Forrest Homestead Heritage Assessment Lot 91 South Western Highway, Picton May 2020 | 20-007
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Forrest Homestead Heritage Assessment Lot 91 South Western Highway, Picton May 2020 | 20-007 Acknowledgement of Country We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work, the Whadjuk Noongar. We acknowledge and respect their enduring culture, the contribution they make to the life of this city, and their Elders past, present and emerging. Document ID: Element Advisory Pty Ltd▸ Projects 2020 - 20-007 - Picton, Lot 91 South Western Highway - Forrest Homestead ▸ 04 Reports▸ Final_May 2020 Issue Date Status Prepared by Approved by Name Name 1 04.03.20 Draft Carmel Given Flavia Kiperman 2 20.03.2020 Final Carmel Given Flavia Kiperman 3 11.05.2020 Final_revised Carmel Given Flavia Kiperman This report has been prepared for the eXclusive use of the Client, in accordance with the agreement between the Client and Element Advisory Pty Ltd (element) (‘Agreement’). element accepts no liability or responsibility whatsoever in respect of any use of or reliance upon this report by any person who is not a party to the Agreement or an intended recipient. In particular, it should be noted that this report is a qualitative assessment only, based on the scope and timing of services defined by the Client and is based on information supplied by the Client and its agents. element cannot be held accountable for information supplied by others and relied upon by element. Copyright and any other Intellectual Property arising from the report and the provision of the services in accordance with the Agreement belongs eXclusively to element unless otherwise agreed and may not be reproduced or disclosed to any person other than the Client without the eXpress written authority of element. ii Contents 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Methodology and Study Team .................................................................................................... 3 2. Documentary Evidence .................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Aerial photographs ...................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Brief History ................................................................................................................................. 7 3. Physical description ........................................................................................................................................ 12 3.1 Site ............................................................................................................................................ 12 3.2 Fabric ........................................................................................................................................ 13 4. Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................... 21 4.1 Sequence of development ........................................................................................................ 21 4.2 Levels of heritage significance .................................................................................................. 23 4.3 List of unauthorised and inappropriate works ........................................................................... 23 4.4 List of works .............................................................................................................................. 24 4.5 Analysis of Impact ..................................................................................................................... 27 5. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................... 28 6. References ....................................................................................................................................................... 29 6.1 End Notes ................................................................................................................................. 29 iii 1. Introduction 1.1 Background The property at Lot 91 South Western Highway, Picton (the subject site) was built c1849 for the Forrest family, who were closely linked with the development of Bunbury. Known as Forrest Homestead, it is a recognised heritage place; included in the City of Bunbury Heritage List and the Heritage Council’s State Register of Heritage Places. The Homestead has been used as a residential dwelling since its construction. It was built as a farmhouse by William Forrest and expanded in the 1930s to a design by Eales Cohen and Bennett. This extension and extensive remodelling of the exterior and interior of the house is in the ‘Inter War Arts and Crafts’ style of architecture: The west verandah was deepened but the west wall was left intact including two fine cast iron casements in Gothic trace patterning. In the 1930s a new wing was built containing a large kitchen and laundry. In the1960s, a garage was built eXtending easterly in painted stretcher bond brickwork, and the entire building was re-roofed in Brisbane and Wunderlich Roman pattern clay tiles in a ‘Roman’ pattern; creating the size that remains today. From 2008 to 2012 there were extensive works to the house, including the tiled roof being replaced with Zincalume and installation of a PVC rainwater system. Subject to the successful purchase of the site, our client is considering conversion of the Homestead into a publicly accessible museum and tourist-focused facility, to enable the public to visit the building and grounds and appreciate the history of the site. Ultimately, it is envisaged that the site has the potential to become a tourist attracting asset for the City of Bunbury, noting its heritage significance as recognised in the Heritage Council’s Register Entry and Assessment Documentation for the place. However, the property was subject to major refurbishment works between 2008-2012, as we understand it, without the necessary approvals. Therefore, we were engaged to prepare a retrospective development application relying on a positive view of change and a research supported argument underpinning the physical change. We have visited the site in February 2020. The house is clean, and it appears that refurbishment works were halted halfway through construction. The property still holds its significant cultural values, as listed on the State Register and Municipal Inventory. 1 1.1.1 Location Figure 1. Location of Lot 91 Southwestern Highway in context of Bunbury. (MNG Access) 1.1.2 Heritage Significance Forrest Homestead is a place of cultural heritage significance recognised through the following heritage lists: Heritage Listings Details Statutory Listings State Register of Heritage Places Place Name: Forrest Homestead Registered 1998 Place No 00381 Heritage List (City of Bunbury) Adopted 2003 Non-Statutory Listings Municipal Inventory Adopted 1996 Exceptional Significance Classified by the National Trust Recorded 1970 Figure 2. Heritage Council curtilage. (DPLH, inHerit) 2 1.1.3 Statement of Significance Forrest Homestead is of cultural heritage significance as described in the following statement:1 Forrest Homestead, a single-storey brick and tiled* house built in stages from c1849 to c1960, has cultural significance because: the place has always been the home of members of the Forrest family, a family of exceptional importance in the history of Australia and especially Western Australia; the place is a well-preserved example of an Australian rural homestead which has grown and been adapted to suit the needs of subsequent generations of the same family of owners; the early fabric and especially the 1930s enlargement which comprises the major part of the house are architecturally distinguished, and the latter is a fine example of the work of the major Western Australian practice Eales and Cohen; the place includes an important collection of furniture and memorabilia relating to its owners and occupiers and important events with which they were associated (although these are not part of the registration); and, the landmark created by the grouping of the house and the large mature trees contributes to the aesthetic qualities of the landscape. *Note: the roof has since been replaced with Zincalume. 1.2 Methodology and Study Team This assessment has been prepared in accordance with the requirements set out in ‘Assessment Documentation for the State Register: Standard Scope of Work,’ Heritage Council of Western Australia, Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, no date. In order to obtain an understanding of its current physical condition and identified heritage values, we inspected the subject site and the surrounding area on 04 February 2020. The report has been prepared by the following element team members: • Flavia Kiperman: Principal – Heritage, B.Sc. (Hons) (Architecture and Urban Planning), M.Sc (Heritage Management), M.Phil, M.ICOMOS • Carmel Given: Senior Consultant – Heritage, BACultHtge (Cultural Heritage); GradDip InfLib (Information and Library Studies), Professional Historians Association (WA), ALIA 3 2. Documentary Evidence 2.1 Aerial photographs Figure 3. Aerial