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REGISTER OF HERITAGE PLACES Removed Entry The Minister for Heritage Directed that this Interim Entry in the State Register not be made permanent on 6 December 2001. Notice of this decision under the Heritage of Western Australia Act 1990 appeared in the Government Gazette on 14 December 2001. 1. DATA BASE No. 3069 2. NAME Barracks Wall (ruin) (1880s; 1953,) FORMER NAME Barracks 3. LOCATION 2-4 Sholl Street, Mandurah 4. DESCRIPTION OF PLACE INCLUDED IN THIS ENTRY Those portions of Lot 10 on Diagram 17395, being part of the land comprised in Certificate of Title Volume 1156 Folio 320 and Lot 700 on Diagram 98232 and being part of the land comprised in Certificate of Title Volume 2169 Folio 330 as together are defined in Heritage Council of Western Australia survey drawing No. 3069 prepared by Steffanoni Ewing & Cruickshank Pty Ltd. 5. LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA City of Mandurah 6. OWNER Treeline Corporation Pty Ltd. (Lot 10) Australian Postal Commission (Lot 700) 7. HERITAGE LISTINGS • Register of Heritage Places: Interim Entry 15/ 12/ 2000 Removed Entry 14/ 12/ 2001 • National Trust Classification: ---------------- • Town Planning Scheme: ---------------- • Municipal Inventory: Adopted 05/ 08/ 1997 • Register of the National Estate: ---------------- 8. CONSERVATION ORDER ----------------- 9. HERITAGE AGREEMENT ----------------- 10. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Barracks Wall (ruin), a random rubble limestone remnant wall that originally formed part of a barracks for indentured Japanese workers, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: the place is significant as a remnant of one of the few structures built to house indentured labourers in Western Australia and is representative of the attitudes of the 19th century employers toward indentured labourers from other cultures; Register of Heritage Places Barracks Wall (ruin) 1 Removed entry 14/12/2001 the place is associated with the small number of indentured workers who came to Western Australia from Japan. These men were the first Japanese in southern Western Australia and were employed in the Peel Inlet Preserving Works. Some chose to remain in the district and contribute to the cultural diversity of the community instead of returning to Japan; the place is closely associated with the fishing industry which was significant to the development of the town and region. and; the place is associated with the Tuckey family who contributed to the development of the Mandurah region and its community. the adjoining commercial building is considered to have little cultural heritage significance. 11. ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE The criteria adopted by the Heritage Council in November 1996 have been used to determine the cultural heritage significance of the place. PRINCIPAL AUSTRALIAN HISTORIC THEME(S) • 3.4.2 Fishing and whaling • 3.6 Recruiting labour • 3.12.4 Preserving food and beverages HERITAGE COUNCIL OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA THEME(S) • 106 Workers • 305 Fishing and other maritime industry 11. 1 AESTHETIC VALUE* ----------------- 11.2 HISTORIC VALUE The place is associated with the small number of indentured workers who came to Western Australia from Japan. These workers worked in the cannery for approximately twenty years then, instead of returning to Japan, some chose to remain in the district and contribute to the cultural diversity of the community. These Japanese workers were the first Japanese in the southern half of the state. (Criterion 2.1) The place is closely associated with the Tuckey family who contributed to the development of the Mandurah region and its community. (Criterion 2.3) 11. 3. SCIENTIFIC VALUE ------------------ * For consistency, all references to architectu ral style are taken from Apperly, Richard; Irving, Robert and Reynolds, Peter A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture: Styles and Terms from 1788 to the Present , Angus & Robertson, North Ryde, 1989. Register of Heritage Places Barracks Wall (ruin) 2 Removed entry 14/12/2001 11. 4. SOCIAL VALUE The place is valued for its association with the fishing industry in Mandurah which was significant to the development of the town and region. (Criterion 4.1) The place is significant for its association with the Japanese workers who came to Western Australia in the 1880s. These workers contributed to the economic development of the region and became part of the community. (Criterion 4.1) 12. DEGREE OF SIGNIFICANCE 12. 1. RARITY Barracks Wall (ruin) is significant as a remnant of one of the few structures built to house indentured labourers in Western Australia. (Criterion 5.1) 12. 2 REPRESENTATIVENESS Barracks Wall (ruin) is representative of the attitudes of the 19th century employers toward indentured labourers from other cultures. (Criterion 6.2) 12. 3 CONDITION Barracks Wall (ruin) is in a fair condition. One window, however, has timber lintels showing evidence of termite damage. While the ivy that covers the place does not appear to be causing any damage to the fabric, and may in fact afford the wall some protection from the elements, regular pruning would help to avoid any cracking of the limestone by the ivy that may otherwise occur. 12. 4 INTEGRITY The integrity of Barracks Wall (ruin) is low. 12. 5 AUTHENTICITY The original building, with the exception of part of the southern external wall is not longer extant. However, Barracks Wall (ruin) has a high level of authenticity. 13. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE The documentary evidence has been compiled by Prue Griffin, Historian in consultation with Ronald Richards, Historian. The physical evidence has been compiled by John Loreck, Architect. Curtilage, should it be required, should extend to one metre from all four sides of the wall. 13. 1 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE Register of Heritage Places Barracks Wall (ruin) 3 Removed entry 14/12/2001 Barracks Wall (ruin) consists of a single limestone wall with four intact window openings, one of which still has bars. The wall is adjacent to the southern wall of a commercial building. Dense vegetation covers the wall. Barracks Wall (ruin) is the remnant of a barracks built for Charles Tuckey in the early 1880s to house indentured Japanese workers employed at Tuckey’s fish canning factory.1 Charles Tuckey was one of the grandchildren of John Tuckey who arrived on the Rockingham in 1830 with his son and daughter following the ambition of Thomas Peel, a wealthy English aristocrat. Peel wanted to establish a colony in Western Australia, based on private sponsorship. Although initial enthusiasm for the project was considerable, based on the favourable reports from Captain James Stirling following his explorations of the area in 1826, many investors abandoned the project, leaving Peel to carry on alone. With loaned money and 200 enthusiastic immigrants, Peel arrived in the Swan River Colony in 1829. He secured 250,000 acres from the colonial government, which extended from Cockburn Sound, south to Peel Inlet. The group initially settled at Clarence, on the shores of Cockburn Sound. However, the site was poorly chosen and after a harsh winter and many deaths, Peel moved to Mandurah (or Peeltown) with the remnants of his group.2 John Tuckey, a former soldier, was one of this group. Tuckey seized the opportunity and despite the difficulties of the terrain, climate and Peel’s inept management, made a success at farming. By 1837, Tuckey was one of the few settlers remaining in Mandurah and his children, James and Charlotte, married into the small community.3 The Tuckeys diversified from farming and James started the family’s long association with the sea by ferrying produce to Fremantle during the 1840s. In 1869, he became the manager of the ferry, which crossed the river at Mandurah, at a point just upstream from the present bridge.4 1 There has been considerable confusion about the original use of the building from which this wall comes. Throughout the twentieth century the buildings, and the subsequent ruin, were referred to as ‘the barracks’ or ‘the barracks wall’. The conclusion drawn by many was that the ruin formed part of the original Military Barracks built in 1831-2. The attached Figure 1 shows the location of the Military Barracks in approximately 1840. The barracks gave the name to the geographical feature ‘Soldiers Cove’. In comparison with Figure 2 which shows the location of the wall ruin under discussion it can be seen that the two buildings were at quite different locations. In addition, although it was not impossible in 1840 to build substantial stone structures in remote locations it seems more likely that a crude structure was built hastily following requests from Thomas Peel. Peel felt under threat from the local Nyungar population and requested that Captain Stirling quickly establish a military presence in Mandurah. The photograph in figure 3 show s the type of structure which would most likely have accommodated the soldiers. In comparison with the photograph in Figure 4 which is the Japanese labourer’s barracks in the early 20th century it can be seen to be a more substantial structure. 2 Ronald Richards, Murray and Mandurah A Sequel History of the Old Murray District of Western Australia, Shire of Murray and City of Mandurah, 1993, pp. 4-6. 3 J. H. M. Honniball, ‘The Tuckeys of Mandurah’, in Early Days The Western Australian Historical Society Incorporated, Vol. 5, Part 8, 1961, p. 11-12. 4 ibid., p. 13. Register of Heritage Places Barracks Wall (ruin) 4 Removed entry 14/12/2001 James Tuckey’s sons, John and Charles, invested in other maritime interests in the 1870s. They equipped two boats for pearling, the ‘Jessie’ and the ‘Good Luck’, and spent several seasons in the North West. 5 After four or five seasons the brothers invested in a new enterprise closer to home, the Peel Inlet Preserving Works. This venture followed the lead of a local company ‘The Mandurah Fish Preserving Company’ established in 1879. This company was operated by Charles Broadhurst and backed by Fremantle merchant WD Moore and Co.