Busselton Fire Station (No 2) fmr

Statement of Significance

Busselton Fire Station No. 2 (fmr), a single appliance fire station in the Inter-War Functionalist style, has cultural heritage significance as one of the more substantial fire stations designed by K. C. Duncan in the 1930s and is a fine example of the style and type.

Physical Description

A small single appliance fire station building in rendered brick with a tiled roof.
The fire station building is a single storey brick construction single appliance building and integral quarters, decorated externally with cement render, and it has a Wunderlich Marseilles pattern tiled roof. The facade is rendered in a low-key interpretation of the Inter-War Functionalist style. The remaining elevations are utilitarian in their rendering.
The station entrance dominates the front elevation; with its pair of part glazed timber framed and boarded doors. A pair of plain stepped rendered pilasters, capped by a simple stepped pediment, frames the entrance. There is a raised panel in the pediment framed by a bolection moulding and the panel contains the words FIRE STATION in bas-relief. A bronze plaque fixed to the northern pilaster to commemorate the official opening of the station has been removed. The remainder of the front elevation is simply treated with stretcher bond cut and struck jointed brickwork, topped with a soldier course near the top of the wall under a plain rendered frieze. Wide lined eaves with ogee gutters extend over the walls on either side of the entrance bay. The roof is clad with Marseilles pattern tiles with ram’s horn pattern finials.
The walls are variously punctuated with pairs of six pane casement windows or part glazed doors. The wide eaves continue along both sides of the station and terminate at a skillion roof that extends over the kitchen and bathroom sections of the quarters to the rear. The station is one of the few to retain its original timber appliance room doors.

History

The Districts Fire Brigades Act, 1909, ushered in a seven year period of rapid development, (1910- 17), in which 42 new stations were built, of which, so far as is known, only four were substantial, purpose built, masonry buildings. In the post-World War One period, 12 new stations were built between 1920 and 1929, of which at least seven were substantial, architect-designed buildings. From the World War One period to the mid 1920s, Architect J. L. Ochiltree was generally referred to as the Fire Brigades’ Board’s Architect. From 1926, Architect K. C. Duncan also designed a number of fire stations for the Board.
Between 1929 and 1933, no new fire stations were built due to the effects of the Great Depression. In 1932, the Board once more began to look ahead, and planning commenced for fire stations at Goomalling (Place no 14515) and Cue (Place no. 146500). The remainder of the inter-war period saw intense building activity by the Board, when18newstationswerebuilt,15ofthemincountryareas. Themajorityofthestationswerebuilttodesignsby K. C. Duncan, who had developed a standard plan for country stations in 1932. Guildford Fire Station & Quarters (1934) was the first of five similar single bay fire stations. The other stations were North Kalgoorlie (1935) (Place no. 750-3), Tammin (1935) (Place no. 2549), Busselton (1936) (Place no. 403) and Meekatharra (1936) (Place no. 14598). All were characterized by a partly rendered partly face brick facade and a central raised parapet, of simple rendered design with a low triangular cap. Simple rendered pilasters with slightly chamfered edges flanked the appliance doors below the parapet. Decorative detailing included the rectangular nameplate on the parapet and a plain rendered cornice band. Guildford Fire Station and Busselton were the most substantial of these stations, with brick walls on all sides and tiled roofs, whilst the other three had a face brick facade returning along the side walls to accommodate a single window, with timber framed walls clad with asbestos or corrugated iron. Roofs were of similar materials.
The Busselton Fire Station was officially opened by the President of WA Fire Brigades, Mr. J.R. Campbell on 1 June 1936. It was significant as it opened on Foundation Day in Busselton, a town which many West Australian pioneers call home.
During World War Two, only two new stations were built, and the Board did not renew its building programme until after the lifting of wartime restrictions in the early 1950s. In the post-World War Two period, Duncan, and subsequently Duncan, Stephen & Mercer, were responsible for the design of numerous new fire stations in which the basic design for facilities and layout remained much as in the Inter-War period, although there were some modifications with regard to the decorative details.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity Notes: Though no longer serving as a fire station, its use is readily apparent so that the place retains a moderate to high degree of integrity. Plans are underway for the redevelopment of Queen Street and Mitchell Park to its immediate south.
Authenticity Notes: The place has been modified, but its underlying fabric is authentic.

Moderate-High Degree/Moderate-High Degree

Condition

Fair-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.