Kalgoorlie Roads Board Office (fmr)

Statement of Significance

The place has a highly decorative facade incorporating Gothic features and is aesthetically linked to the Trades Hall, 30 Porter Street, which was built in a similar but simpler Gothic style.

The place has historic value as it used to be the chambers of the Kalgoorlie Roads Board.

Physical Description

A two-storey building designed in the Federation Free style. It features a highly decorative facade, including a pedimented parapet, moulded pilasters, and Gothic window openings. The pilasters divide the facade into three bays, Moulded string courses terminate the pilasters at the entablature, and connect the Gothic-shaped window openings at their springing point. Gothic shapes also adorn the entablature which bears the name of the building, 'Kalgoorlie Roads Board Chambers'.

A verandah extends across the facade and over the pavement.

History

The geographical separation of 3 miles between Kalgoorlie and Boulder kept the towns apart for many years. When the first sale of Boulder town lots took place in April 1897, the old Boulder 'road' was still nothing more than a privately made track comprising an almost continuous sequence of 'ruts, slumps and seas of dust varying from 6 inches to 2 feet deep' running from Kalgoorlie to the Boulder Block (Webb, 1993: 526).

The extremely poor state of roads into and out of Kalgoorlie became a matter of some concern, and in late 1895 and early 1896, agitation began for the establishment of a separate roads board to take over this responsibility. A June editorial in the Kalgoorlie Miner had another try at convincing people that something ought to be done, but people seemed to be reluctant to take the first steps:

"Last year the desirability of establishing such an institution was fully recognised, and a public meeting was held, at which it was unanimously and with much enthusiasm decided to form a Board, a committee being appointed to make the necessary arrangements…In the majority of cases they [the roads] are little better than rough tracks, with innumerable obstructions and dangers, in the shape of stumps and holes, and the traffic is so great that each day they are cut up still further. The promoters of the Board cannot plead the excuse of want of funds. The Premier on more than one occasion has stated that several hundred pounds are available whenever required, and the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Mr Richardson, at a public meeting in Kalgoorlie, informed those who asked for a grant to form a Roads Board that they could have £300 immediately, and additional money later on" (Kalgoorlie Miner, 4 June 1896).

This seemed to work and at the end of September 1896, he first election was held for what was initially called the East Coolgardie District Roads Board but later renamed the Kalgoorlie Roads Board (Webb, 1993: 526). Local government now comprised the Kalgoorlie Town Council, Kalgoorlie Roads Board, and Boulder Town Council. Kalgoorlie and Boulder were distinct and separate towns amidst the almost empty spaces of huge Road Board areas.

By contrast with the very large area placed under the jurisdiction of the roads board (albeit with very limited powers), both the Boulder and Kalgoorlie townsites were initially quite small, covering in each case only a few acres. Consequently, both towns were really the core centres of a much larger urbanised agglomeration. In 1903, there were more people living in the residence areas on the peripheries of Kalgoorlie and Boulder than within the two municipalities. This was because the early arrivals distributed themselves in camps and as the leases were developed newcomers found it cheaper and more convenient to live close to the mines. Residence areas were cheaper because being outside the town limits, occupiers were neither subject to town rates, nor prohibited from either building or occupying highly flammable hessian-clad frame buildings. Eventually the residence areas were included within the jurisdiction of the Kalgoorlie Roads Board whose resident population was estimated to be 20,000 persons, although only 445 of these were ratepayers in 1900 (Webb, 1993: 527).

In conjunction with the Kalgoorlie and Boulder Town Councils, the Kalgoorlie Roads Board established a Kalgoorlie-Boulder tramway system in 1902 (Webb, 1993: 537).

In 1925, Kalgoorlie Roads Board absorbed the Board Arrow Roads Board (Webb, 1993: 606).

It is said that the Kalgoorlie Roads Board in the 1950s had a group of men setting out to win local government elections. There were nine on the council, and of these three seats were up for re-election at a time, so the 'young Turks' took some time to form a new council, by the expedient of creating 'voluntary' wards, since none existed, and contesting elections on the basis that nominated councillors had to reside in their 'ward. 'It took ten years from Kalgoorlie Roads Board being a non-entity…to bring it up to where it was one of the most efficient and respected in the state' (Webb, 1993: 845).

In 1961, with a new Local Government Act, all Roads Boards in the State were renamed Shires with little change of boundaries. What resulted was the setting of the two towns Boulder and Kalgoorlie, each with a highly individual history, in a vast outback of shires occupied by pastoralism and scattered mining centres, with little cohesion at all. In August 1969, Boulder town council was placed under the control of Commissioner J. S. Parrott. The outcome of many discussions was that on 12 December 1969, Boulder Municipality and Kalgoorlie Shire became Boulder Shire, which ran east from Boulder Town Hall to the South Australian border and west from the Town Hall down the suburban roads only a mile or so to the Kalgoorlie Town Council's border; not an entirely happy decision, leaving Kalgoorlie hemmed in on most sides by the new shire. However it was the best offering at the time, considering the power and independence of Kalgoorlie Town Council (Webb, 1993: 845).

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High
Authenticity: High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

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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.