ARCHIVAL REPORT FOR
10 EXAMPLE AVENUE,
CLAREMONT
Prepared by L. Heritage
November 2005
MOCK ARCHIVAL RECORD FOR 10 EXAMPLE AVENUE, CLAREMONT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background ................................................................................................................................. 3
Section 1 – History...................................................................................................................... 3
Section 2 – Development History ............................................................................................... 5
Section 3 – External Description................................................................................................. 7
Section 4 – Internal Description................................................................................................ 13
Section 5 – Ordinary Council Meeting minutes........................................................................ 19
Background
Number 10 Example Avenue, Claremont was included in the Claremont Built Environment Survey of
1990 and was subsequently included on the Claremont Municipal Inventory and the Claremont Schedule
of Historic and Other Buildings and Places.
A previous owner in 1997 constructed a modern second storey on the house which I thought badly
affected any values it had as a heritage house. I therefore applied for the house to be removed from
heritage listing on these grounds. In response the Town of Claremont carried out a heritage assessment of
the place to determine if the place should remain listed. Council resolved to remove the house from the
heritage lists after an archival record of the place had been carried out.
Figure 1 – Location:
10 Example Ave is located on lot 4
Section 1 – History
The following history is gathered from the Town of Claremont heritage assessment of the house and oral
information from neighbours:
10 Example Avenue, Claremont was built in 1923 for Albert Jones as a Federation style one storey house
expressed in timber. Albert Jones was a market gardener and had his gardens nearby. The Jones family
lived in the house until 1981 when the place was sold to Joe Citizen, a bricklayer by trade. In 1989 the
house was sold to an absentee owner, Joe Bloggs who rented the place to a succession of tenants before
selling it to myself, L. Heritage in 1999. Tenants included an artist, the Briggs family (Mr Briggs worked
for Telstra) and at least five other people.
The front façade of the house had Federation styling to the gable and a pressed tin awning over the gable
window. The verandah had a straight roof which extended from the main roof and turned verandah posts.
Figure 2 Historic photograph of house prior to 1995 showing original roof detail
Inside the house all floorboards were of 15 cm jarrah boards, skirting was 20 cm high with a
moulded top section and the hallway had a pressed tin archway. The kitchen and sitting room
had fireplaces with back to back chimneys; that in the sitting room had a 1920s style wooden
surround with picture rail above. The master bedroom had plaster picture rails to all four walls.
Most of these original features still remain although some are altered in detail.
There are the following newspaper articles on the place in the Claremont Museum records [Add
articles] additionally my own research has previously found the following articles [Add any
additional information you have]. Town of Claremont archives contain the following rate and
plan information on the place [Add information].
The place was included in the Town of Claremont Built Environment Survey in 1991 [Add 1991
assessment]. It was subsequently included on the Municipal Inventory in 1992 and the Schedule
of Historic and Other Buildings and Places in 1998. In January 2005 I requested that the place
be removed from heritage listing. An updated heritage assessment was then carried out in May
2005 [Add updated heritage assessment]. At the OCM meeting of the 6 December 2005 Council
resolved to remove the place from heritage listing subject to the completion of this archival
record.
Section 2 – Development History
When constructed the house had two bedrooms on one side of a central hallway with back to
back kitchen and sitting room on the opposite side of the hallway. The master bedroom extended
forward in a gable from which a wrap around verandah extended along the east, west and
southern elevations. A separate rear verandah partly enclosed as a laundry extended from the
back door along the rear wall of the western bedroom. At the rear north western corner of the lot
was an outside pan toilet emptied via a trap door opening into the rear laneway.
The house was extended by Albert Jones in the 1930s when he removed the enclosed laundry
verandah and constructed a new sitting room at the rear of the house. The new room was entered
via a second pressed tin archway and the rear wall consists mainly of French doors and large
French windows. The room has a mock fireplace which is connected to the mains gas supply. At
some point gas was also provide to the kitchen stove and the kitchen fireplace was converted into
a space for a more modern oven.
Figure 3 1930s Archway into 1930s Extension and French Windows – Right way, concentration on
heritage details
Figure 4 1930s Extension – Wrong way – This is a general view which also shows artwork and
collectables which could be stolen.
Figure 5 Site Plan
He also enclosed the southern verandah in the 1930s to form a sleepout and progressively
enclosed the western verandah to form a bathroom, toilet and laundry in the 1940s. Also during
the 1940s he built an asbestos garage in the rear south western corner of the lot. Albert is also
said to have added the garden folly and associated stone paving in the 1920s as a place for his
wife to sit and read.
Joe Citizen is said to be responsible for all the brick paving in the layout of the front garden and
parts of the rear garden. In 1995 the absentee owner added a modern second storey to the place
which consists of a large rumpus room and a master bedroom accessed via a stairway. I removed
the asbestos garage in 2000 and the concrete floor of the garage is used for open air parking.
The Town of Claremont archives contain the following plans of modifications to the place [Add
any plans sourced].
Section 3 – External Description
Figure 6 Site Plan showing direction of external photographs.
Set back and front landscaping
The house is set back 4 metres from the street. The front setback is landscaped with brick paving
with garden beds inserted in a formal design. In the south eastern corner of the lot is a modern
informal rock garden and waterfall feature.
Figure 7 Front landscaping photographs – Wrong way. These pictures shows non-heritage
landscape details.
Front – East Facade
The house is two storied with a timber federation style ground floor and a modern Mediterranean
style upper floor with a flat roof and balcony’s.
Figure 8 Front façade photographed from Example Avenue
The heritage details of lower floor still survive within this adaptation.
Verandah
The verandah has a timber floor on stumps, turned timber posts, timber frieze work with
aluminium frieze work below and across the entrance way.
Figure 9 Two photographs of verandah features
The south-eastern section of the verandah has been enclosed in fibro sheeting and weatherboard.
An old three light casement window, from another building has been inserted in the southern
section of the enclosure.
Figure 10 Southern face of enclosed verandah showing window.
Front Windows and Door
The original master bedroom is now a study. The study window is an original three light
casement window with brass fittings with an original pressed tin awning over.
Figure 11 Study window and pressed tin awning detail
The original sitting room is now the master bedroom. It also has a three light casement window.
Figure 12 Master Bedroom window at rear of front verandah
The front door is an original four panel door with upper section glazed and fanlight and
sidelights surrounding the door. The fanlight, door light and top sidelights are obscured glass
while the lower panels are timber.
Figure 13 Front door details
Side – South Facade
The south verandah has been enclosed with weatherboard and has two large art deco clear lead
light windows inserted. The windows have two casements with a large fixed glass panel
between. Both windows have a timber pergola over. The southwest section of the façade has an
art deco leadlight balance hung window inserted to light the laundry.
Figure 14 South Façade and window detail
Side – North Facade
The north façade of the house is weather board with one three light casement window inserted
associated with the second bedroom. A high brick boundary fence lies 80 cm from this side of
the house.
Rear – West Facade
The rear of the house is weatherboard with several differing Art Deco windows inserted and
original small toilet window and more modern panelled glazing to the laundry door and side
window. The whole has a timber pergola over. The art deco bathroom window matches the
southern laundry windows.
Figure 15 Laundry door and side window and toilet window
Figure 16 French doors and windows to living room and detail of bathroom window.
Heritage Garden Features
The place includes a 1920s stone folly and landscaping in the rear garden built for the first
owner’s sick wife and is also part of the heritage of the place.
Figure 17 Right Way – Showing details of folly but not extensive landscape views of the garden.
Figure 18 Wrong way – This is a much more general view of the folly showing extensive areas of
non-heritage landscaping including outbuildings and access points into the rear garden.
Section 4 – Internal Description
Figure 19 Site Plan showing direction of external photographs
All rooms in the house have high ceilings, and 5 ½ inch jarrah floorboards. The master bedroom,
study, second bedroom and kitchen are original rooms and all have lathe and plaster walls and
ceilings. The living room has older type plasterboard walls and ceiling and a dado of 5 ½ inch
floorboards used as panelling. The rear hallway, bathroom and laundry have painted 5 ½ inch
floorboards used as panelling. The enclosed verandah and toilet has modern internal treatments
and the enclosed verandah has a modern circular stairway to the upper floor.
Hallway
The hallway extends 5 metres through the centre of the original section of the house. It contains
two pressed tin archways, cornices, four panel doors and moulded skirting boards which are also
found through the older rooms of the house. The two chandeliers are modern fixtures. The
second archway between the hallway and the living room was erected there in the 1930s and is
narrower than the original archway and has similar but not identical details.
Figure 20 Hallway – Right way view down hall showing arch locations but without artwork or
collectables shown in the photographs.
Figure 21 Details of arches
Archway near front door
Archway into living area
Figure 22 Moulded skirting found throughout original section of house.
Figure 23 Detail of hallway doors
Master bedroom
The master bedroom is 4 by 5.5 metres. The only heritage feature in the room is an original
1920s style timber fireplace with a small mirror.
Figure 24 Details of 1920s place however the picture also shows private collectables on mantle.
Study
The study is 4 by 5 metres. It has a plaster picture rail running around all four walls, this is the
only heritage feature in this room.
Figure 25 Picture rail. The picture on the left is the right way to show such a detail the picture on
the left shows valuable artwork hanging on the wall.
Second Bedroom
There are no heritage features in this box bedroom which is 2 ½ by 5 metres.
Living Room
The living room is 6 by 4 ½ metres. It initially has a high flat ceiling near the hallway which
extends for 2 metres. The ceiling then slopes downwards to end 40 cm above the French doors
and windows set into the western façade. The two sections are joined by a large beam which
extends across the room and they are outlined with plaster cornice. A brass chandelier hangs
from the beam.
Figure 26 These pictures demonstrate the correct way to show a detail such as the line of the ceiling.
The photographs need to be more general to show the detail but any valuables have been removed
from sight.
Figure 27 This is the wrong way to show such a detail. The room is full of valuable artworks,
collectables and electrical goods.
Figure 28 Details of chandelier and cornice
The room has a timber dado made from jarrah floor boards topped with a moulded rail along the
north and south walls
Figure 29 Details of timber dado
Kitchen
The kitchen is 4 by 5 ½ metres with a brick chimney and open fireplace with mantle over. French
doors open onto the enclosed verandah. A small window inset with coloured lead light panels
looks into the verandah from the kitchen bench
Figure 30 This photograph shows the details of the kitchen fireplace but leaves valuable collectables
in view.
Figure 31 Details of French doors and window
Rear hallway, bathroom and laundry
This area has timber walls made from painted jarrah floorboards. There are no other heritage
features.
Figure 32 Details of timber internal walls
Section 5 – Ordinary Council Meeting minutes
[Relevant section of relevant Council Meeting minutes inserted.]