Residence of John Curtin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Residence of John Curtin |
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Front of John Curtin's house
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| General information | |
| Type | Home of former Prime Minister John Curtin |
| Location | Cottesloe, Western Australia |
| Coordinates | 31°59′55″S 115°45′32″E / 31.9987°S 115.759°E |
| Type | State Registered Place |
| Designated | 12 May 2000 |
| Reference no. | 7935 |
John Curtin's house was the home of John Curtin, who was a very important leader called the Prime Minister of Australia. It's located in Cottesloe, Western Australia.
This house was built in 1923. The Curtin family lived here for many years. In 1998, both the Western Australian Government and the Australian Government bought the house together. The house is a special type of home called a California bungalow. John Curtin himself helped design it! It was also one of the first houses built by Arnold Bullock, a well-known builder in Cottesloe back in the 1920s and 1930s.
History of the Land
Not many buildings were in the Cottesloe area between 1829 and 1880. In 1881, a train line opened from Fremantle to Guildford. After this, in 1882, a man named Robert Napoleon Bullen bought land to create a fun park called the Albion pleasure grounds.
In 1886, the Governor of Western Australia, Sir Frederick Broome, named the area Cottesloe. He named it after Baron Cottesloe. Not many new areas for houses were made for the next 10 years.
The area really started to grow when people rushed to find gold in the late 1890s. Cottesloe grew to have about 300 houses. Cottesloe and its beach became very popular. Many people built holiday homes and permanent houses there.
In 1923, John Curtin's wife, Elsie Curtin, bought a piece of land. This land was known as Lot 26. The house was first called 14 Jarrad Street. Later, in the 1930s, the street numbers changed. It then became its current address, 24 Jarrad Street.
Designing and Building the House
In 1923, John Curtin was busy working. He was the editor of the Westralian Worker newspaper. He was also the president of the Western Australian branch of the Australian Journalists' Association. John Curtin was thinking about becoming a politician. He wanted his house to have a verandah (a covered porch) all around it. This way, he could practice his speeches even when it was raining!
It is thought that John Curtin designed the house himself. He based it on the popular California bungalow style. This style was common in the 1920s and 1930s. He also made sure to include Elsie's ideas. The final design had a verandah on three sides of the house.
The house was finished in August 1923. It had two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The bathroom was located off the back verandah. There was also a laundry area outside, attached to the back corner of the house. A small building with a toilet and a wood shed was in the backyard.
The front of the house faced south towards the street. However, the main entrance was on the eastern side. A path led from the street to this entrance. The house was built with bricks and a timber frame. It had a tiled roof. The other small buildings had corrugated iron roofs. The toilet building was made of brick. The laundry and wood shed were made of timber with weatherboard sides.
