DUPLEX (DEMOLISHED), 20 JOHN STREET

Parent Place or Precinct

22385 North Fremantle Precinct

Physical Description

DEMOLISHED. Retained on MHI for historical information only.

History

John Street was the main road surveyed through the parcel of land granted to Lt. Con. John Bruce in 1857. The land remained undivided and undeveloped until after John Bruce’s death, when his widow arranged for it to be auctioned as residential lots. A land sale was held in October 1890 to dispose of the estate of John Bruce. A large attendance resulted in all 88 lots being sold, for sums ranging from £21 to £102, at an average price of £33/16/0, well above the anticipated price. Towards the end of 1891, the new owners approached the Fremantle Council requesting that scrub be cleared so that they could access their blocks, and it is likely that this is when John Street, which had been marked on survey diagrams from at least 1833, was actually created. The area at this time was known as ‘Brucetown’. Pensioner Road, which ran from Stirling Highway (then Bruce Street) to the ocean and beach along the route of current Tydeman Road between Stirling Highway and the railway, and continuing beyond this point at the same angle, was renamed John Street in the late 1890s, being the continuation of the current John Street. This name remained until towards the end of the twentieth century, when roads were realigned to accommodate the expansion of Fremantle Port, and the current alignment of Tydeman Road was constructed.

The present John Street, from Stirling Highway to the Swan River, developed as a predominantly residential area, with the exception of the Gresham Hotel (to 1934) and the North Fremantle Oval (later Gilbert Fraser Reserve). At the western end of the street a number of prominent homes were built, while the eastern end was characterised by workers cottages. Long residential blocks on the south side of the street, east of the oval, had a number of cottages built along their rear boundary, facing the water. These were reported to have flooded frequently. The street overall fell into disrepair in the decades following World War Two, with many of the larger residences used as boarding houses and the cottages rented out. Many German and Polish migrants took up residence in this period. From the 1980s, gentrification of the area began, with older places either being restored or demolished to construct higher density housing. In the 1990s, most of the older houses at the eastern end of the street were demolished to allow for new waterside developments, most notably Pier 21.

Four residences were constructed c.1898 on Lot 42 adjacent to and probably associated with Gresham Hotel (then called Bruce Town Hotel). In 1896, Lot 42 was transferred to Jane Pamment (hotel keeper). A request for a hotel license for Brucetown had been refused in 1894, and Jane Pamment has not been found in association with the c.1897 Gresham Hotel. However, it is likely that the cottages were constructed in relation to the hotel as either staff quarters or additional rooms to rent. A weatherboard duplex (18-20) faced John Street, with two stone cottages behind each other at the rear of the Lot (14 and 16). Frederick T Pamment is listed in Post Office Directories as residing ‘off John Street’ adjacent to the hotel from 1898 to 1901. Other early residents included George Eskett/ Ackett (1898-at least 1906) John Bruce (1898) William Schofield (1898) George Brown (1899-1904) and (Albert Will (1902-03). All four residences continued to be transferred on a single title, to John Alfred Bick in 1908, and after his death in 1916 to Clara May Coughlin, Ellen Cameron and Henry John Bick (railway officer). Camerons had lived in this section of John Street, possibly at the hotel or in these cottages, since early in the century. From 1920 to 1945 Clara May Coughlin was the sole owner of the place. The residences appear to have been mostly rented out. By the late 1970s the stone cottages at 14 and 16, in particular, were in poor condition. Photographs show them as identical square buildings each with a corrugated iron roof, no verandah or eaves, and smooth render to all walls. The timber duplex at 18-20 is shown as a small pair of residences each under a separate, steep-pitched, roof.

In 1988, Roger Pateman undertook to redevelop Lots 41 and 42, the site of 14-20 John Street and Gresham Hotel. The redevelopment included restoring the hotel, constructing 11 new residences using recycled materials to create an ‘old-style’ character, and retaining the two stone cottages at 14 and 16. Duplex, 18-20 John Street was demolished at this time. Plans for the development show 14 with its footprint largely intact, and 16 more seriously modified. Planning consent in 1987 included a requirement to reinstate verandahs to both these cottages. It is not known whether the development as it was constructed did in fact retain and restore these cottages.

This place was included in the list of heritage places in the City of Fremantle identified by the Fremantle Society (1979/80) - PURPLE -of architectural and historic significance in its own right.

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