Rosemount Hotel

Statement of Significance

The place has some historical value as a hotel, which was constructed at the time of the Gold Boom, a significant cultural and development phase in the history of Western Australia. The place has some historical value as a hotel, which was strategically located at the junction of two important movement and public transport routes at the intersection of Fitzgerald and Angove Streets at the beginning of the twentieth century when North Perth became increasingly important in terms of its amenities and as a place where people would pass through in order to access adjoining northern streets and suburbs. The strong presence of the place contributes to its surrounding as an anchoring point for the intersection of Fitzgerald and Angove Streets. The place has some social value as a continuously licensed and operating hotel from at least 1902, providing a social venue and meeting place for the local community. With its public bar and dining facilities at ground floor level and bedroom accommodation on the upper floor, the place is representative of the type of hotels built around the turn of the century reflecting the prosperity flowing from the Gold Rushes.

Physical Description

The two-storey brick and iron Rosemount Hotel at No. 459 Fitzgerald Street was constructed in the Federation Filigree style of architecture circa 1902. The hotel is positioned on the corner of Fitzgerald Street and Angove Street with a nil set back to the road verge. The original detail of the façade, which included a highly decorative timber verandah, sash windows and a decorative first floor corner parapet design have all been stripped from the façade. The ground floor truncated corner entry to the hotel has been bricked up and has a fixed window with mullion detail in its place. Above this window along the first floor there is a casement window with stack bond brick detailing along its vertical dimensions and triangular frame detail projecting above. Today the hotel stands with minimal detail and has been painted a dusty blue colour. The ground floor of the Angove Street façade comprises six rectangular windows with mullion detail and one entry door. The Fitzgerald Street façade comprises one rectangular window along the northern end, three long timber framed casement windows and along the southern end. A porch area is located between the two different sets of windows and has the words 'Rosemount Hotel' above its entry. The porch is accessed via three steps, which lead to two sets of French doors with sidelights. It is at this point where access is gained to the former entrance foyer of the hotel. The first floor portion of the façade, which fronts Angove Street has had one of its original windows removed and bricked up to accommodate a small square aluminium framed replacement. There are three other windows with stack bond brick work along the vertical sides and a triangular projecting detail above, in the location of the former original windows. Forming a continuation of the original portion of the hotel along Angove Street is the later addition circa 1951, which essentially contains the proprietors' quarters. The first floor of the two storey addition comprises five large openings, which shelter a large balcony area. The balcony area extends around to and along the western elevation. The balcony along the western elevation comprises a timber verandah with a timber floor. The original six timber framed sash windows along the first floor of the Fitzgerald Street portion of the facade have been removed and replaced with aluminium windows with stack bond brick work along the vertical sides and a triangular projecting detail above. Abutting the southern end of the hotel is Bar 'Four 5 Nine', which use to be a shop and did not form part of the original hotel. Today there is access to this bar from the Rosemount Hotel. The ground floor shop front to the bar comprises a pair of centrally located French doors, which are flanked on either side by a narrow windows above sill height. A suspended awning provides shelter for the ground floor façade. The first floor façade has a simple parapet and features a large opening, which effectively forms an enclosure for a balcony area. Internally the ground floor plan of the hotel has been altered over the years and is not clearly discernable. The truncated corner entrance has been removed and blocked up. A number of internal walls within the northern portion of the hotel have been removed and additions added to the north-west to create one large bar area. The far western wall of the large bar area has four large timber framed pairs of sash windows. The sills of these windows are positioned at head height and abut the underside of the cornice detail. Underneath the large bar area there is a cellar, which was not viewed during the inspection but is still in use at the time of writing this assessment. The timber floors, which are extant in the remainder of the original portion of the hotel, have been replaced with concrete. The central original staircase, which is accessed from the entrance foyer off Fitzgerald Street, is of interest as it comprises a grid like balustrade. To the south of the entrance foyer is a former dining room, which retains what appears to be an original timber fire place surround along is southern wall. A number of steps lead down from the dining room into Bar 'Four 5 Nine'. Behind the dining room there are kitchen and office facilities. The room layout of the original portion of the first floor is evident. This level comprises a central 'L shaped' hall way from which a number of rooms of varying sizes project. Ten rooms project of the eastern and northern sides off the original portion of the hallway and four to the west. Only five of these rooms appear to have contained fireplaces. There have been substantial additions to accommodate the proprietor along the north western side of the hotel and other alterations above Bar 'Four 5 Nine' along the southern portion of the hotel. There is a rear verandah along the eastern elevation of the first floor, which is accessed from four points; via two sets of external stairs, the end of the original portion of the hallway and from a hallway from the Bar 'Four 5 Nine' additions. This rear balcony provides access to the proprietor's quarters, which comprise five large art deco inspired rooms. With the building boom in the first decade of the 20th century, North Perth became increasingly important in terms of its amenities and as a place where people would pass through in order to access adjoining northern streets and suburbs. This was enhanced by the extension of the tramway, which ran along Fitzgerald Street, north towards Walcott Street. The remaining original commercial buildings which are extant along the section of Fitzgerald Street where the Rosemount sits has remained largely intact for about 90 years, despite pressures of increased road use and urban and commercial development. The Rosemount Hotel is located along the south west corner of the intersection of Angove Street and Fitzgerald Street, North Perth, which comprises commercial buildings in a variety of ages and styles forming an important district centre. These buildings include the two-storey former Westpac Bank at No. 42 Fitzgerald Street, which was constructed 1938 in the Inter-war Stripped Classical Style; the row of single storey Federation Italianate style and Inter-war Retail style shops at Nos. 454- 460 Fitzgerald Street and the row of Inter-war shops along Angove Street. Notwithstanding the above, there has been some newer development within the setting of the Rosemount Hotel including the offices at No. 468 Fitzgerald Street, the Service Station at No. 465 Fitzgerald Street and the mixed use development at No. 448 Fitzgerald Street, North Perth. Internal and external alterations

History

Initially called Woodville and Toorak after the area's early estates, it was not until c.1901 that the area was named North Perth. The area was seen as a good place to live as housing was relatively cheap, and it was within walking distance to the city. North Perth was then on the outskirts of the Perth metropolitan area, with bushland extending from the suburbs limits. By 1903 subdivision had grown so rapidly that North Perth's street plan extended to the junction of Walcott Street and Wanneroo Road, although many of these were to remain bush tracks for years. Fitzgerald Street has always been an important transport link between the city centre and the farms and industry north of the city. Its significance increased with the development of suburbs in North Perth, Mount Lawley and Osborne Park in the early 1900s, as can be measured by the number of hotels that were erected along its length, particularly on corner locations, which include the Hyde Park Hotel (formerly known as the Commonwealth Hotel and the subject Rosemount Hotel. Trams from the city to North Perth ran along Fitzgerald Street from 1900 to 1953. Roads were constructed/upgraded to provide a firm base for the tracks. The lines entered Fitzgerald Street from Bulwer Street with the first route ending at Forrest Street. The Fitzgerald Street line was continued north along Angove Street with the Albert Street terminus opening in 1906. The line extended to Charles Street in 1927. These extensions led to rapid growth in North Perth. Whereas only 12 per cent of the blocks had been built on in 1904, this had risen to 36 per cent by 1911. As Perth entered a new century it moved away from being a small Town to a growing city. This expansion was stimulated by the gold mining industry, the first being in the Kimberly in 1885. This had led to an influx of miners, merchants, builders, architects and other professionals seeking their fortune. The physical nature of Perth changed with the increase in wealth and population and this enabled growth in the real estate, businesses and industry. Prior to the Gold Rush Perth consisted mainly of simply residences and low lying shops and factories. However, by the end of the 19th century, the city had become transformed by elaborate, architecturally designed, multi-story buildings. This era also saw the development of the State's hotel industry. In the 1850s many hotels were built by enterprising individuals, causing some concern to Governor Kennedy. In Perth there was one hotel for every 73.6 adult males. The typical pub of this era was often built on a corner block with the entrance to the public bar on the corner and the door to the hotel proper off one of the streets. A verandah, sometimes seven metres wide, with a balcony, extended along both streets. The flashier hotels added elaborate towers and cupolas on the corner and the buildings were often decorated with cast iron lace. It was the era of the grand hotel A clipping from an unknown document, which was provided by an owner states that the 'Rosemount Hotel has stood since 1902 and was the more respectable of North Perth's two pubs managed for many years by the Little family.' The original Building Licence plans for the place could not be located to substantiate this construction date. Wise's Post Office Directories first list the Rosemount Hotel in 1904 with Mr N.A Gilchrist as the proprietor. However, the Perth Water Department Plans circa 1902 illustrate that the Rosemount was extant at that time. The two-storey brick and iron Rosemount Hotel was constructed in the Federation Filigree style of architecture. However none of this original façade detail remains. The Federation period in which the subject place was constructed marked a decline in the use of cast iron for structural and ornamental components for verandahs and a marked growth in the use of timber for these components. Early photographs of the Rosemount Hotel, indicate that the timber detail of the place including posts, balustrade, brackets and valances had a thicker quality than cast-iron, but it still created the 'filigree screen' effect. The hotel was original half of its current size (2007) and only extended four bays along Angove Street. The façade was presumably tuck pointed red brick, which had two string courses, one along the ground floor level and one along the first floor, as can be distinguished from the circa 1910 photograph. The windows were timber sash and similarly to the doors were headed by distinct discharging arches possibly constructed from stone. The façade had a continuous decorative two-storey timber verandah, which is no longer extant. Wise's Post Office Directories list a number of proprietors of the hotel, who include: Mr Archibald Cale in 1905, Mr Herbert Murton from 1906 to 1908, Mr William Cutmore from 1909 to 1911, Mrs J Loughin in 1912, Mr Dennis Fitzgerald 1913 to 1918 and Mr R. Lakey from 1919 to at least 1949. A clipping from an unknown document dating from the early twentieth century period circa 1910, which was provided by one of the current owners provides insight into the history of the place: 'the well-known Hotel having been recently renovated and refurbished throughout, offers the best accommodation. All bedrooms open onto balcony. Special attention given to visitors from the Goldfields and Country by the Proprietor, W.B Cutmore, who is an old prospector. Excellent table and liquors. First-class Billiard Table. Telegrams and Letters will receive immediate attention'¦ Terms: 35/- per week.' Another document provided by the owner states that the 'Rosemount Hotel was extensively renovated in the art deco style in the later 1930s and while the public bar remained the noisy, smoky milieu of gregarious masculinity, its dining and accommodation aspired to a more up-market clientele.' In 2007 only a portion of the Rosemount Hotel was actively being used. The down stairs former public bar area had been modified and enlarged as a live music venue and a large beer garden with a mature palm tree was extant along the western side of the hotel. The former dining room, the accommodation up stairs, the proprietor's quarters and Bar 'Four 5 Nine' were also not in use.

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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.