heritage citation report – ho290€¦ · the grand edwardian house at 31 gawler street, named...

Heritage Citation – 31 Gawler Street Portland

The Bungalow, 31 Gawler St ,Portland

HO 283 Place Citation Report

Heritage Citation Report – HO290

Name The Bungalow

Address 31 Gawler Street, Portland

Place Type Residence

Citation Date 17 May 2016

Heritage listings None

Recommended heritage protection Glenelg Shire Planning Scheme (PS), Heritage Overlay (HO)

Figure 1 : The Bungalow, 31 Gawler Street, Portland, eastern elevation




Figure 2: Proposed HO extent

History and historical context

The grand Edwardian house at 31 Gawler Street, named ‘The Bungalow’, was built in 1910 for William John

Williamson (W.J.)(1867-1950). W.J. Williamson was a solicitor, orchardist and politician in Victoria (Bennett

1993). W.J. Williamson arrived in Victoria in 1870 and moved to Portland in 1910. He was a member in the

Victorian Parliament for the Western electorate from 1931-1937 (Parliament of Victoria nd). The first commercial

apple orchard in the region was planted by W.J. Williamson in 1885 on 14 acres opposite the church and school

in Gorae. His apples were still being harvested a century later. W.J. Williamson later pioneered the export of

apples with his brother Henry Cowap Williamson. W.J. Williamson was a prominent community member and

President of the Portland Hospital Board, President of the Agricultural Society and a Councillor from 1910-1922

as well as Mayor from 1912-1913.

In the early 1940s the house was purchased by Dr Henry Coverley Maling (1902-1963) and used as a family

home and doctors’ rooms (AEC 1942). Dr Henry Maling was a prominent and respected citizen of Portland in

the 1940s-1960s. He was the first President of the Rotary Club of Portland in 1942 and a Councillor in 1949.

The Portland Hospital has a Service Unit named after him.

His son, Dr William (Bill) Maling (1931-2013), was also a doctor and surgeon in Portland and shared the medical

practice at 31 Gawler Street with his father. Bill Maling was a President of the Board of the Portland Hospital in

the 1970s and was actively involved in community sporting associations. Members of the Maling family

continued to live at 31 Gawler Street and in the adjacent house at 17 Percy Street into the 1980s.

In the 1980s the house was owned by the Roman Catholic Church and was converted into accommodation for

nuns from the Loreto Order. The front room was occasionally used for worship services.




Relevant Historical Australian Themes

3 Developing local, regional and national economies

3.2 Providing health services

3.2.6 Providing medical and dental services

3.5 Developing primary production

3.5.3 Developing agricultural industries

4 Building settlements, towns and cities

4.5 Making settlements to serve rural Australia

8 Developing Australia’s cultural life

8.6 Worshipping

8.6.2 Maintaining religious traditions and ceremonies

8.14 Living in the country and rural settlements

Description

Physical description

The house is located in a prominent location at the south western corner of the intersection of Gawler and Percy

Streets. The plan of the original house is asymmetrical with a hipped roof and a prominent projecting east-facing

gable to Percy Street.

The external walls are clad in weatherboard to three-quarters of the wall height with rough cast cement above

and on the gables. A corrugated iron roof extends over the large return L-shaped verandah on two sides of the

house. The wavy timber fretwork arches between each verandah post.

The house has three Portland brick chimneys, situated within the central portion of the house. The chimneys

have corbelled brickwork tops and are lightly rendered. Large leadlight glass windows are a major feature in bay

windows fronting east onto Percy Street and north east to the intersection of Gawler and Percy Streets. These

are dated (1912) and autographed by the designer. Internally the house presents some interesting original

features; of particular note are the pressed metal cornices (sourced from South Australia) and original white

Baltic pine floorboards.

Two rooms were added to the western end of the house in the 1930s, demonstrating a more Californian

Bungalow style of architecture with a large wide frontage and gable to Gawler Street.

Physical condition

Very good

Usage/Former usage

Residential

Doctors’ rooms / Religious accommodation and occasional worship

Recommended management

Maintain generally as existing




Comparative analysis

HO1 Residence, 4 Blair Street, Portland, Glenelg Shire

A substantial timber residence built in 1912 for A.H Sutton. This house represents elements of Queen Anne and

Federation styles, with large prominent gables, a hipped roof, L-shaped return verandah and timber fretwork.

Chimneys are rough cast rendered brick. Statement of significance not available.

HO422 Edwardian Timber House and Garden, 22-24 French Street, Penshurst, Southern Grampians

Shire

Edwardian Timber House is of historical significance for its potential association with William Ardlie, a squatter

from the Murray district who may have first purchased the land on which the house stands. The house is of

architectural significance as an excellent typical example of the Queen Anne Style applied to a residence, and

as a rare very intact surviving example of the style typical of the Edwardian or Federation Period.

HO184 Cork Hill, 138 Kittson Road, Cape Bridgewater, Glenelg Shire

The Cork Hill complex includes a 1850s stone cottage and an Edwardian timber house. The complex is of

historical significance for its association with Joshua Black, who built the early cottage and a number of the fine

stone buildings in Portland and Cape Bridgewater around the mid-nineteenth century. The complex is also of

historical significance as it illustrates the typical standard forms of its time in the vernacular architecture. The

timber Edwardian house is typical of the 1910 period when it was constructed. Of further historical interest is the

way that the architectural styles of different periods are able to tell the story of the Black family over more than

100 years of continuous occupation of the buildings.

Summary

The comparative analysis indicates that remaining representative features of Edwardian (Federation) houses

such as gables, verandahs and detailing are of heritage significance, as are associations with prominent

individuals in the relevant regions.

Statement of significance

What is significant?

Significant elements of the property and house at 31 Gawler Street include:

• Views of the property from Percy and Gawler Streets.

• Linkages between the house and the Norfolk Island Pines planted in Percy and Gawler Street.

• External features including the weatherboard cladding, roof and gable shape and proportions, original

Portland brick chimneys, leadlight windows and 1930s addition on the western side of the house.

• Internal features such as white Baltic pine flooring and pressed metal cornices.

How is it significant?

The house at 31 Gawler Street is of historical significance (HERCON criterion A), aesthetic significance

(HERCON criterion E), creative/technical significance (HERCON criterion F) and associative significance

(HERCON criterion H) to the Glenelg Shire.

Why is it significant?

The house is of historical and associative significance for its associations with the Williamson and Maling

families. The Williamson family was influential in the development of orcharding and export industries in the




early 20th century in Portland and Gorae, and held important community positions during a time of great

development in the region. The Maling family were active in medical and philanthropic circles, and also held

community positions as members of the Portland Hospital Board and founding members of the Portland Rotary

Club.

The house is of aesthetic significance in its setting on a prominent intersection commanding views of the south

of Portland and commercial activities in this area. The house, combined with the significant Norfolk Island Pines

in Percy and Gawler Streets, presents an aesthetic that evokes a prosperous and successful time in Portland’s

development.

The house is of creative and technical significance for its representative features of the Edwardian (Federation)

period 1900-1910. The large verandahs, detailed timber fretwork, leadlight windows, hipped roof and prominent

gable provide an excellent example of the typical style of the period.

Recommended Controls (2016)

External Paint Controls Yes

Internal Alteration Controls No

Tree Controls No

Fences & Outbuildings No

Prohibited Uses May Be Permitted Yes

Incorporated Plan No

Aboriginal Heritage Place No

References

Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) 1942, Australian Electoral Rolls 1903-1980. Wannon, Portland, 1942.

Retrieved 17 May 2016, from www.ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Bennett, G 1993 Portland Now and Then: A guide to Portland’s Historic Buildings. Portland Historical Society;

Portland.

Jean, M., Calloway, C. and D. Rhodes 2002 Glenelg Shire Heritage Study: An Environmental History, Part One.

Unpublished report prepared for Glenelg Shire Council.

Parliament of Victoria, no date. Re-Members List. William John Williamson. Retrieved 17 May 2016 from

http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/re-member/details/1543-williamson-william-john

This information is provided for guidance only and does not supersede official documents, particularly the planning scheme. Planning controls should be

verified by checking the relevant municipal planning scheme.

heritage citation report – ho290€¦ · the grand edwardian house at 31 gawler street, named...

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