Heritage Assessment of 17-87 and 16-78 Gordon Street, Northam prepared by Greenward Consulting, Heritage Planning and Policy for the Shire of Northam April 2015 Disclaimer This Heritage Assessment has been prepared from information gathered in the course of the document’s production by Annette Green, Greenward Consulting. The physical evidence has been based on a streetscape survey. The documentary evidence has been based on an overview of readily available online sources, including the existing heritage assessments that have been prepared for some of the individual places, historical newspapers, Western Australian Post Office Directories, Electoral Rolls and family histories. It should be noted that the readily accessible on-line sources relating to occupancy of the properties ceases in c.1949 and that the primary focus has been on the first half of the twentieth century. The author has exercised due care to avoid errors in the information contained in the report, but does not warrant that it is error or omission free. No person or organization should use or rely solely on this document for detailed advice, or as the basis for formulating decisions or actions, without considering, and if necessary obtaining, relevant advice from other sources. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study or research, as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act, no part of the information in this document may be stored in a retrieval system, reproduced, or transmitted in any form without express permission of the Shire of Northam. Heritage Assessment of 17-87 and 16-78 Gordon Street, Northam Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 1 1.3 STUDY AREA ................................................................................................................ 4 1.4 PROPOSED RESIDENTIAL HERITAGE AREA ...................................................................... 5 2 HISTORICAL CONTEXT ................................................................................................ 7 3 CULTURAL HERITAGE VALUES .................................................................................. 13 4 TRADITIONAL STREETSCAPE CHARACTER .................................................................. 15 4.1 KEY ELEMENTS THAT UNDERPIN THE TRADITIONAL CHARACTER OF THE STREETSCAPE ............................................................................................................. 15 4.2 NEGATIVE FEATURES THAT DETRACT FROM THE TRADITIONAL CHARACTER OF THE STREETSCAPE ............................................................................................................. 21 5 ASSESSMENT OF THE LEVEL OF CONTRIBUTION OF EACH PLACE WITHIN THE STUDY AREA ...................................................................................................................... 23 5.1 GORDON STREET: NORTH-EASTERN SIDE ..................................................................... 23 5.2 GORDON STREET: SOUTH-WESTERN SIDE .................................................................... 37 Prepared by Annette Green, Greenward Consulting, for the Shire of Northam April 2015 Heritage Assessment of 17-87 and 16-78 Gordon Street, Northam Page Left Blank Intentionally Prepared by Annette Green, Greenward Consulting, for the Shire of Northam April 2015 DRAFT Heritage Assessment of 17-87 and 16-86 Gordon Street, Northam 1 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND The Shire of Northam Local Planning Scheme No 6 provides for the identification and protection of heritage areas as follows (subject to specified public consultation processes): 7.2.1 If, in the opinion of the local government, special planning control is needed to conserve and enhance the cultural heritage significance and character of an area, the local government may, by resolution, designate that area as a heritage area. 7.2.2 The local government is to - (a) adopt for each heritage area a Local Planning Policy which is to comprise - (i) a map showing the boundaries of the heritage area; (ii) a record of places of heritage significance; and (iii) objectives and guidelines for the conservation of the heritage area; and (b) keep a copy of the Local Planning Policy for any designated heritage area with the Scheme documents for public inspection. In January 2015, the Shire of Northam commissioned Annette Green, Greenward Consulting, to prepare design guidelines that could be applied to residential heritage areas in Northam. The scope of this project also included the development of supplementary guidelines (as relevant) for the area defined by 17-87 and 16-86 Gordon Street, Northam (the section between Duke and Throssell Streets). Prior to developing the latter it was necessary to assess the overall heritage significance of the proposed Gordon Street Heritage Area, and the level of contribution that each individual property makes to this significance. 1.2 METHODOLOGY The identification and assessment of local heritage areas is guided by the Heritage Council of Western Australia’s publication, Criteria for the Assessment of Local Heritage Places and Areas – a practical guide to identifying, grading and documenting places and areas in Local Government Inventories (March 2012). This sets out assessment criteria under the broad categories of Aesthetic, Historic, Research and/or Social Values, with specific reference to the value of the area within the context of the local government area and for the local community. Under these guidelines a Heritage Area will be of significance for the local district if: (a) It meets one or more of the criteria outlined under the headings of Aesthetic, Historic, Research or Social significance; and (b) It demonstrates a unified or cohesive physical form in the public realm with an identifiable aesthetic, historic or social theme associated with a particular period or periods of development. The guidelines go on to state: A Heritage Area should always be established on the basis of a clear statement of significance, and a clear identification of the significant physical fabric in the area. The individual components of an area will collectively form a streetscape, townscape or cultural environment with significant heritage characteristics, which may include architectural style, town planning or urban design excellence, landscape qualities, or strong historic associations. In some cases, the development of a heritage area may span an extended period and some of the characteristics of the area may be composite or varied. In such cases it may be worthwhile to analyse the different phases of growth as part of the assessment, while also demonstrating the ‘unifying thread’ that holds the area together as a meaningful whole. Prepared by Annette Green, Greenward Consulting, for the Shire of Northam April 2015 DRAFT Heritage Assessment of 17-87 and 16-86 Gordon Street, Northam 2 And … each place within the area should be graded according to the level of contribution that it makes to the significance of the area. As part of the assessment of 17-87 and 16-78 Gordon Street, Northam, consideration was given to the history of this area (Section 2) as outlined in published histories of Northam and in the detailed assessments that have been prepared for places entered in the State Register of Heritage Places. An overview of online sources was also undertaken to identify other readily available historical information, including: 1 • Contemporary newspaper articles, notices and advertisements (http://trove.nla.gov.au); • Western Australian Post Office Directories (http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au); • Electoral Rolls (selected years available at ancestry.com.au); and • Personal information from online birth/marriage/death records and family trees (ancestry.com.au) • Heritage Assessments prepared for properties that have been entered in the State Register of Heritage Places (http://stateheritage.wa.gov.au) • Northam Municipal Heritage inventory (draft review, January 2015) • Historical aerial photographs dated 1956 and 2000-2013 (https://www.landgate.wa.gov.au) The documentary and physical information was then analysed as part of a professional assessment of the: • Cultural heritage significance of the study area (Section 3); • Traditional streetscape character (Section 4); and • The level of contribution that each property makes to the heritage values of the surrounding streetscape (Section 5). 1 Information from these sources has not been verified by primary research and has been used as a guide only. Prepared by Annette Green, Greenward Consulting, for the Shire of Northam April 2015 DRAFT Heritage Assessment of 17-87 and 16-86 Gordon Street, Northam 3 Level of Contribution Description Desired outcome Considerable The place: Any external alterations or extensions contribution. • Retains a high level of authenticity; should be designed and sited in a manner that respects and complements the Very important to the • Has important historical associations; significance of the significance and traditional character of AND/OR Heritage Area. both the place and the area, in accordance with the Design Guidelines. • Helps to illustrate an important aspect of the development of the area. • Note: If a place in a heritage area is Conservation