Tom Bateman Reserve and House

Statement of Significance

The place has historic value for its association with local politician and active community member Tom Bateman.
The place including the reserve and wetlands have social value for the local community as the location of sporting events and as the focus of several community programs to save and enhance the wetlands.

Physical Description

Open parkland used for a variety of recreational uses with formal sporting ovals, children’s playground, open spaces and walk trails in a semi-landscaped and bushland environment.

The 1950s/1960s brick and tile house is positioned on the edge of the Tom Bateman Reserve at 36 Nicholson Road. The house is of asymmetric plan form with a broad gable to the projecting section of the façade. The timbered gable sits above the 3-sectioned window and the recessed entrance.

The property is constructed of two tone brickwork with darker red bricks to the lower third of the façade, in line with the sill height, and pale liver colour bricks to the upper section. The side elevations are of dark red brick construction. A wide brick chimney extends up the north east elevation punching through the eaves.

The house is set back from Nicholson Road behind a generous and well planted garden and accessed via a long bitumen driveway from the main road. The house now forms part of the reserve.

History

The reserve and adjacent wetland is named in honour of Australian Labor Party politician Thomas Henry Bateman (1922-2003) MLA for Canning from 1968 to 1986. Tom Bateman was a well liked and able politician with particular interests in the areas of the welfare of returned servicemen, and a passion for football which lead him to be one of the founding members of the Thornlie Football Club.

The portion of the land which makes up the reserve was formerly owned by the Middleton family who were the parents of Jean Bateman, wife of Tom Bateman. Tom and Jean Bateman were given land within the current reserve by the Middletons, on which they built a family home in the late 1950s. This residence is still extant and is located behind the baseball stadium and accessed from Nicholson Road.

The playing fields which form part of this reserve were used for a variety of sports and is now home to the Perth Heat Baseball team where their dedicated stadium is located.

Adjacent to the playing fields is an area of wetland known as the Tom Bateman Wetlands. These wetlands were artificially created to improve the quality of storm water leaving the Canning Vale Industrial Estate and were prompted by the need for earth fill for the construction of Roe Highway, adjacent to the Tom Bateman Reserve c.2002.

Water quality from the industrial area had long been known to carry an unacceptable nutrient and pollutant load. Storm water drainage previously entered the sporting complex grounds at what is now the south-eastern corner of the intersection of Nicholson Road and Roe Highway.

The wetlands were designed to extend the "contact time" of storm water by intercepting the water before it left the complex, and taking it on a journey through vegetated wetlands before leaving the site. Construction was undertaken by the Roe Highway contractors in exchange for the soil that was excavated, which now sits beneath Roe Highway.

The Tom Bateman Constructed Wetlands now take storm water on an extended journey of more than a kilometre through the northern part of the City's sporting complex. This significantly extends the opportunity for the water's contact with vegetation and sediment, and has been shown to greatly improve the quality of the storm water.

The wetlands are managed by the City of Gosnells, the South East Regional Centre for Urban Landcare and the Armadale Gosnells Landcare Group. They have developed into a richly diverse landscape that, in addition to its water quality achievements, provides much-needed water bird habitat.

In March 2010, the City of Gosnells and community volunteers commenced rehabilitation of the site as part of 'Clean Up Australia Day' as the wetlands had been subjected to significant degradation through rubbish dumping and off-road vehicle activity.

Integrity/Authenticity

High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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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.