National Bank, Wagin

Child Places

• 02636 Hitching Post outside National Bank

Statement of Significance

The building has aesthetic value as a fine example of the Federation Academic Classical style, a style common for civic buildings in Australian towns and cities.
The building makes an important contribution to the streetscape of Tudor Street in its grand and massive form. The building has landmark value; its heavy masonry shell is a visual contrast to the surrounding structures.

Physical Description

The building is a two-storey commercial building in the Federation Academic Classical style, sited to the building line of Tudor Street.1
The building expresses authority and wealth by its formal and symmetrical composition and robustness. The exterior walls of the facade are painted tuck-pointed brickwork laid in english bond with painted and rendered pilasters, window sills and plinth. The exterior walls of the side elevations are fair-faced laid in stretcher bond.
The facade is articulated into rectangular bays with vertical proportions. The facade is richly moulded with pilasters that appear to support entablatures. A rendered parapet with an Italianate balustrade extends the length of the facade and conceals the roof behind.
The facade is symmetrical about a central doorway which is crowned on the upper level with a moulded, triangular pediment decorated with flower motifs. Windows are double-hung sashes with large single panes. The upper floor receives more decoration, the pilasters have ionic capitals and the upper window panes are divided into smaller panes by slim glazing bars. The openings are decorated with hood moulds, curved to the ground floor
level and stepped to the upper floor level.
The public entrance is in the centre of the facade, the door has been replaced and the floor has been paved.
The south-west corner of the building features a verandah and balcony. The balcony is supported by stop-chamfered timber posts with capitals and is decorated with a timber frieze to the underside. The balcony has been enclosed with fibro-cement sheeting and louvred windows. Windows on the side elevations are double-hung sashes with rendered sills.
Outbuildings include a fibro-cement lined structure with a hipped roof and a sheet metal clad shed. The date these structures were erected on site is unknown.

History

In March 1912, tenders were called for the erection of new premises for the National Bank at Wagin. The building was described as,"... to be two-storey, of brick and stone, and will be the equal of, if not superior to, that of any financial concern's houses in the provincial towns of the Commonwealth".2
An article in the Southern Argus on the brisk building trade in Wagin notes that, "the two-storey structure for the National Bank, by contractor Wilkinson, in Tudhoe St, is nearing completion, the cost of which will be something like £3,000".3
The opening of the building, in November 1912, was celebrated by a complimentary dinner held at Wagin Hotel, attended by notable Wagin citizens as well as farmers from the district. The head of the National Bank, Mr Mullens, in his toast commented that,"... it needed no words of his to state that his bank had the utmost faith in the Wagin district; that handsome structure which they had just completed down the street spoke more eloquently than words on that point".4
Mullins said that the National Bank had been established in Wagin in 1903, with a very modest building. However, trade had grown with the district and the old building became inadequate:
... hence the recent expenditure of something like £3,000 on the structure that was to-day an ornament to the town, and a monument to the resources of the district. He claimed that Wagin had come to stay, and quoted figures regarding the district's development, laying special stress on the 95,000 acres which is this year under cultivation. The banks would do their share to develop the wonderful resources of the agricultural areas, by as much distribution of money to the farmers as was possible.5
In 1996, the building continues to be used for banking purposes.

Integrity/Authenticity

INTEGRITY: High
AUTHENTICITY: High

Condition

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.