The Chesters' Subdivision Conservation Area, also referred to as the Chesters' Subdivision Heritage Area, is a
historical heritage area in
Subiaco,
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, named after
James Chesters, an investor,
property developer
Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...
and later mayor of Subiaco,
who developed the area. It contains many suburban houses from the
Federation
A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
period of architecture.
History
Initial development
The area was first developed by James Chesters who made it into a subdivision of his properties (bounded by Townsend Street, Heytesbury Street, Rokeby Street and Hamersley Street) that he purchased in October 1891.
Chesters began to sell plots in 1892, and the first home in the subdivision, named ''Stratmore'', was built in 1905 on Chester Street, on lots 133 and 136. Many people of different
classes lived in the area, from wealthy businessmen contrasted to junior
tradesmen
A tradesperson or tradesman/tradeswoman is a skilled worker that specialises in a particular trade. Tradespeople (tradesmen/women) usually gain their skills through work experience, on-the-job training, an apprenticeship program or formal educat ...
and
white-collar workers, with large luxurious villas next to more restrained small family homes.
Many of the smaller homes used the
Californian bungalow
California bungalow is an alternative name for the American Craftsman style of residential architecture, when it was applied to small-to-medium-sized homes rather than the large " ultimate bungalow" houses of designers like Greene and Greene. Cal ...
style, though with restraint due to the smaller budgets of lower class workers.
In 1922, Chesters was investigated by a
royal commission
A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...
for selling lots in the subdivision multiple times before the owners' contracts had lapsed.
Heritage listing
The area was listed as a heritage area on 2 December 2014 in the
City of Subiaco's local planning policy, to "conserve the cultural significance of the heritage area".
Expansion
On 28 June 2022, in a meeting of the council, the City of Subiaco endorsed an expansion of the Chesters' Subdivision Conservation Area after a review of the West Subiaco Local Heritage Survey and a proposal to expand it by residents of Subiaco. 14 properties nearby to the area were added to the conservation area as a result of the expansion.
Notes
References
{{Reflist , 30em
Heritage places in Perth, Western Australia
Subiaco, Western Australia