Ye Olde Narrogin Inne

Statement of Significance

The place has aesthetic value as an outstanding and rare example of a building constructed in the Inter-War Old English style, and exhibits detailing consistent with this style including its picturesque asymmetrical form, warm-coloured face-brickwork and distinctive timber panelling.
With its distinctive building form and prominent location near the intersection of Albany Highway and South West Highway, the place is a well-known landmark in Armadale.
The place is one of a number of similar buildings dating from the Inter-War and Post-War period which are located on the east side of South West Highway, in central Armadale.
The place is situated on a site at the junction of Albany and South Western highways, which has functioned continuously as the site of a hotel since at least 1856. The original inn on the site served mail and passenger coach services to Albany and Bunbury prior to the opening of the Great Southern (1899) and South Western (1893) railways.
The Duke of Gloucester is believed to have stopped at the place on his way to visit Fairbridge Farm in 1933.
The place was closely associated with local farmer and businessman, Thomas Saw, who was responsible for the 1856 buildings and the first wayside inn licence for the place, and who owned the place until 1910.
Along with the nearby Muckross Tearooms and Kate Wilkinson’’s Cottage, the place is one of a number of buildings dating from the early 20th century associated with Kate Wilkinson, a well-known and respected local businesswoman.
The place is of significance to the local community as one of the early stopping places for coaches, and as a venue for socialisation by the local community and travellers from 1856 to the present.
The place is valued by the community as a long-standing social venue and landmark.

Physical Description

The Narrogin Inn is a prominent building facing Albany Highway. The two-storey building has a gable roof
of Marseille tiles and face brickwork to the chimney and entry. The building is painted a light yellow colour
with contrasting green timber posts to the first floor balcony. Patterned brickwork and brick detailing to the
chimney and entry distinguishes it from the rest of the building. A timber framed two-storey verandah with
paneled balustrade extends to the west of the gable bay, wrapping around the faceted corner. Mounted
wrought iron signage to the brickwork reads ‘Ye Olde Narrogin Inne’. The first floor has exposed timber
rafters with painted rendered walls and casement windows while the first floor balcony is half timbered infilled
with compressed fibre cement sheeting.
The building also consists a single-storey drive-in bottleshop (c.1960s), a courtyard alfresco eating area and
a reception area for the hotel accommodation. The reception area to the east has curved timber bracketed
awnings to the entry area on face brick. The chimneys are face brick with a hip roof to the south side of the
first floor. The rear beer garden is also enclosed with a garden wall, and features a large under-cover section
(1999).
There are mature trees to the alignment of Albany Highway with one mature tree located outside the Inn. To
the rear of the building is a car park and motel, with mature plantings supporting the landscape component
and setting for the building. The front fence has slim line bricks to the top section and standard brick to the
base.

History

Narrogin Inne was designed by architects Eales, Cohen and Fitzhardinge and built by the Todd Brothers in 1937 in the Inter-War Old English style. The building replaced the hotel section of an early single-storey inn, originally built in 1856 by Thomas Saw, a farmer in the district near Wungong Brook. Following improvements to the road between Perth and Albany, Saw applied for a wayside licence for Middleton’’s house (as it was then known) with his father-in-law, William Gibbs. In the application, the house was described as ““Situated on the Neerigen Brook at the junction of Albany and Murray Roads about 20 miles from Perth and containing 1 sitting room and 2 bedrooms exclusive of those required for our own use.”” Saw improved the building with single brick walls (the bricks were handmade on site) and a shingle roof. He named the place Ye Olde Narrogin Inne after the district, which was then known as Narrogin for the Narrogin (Neerigen) Brook.
Ye Olde Narrogin Inne soon became the first staging post from Perth for the mail cart, replacing the Barracks at Kelmscott. Fresh horses were provided from Paradise Farm (see Place 027), two miles further north along the Albany Road. Traffic gradually increased along the Albany Road and small stores selling local produce were established around Ye Olde Narrogin Inne, and along the road through to Kelmscott. Ye Old Narrogin Inne established the Armadale area as the commercial centre of the district.
As well as being a popular staging post and wayside hotel, the place also hosted the first meeting of the Kelmscott Roads Board in 1894. The Duke of Gloucester is reputed to have stopped at Ye Olde Narrogin Inne on his way to visit Fairbridge Farm in 1933.
Kate Wilkinson purchased Ye Olde Narrogin Inne in 1910, who ran the place until 1919, when Maud Mary Kerrigan leased the property. In 1926, James Samuel Devlin, hotelkeeper of the Criterion Hotel in Perth, leased the place. In the 1920s, the place was considered a popular honeymoon venue, not too far out from Perth, in a pleasant area that could be reached by a short train journey.
In 1933 the title to Ye Olde Narrogin Inne was acquired by Margaret and William Gaynor. John Spencer Kerbey leased the place from 1934, and his wife Myra was recorded as the licencee in 1941- 42. In 1947, Margaret Gaynor died and the title passed onto her husband. On his death in 1958, the title passed to Myra Kerbey. Owners of Ye Olde Narrogin Inne from the 1960s-1990s were A.J. Glanville & Company Pty Ltd (1966-67), the Swan Brewery Company Ltd (1967-77), Takee Pty Ltd (1977-1982), TVW Enterprises Ltd (1982-1993), and Palikar Holdings (1993-1999).
In 1937, the older western section of Ye Old Narrogin Inne was demolished and a two-storey structure in the Inter-War Old English style was built on the site. The single-storey eastern (1890's) section of the place was retained as the accommodation wing. The place underwent refurbishment in 1979-80 as part of the new Pioneer Village development. In 1999, architectural firm Erwin Biemel & Associates was engaged by the current owners to upgrade and modernise the facilities.
(Source: Heritage Council of Western Australia Assessment Documentation, #00092 Ye Olde Narrogin Inne, prepared by Irene Sauman, Historian, and Alan Kelsall, Kelsall Binet Architects, 20/02/2004)

Integrity/Authenticity

High
High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Last Update

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