Nestled between a automotive wash and a row of four-storey residences, the quaint 1900s staff cottage overlooking Russell Sq. is likely one of the few reminders of Northbridge’s historical past.
The three-bedroom, one-bathroom dwelling at 47 Shenton Avenue was one in all a number of constructed following the Nineties gold rush, a interval which underpinned the event of what’s now a bustling leisure hub.
The house is believed to have been constructed in 1908 and occupied by former Quairading farmer Harry Archibald Hubble, who left the Wheatbelt city after his household enterprise went bust to work as a pharmacist on close by King Avenue.
Over the previous century, the streetscape has modified dramatically.
The final remaining cluster of million-dollar Eighteen Eighties to Twenties single-storey, brick-and-iron heritage houses and industrial buildings lining the adjoining Aberdeen Avenue and bookended by St Brigid’s Church at the moment are protected beneath state heritage legal guidelines.
So, too, are the outstanding landmarks within the neighborhood, together with the Fitzgerald Lodge and the Brass Monkey pub.
Nonetheless, Hubble’s humble dwelling was left off the register.
It sat vacant for years earlier than receiving a contemporary coat of white paint to cowl its graffiti in 2020.
Now the house is shielded by cloth and tarpaulins draped over the entrance fence, with home windows and doorways damaged and squatters occupying the property, which is now in a derelict state.