Electricity Substation, Hay Street

Statement of Significance

The place has considerable aesthetic significance as a brick and tile structure dating from the early 1900s which contributes to the heritage character of the area. It has historic significance as an electrical substation associated with the provision of electricity to the suburb of Subiaco and as such reflects the history of settlement of the area.

Physical Description

Red brick and tile sub-station with gable roof and exposed rafters. Scroll finials to gables. Three metal vents in roof. Rough-cast rendering either side of door opening extending to top of wall. Tiled awning with timber brackets over double doors.

History

In 1903 the Subiaco City Council opened its own electrical supply plant to provide for the needs of the municipality on land north of the Axon Street railway crossing. The supply of electricity to Subiaco was transferred to the City of Perth system in 1923. (Spillman pp 136-8 and 222-3).
Subiaco began to develop as a residential and commercial area in the 1890s, with the first buildings being established along the railway line. In 1895 Rokeby Road was not yet gazetted and Hay Street was called Broome Road. By the turn of the century most of the main roads in central Subiaco were built, including Rokeby, Heytsebury, Hamersley, Bagot, Townshend, Park and Nicholson Roads. Many businesses had been established in Broome Road. Broome Road was named after Governor Broome, and was renamed Hay Street after Vice-Secretary of Colonies, 1829.
There were many land releases in the late 1890s and early 1900s as Subiaco become a popular place to settle, and businesses were attracted to the opportunity of opening in a new but stable suburb. The Rokeby Road and Hay Street commercial area was firmly established by 1915.
Over the years the nature of businesses have changed. Originally there were estate agents, dressmakers, tailors, confectioners, drapers, grocers, restaurateurs and bakers; in fact most shopping could be done without leaving the suburb.
(Sources: Wise's Post Office Directory 1893-1915; Real Estate Maps, Battye Library Collection; Spillman, Ken, Identity Prized: A History of Subiaco, City of Subiaco, UWA Press, 1985, pp. 92-110; Chate, A. H., History of Subiaco, c1952.)

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