Historical information

One of a group of slides taken by members of the Society of built heritage in Kew in 1979-80. The selection of subject matter reflects the priorities of the period. The colour of some slides has degraded. 99 Princes sStreet (1 Fellows Street) was built by the architects Oakden, Addison and Kemp. The Kew Conservation Study (1988) noted that:
Erected By Bennie And Olivers, these Two Attached Houses Attracted An Initial Construction N.A.V. of £260. The houses were originally owned and occupied by the architect Henry Kemp, however Kemp appears not to have lived there long because, while he retained ownership for at least a decade, by 1891 George Martin, merchant and bank manager, was recorded as the tenant of No.1 Fellows Street. At that date the N.A.V. for this individual building was £83 and Kemp remained the owner of both properties until at least 1910. Kemp had arrived in Australia in 1886 and this was therefore one of the first of the many buildings he was to design in Melbourne. While late Victorian in date, the houses are of a unified design that is an interesting precursor of the Edwardian architecture produced by Kemp. Somewhat awkwardly composed with steep gables, a rectangular castellated tower and slated single storeyed verandahs projecting from the overall boxlike form, the house contains features common to the 1880s such as the use of polychromy in the brickwork and slates cladding the roof. The building departs from the norm of the time with the use of terracotta tile ridge cappings, and strapwork to the corbelled chimneys.

Significance

The slides represent a snapshot in time of built architecture in Kew, much of which has changed in the forty-plus period since they were created.

Physical description

Colour positive transparency (slide) of the pair of residences on the corner of Princess Street and Fellows Street in Kew. The point of view is the Fellows Street frontage.