While we love flexing our creative muscles with new builds, there’s just something about renovations we’ve always been drawn to. This heritage-listed railway home at Bluff Point will have to been one of our favourite renovations to date, where we paid homage to its roots while giving it a fresh 21st century revival.
The Gate Keeper
The two-bedroom, one-bathroom property sits at Lot 35, 300 Chapman road, Bluff Point and is one of the four gate keeper cottages in the area, built more than 100 years ago in the State-funded Geraldton to Walkaway railway construction project.
We were approached to complete stage one restoration and conservation work on this building, with potential future restoration work on the horizon at the client’s discretion.
And of course, our answer was a resounding yes.
As a builder and Geraldton home renovator, it’s always a privilege to be handed the responsibility of restoring a heritage listed property; a responsibility we didn’t take lightly.
To give you a rundown on its specifications, the home is 150sqm and sits on a 1331sqm block. The original home was built with Sandstone, a galvanised sheet roof, jarrah flooring and jarrah roof framing.
Over time, the house endured its fair share of wear and tear as well as a fire which caused damage to the roof structure.
The Brief
With this in mind, the brief from the client was to undertake external conservation work, as required by Heritage council, to return this building to its original glory with a modern twist.
One of the first tasks was rebuilding the roof structure, using “Like for Like” materials, in rough sawn jarrah. This was much heavier than what we use now days (i.e pine), but essential to pay respect to the original character of the home. We also used Z600 galvanised roof sheeting and cappings, and lapped 2400 sheets.
In addition, the client wanted to add in a few modern amenities that blended in beautifully with the classic heritage look, i.e period matching materials, profiles, and designs.
We then replaced flooring and roof framing to bring the building up to present day standards, and used hand rolled, heritage Ogee profile gutters and round down pipes for a more individual look.
This included increasing sub floor ventilation by reducing ground levels and securing roof members in a way that was aesthetically pleasing.
To do this, we used hidden fixings to conceal modern brackets, plates, bolts etc, so we didn’t deviate from the heritage appeal of the home.
A Proud History
Now that the details are out of the way, let’s dive into the history of this property and why it’s a historic gem for the Geraldton region. One of the reasons this home is particularly special is because it’s one of four Gatekeepers’ houses on the Geraldton to Walkaway line (the only railway residences included in a railway construction contract in WA).
Up until this point, gatekeeper houses were a British tradition, where gatekeepers would reside beside the crossings. They were not common in Australia. The homes were also rare because they were designed as a small villa, large enough to house a railway worker’s family, instead of a simple cottage for one, seen in the UK.
Interestingly though, the Gatekeeper houses were never occupied for their intended use. No money was spent on gatekeeping on the Northern rail lines, which is probably why no other houses like these were included in State railway construction contracts that followed.
Although, this house was still occupied by railway employees throughout the 20th century and well into the 1990s.
Between 1995 and 1996, it received a facelift, with the French doors and three interior four-panel doors removed. In 1996, the occupant at the time, Celia Lofthouse, leased and occupied the place and completed some interior painting to freshen up the space. Then in 2004, the property was granted permanent entry on the State Register of Heritage Places as Railway Cottage (fmr), Bluff Point & Two Mile Well (13253).
This heritage- listed status means this home will be protected and this piece of Geraldton history will always be remembered.
Building Partners
Throughout this build, we were fortunate to collaborate with many local contractors. A special thanks needs to go out to the project architect, Steve Vigilante of Vigilante Landscape Architecture.
Other contractors we’d like to mention include Jason from Geraldton Bobcat, and Tim from Cranwell Carpentry and Maintenance.
As a result of the efforts of all involved, the client is extremely happy with quality of work and feeling a sense of relief and content that the restoration project is finally underway after years of owning the property.
Written by Elizabeth Fabri
Photos by Shaun Rose
