Residence

Parent Place or Precinct

23642 Toorak Road Housing Scheme, Rivervale

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Statement of Significance

• The place has aestheric value as a rare example of the Post War International style that is constructed of granite and brick.) • This residence and those adjacent built as part of the 2nd 28th Battalion Association Housing Scheme Inc 1949-1957 have historic value as a demonstration of Government policy and self help building schemes in providing homes for returned servicemen after World War Two. • This residence and those adjacent have historic value for their association with the rapid development of the Belmont district in the 1950s. • This place and those adjacent built as part of the 2nd 28th Battalion Association Housing Scheme Inc are valued by the Belmont community and Returned Servicemen and their families as a demonstration of the high esteem in which these men were held.

Physical Description

This residence and the adjacent properties at 72, 74 and 78 in Toorak Road have a similarity of form and detail which express the pared back Post War International style. The construction from stone with brick quoins and detail is the most unusual feature of these homes. The houses all have minor differences in design details but all feature pitched tile roofs and casement windows, some with leadlight windows. A common feature are the sympathetic front walls defining the boundaries of the properties which have used similar materials and design.

History

The 2nd 28th Battalion Association Housing Scheme Inc 1949-1957. Construction of the houses took eight years. However, for several years after the 2nd World War all building materials were in short supply and with accelerated building in the government sector, permits to build private homes were difficult to obtain as was skilled labour. Under those conditions many self-help building schemes came into being. A list of the members of the scheme shows that a minority of members were building tradesmen although the finished houses did not reflect that lack of initial training and the construction and finish was of a high standard. Members were either ex-servicemen of the army or RAAF and only a few ex-army personnel had been members of the 2nd 28th Battalion. Initially there were twelve members but after approximately eighteen months only seven remained and the seventh resigned a year or so later. Preliminary discussions for the Scheme in Toorak Road as to the materials to be used resulted in the decision to build other than timber framed dwellings. As bricks were in short supply and granite was readily available the latter material was selected for the outer walls. Problems were anticipated competing with builders for supplies of timber, bricks and other materials, but these obstacles were accepted hoping they would ease as the project proceeded. Cement was available, usually on a one or two bags at a time basis but with petrol rationing still in force it was difficult to visit all potential suppliers. Hot lime was used for the mortar, and slackened on site, which together with sand, and a one in seven mix of cement produced a strong long lasting mortar. As the granite had to be transported from Mundaring and split on site, during period of waiting for other materials, most of the labour force was engaged on these jobs, and a stock pile of granite was always available for building. The problem with delays on actual construction was that progress payments on the houses were also delayed and the ready cash in bank was sometimes crucial. Since the original construction there have been minor alterations and additions to the rear. The form and detail of the original residence is clear.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High Authenticity: High

Condition

Good

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Residence

Parent Place or Precinct

23642 Toorak Road Housing Scheme, Rivervale

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Statement of Significance

• The place has aestheric value as a rare example of the Post War International style that is constructed of granite and brick.) • This residence and those adjacent built as part of the 2nd 28th Battalion Association Housing Scheme Inc 1949-1957 have historic value as a demonstration of Government policy and self help building schemes in providing homes for returned servicemen after World War Two. • This residence and those adjacent have historic value for their association with the rapid development of the Belmont district in the 1950s. • This place and those adjacent built as part of the 2nd 28th Battalion Association Housing Scheme Inc are valued by the Belmont community and Returned Servicemen and their families as a demonstration of the high esteem in which these men were held.

Physical Description

This residence and the adjacent properties at 72, 74 and 77 in Toorak Road have a similarity of form and detail which express the pared back Post War International style. The construction from stone with brick quoins and detail is the most unusual feature of these homes. The houses all have minor differences in design details but all feature pitched tile roofs and casement windows, some with leadlight windows. A common feature are the sympathetic front walls defining the boundaries of the properties which have used similar materials and design.

History

The 2nd 28th Battalion Association Housing Scheme Inc 1949-1957. Construction of the houses took eight years. However, for several years after the 2nd World War all building materials were in short supply and with accelerated building in the government sector, permits to build private homes were difficult to obtain as was skilled labour. Under those conditions many self-help building schemes came into being. A list of the members of the scheme shows that a minority of members were building tradesmen although the finished houses did not reflect that lack of initial training and the construction and finish was of a high standard. Members were either ex-servicemen of the army or RAAF and only a few ex-army personnel had been members of the 2nd 28th Battalion. Initially there were twelve members but after approximately eighteen months only seven remained and the seventh resigned a year or so later. Preliminary discussions for the Scheme in Toorak Road as to the materials to be used resulted in the decision to build other than timber framed dwellings. As bricks were in short supply and granite was readily available the latter material was selected for the outer walls. Problems were anticipated competing with builders for supplies of timber, bricks and other materials, but these obstacles were accepted hoping they would ease as the project proceeded. Cement was available, usually on a one or two bags at a time basis but with petrol rationing still in force it was difficult to visit all potential suppliers. Hot lime was used for the mortar, and slackened on site, which together with sand, and a one in seven mix of cement produced a strong long lasting mortar. As the granite had to be transported from Mundaring and split on site, during period of waiting for other materials, most of the labour force was engaged on these jobs, and a stock pile of granite was always available for building. The problem with delays on actual construction was that progress payments on the houses were also delayed and the ready cash in bank was sometimes crucial. Since the original construction there have been minor alterations and additions to the rear. The form and detail of the original residence is clear.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High Authenticity: High

Condition

Good

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House, 134 Toorak Road, Rivervale

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Swan and Canning Rivers

Child Places

• 04799 Mill Point Reserve
• 11960 Landing Reserve
• 26082 Canning River Regional Park
• 11960 Landing Reserve
• 04839 Milyu Nature Reserve and Marine Park
• 13808 Yule's Rapids
• 11691 Mosman Bay Foreshore
• 18688 Matilda Bay Reserve
• 09295 Mosman Bay Junior Sailing Club
• 11667 Mead's Fish Gallery

Values

The place is one of the most prominent landmark in the State of Western Australia

The place has an exceptional level of aesthetic value

The place is highly significant as the primary water way through the Perth metropolitan area and, being the focus of the earliest settlements in the State, still retains numerous sites and places that provide evidence for this story

The place is highly significant to the Western Australian Noongar population as a focus point for ceremony, spiritual life and subsistence during both prehistory through to the present day

The place has long been the focus of recreation and community life in the metropolitan area and has iconic values as the centrepiece of the State

Statement of Significance

The Swan Canning Riverpark covers 72.1 square kilometres of river reserve and adjoining public lands. The Swan Canning Riverpark supports a diverse array of plant and animal life, some endemic to the region. The Swan and Canning rivers, which stretch and snake their way for 280 kilometres from Wickepin to the deep blue of the Indian Ocean in Fremantle, represent an important slice of West Australian history, as well as holding significant cultural values for Perth, serving as an important feature of the city’s landscape.

Physical Description

The Swan River runs through the Perth metropolitan area from its mouth at Fremantle to Walyunga National Park in the northeast. The Canning River, diverting from the Swan at Canning Bridge, continues to Araluen in the southeast.

History

The Indigenous population of Western Australia, in the metropolitan area comprising the Noongar language group, utilised the resources of the Swan River for thousands of years prior to European settlement. Although the resources it contained were integral to this focus, the rivers were also significant components in Noongar spiritual and ceremonial life. This focus, and the spiritual links, continues to the present day. Although explored by the French and Dutch during the seventeenth, and early nineteenth centuries, the first British expedition to explore this part of Western Australia did not take place until 1827. Captain James Stirling arrived on the western side of the continent in the H.M.S Success in March and his reports of the region were favourable. The Canning River was also explored during this expedition with Stirling naming it after George Canning, a British Statesman and Prime Minister of Great Britain. Stirling’s favourable reports encouraged the establishment of the Swan River Colony in February 1829. European settlement initially centred around the mouth of the Swan at Fremantle and spread out towards Perth and Guildford. Long thin ribbon grants were allotted to early settlers in the Swan District to give them equal river frontage but poor soils and a noxious weed resulted in movement further east into the Swan Valley. With the introduction of convicts to the Swan River Colony in the 1850s infrastructure building and the availability of a labour force allowed the river valleys to be fully exploited for agriculture. With the commencement of Western Australia’s gold rush in the 1890s the population increased, as did the settlement focus on the Swan and Canning Rivers. This continued throughout the early twentieth century with the majority of the population living in and around the river park and along the coastal areas of the State. The intensive infrastructure building seen during this period saw the construction of a safe harbour at the mouth of the Swan in Fremantle and, during the early twentieth century, large sections of the river along the Perth foreshore were subject to reclamation. The Swan and Canning Rivers have, from the earliest period of settlement, been a focus of Western Australian life. This continues to the present and will continue far into the foreseeable future.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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