Garryowen

Author

City of Albany

Place Number

15562

Location

42 Vancouver St Albany

Location Details

Local Government

Albany

Region

Great Southern

Construction Date

Constructed from 1908

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type Status Date Documents
Heritage List Adopted 27 Oct 2020
State Register Registered 13 Jul 2007 HCWebsite.Listing+ListingDocument, HCWebsite.Listing+ListingDocument

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type Status Date Documents
(no listings)

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type Status Date Grading/Management
Category
Municipal Inventory Adopted 30 Jun 2001 Category B
Local Heritage Survey Adopted 27 Oct 2020 Exceptional

Statement of Significance

Garryowen, a substantial brick and tile residence built in 1908 in the Federation Queen Anne style, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: the place is a fine example of a substantial, well designed and constructed Federation Queen Anne style residence, rare for its high degree of intact original internal and external features, and rare as a domestic example of the work of architect J Herbert Eales; the place is representative of the growth of Albany as a commercial and service centre for the region in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; and, the place was built for Herbert Robinson, Mayor of Albany (1915-1917) and MLA (1917 1919), whose family established the shipping and merchant firm Drew, Robinson & Co in the late 1880s. The large face brick and clay tile, 4-car garage (c.1980s) and the granite front wall and retaining walls (c.1980s) are of little significance. The face brick and pre-painted, corrugated galvanised steel roofed rear extension (c.1970s) is intrusive.

Physical Description

Some of the notable features of this place include: • Set on a large elevated block opposite a park • Fine example of Federation architectural design • Brick foundations • Tuckpointed red brick construction • Hipped roof with Marseilles tiles • Prominent gabled wing with flying gable and timber finish • Distinctive bay window with side hung casement windows • Decorative coloured glass fixed pane lights above window • Verandah along two sides is under the main roof • Timber posts, balustrading, decking and valance on verandah • A large brick arch over the door and window has highly decorative leadlights • Two chimneys with stucco and moulding finish and twin chimney pots • Garden is surrounded by a solid granite wall.

History

In 1907, Herbert Robinson married Sarah Marguerite Christie. Herbert commissioned architect J. Herbert Eales to design a home for his land on Vancouver Street. Tenders were called in April 1908. Garryowen first appears in the 1908-1909 Albany Rate Books. The place was located on the western side of the site, on Lots 199 and 120, next door to his parents’ house Bangor House. Like his parents, Robinson chose a name for his home referencing the family’s origins in Ireland. Garryowen is an English word made up of two Irish words: Garrai (garden) and Eoin (John, pronounced O-in or Oh-en). Garryowen was later used to refer to an area near Limerick, which became a favoured holiday resort. Robinson was born in Victoria in 1876. His parents John and Margaret had left Ireland in 1872 with his older brother Robert Thomson (born 1868) initially moving to Victoria. In 1878 the family came to Albany but shortly after he and Robert were both sent to Adelaide to be educated. Robinson’s father, John, established Drew Robinson and Co. and Robinson joined his father becoming a successful merchant as well and also Mayor of Albany. His brother Robert went on to become a successful lawyer and politician, going into partnership with Samuel Johnson Haynes and later serving as MLA for Canning, Attorney General, Minister for Industries, Minister for Mines and Minister for Timber and Forests. After Robinson’s death in 1919 aged 43, Sarah inherited Garryowen, where she continued to live with her children John and Denis. In 1934, on the occasion of Denis Robinson’s twenty-first birthday, the family’s Irish housekeeper planted the Oak tree at the rear of the house. The planting of the Oak Tree is believed to have been in the hope for Denis to enjoy a longer life than his father and Uncle Robert (who had died in 1926), and possibly his brother. A one room bedroom addition was made at the rear of the place sometime in the inter-war years. The addition was built in keeping with the original style of the place but subtle differences in the brick and the internal finishes indicate its later construction. In 1935, John Robinson’s portion of Lot 198 was transferred to Sarah Robinson and by the following year, the Garryowen landholding had been further increased with the addition of Lots 201 and 202 on the corner of Mill Street, adjoining the western side of the property. A subdivision of the land was proposed in 1936, which created 6 lots, although none of the land was sold. Sarah Robinson died in 1955 and Denis and his wife Doreen inherited the property. The eldest John had already passed away in 1940. In 1965, Garryowen was sold to Peter and Patricia Gorman’s Kiamunjie Pty Ltd, ending the Robinson family’s association with the place. Garryowen may originally have had an iron roof, which was later replaced with clay tiles prior to the Gorman’s purchase. In the 1970s, in order to accommodate their large family, the Gormans renovated and modernised the place. A large games room was added at the rear, a second bathroom installed and the kitchen remodelled. In the 1980s, the 4-car garage was constructed. The Council’s planning regulations at this time ensured the building more closely matched the house in materials and style than had the 1970s extension. The stone wall along the Vancouver Street frontage of the site was added around this time, replacing a timber fence that was in bad repair. The former stable, which had fallen into disrepair, was also removed.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High Authenticity: High

Condition

Good

Associations

Name Type Year From Year To
J. Herbert Eales Architect - -

References

Ref ID No Ref Name Ref Source Ref Date
R Bodycoat; "Assessment for the Town of Albany <unicipal Heritage Inventory" City of Albany 1995
L Johnson; "Town of Albany Heritage Survey". City of Albany 1994
Heritage TODAY Site visit and Assessment 1999
HCWA assessment documentation 2007

Place Type

Individual Building or Group

Uses

Epoch General Specific
Present Use RESIDENTIAL Single storey residence
Original Use RESIDENTIAL Single storey residence

Architectural Styles

Style
Federation Queen Anne

Construction Materials

Type General Specific
Roof TILE Other Tile
Wall BRICK Common Brick

Historic Themes

General Specific
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY Settlements

Creation Date

17 Mar 2000

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

20 May 2022

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.