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Houses of Hilton
Goodlich, Mary-Ann
Goodlich, Mary-Ann 2019, 'Houses of Hilton', Fremantle Studies, vol. 10: 45-58.
Paper presented at the FHS Fremantle Studies Day 2015.
text only
Hilton Park was developed as part of the joint effort between the state and commonwealth governments in the provision of nationwide housing, to address the needs of returning war service personnel and post-war migration from Europe. The states were responsible for providing land, planning and building new housing and the commonwealth provided funding and policy. The newly formed State Housing Commission took responsibility for housing construction during this period.
In the war years the nation s resources were conserved and the government controlled the rationing and distribution of building materials. Immediately after the war the economic climate was flat due to the transition from war to peace. 1
The 'need for a large scale building program in the area' 2 required Fremantle Council to transfer Fremantle Municipal Endowment Lands to the state government for the purpose of building homes in the area known as Hilton Park in 1946. This area was east of Carrington Street and south of South Street. Privately owned land along South Street was also resumed and included in the subdivision. 3
The State Housing Commission estate at Hilton Park was a major project involving the Town Planning Board. Prior to the formation of the State Housing Commission, the Workers’ Housing Board would incrementally acquire parcels of land for public housing, across the suburbs.
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The Town Planning Board adopted the Garden Suburb as the model of best practice for the planning of the State Housing Commission estate at Hilton Park. The Garden Suburb was a product of the Garden City Movement which began in Britain under Sir Ebenezer Howard iri 1898. He was an advocate for decent housing in sustainable, well-planned communities, surrounded by a garden or rural setting. 4 The design philosophy was a strategy to mitigate against the ‘urban problem’ of overcrowding, poverty, unemployment and bad housing in towns and cities at the time. Its principles were promoted across the commonwealth through its associations.
Its proponent in Western Australia was William Earnest Bold, the Town Clerk of the City of Perth, who was sent on a research tour to Britain in 1913 to bring back the ideas about the Garden City Movement. Bold collaborated with Harold Boas, a young architect, and commissioned the surveyor C.H. Klem to produce the Garden Suburb designs for the Perth City Council suburbs of City Beach and Floreat Park in 1925. 5
Harold Boas, now of Oldham, Boas and Ednie Brown Architects, was the town planning consultant working with the Fremantle Council on Hilton Park. The ‘carefully considered proportions of residential, commercial, recreation and public amenity space’ 6 in the design of Hilton Park were attributed to him.
Construction of State Housing Commission houses took place rapidly in Hilton. One thousand, three hundred and fifty-six houses were built in two stages between 1945 and 19537.
Image 1: Aerial Photograph, Hilton, 1953 (Western Australian Land Information Authority)
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Material shortages and the need for fast construction resulted in predominantly timber frame houses being constructed with asbestos sheet and timber lining, though some houses were of brick.
Images 2 & 3:Examples of original timber framed cottages in Hilton (photographer Mary-Ann Goodlich)
Forty to fifty standard designs were developed by mirroring floor plans, altering roof types and combining different porch designs. No two adjacent lots would have the same house plan built to avoid the appearance of a production line of ‘stamped out’ houses, which were a feature of contemporary estates in the United States. The timber frame houses were very economical to construct and took approximately 3 months to build.
Images 4 &, 5: Examples of two styles of timber cottages built; in Hilton by the Worker’s Homes Board. Drawn 1945 and building approval granted by Fremantle City Council on September, 1950 and October 1948 respectively (Fremantle History Centre)
To keep up with the housing demand prefabricated houses were also imported from a United Kingdom/Austrian company. These houses required skilled Austrian migrant carpenters to assist with the erection of the houses and were scattered throughout Hilton, They were a simple and functional design. Unfortunately the pre-cut timber members were underdesigned which was evident by the sagging ridge boards and roof rafters.
Prominent Perth architect Clifton Marshall was responsible for some of
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Image 6: An Austrian prefabricated house under construction in Hilton in 1951 ip (LH0Q3330 Fremantle History Centre)
the timber house designs used in Hilton Park, which reflected the ‘Modern Movement’and were distinguished by high ceilings, functional design, an aesthetic emphasising horizontality and a lack of extraneous decoration.
Owner builders were also encouraged to build in Hilton Park and were assisted by the State Housing Commission with loans for building and land and assistance with house plans.
In the 1960s the third stage of the Hilton Park development took place east of Collick Street. The houses constructed were mostly of brick reflecting the improvement in the economy and availability of materials.
Image 7: A view of Hilton Park from Paget Street, 1950 (photographer A Orloff, LH002758 Fremantle History Centre)
Image 8: A view of Hilton Park state housing estate. Houses under construction, looking east from the comer of Paget Street and Oldham Crescent about 1947/1953 (LH 2759 Fremantle History Centre)
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Houses were spacious and centrally placed on a large block. They generally had a living room and kitchen, two or three bedrooms connected by a hall, an internal bathroom and a toilet. A laundry and sleep out were attached to the back veranda. They were finished with timber floor and were fitted with a fireplace and wood stove.
Houses were occupied immediately on completion. Nearly all residents comprised of recently married couples with young families who, prior to imoving in, had typically been housed in temporary accommodation3pr had been living with parents due' to the housing shortage.
The State Housing Commission rented out most houses. Home ownership was encouraged but many chose not to take it up. State Housing Commission homes were conceived as ‘affordable workers’ housing’ and many tenants remained renting their entire lives. They did not feel rcompelled to own their own home and many just felt it was not in their means and therefore did not consider it. 8
Migrants who came to Hilton generally had a different attitude after arriving from a devastated post-war Europe. New opportunities provided a strong incentive and determination to obtain home ownership.
Those who were entitled to War Service Homes were more likely to own them because War Service Loans were available to people who served in the defence forces.
In the early days Hilton Park was sparse and denuded after land clearing and road construction. Newly built houses started to emerge on the housing lots. In the background, adjacent to the estate, was bushland but the streets were devoid of the now mature plantings of jacaranda and flame trees which Hilton Park is identified with today.
Houses were placed centrally on lots and surrounded with space. Car
Image 9: Hilton Park, 1952 (LH003368, Fremantle History Centre)
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ownership was not common and hence garages were not required. Years later single, detached garages appeared off to the side and to the rear of the block. Boundary fences were not built either; it was unclear if this was part of the initial Garden Suburb concept or just due to material shortages. Lawns were established around the house and extended to the footpath and verge. Later shrubs and rose gardens appeared, some of which remain extant today. Before fences were installed, it was common to have packs of dogs running through contiguous backyards in the evening. 9 Sound travelled easily through asbestos lined walls between rooms
Image 9: Early photograph looking across the developing Hilton Park estate in 1952 (LH 3367, Fremantle History Centre)
Image 10: Hilton housing development with completed houses and road formation in Rennie Crescent South, 1954 (LH002765, Fremantle History Centre)
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and from the inside to the outside of the new houses until furnishings and carpets were introduced. 10 Without insulation, timber houses were extremely cold in winter and unbearable in summer. 11 Buses were the main form of transport with a service out from Fremantle, terminating at the corner of High and Carrington Streets. Later when the population of Hilton reached its capacity, the service was extended down Paget Street and Nicholas Crescent. No one owned a car unless it was essential for work. When a vehicle was available, it almost became communal property and was borrowed to take neighbourhood children to the beach, or used in neighbourhood emergencies, for example.
People walked on foot or bicycled to work but mostly used public transport. On occasions a minibus from the South Fremantle Power Station would collect shift workers from Hilton Park. Tradesmen, factory workers and workers from the wharf took public transport to work because many industries were located in Fremantle. When family or friends visited, bus transport and occasionally taxis were used. 12 By the mid 1950s, cars started to make an appearance but more often than not, a very old model car was bought rather than a new car.
Women generally had jobs before marriage, such as factory work 13 or as domestics, but left paid work after marrying to take care of the household. Housework consisted of organising husbands and children for work and school, providing for the family by preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner, sweeping and cleaning the house, washing, drying and ironing laundry, and grocery shopping.
Cooking was done on wood fire stoves 14 as was the laundry, therefore firewood had to be ordered. Often kindling was sourced from the neighbouring bush. At first the electricity output was weak especially at peak hours. At the time, the East Perth Power station was about to be decommissioned and be replaced by the new South Fremantle Power Station. Cooking on electric stoves was done on ‘black heat’ because the electricity supply was weak and lights would just glow. 15
Houses were cleaned with brooms and women would get on their hands and knees to polish the timber floors. The laundry was fitted with two cement sinks and contained a washboard and copper. Clothes were hung to dry on a line between two props. The bathrooms were internal and had wood chip heaters with imported plumbing fixtures.
The area surrounding the house was progressively articulated; first with a concrete path leading to the back area which was eventually screened off with a hedge where the wood heap and rubbish bin were located. The remaining area was lawn with a washing line. At some stage the rear and
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side boundary fences were installed. A vegetable garden and a few fruit trees populated the backyard with a shed appearing and perhaps some ‘chooks’. Later the Hills Hoist replaced the washing lines.
Working people in Hilton Park were commonly employed in the trades as carpenters, electricians, plasterers and plumbers, 16 on the wharf, or at the South Fremantle Power Station. Later, industries moved out of Fremantle to O’Connor and new industries developed increasing the range of job opportunities.
South Fremantle Power Station was an important state project and required a stable workforce. Housing lots in Hilton Park were specially allocated for South Fremantle Power Station workers. The new power station suffered from occasional problems when it started and this often meant ‘call outs’ when breakdowns occurred. A vehicle would be arranged to collect workers at all hours of the evening to fix problems. Trades people who lived in Hilton Park found a substantial amount of work in residential construction there, so tradesmen could walk to work and even have lunch brought to them by their wives. 17 Most of the time workers caught buses to work or sometimes were picked up at collection points when employed outside of the suburb.
Most women did not work while rearing children. However once children were independent and, if employment was available, women resumed paid work, working for example at Anchor foods in O’Connor 18 or in the canteen at the Fremantle Port 19. These jobs were available because they were accessible by foot or public transport. Young people bicycled to work several suburbs away which provided greater opportunities. 20
Family life was central to Hilton Park in the 1950s. Young men returned from the war and married. Hilton Park was designed for the nuclear family — father, mother and two to three children. The state school was located centrally in the suburb. Private cars were not commonly available and as a result families were restricted to staying at home. Though public transport was available recreational activities were found within the suburb, the home and garden. Football was played at the Hilton Park Reserve and many young footballers were trained for the West Australian Football League at the club there. The school oval was used for social, weekend cricket. Children attended the scout hall which was located on the comer of Rennie Crescent North and Paget Street. The movies were popular, with weekly films shown at the outdoor cinema on the corner of South Street and Paget Street and further afield, on the corner of Hampton Road and Wray Avenue or in Fremantle. Hilton residents had a great appreciation of local flora and fauna and used the surrounding bushland for walks and recreation.
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Life in Hilton Park was community focussed. As a newly established suburb it was isolated from central Fremantle, being what was considered then the outskirts of suburban expansion. Isolation was felt much more deeply with car ownership being the exception and communication dependent on the public telephone. Friendships were established with the suppliers of food and groceries.
Shopping was ordered weekly and delivered by truck by the grocer himself.
The milkman delivered milk and in later years Tip Top Bakeries delivered bread. When a household ran out of sugar or an onion was needed for the soup, one borrowed from a next-door neighbour because people did not have cars to zip out to the shops, nor were the shops open. The sense of isolation brought neighbours together. 21 Neighbours assisted each other by keeping an eye out for each other; lending a helping hand when necessary, such as minding children or inviting the neighbourhood children to the beach; and even providing labour to build a neighbour’s home.
Hilton Park was a working class suburb with most residents employed in the trades, as Port Authority workers or power station employees. Garden Suburbs were specifically designed as workers’ housing after the war. The demographic of Hilton Park was consistent made up mostly of young families in similar income brackets. All school age children in the suburb went to Hilton Park Primary School, the same as everyone else in the suburb. Therefore Hilton Park was a unique group of homogeneous people when compared to other established suburbs.
Hilton Park was the outcome of government decisions to provide housing at a time when the country was in transition from war to peace. The Garden Suburb was the conceptual model used to develop the new state housing estates.
At first, new residents experienced isolation as a result of the lack of accessible transport at the time. Some of the design features of the new suburb initially worked against it until car ownership became prevalent. The sense of ‘isolation’ however encouraged neighbourliness and people developed a respectful co-dependency and a willingness to help each other. The physical attributes of Hilton Park which included spacious blocks, wide streets, elegant street layouts following the natural fall of the land, street plantings, the centrally sited school, community facilities, recreational parks and bushland provided the foundation to support and facilitate this ‘neighbourliness’.
In Hilton Park public housing residents were complacent about home ownership because rents were cheap and the homes did not have the negative connotation of ‘welfare housing’ until decades later. Other
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Images 11,12,13,14: Examples of original timber framed cottages in Hilton (photographer Mary-Ann Goodlich)
residents however, like post-war migrants or those who had been rewarded for service to their country managed to attain home ownership.
Within the Garden Suburb of Hilton Park outward appearance of difference was erased by virtue of the conformity of the design aesthetic and materials of the houses, having being designed under one entity, the State Housing Commission.
The meaning of the ‘Garden Suburb’ in common usage has been reduced to meaning the sum total of mature trees and gardens in Hilton Park but, though these constitute important elements, there is the wider significance of what constitutes Hilton Park Garden Suburb, which involves the streetscapes with their cottages.
With the pressures of increasing densities and new housing developments occurring in all established suburbs it is imperative to re-educate the community about the importance of Hilton Park and its houses in the context of the Garden Suburb and how these elements facilitated the making of a community.
Fremantle Studies Day, 2015
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Image 15: An important entry point into Hilton Park with the Flame Trees in flower in Rennie Crescent South, taken in July 2011 (photographer Mary-Ann Goodlich)
Image 16: Timber cottage now demolished and redeveloped into units, 53 Paget Street, November 2008 (photographer Mary-Ann Goodlich)
Image 17: House in Hilton fenced off for redevelopment by Homeswest,2013 (photographer Mary-Ann Goodlich
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Sources
City of Fremantle Library Local History Collection, History Hilton, Pamphlet File: 994.11
City of Fremantle Library Local History Collection, History Hilton 1901-1998, Pamphlet File: 994.11
City of Fremantle Library Local History Collection, General Hilton Housing, Pamphlet File: 7283.
City of Fremantle Library Local History Collection, Housing in Hilton - 1964, Pamphlet File: 728.3
City of Fremantle Library Local History Collection, Agreement Between Fremantle City Council and State; Housing Commission Regarding Hilton Park Land
City of Fremantle Municipal Heritage Inventory Database
Correspondence to State Housing Commission from Mr E. E. Price regarding the resumption of his land. Acc. 1698 Item 6587/1950, SROWA
Correspondence regarding the resumption of lots 22, 23,25 and 26 by the director of War Service Homes for the purpose of State Housing. Acc. 1698 Item 1719/1948, SROWA
Report ‘Design of a Residential Area at Hilton Park: Fremantle, WA K.G. Bott, BE AMIE (Aust.) City Engineer, City of Fremantle, May 1953, Item #38/03, SROWA.
Plans
Various Items including: Endowment Lands Acc.1377 Item 0351/1908, SROWA; Endowment Lands Acc. 1778 Item 09291 Vl/1910, SROWA; Hilton Park No. 3 Design and Hilton Park No. 4 Design. Acc.4438 Item . 03, SROWA; State Housing Hilton Park Subdivisio^Town Planning, ^ Ace.4438 Item h} SROWA;; Fremantle Plan. Acc. '504 2|| Item'pl SROWA; Town of Fremantle. Acc. 50425,9 Item 10/1922, SROWAfli
Photographs
City of Fremantle Library Local History Collection, Prints 2758,2759, '■ 3330,3331 and 3728.
Oral Histories
“War Bride Hilton Park’, Carmel Lowrie, Hilton 994.11 Hilton Park and South Fremantle Power Station, William Lowrie^ Hilton 994.11
■Hilton Park Dutch Pioneers’, Janke Raayen, Hilton 994.11
Hilton Area and Beaconsfield in the 1920’s’, Dorothy Green, Hiltoni
994.11
‘Growing up in Hilton and Fremantle in the 1940’s and 1950;s, Hilton-^
994.11
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Hilton Histories , Interview with Violet Bridget and Marilyn Retamal, October 2008, Hilton
- ‘Hilton Histories’, Interview with Bob Smith, October 2008, Hilton
Newspapers
Ibbotson-Smith, B., ‘Hilton before the Houses’, Fremantle Herald, 4 October, 1990 Secondary Sources
Bizzaca, K., ‘Thematic History for the Hilton Heritage Assessment’, Report, 2002
City of Fremantle,^ historyof Hilton, City of Fremantle, 1993 City of Fremantle, Development and Land Use Policy Manual, December 2000,D.G.H2 City of Fremantle, Timber Houses Manual y Hilton Local Centre Urban Design Study, Hames Sharley, WA, 1997 ’61 Houses South Hilton Heritage Assessment’, KelsallBinet Architects and Bizzaca and Associates, DHW, 2001
Pitt Morison, M. and White, J. Western Towns and Buildings, UWA Press, Nedlands, 1979
‘Policy Advice Note: Garden City Settlements’, Town and Country Planning Association, London, 2008, www.tcpa.org.uk/1|
Stannage, C.T.A New History of Western Australia,UWA Press, Nedlands, 1981
‘Tomorrow & Tomorrow, 1899-1999: The TCPAs first hundred years, and the next...’, Town and Country Planning Association, London, 1999, www.tcpa.org.uk <
Endnotes
1 Stannage, CT, ed, A New History of Western Australia, UWA Press, 1981 p 271
2 City of Fremantle Library Local History Collection, Agreement Between Fremantle City Council and State Housing Commission Regarding Hilton Park Land, City of Fremantle Library Local History Collection, p 2
MA Correspondence regarding the resumption of . a poultry farm from Mr EE Price, specialist in ‘day old chicks’. Acc 1698 Item 6587/1950, SRO and correspondence regarding the resumption of lots 22,23,25 and 26 by the State Housing Commission in Hilton Park Acc 1698 Item 1719/1948, SRO
4 Ibid
5 Ibid p 230
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6 K Bizzaca’s Thematic History for the Hilton Heritage Assessment, 2003, Chapter 1.2
7 Ibid
8 In first interview with Violet Bridger, October, 2008, Hilton.
9 William Lowrie, ‘Hilton Park and South Fremantle Power Station’, April 1994, Hilton 994.11
10 ‘Growing up in Hilton and Fremantle in the 1940’s and 1950’s’, Hilton 994.11
11 Discussion on Hilton Timber Cottages with Local Architect Brian Klopper who had completed his apprenticeship with the Public Works Department, October, 2008.
12 ‘Growing up in Hilton and Fremantle in the 1940’s and 1950V, Hilton 994.11
13 Hilton Histories’, Interview with Violet Bridger and Marilyn Retamal, October 2008, Hilton
14 ‘Hilton Park and South Fremantle Power Station’, William Lowrie, April 1994, Hilton 994.11
15 ‘Hilton Park and South Fremantle Power Station’, William Lowrie, April 1994, Hilton 994.11
16 ‘Hilton Park Dutch Pioneers’, Janke Raayen, Hilton 994.11
17 Hilton Histories’, Interview with Violet Bridger and Marilyn Retamal, October 2008, Hilton
18 Ibid
19 Ibid
20 Ibid
21 William Lowrie, ‘Hilton Park and South Fremantle Power Station’, April 199A, Hilton 994.11
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