Boarding House (fmr)

Statement of Significance

Boarding House (155, 157 & 159 Stirling Street), a terrace of three, semi-detached four-roomed cottages with corrugated iron clad roof and painted brick walls with cement rendered details, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
it is a picturesque terrace of dwellings forming part of the edge of the scenic Leschenault Inlet foreshore in Stirling Street;
it has historic value, illustrating the turn-of-the-century expansion of the suburbs of Bunbury along the Inlet, following the gradual subdivision of the historic Stirling estate (Location 26); and as an example of the relatively uncommon terrace house in the history of Western Australian domestic architecture; and,
it has social value, contributing to the visual coherence and historic authenticity of the Stirling Street-Austral Parade precinct, as an urban space contributing to the community's sense of place in Bunbury.
The assessment excludes the rear outbuilding.

This statement is extracted from the Heritage Council of Western Australia's assessment documentation for 'Boarding House, 155-159 Stirling Street,' 1997.

Physical Description

Attached houses, 155, 157 & 159 Stirling Street, is a single storey row of three semi-detached brick and iron houses. The walls are painted cement blocks.The roof is hipped and clad in corrugated iron and has exposed rafters. There are two painted brick chimneys. The verandah is under the main roof, supported by timber posts. Each house has a central door with toplight, flanked either side by timber framed double hung sash windows. There is a block and timber skillion roof addition to the rear, and a carport addition to one side. The boundary to each house is divided by fibrous cement sheeting on the verandah, and there is a low timber picket fence to the boundary line.

History

Stirling Street formed the northern boundary of Governor Stirling’s grant (Location 26 of 100,000 acres). The street was first developed during the 1850s when several lots were granted to the Enrolled Pensioner Guards.

Attached Houses, 155, 157 & 159 Stirling Street were built c 1890.

Attached houses such as this were built in Bunbury in the 1890s in response to the population and building pressures experienced as a consequence of the gold boom. Bunbury’s townsite boundaries were confined by water on two sides and the Perth-Bunbury railway infrastructure to the immediate east. Growth in the local population and increasing visitor traffic in the 1890s demanded better use of existing building allotments and houses such as these were built.

In the late 20th century, the houses were owned by the Krinos family, with one or two of the dwellings let to others, including at one time the priest of the Greek Orthodox Church. As a consequence of this, the place has become known as ‘The Boarding House’.

This history is based on the Documentary Evidence in Heritage Council of Western Australia, ‘Register of Heritage Places: Boarding House’, prepared by Ian Molyneux, 1997.

Integrity/Authenticity

The fabric of walls, floors, roof and details is apparently predominantly the original as constructed, with minor modification of appliances, minor room use changes, and some minor rear additions specific to No. 159. (1997)

Condition

Exterior: Fair to 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.