REGISTER OF HERITAGE PLACES – ASSESSMENT DOCUMENTATION 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. The documentation for this place is based on the heritage assessment completed by students of the Research Institute for Cultural Heritage, Curtin University, supervised by Historians Jacqui Sherriff and Dr Bobbie Oliver, in October 2003, with amendments and/or additions by HCWA staff and the Register Committee. PRINCIPAL AUSTRALIAN HISTORIC THEME(S) • 3.8.5 Moving goods and people on land • 3.8.7 Building and maintaining roads 4.2 Supplying urban services HERITAGE COUNCIL OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA THEME(S) • 107 Settlements • 203 Road transport 11. 1 AESTHETIC VALUE* Guildford Road Bridge displays rustic aesthetic characteristics in its use of timber on the slabs and handrails. (Criterion 1.1) The bridge is an important landmark when viewed from the river and terminates the vista up river when viewed from Point Reserve and Kings Park Meadow. (Criterion 1.3) Guildford Road Bridge is an important western entrance statement to the heritage precinct of Guildford. The aged bush pole timbers used in construction harmonise with the remnant vegetation of the Swan River precinct and Federation style architecture of nearby Swan River Lodge, Earls Ferry and Penn-Rose. (Criterion 1.4) * For consistency, all references to architectural 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 – Assessment Documentation Guildford Road Bridge 1 22/11/2005 11. 2. HISTORIC VALUE Guildford Road Bridge was constructed in 1937 to service increased transport loads to the Perth hinterland as population increased, and to maintain access between Guildford and West Guildford (now Bassendean) at a river crossing point used since 1831, the site of two previous bridges. (Criterion 2.1) Guildford Road Bridge continues to be a regional landmark for the indigenous population, who have used the site as a meeting place and camping ground since before European settlement in Western Australia. (Criterion 2.2) Guildford Road Bridge was designed and supervised by E.W. Godfrey, Transport Engineer for the Main Roads Department from 1928 to 1957. During this period, Godfrey was responsible for the design of all road bridges in the State, as well as overseeing construction of the major ones. (Criterion 2.3) 11. 3. SCIENTIFIC VALUE Modification to Guildford Road Bridge decking and structure since the 1970s, including concrete overlay and the introduction of steel girders, demonstrate innovative maintenance of timber bridges developed by the Main Roads Department. (Criterion 3.3) 11. 4. SOCIAL VALUE Guildford Road Bridge is valued by the community as it provides a link over the river for pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicle transport. The bridge and reserves on both sides of the river are used by the community for recreational activities including swimming, fishing, diving, canoeing and walking. The site also functioned as a social meeting place for indigenous people when they could not go into town due to the curfew on their movements in the years prior to 1967. (Criterion 4.1) Guildford Road Bridge contributes to the community's sense of place as an entrance statement to Guildford and an important part of the landscape. (Criterion 4.2) 12. DEGREE OF SIGNIFICANCE 12. 1. RARITY ----------- 12. 2 REPRESENTATIVENESS Guildford Road Bridge is representative of the standard design and construction of timber bridges in Western Australia in the period of the 1930s and 1940s (Criterion. 6.1). The bridge demonstrates the techniques of bridge maintenance that were developed by the Main Roads Department from the 1970s (Criterion 6.1). Register of Heritage Places – Assessment Documentation Guildford Road Bridge 2 22/11/2005 Guildford Road Bridge is representative, both in design and construction, of the work of E. W. Godfrey, who was the Bridge Engineer for the Main Roads Department from 1928 to 1957.(Criterion 6.2). 12. 3 CONDITION Guildford Road Bridge is generally in good condition. 12.4 INTEGRITY Being in continuous use as a traffic bridge since 1937, Guildford Road Bridge has a high degree of integrity. 12.5 AUTHENTICITY Additions to the original structure, including re-decking, a concrete overlay and the implication of steel girders, have been applied in sympathy with the original structure. This has resulted in the body of the 1937 bridge remaining, giving Guildford Road Bridge a moderate to high degree of authenticity. Register of Heritage Places – Assessment Documentation Guildford Road Bridge 3 22/11/2005 13. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE The supporting documentary and physical evidence was compiled by the students of the Research Institute for Cultural Heritage, Curtin University, with engineering evidence provided by Jim Paton, Engineer. Historians Jacqui Sherriff and Dr Bobbie Oliver supervised the compilation of evidence. 13. 1 DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE Guildford Road Bridge1 (Main Roads WA 910) spans the Swan River, linking the towns of Guildford to the east and Bassendean to the west.2 Completed in 1937, this bridge was the third to be constructed in the vicinity after the first two fell into disrepair. Guildford Road Bridge provides a transportation link between the City of Perth and the agricultural areas to the east, forming an entry statement to the towns of Guildford and Bassendean, marking the transition from the more light industrial area of Bassendean to the historic precinct of Guildford. The area is also an important recreational site for walking, canoeing, bike-riding and fishing. Prior to European settlement in Western Australia, the Guildford area had significance for the indigenous community. The Swan River in particular was highly respected as it was believed that the ‘Waughal’, responsible for the formation of the Swan River, inhabited the deep, calm waters of the Guildford area.3 As the Waughal moved downstream, the scales that were scratched from its body were believed to create rocks and other features of the river, until the creature finally came to rest in the area close to Guildford Road Bridge.4 The site of the Waughal was treated with both respect and caution by the indigenous community, as they believed that swimmers in this part of the river did not return.5 During the period before European settlement in the area of Guildford Road Bridge the site was also known and used by the indigenous people as a camping ground.6 It was used then, and continues to be used in contemporary society, as a meeting place for campers and the homeless. The camp provides the indigenous community with a place to meet and enables easy access to the surrounding areas of Midland, Guildford and Caversham. In 1827 Captain James Stirling explored the Swan River and concluded that Guildford should be the site of the third Swan River Settlement after 1 Guildford Road Bridge has been known variously as The Bridge over the Swan, Bassendean Bridge, The Guildford – Bassendean Bridge and The West Guildford Bridge. 2 Until 1922 Bassendean was named West Guildford. 3 The Waughal was envisaged as a many-legged creature with a head resembling a horse’s with a mane, and a long tail. The Shire of Swan. Guildford: A Study of its Unique Character, Guildford Study Group, Guildford, 1981, p. 4 (Appendix 1). 4 Preliminary Report on the Survey of Aboriginal Areas of Significance in the Perth Metropolitan and Murray River Regions, July 1985. Department of Indigenous Affairs File 3536 Folio 72-73. 5 The Shire of Swan. Guildford: A Study of its Unique Character, Guildford Study Group, Guildford, 1981, p. 5 (Appendix 1). 6 Guildford Road Bridge, Aboriginal Camps in the Swan-Guildford Area, April 1976, February 1978. Department of Indigenous Affairs, File 3571. Register of Heritage Places – Assessment Documentation Guildford Road Bridge 4 22/11/2005 Fremantle and Perth.7 At that time, Guildford was located at the upper limit of navigation on the Swan River. The clay loam soils were recognised for their good agricultural potential and the first agricultural grants, encompassing most of the land fronting the Swan and Helena Rivers were allocated to the Swan River Colony in 1829. Stirling himself chose an area north-east of the townsite to build his country retreat, having admired the scenery around Guildford.8 In 1829, a town plan of Guildford was drawn up by Mr. J. C. Sutherland, showing a street named Bridge Street, in anticipation of the construction of a bridge between Guildford and West Guildford.9 A map dated 1830 shows Junction Road running down to a site opposite Bridge Street leading to what appears to be a ferry landing,10 In 1831 a ferry service was established across the Swan at West Guildford. A horse ferry was built in 1834 and operated by James Dodd, owner of the adjacent Cleikum Inn11, by agreement made during a meeting of the Agricultural Society, who met regularly at Dodd’s inn.12 The development of land in the Avon Valley to the east – Toodyay, Northam and York – increased Guildford’s importance as a transportation centre during the 1840s, and alleviated the depressed economic situation of the 1830s. The introduction of convict labour from 1851 resulted in dramatic development in Guildford.13 Two bridges were built in the area – Barker’s Bridge, between Guildford and Caversham to the north of Guildford, and the Helena Bridge over the Helena River to the South of Guildford – completed in 1854 and 1867 respectively. These bridges enabled road travel between Fremantle on the coast and the Avon Valley’s agricultural centres. However, they did not benefit the residents of West Guildford, who felt disadvantaged.14 The ferry service was abandoned in 1880.15 Residents of West Guildford had no immediate access across the Swan River, and they subsequently contributed subscriptions totaling £350 towards the cost of building a bridge linking West Guildford to the main township in 1874.16 Initial opposition to the bridge was overridden17 and a bridge on the 7 Robinson, D.