Shops, 133 Canning Highway

Statement of Significance

• The place has aesthetic value for its demonstration of the scale, form and detail of a combined commercial premises and residence built in the Inter War period in a simple Stripped Classical style in an unusual concrete block building material.
• The place has aesthetic value as landmark in the streetscape since 1928 which has had a continuity of function as a commercial premises.
• The place has historic value as one of the first commercial premises in this portion of Canning Highway which demonstrated the early settlement and development of the district.
• The place has social value for its association with the provision of commercial services to the South Perth community since 1928.
• The place has research value for the use of the concrete blockwork in the original portion of the structure which is an unusual building material in South Perth during the 1920s.
• The place has social value for its association with the public Tennis Courts which operated from the rear of the site from 1929 until the early 1950s.

Physical Description

1950s single storey shop constructed from distinctive decorative concrete blocks laid in alternative rows of smooth blocks and moulded ones that resemble stone. The shop frontage has been altered to present as a flush frontage rather than a double fronted shop window with centrally placed recessed entrance. The stepped parapet remains extant.

History

This property was part of Swan Loc 39, originally acquired by the Douglas family in 1885 and subdivided after 1892.

Previous research has determined that one of the owners, pre 1926, was William Kennedy. In 1926, the property was transferred to Ethel Ogle, who later purchased the property at 151 Canning Highway. According to an article in the local press, Ethel Ogle was a strong minded businesswoman who arrived in Western Australia c1912 from the UK with her husband Charles Herbert Ogle. The couple had a farming property in Belmont before divorcing with some publicity in 1927.
In late 1927, Ethel Ogle was granted a permit to build a two storey shop and refreshment rooms with tennis courts at the approximate current location of 135 Canning Highway. Aerial photographs show the tennis courts were located at the rear of the property, at the current site of Cliffe Street. The permit for the construction noted the construction costs were £800 and the builder was W. Watson. The material in the construction of the building is unusual and it is noted in earlier research that the term 'Denaro' bricks were applied to this material, however this name appears to relate to a Post World War Two product. Concrete blocks were used in construction during the Inter War period however they are more closely associated with the 1930s when the Depression period saw the use of concrete blocks as an effective cost saving method of construction. Further research may determine further detail of the origin and use of this building material. The building constructed in this first program of work was the most southern portion of the property, closest to Canning Highway. The small shed in the north west corner of the lot also dates from this period of construction and may have been built as an adjunct to the tennis courts, as a shelter or change rooms.

Post Office Directories first record an entry for the tennis courts in 1929 and it is unclear whether the building has been constructed at this stage. In 1930, the place is occupied by Mrs Ethel Ogle, managing a mixed business and also resident in the place is Frederick Charles Coles (c1867-1932). Coles was the correspondent in the divorce proceedings of Herbert and Ethel Cole.

Ethel Ogle and Frederick Coles are not recorded living at this place in the following year (1931) and David Cairnie was noted as operating a mixed business from the premises. Ethel Ogle retained ownership of the place until 1937 and was intermittently recorded in the Post Office Directories as living there and managing a mixed business from the premises until this date. No further detail in relation to Ethel Ogle was found in the current research. The property was transferred to Alexander Edwin Grant, a pastoralist from Geraldton in 1937.

From the mid 1940s until the late 1960s, the place was occupied by Arthur Joseph Carter (c1908-1981) a radio engineer and his wife Anne Agatha Carter, nee Crowley (c1908-1981) who had married in 1932. The Carters lived on the premises below street level accessed from Cliffe Street and Arthur Carter operated his radio repair shop in the commercial premises accessed from Canning Highway. During this period the South Perth tram line ran on the western side Canning Highway, so close to these premises that the trams ran under the verandah of the shop.

Aerial photographs indicate the tennis courts were removed during the 1950s.

In the 1960s, the property was transferred to the Petrelis family who established a fruit and vegetables shop in the commercial premises. At this time the shop had retained its original layout and details, with a wall to dado height, and windows on either side of a central doorway. The shop front was replaced with the current large windows and the entrance was moved to the eastern side of the building. A second shop on the north side of the existing structure was built to accommodate the expanding business.

In the early seventies the place was occupied by a computer shop and Jim Hunter’s TV Rental and Repair shop which remained there for many years. Other tenants in the original shop have been a photographer, a picture framer, and hairdresser. The second shop set back from Canning Highway has been occupied by a costume hire outlet, a second hand baby ware shop and a recycle boutique. The below ground premises were occupied by an upholstery business for many years.

An addition was constructed across the rear of the original building c1980 which extended the length of the building to the same alignment as the adjacent structure. This addition appears to have been a timber framed construction clad with weatherboard and fibre cement sheets. This addition was replaced with the current blockwork construction c2008 and the corrugated iron roof cladding on the original structure was replaced with zincalume at this time.

Previous research revealed that the building was known at one time as the ‘Old Black Bull’ and to date there is no clear explanation for the name, but one proposed version is that it stood out starkly, and was on its own. Another suggestion was that there was once a pub in the section beneath the street frontage, hence the name ‘Old Black Bull’. These proposals have not been substantiated in the current research.

The place continues to be used as two separate commercial tenancies. The function of the small shed at the rear of the lot is unknown.

Integrity/Authenticity

Moderate / 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.