Dwelling

History/Notes
In 1924, the site at 14 Nantes Street was owned by Harry and Constance Simson. They sold it in 1925 to Peter Riley who had this house built at this time by F. Stock. In 1926, Riley sold the property at E.L. Ford, a recently returned Melbournian from Canada and superintendent at the newly established Ford Motor Company at North Geelong.

Born in Hawthorn in c.1892 to Ernest and Kathleen (nee Harland) Ford, Ernest Lawrence Ford spent a number of years working at the Ford Motor Company in Canada prior to his return to Australia in 1925. As outlined in the Geelong Advertiser:
'On board the Aorgani, which recently called at Australian ports, was Mr. E. Ford, who was appointed from the Canadian works of Henry Ford to a position as general superintendent of the body-building works to be established in Geelong. Mr. Ford is a native of Hawthorn (Victoria), had had several years' experience at the headquarters of Henry Ford in Canada. Mr. A. Westman, who is travelling to Australia on the Niagara, is a Canadian, who has been appointed to fill a position as a machine shop foreman. Both men are married and have families who will reside in Geelong. They are about the last of the Canadians who will come to Australia in connection with the Ford Companies' undertakings.' Ford retained ownership of the Nantes Street property until 1935.

The elevated single storey, timber interwar Arts and Crafts Bungalow has a main steeply-pitched gabled roof form that traverses the site, a projecting steeply-pitched gabled wing towards the front and side entrance porch. There is a prominent brick chimney on the west side. At the front is a flat- roofed rectangular bay window. Other early features include the multi- paned timber framed windows, attic windows, and the strapped cement sheet cladding in the gable ends. At the rear is an early gabled wing that appears to have been altered and extended. There is an introduced high front fence at the front covered in creeper, and metal palisade pedestrian gate.

References:
Victorian Births, Deaths & Marriages Indexes, Dept. of Justice.
Newtown Rate Books, 1926, 1927, 1935, Geelong Library & Heritage Centre.
Newtown Building Permit, 1925, CIty of Greater Geelong.
Geelong Advertiser, 27 October 1925.
Certificates of Title, vol. 4861 fol. 7621, vol. 5015, fol. 909

Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

House