The Cliffe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Template:Short description Template:DMCA Template:DMCA

Page Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content.

The Cliffe
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:InfoboxImage/data' not found.
The Cliffe east verandah from the road
Script error: No such module "Infobox mapframe".
General information
LocationTemplate:Csv
Design and construction
ArchitectTemplate:Pluralize from textClarence Wilkinson
Page Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content.
Page Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content.Script error: No such module "Designation".
TypeShire of Peppermint Grove Municipal Inventory
Designated19 July 1998
Reference no.Template:SRHP
Page Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content.Script error: No such module "Designation".
TypeState Register of Heritage Places
Delisted22 August 2008
Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".

Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".

The Cliffe is one of the first residential dwellings built in the Perth suburb of Peppermint Grove.

The house is located at 25 Bindaring Parade, Peppermint Grove and has historical associations with the prominent McNeil, Brisbane and McComb families.

Description

The original house was designed by architect Clarence Wilkinson and built in 1894 for businessman and timber merchant Neil McNeil. Substantive additions, undertaken in 1899, were designed by prominent Western Australian architect J. Talbot Hobbs. Later additional and modifications to the house occurred in the 1930s and the 1960s when the northern wing, previously servants quarters were refurbished.[1]

The dwelling is designed in the Federation Bungalow style and built predominantly of jarrah. In 1914, James Battye in his Cyclopedia of Western Australia described the dwelling as follows:[2]

Page Template:Blockquote/styles.css has no content.

From the substantial foundation to the shingle roof every part of the structure is of jarrah, and after nearly twenty years - the house having been built in 1894 – every plank and beam and joist remain in as sound condition as when first they were cut to the contractor's design. Over twenty rooms are roofed beneath these jarrah shingles, and the interior is fitted up with all that art and comfort can suggest, while surrounding the house is a park of ten acres, tastefully laid out with lawns and flower-beds, and further beautified by the introduction of decorative statuary in bronze, collected by Mr McNeil on various trips to England and the Continent.

History

The Cliffe was built in 1894/95 by Neil McNeil on 4 hectares (10 acres) of land he had purchased in 1892[3] – one year after Peppermint Grove was surveyed into building allotments. McNeil was one of the first five landowners in the area and his name was given to McNeil Street which ran along the southern border of his property from the Swan River to what is now Stirling Highway. McNeil was one of the owners of the Jarrahdale Timber Company which exported timber for the paving of London Streets at the turn of the century.[4] Because of his strong business interest in timber and his conviction of its suitability as a building material, McNeil built his home as a showpiece of jarrah construction. Unfortunately, McNeil's vision of majestic timber houses, rather than houses constructed of brick and stone, was not shared by the Peppermint Grove Road Board which later legislated against timber construction in the area.

The original house was designed by Clarence Wilkinson. The house was altered and extended in coming years, most notably the additional of a billiard room and other rooms in 1896 by Wilkinson and Smith and, following McNeil's marriage in 1900 to Jessie Alexander Lawrie, some further modifications in 1906 designed by the architect J.Talbot Hobbs and his firm, Hobbs Smith and Forbes.[5]

In 1915 the property was subdivided into 20 lots with the Cliffe retaining a considerable curtilage on the banks of the Swan River.[6]

The property was sold in 1927, following McNeil's death, to Lance Brisbane, a prominent West Australian industrialist.[7] When Lance Brisbane moved in 1933, Brisbane's brother, David Brisbane, and his family, occupied The Cliffe until his death in 1960.

Harold McComb, a plastic surgeon[8] and Athel Hockey, a geneticist,[9] subsequently purchased the Cliffe and lived there until April 1995. The McComb's had four sons, two of whom (David and Robert) performed in the iconic[10][11] Australian alternative rock band, The Triffids. According to rock historian, Bleddyn Butcher,[12]

Page Template:Blockquote/styles.css has no content.

Between 1978 and 1981, the Triffids recorded six collections of original songs at The Cliffe. The house remained a sanctuary and source of inspiration throughout their career. Its peculiar location, an eyrie on Devil's Elbow overlooking Freshwater Bay, gave David a startling perspective as well as a beautiful view. When he became interested as a teenager in forming a band, he and the future Triffids would gather in the cellar at The Cliffe to practise, the size of the grounds ensuring there were few neighbours to disturb.

According to Robert McComb, the home inspired his famous brother, who loved the house:[13]

Page Template:Blockquote/styles.css has no content.

The house was the home of the band while we were in Perth. The sprawling rooms, lofts and underground cellars we used to rehearse in were things most Perth houses didn't have; there was such a strong atmosphere there that Dave would return to it for inspiration.

The cover of The Triffids' last album, The Black Swan (1989) was photographed in the stables at the rear of the house during the summer of 1988/1989.[14]

In April 1995, the McCombs sold the house to a local real estate agent, Christopher Shellabear: "Our family all left home and my wife and I were rattling around in this huge house", Harold McComb explained.[15] On 30 June 1995, following receipt of petition from local residents worried about the potential redevelopment of the site, the Heritage Council of Western Australia issued a Stop Work (or Conservation) order under Section 59 of the Heritage of Western Australia Act 1990. On 17 July 1995, Chris Shellabear sold the now-encumbered property to Sharon Creasy, wife of prospector Mark Creasy, for $2.7 million.[16][17] On 10 October 1995, the Heritage Council of Western Australia added the property to the State Register of Heritage Places on an "interim" basis. The Creasys contested the interim listing for nine years, and in 2004 the Heritage Council removed the dwelling from the interim listing and placed it on the permanent register. There was a legal dispute as to whether the listing was done correctly, resulting in the Heritage Council re-registering it on the permanent list in May 2005.[18] The Creasys estimate that the dispute has cost them $225,000 in legal fees[19] and claim that the house is now uninhabitable, estimating it would cost at least $2.8 million to make it liveable and much more to renovate it completely.

The dwelling is registered on the Shire of Peppermint Grove's Municipal Inventory,[20] and with the National Trust on 6 March 1984, the Register of the National Estate on 30 June 1992,[21][22] and the State Register of Heritage Places (original interim listing on 10 October 1995 and permanent listing on 27 February 2004). It was then removed from the State Register on 6 July 2004, with a second interim listing on 20 July 2004 and obtaining a permanent listing on 19 July 2005.[17]

According to the Heritage Council of Western Australia's assessment "The Cliffe is a rare example in metropolitan Perth of a substantial weatherboard 'gentleman's' residence, which has, intact, the subsidiary buildings of coachhouse, stables, summerhouse, servants cottages, and part of the original gardens."

On Thursday 5 June 2008 the Legislative Council supported Parliament's first de-listing of an order by the Heritage Council so that the house could be demolished[16] on the basis that the Government was potentially exposed to a $20 million lawsuit under clause 76 of the 1990 State Heritage Act. The clause, which had never previously been used, allows owners of heritage-listed properties to ask the Government to buy their property if its heritage listing makes it "incapable of reasonably beneficial use, and that the carrying out of any reasonable development could not render the land capable of reasonably beneficial use".[23] The property was subsequently removed from the State Register of Heritage Places on 22 August 2008. Section 55 of the Act precludes consideration for re-entry onto the Register for a period of five years from the date of its removal, except with leave of the Supreme Court.

In a newspaper interview, Robert McComb denied claims by Mr Creasy and both sides of parliament that the house was derelict. Template:Quote

In an interview with Drum Media, Jill Birt (keyboardist with The Triffids and qualified architect) advised Template:QuoteShe went on to express her disdain for Western Australia's tendency to forget about heritage and culture.Template:Quote

In October 2008, the Shire of Peppermint Grove approved the demolition of the building, although the Shire President did indicate that there was a desire among his fellow councillors to see at least the main rooms of The Cliffe relocated to a local park.Template:Quote

The process of the removal from the heritage list occurred resurfaced from a complaint to the West Australian Corruption and Crime Commission in July 2009 with the main parties named denying any conspiracy.[24]

Present status

The property was purchased by a private Perth businesswoman in 2013, who saved it from demolition. The owner purchased substantial land around The Cliffe in 2022 to re-instate its parklands.

References

Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.

  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Cliffe Future Options Study May 2009" (PDF). The Cliffe, Peppermint Grove Future Options Study. Shire of Peppermint Grove. May 2009. p. 62. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  2. ^ Template:Cite Q
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Australian Dictionary of Biography". Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."McNeil, Neil Biography". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Cliffe Future Options Study May 2009" (PDF). The Cliffe, Peppermint Grove Future Options Study. Shire of Peppermint Grove. May 2009. p. 62. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hope & Klem (Firm); Learmonth Duffy & Co (1915), Cottesloe's finest residential land : these 20 magnificent blocks - owned by Neil McNeil Esq and surrounding his beautiful residence at Peppermint Grove to be sold in the rooms of the auctioneers, Emanuel Buildings, St George's Terrace on Thursday, Novr. 4th, 1915, at 3 p.m, Learmonth Duffy & Co, retrieved 31 January 2020
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sir Hugh Lancelot Brisbane - Biography". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  8. ^ McComb Foundation history Script error: No such module "webarchive".
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Blood Test - HGSA". www.hgsa.com.au.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cashmere, Paul (5 June 2008). "Max Merritt and The Triffids To Be Inducted into Hall of Fame". undercover.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Donovan, Patrick (5 June 2008). "Hall of Fame for Merritt and Triffids". The Age. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ranalli, Romy (10 November 2007). "The Cliffe was cradle of The Triffids' rock". Post Newspapers. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ranalli, Romy (14 June 2008). "Our house is a person ... big and watching". Post Newspaper. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Battle Over Triffid's House". Themusic.com.au. 13 November 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Buckley-Carr, Alana (17 July 2009). "Dream of former glory in ruins". The West Australian. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  16. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Cliffe demo is music to Creasys' ears". Post Newspapers. 7 June 2008. Archived from the original on 19 September 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  17. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Heritage database: The Cliffe (No.1924)". Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Barnett, Colin (30 August 2007). "The Cliffe - Heritage Listing" (PDF). Parliament Hansard. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ranalli, Romy (29 September 2007). "Grand mansion now a rotting wreck". Post Newspapers. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Shire of Peppermint Grove Municipal Heritage Inventory 1999)" (PDF). Shire of Peppermint Grove. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Aussie Heritage: The Cliffe". Aussie Heritage. 3 February 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Cliffe, 25 Bindaring Pde, Peppermint Grove, WA, Australia (Place ID 10302)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Taylor, Paige (10 June 2008). "Heritage fears over Perth mansion The Cliffe". The Australian. Retrieved 10 June 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Company rejects Barnett misconduct claims". ABC news. 14 July 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)

Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found.

Retrieved from "https://cosmopedia.co/index.php?title=The_Cliffe&oldid=5847965"