Darling Road Precinct

The Darling Road Precinct is a residential area in Malvern East which was mainly developed in the 1920s with bungalow and villa housing.

- high degree of intactness of the area to its c1925 state;

- variety in character and expression within consistent suburban bungalow and villa forms;

- intactness of individual buildings to their original states. Dwellings typically survive with their presentation to the street largely unaltered, retaining verandahs and decorative render and timber detailing;

- the consistent, modest single-storey scale of the built form;

- the varied face brick, timber and render materiality within most streetscapes and the consistent timber materiality in Chaucer Avenue and Baker Street;

- gabled or hipped roofscapes with chimneys and terracotta tiles or plain corrugated metal cladding;

- the detached form of most early housing with a generally uniform pattern of front and side setbacks;

- the open landscape character of the area brought about through broad streets, mature street trees and undeveloped front setbacks with low fences in most sections of the precinct; and,

- the discrete form and siting of vehicle accommodation in side setbacks with single driveway access.

How is it significant?

The Darling Road Precinct is of local historical and aesthetic significance.

Why is it significant?

The Darling Road Precinct is of historical significance for its ability to demonstrate the major phase of suburban development in Malvern in the years after World War I (Historic Themes: 8.2.3 'The city of real homes - suburban development in Malvern after World War I). This type of housing development transformed a once rural area into a predominately middle class dormitory suburb connected to the city by rail and tram networks. The proximity of the precinct to the Waverly Road tram terminus further illustrates the interdependence of public transport and suburban development in this period.

The precinct is of aesthetic significance for substantially intact and cohesive collection of interwar housing. While individual buildings are reasonably typical of the period, the area is notable for its consistent character, which is derived from single-storey bungalows and villas with a similar scale, form and materiality. Chaucer Avenue and Baker Street are of particular note for their uniform timber bungalow character.

Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

Residential Precinct