Register of Heritage Places.

In 1909, it was reported that Midland Junction’s commercial centre was developed to provide for an estimated population of 20,000, although it was currently only 4,500. By 1910, Helena Street was established as the main shopping area in the town centre, a role it filled for the next 60 years. Between The Crescent and Newcastle Road, on the west side, were the Midland Junction Court House and District Registrars’ Office, and Public Hall; and on the east side, private businesses: ‘Geo. H. Blue, draper’, ‘Jno. B. Kline, saddler’, ‘Chas. Matthews, fruiterer and produce merchant’, ‘Wm. Wright, chemist’, ‘Wm. Roach, Mfg. Confectioner’, ‘Dunstan & Cavanagh, bootmakers’, ‘Premier Butchering Co. Ld. (Wm. G. Davies, mgr.), butchers’, and ‘Wm. Barnes, newsagent and tobacconist’.

In 1912, the Carnegie Library (demolished 1966) was built as an addition to the Public Hall at Midland Junction. The town was described as ‘flat’, with ‘little claim to picturesqueness … utilitarianism is the keynote’, and it was noted that it would ’possibly develop into a large manufacturing centre.’

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity- High
Authenticity- Moderate

Condition

Good

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.