Places/hilton.html
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Hilton
Hilton is the name of both a suburb and also a ward of the City of Fremantle. However, the ward contains the suburbs of Samson and O'Connor as well as Hilton suburb. The name of the suburb used to be Hilton Park, as it was designed after the Second World War as a 'garden suburb'.
The first name of Hilton Park was Chester Park.
Kate Caldwell:
... Chester Park ... which is now Hilton Park. When the land was subdivided and put up for sale, a competition was held for a suitable name for the district, and this name was decided on as being most appropriate. [Why?] The location would originally appear to have been granted to one [firstname] McDermott. About 30 years later it came into the possession of Richard Davis, who after his arrival [1848] from England in 1853 had carried on the Half-way House at Point Walter. With the advent of steam, the boats were not using the canal, and it became silted up and the toll-house fell into disuse. He therefore removed to Bicton, and later to the Chester Park property, which he in turn sold to [John] Chester. At the time of the subdivision it was owned by [firstname] Simpson.
Heritage Council:
The demand for leasehold public housing escalated dramatically in the post-World War Two period with the return of servicemen and the concurrent post war immigration to Australia. In the mid to late 1940s, both State and Commonwealth Governments formulated new legislation in response to this public need.
The Workers Homes Board was renamed the State Housing Commission and was responsible for the administration of public housing schemes operating in the State.
As early as 1946 and 1947, negotiations had taken place between the City of Fremantle and the Commission regarding the release of more Commonage land for public housing purposes. Council’s primary aim was to ensure that the subdivision allowed for public space and amenity and one of the ways it did this was by stating in the Act, which laid out the transfer of land, - ‘the land, when subdivided into building allotments, shall be granted to the State Housing Commission after provision has been made for all necessary road and reserves.’
In 1949, the Fremantle City Council made 135 acres of land in the Fremantle Commonage available to the State Housing Commission for public housing purposes to the east and south-east of the initial Commission project in Hilton Park. This subdivision of Hilton Park comprised 144 residential lots, 5 lots for commercial purposes, 5 acres for community purposes, and 14 acres for a school site. Some of the public facilities eventually established in Hilton Park included an infant health centre, a recreation reserve, children’s playgrounds, a school, and a row of shops.
By 30 June 1948, 41 houses had been completed at Hilton Park under the Commonwealth and State Rental Homes Scheme (CSRHS). A total of 97 homes were built by June 1949 and, by June 1950, 164 had been constructed with 28 under way.
In the 1940s/1950s period, due to the high cost of homes of brick construction, the Commission focused on a timber houses building program: ‘special attention was again give to the provision of cheaper wooden homes for lower paid workers’. (At this time, timber houses could only be constructed in some parts of the metropolitan area because of local planning by-laws and this in turn meant that the Commission was only able to acquire land for these purposes in certain areas.)
Work continued of the development of the Fremantle Commonage area in Hilton Park throughout 1951 in preparation for its subdivision and building construction. This included the clearing of land, the completion of roads, and the extension of water mains. By June 1951, 355 vacant lots were made available for public housing at Hilton Park.
Ewers: 126-7:
Building was brisk throughout these post-war years. An acute housing shortage was revealed in 1923 and there was a suggestion of a Council Housing Scheme. 17 This was rejected in favour of assisting established organizations such as Building Societies and the Workers’ Homes Board, by making available 9 acres of land in Gibson, Shepherd and Lefroy Streets and 182 acres of the commonage adjoining Chester Park.
Library (pdf):
Fremantle Commonage, Hilton. This area was set aside in February 1884 by the government after the establishment of the Swan River Colony. After WW2 it was developed into housing. South [east?] of Carrington Street.
Heritage Council page for Hilton Central Area
Statement of Significance
The Hilton Central Area precinct is of cultural heritage significance within the City of Fremantle as the core of an example of a substantially intact ’Garden Suburb’ dating from the immediate post World War II period. It is characterised by its curvilinear road layout, parks and centrally located community facilities. It has historical value as an area developed by the State Housing Commission to provide affordable housing at a time of increased housing demand in Australia. Hilton has aesthetic value for its parks, streetscapes, mature trees, areas of indigenous vegetation and bird-life. It has social value to the people who live there for the range of community facilities provided and the diversity of the local community including private owners, DHW tenants, elderly people and families. The social significance of the area is expressed through the involvement of local residents in groups such as the Hilton Precinct Committee and the Hilton Lovers group. This statement [break in original]
Physical Description
Hilton Central Area comprises the Rennie Crescent alignment, Paget Street (between Rennie Crescent North and South), Hilton Primary School (including oval and bushland), Kindergarten building (Kulunga), Paget Street Shops, Community & Child Health Centre and Morniborn Park, each of which was established in the 1950s. Also included in the area is the Fremantle Police and Citizens Youth Club’s 1975 building and the relocated Progress Association Hall. Designed on the principles of the garden suburub, Hilton has a pattern of curviliner and stratight streets that are planned around central communal areas such as the school and shopping areas. The Hilton precinct was also developed over a short period of time - 10 years in 'A' area and later, 10 years in 'B' area. (See "Hilton Residential Development Polciy and Urban Design Guidelines", prepared by the City of Fremantle, 1994. Hilton Primary School (including oval and bushland) Hilton Park Primary School was built between 1949 and [break in original]
History
Hilton Central Area comprises the Rennie Crescent alignment, Paget Street (between Rennie Crescent North and South), Hilton Primary School (including oval and bushland), Kindergarten building (Kulunga), Paget Street Shops and Morniborn Park, each of which was established in the 1950s. Also included in the area is the Fremantle Police and Citizens Youth Club’s 1975 building. Following a brief statement on each of the elements is a short history of the development of Hilton Park. Hilton Primary School (including oval and bushland Hilton Park Primary School was built between 1949 and 1954 as two schools – the junior primary school (grades 1 to 3) and the senior primary school (grades 4 to 7). The two schools amalgamated in 1977. The schools were built to standard plans by the Public Works Department. Both schools comprised Bristol classrooms – brick and plaster walls with tile roofs. Other buildings accommodated offices, staff rooms and stores. In 1991, Hilton Primary School [break in original]
References and links
Goodlich, Mary-Ann 2019, 'Houses of Hilton', Fremantle Studies, 10: 45-58. [presented Fremantle Studies Day 2015]
Kiera, Agnieshka 2002, Hilton Plan.
Caldwell, Kate 1931, 'Fremantle street names', Early Days: Journal of Royal WA Historical Society, 1, 9: 45-57.
Ewers, chapter 12.
Heritage Council page for Hilton Central Area. (as above)
Wikipedia page.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 19 July, 2019 and hosted at freotopia.org/places/hilton.html (it was last updated on 10 March, 2024). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.