Is this heritage-listed 118-year-old home Perth's most famous?

• The property: 118-year-old Federation Queen Anne-style weatherboard
• Address: 11 Saladin Street, Swanbourne, WA
• Price: $5 million +
• Private sale
• Agent: Abel Property Sales, Cam McGregor 0419 049 964

Tish Oldham’s strongest memory of growing up at 11 Saladin Street in the Perth suburb of Swanbourne is the day a crew set up to film a scene for Another Sunny Day.

Produced in 1961 to help promote the West Australian capital as the location for the 1962 Commonwealth Games, the 20-minute film includes footage of the garden and of a dance floor installed in front of the return verandah with its turned timber posts and decorative valance.

Tish and her friends were among the party guests asked to dance, sip cocktails and help themselves to a buffet dinner while the cameras rolled.

“I was 21 at that time and, you know, it was just fun to have a party in your house and be able to ask all your friends, and we all dressed up,” Tish says. “And the big fun of it now is I can go back and check what we all looked like.”

The film reveals that very little has changed on the facade of the 1907 home, a heritage-listed, two-storey weatherboard built in the Federation Queen Anne style.

Tish’s parents, John and Ray Oldham, bought the home in 1957, and Tish remembers being able to walk to school with her sister Jan, running into the boys from Scotch College along the way.

She also remembers the affection her parents had not only for their home, but for other historic properties in Western Australia.

As founding members of the National Trust of Western Australia in 1959, John and Ray knew more than most about the importance of preserving the built environment.

Ray was a key figure in the campaign that saved Barracks Arch, and she is remembered as one of Western Australia’s early heritage conservation pioneers, receiving an Order of Australia in 1985 for her services.

She was also the first female president of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society, a journalist and, with John, authored two books on colonial architecture.

John was also an OAM recipient, though his award, in 1990, was for services to landscape architecture.

John was instrumental in introducing professional landscape architecture to Western Australia and is well known for his innovative, environmentally sensitive designs of Perth’s major public spaces and infrastructure, especially the Narrows Interchange and Swan River foreshore.

At home in Saladin Street, John’s garden was partly informed by his appreciation for Japanese landscaping, which Tish says was seeded during a study trip to Japan.

Tish says he liked to work with local rock and used the “rule of three” in both rock formations and plantings, to create rhythm and visual interest.

While it’s been many years since John tended the gardens – he died in 1999 – the 1644-square-metre lot offers plenty of space for al fresco entertaining under the majestic gums, and the opportunity to enhance the existing landscaping.

Inside, you’ll find plenty of original features, from the stained glass and leadlights in the foyer to the faceted bay windows found in the living rooms and in two of the upper-level bedrooms.

There are hardwood floors, a lovely timber staircase, open fireplaces, picture rails, and high ceilings with decorative roses. A separate kitchen with a free-standing cooker has plenty of space for casual meals, though Tish says the family nearly always ate in the formal dining room.

“My mother was very strict on table manners … and we always had a properly set table for dinner,” she says.

From the top floor, you can catch glimpses of the ocean and views to the Perth Hills across the treetops.

Alongside the main house is a secondary, two-storey dwelling perfect for intergenerational living or additional income. It features open-plan living spaces on the ground floor and three bedrooms upstairs.

Offers

11 Saladin Street, Swanbourne WA 6010

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Located close to Swanbourne’s southern border, Saladin Street has plenty of amenities nearby, including Swanbourne and Cottesloe beaches, Lake Claremont Reserve and Cresswell Park.

The Swanbourne strip shopping hub is a short stroll away, and the Side Piece Deli, North Street Store and Daisies Cafe are nearby favourites. There are also plenty of good schools and city transport within easy reach.

“A property of such provenance, scale and potential is exceedingly rare in Swanbourne and neighbouring Cottesloe, and represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure your place within its gorgeous story,” says agent Cam McGregor of Abel Property Sales.