ARCHITECTURE
Inter / Post-War Bungalow Porch House
No 84 Oakover Street is a single-storey house constructed in limestone and brick with a hipped and gable tiled roof. It is an expression of the Inter-War Porch style. It is asymmetrically composed with a thrust gable bay and a gable roofed porch. The porch is supported on brick columns over a brick balustrade. The elements are all detailed in brick and barges. The guttering contributes to the detail. The porch is flanked by casements and fixed lights under tiled awnings.
The place is set on limestone foundations.
HISTORY
"My Grandfather James (Jim) Bourke and Grandmother built this house from scratch just after the WWII. (I still have documents pertaining to the loan). My Grandfather was a foreman on the wharf and held office in the Fremantle Lumbers Union and is buried with my Grandmother in the Fremantle Cemetery. My father married my mother and raised 6 children in the house. I had a very happy childhood at this place with my two brothers and three sisters climbing the trees, looking after the chooks and getting up to general mischief under the watchful eye of conservative neighbours. The mortar between the bricks lacked lime to bind it together and my father was continually mixing cement to replace the mortar was it wore away in the 1960s and 70s probably due to post wartime shortages with rapid development. Additions to the house were undertaken about 1966 with a rumpus room added at the same time that the suburb received infill sewage. As a boy my father told me that Mr Tom Fox MLA was great friend with my Grandfather and Grandmother and lived adjacent at the end of the house block. Beyond that it was just bush!"
Patrick Bourke 2019
1944 Holiday Resorts. Wanted, one or two unfurn Rooms, use of kitchen, suitable mother and 2 children. Write 84 Oakover-st., East Fremantle. (reference)
1946 After 45 years' residence on the goldfields, Mrs. L. E. Goddard, is leaving to make her home with old friends, Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Bourke, of 84 Oakover street, East Fremantle. During her long years here, Mrs. Goddard has made many friends and has taken an active part in community work. (reference)
1946 Lost and Found. Lost from 84 Oakover-st., East Fremantle, 1 white Cockatoo. Tuesday evening. Reward. (reference)
1950 General. Lost at East Fremantle, gent's gold Wristlet Watch. Finder please communicate 84 Oakover-st., East Fremantle. Reward. (reference)
1952 Engagement. The engagement is announced between Eileen May, only daughter of Mrs. Eileen Major and the late Mr. Major, of Gwalia, to Joseph, younger son of Mr. and Mrs. Bourke, of 84 Oakover-street, East Fremantle. (reference)
1953 Funeral. The Funeral Service of the late Mr. James Edmund Bourke, of 84 Oakover-street, East Fremantle, will take place in the Roman Catholic Cemetery, Fremantle. (reference)
RESIDENTS
1941 - 1949: Bourke, J.
