Dwelling

History/Notes
The property at 32 Nantes Street formed part of the 'Newtown Brae' Estate subdivision of 1912. By 1923, the vacant land was owned by Frederick Crichton of Cumberland Street, Newtown. He had this house built at this time and lived there until 1926 when he sold it to John Duff, a baker. In 1927, Duff had a sleepout constructed. Duff continued to own the property for several years, although by 1929 he had relocated to Kalgoorlie and the house was leased.

The original owner, Frederick Crichton, was born at Clifton Hill in 1891, the son of David and Maud (nee Tuson) Crichton. He trained as a teacher and in 1918 he was appointed to the teaching staff of Geelong College. He remained there for seven years, during which time he built the house in Nantes Street. Crichton's ownership of the Nantes Street dwelling was short-lived because he took up farming at Yarrara in 1926. In later years he became a grocer at Silvan where he died in 1959, aged 68.

The single storey timber interwar Bungalow styled dwelling largely reflects its original design. This is evident in the main gabled roof form and minor side gabled wing (on the east side towards the front). Other intact qualities include the recessed front verandah under the main roof, timber ventilator in the gable end, banks of timber framed double hung windows, front timber framed doorway and the side projecting faceted bay window. The rear garage was built in 1991 and the single storey additions (including the minor gabled wing on the east side) at the rear were constructed in 1997. There is a high introduced timber picket fence at the front.

References:
Victorian Births, Deaths & Marriages Indexes, Dept. of Justice.
Newtown Rate Books, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1935, Geelong Library & Heritage Centre.
Newtown Building Permits, 1923, 1927, City of Greater Geelong.
Building Permits, 1274/1991, 1219/1997.
The Argus, 15 December 1925, p.17, 1 December 1943, p.14.
The Age, 8 January 1960, p.9.
Certificate of Title, vol. 3210 fol. 835.

Group

Residential buildings (private)

Category

House