ARCHITECTURE
Federation Filigree with Gothic Influences
Carroll's House is located at 15 Riverside Road (The Boat Builders House & currently The Left Bank) is a two-storey building constructed in limestone and brick, with a hipped and gabled corrugated-iron roof. The front elevation is asymmetrically planned with a gable bay and a full-width return bull-nosed roof verandah. The verandah spans both storeys and is supported on timber posts. On the first floor there is a cast metal balustrade and timber handrail. The place may have been built in stages; the ground floor is built in limestone with brick quoins and the upper floor is built in brick with rendered quoins. The gable features decorative timber treatment and a circular vent. The place has an irregular plan and the mass features a rich roofscape that includes gables and render-capped chimneys.
HISTORY
The Boat Builders House, now the Left Bank
Thomas and Fanny Carroll purchased the land in 1889 and from there ran a boat building business. Thomas William Whiteley, built the home as well as other historical buildings in Fremantle – the house became colloquially known as ‘The Boat Builder’s House’.
In 1940, Alan Harry Sargent and his sister Dorrie purchased the house from the Carroll family. Dorrie Sergeant later married newspaper editor Ted Driver and they took up residence in the stately Federation home.
Ownership went to the Metropolitan Regional Planning Authority in the 1970’s for $104,000 to make way for changes to Riverside Road. Local residents considered ‘The Boat Builder’s House’ an important landmark in the area. The East Fremantle Town Council submitted petitions to the MRPA to lease the old building which, by now, had fallen into a sad state of neglect.
The East Fremantle Town Council took over the property and in 1981 called for tenders for the restoration of the home, for use by the public. Clough Engineering Group were successful with a proposed Bar, Cafe and Restaurant. The Left Bank Bar, Cafe and Restaurant opened in 1990.
RESIDENTS
1903 - 1926: Thomas H. Carroll
1927 - 1932: Mrs T. Carroll
1933 - 1935: Mrs T. Carroll, James T. Carle
1935 - 1938: Henry M. Sargent, Allen H. Sargent
1938 - 1941: Henry M. Sargent; Allen H. Sargent; Edgar Driver
1941 - 1942: Allen H. Sargent; Edgar Driver
1942 - 1947: Mrs Pickett; Edgar Driver
1949: Mrs Pickett; Edgar Driver; Pickett & Driver, boat proprietors
Courtesy of the Town of East Fremantle Heritage Trail, Artist: Miles Noel
“This land was purchased by the Carrolls’ in 1889, with the building colloquially known as ‘The Boat Builders House’. Now the home of The Left Bank.”
