The Pebbles (house)

The Pebbles
The house in 2020
The Pebbles (house) is located in Melbourne
The Pebbles (house)
Location within Melbourne
Interactive map of the The Pebbles area
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeHouse
Architectural style
Federation California bungalow
Location57A Droop Street, Footscray, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates37°47′47″S 144°53′47″E / 37.79639°S 144.89639°E / -37.79639; 144.89639
Completed
1920 (1920)
ClientFrancis George Whitehill
Technical details
MaterialRed brick; cedar and other timbers; crushed quartz pebbles; terra cotta
Design and construction
Architecture firm
Schreiber and Jorgenson
Official name
The Pebbles
TypeRegistered place
Designated16 October 1997
Reference no.H1308
HO35
Category
Residential buildings (private)
References
[1][2][3]

The Pebbles is a house located at 57A Droop Street, on the corner of Geelong Road, in Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia. The house was built in 1920 and is an early and intact example of the popular Australian adaption of the California bungalow style in suburban Melbourne.

The property was added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 16 October 1997 in recognition of its architectural significance;[1] having been added to non-statutory heritage lists by the Victorian branch of the National Trust on 3 September 1987[2] and the City of Maribyrnong on an unknown date.[3]

History

The Pebbles was designed by architects Schreiber and Jorgenson and commissioned by Francis George Whitehill, who occupied the dwelling from the time of construction in 1920 until about 1930. Whitehill, a former dairy farmer, was one of three members of the same family who became property developers.[1]

Description

The Pebbles is a Californian bungalow of red brick with rough cast and cedar shingles to the gable ends, and large crushed quartz "pebbles" as decorative elements in the verandah piers, chimney, and infill panels to the fence. There is also extensive use of timber in the pergola gateway, pergola, and verandah brackets. It's design has significant Japanese-style timber detailing and joinery.[1]

The Pebbles is of importance for its design excellence, being one of Victoria's best and most distinctive suburban Californian bungalows. It presents bold elevations to two street frontages and displays a wide variety of typical bungalow elements including low pitched gabled roof and distinctive roof forms with widely overhanging eaves, squat piers decorated with pebbles supporting the verandah roofs, and use of shingling and roughcast. The extensive use of timber and unusual internal and external joinery details highlight the Japanese influence on bungalow design. Of particular note are the fireplaces, and timber work in the entry hall, dining room and sitting room. The Pebbles is complete with its original fence and pergola gateway.[1]

Inside there is much more of the timber detail but with a French polish and in a highly fretted form, each ornamental portal framing the path from one large space to another. Unlike the usual Bungalow plan which has a hall opening via glazed double doors into the adjacent receiving rooms, The Pebbles' main rooms communicate directly with the hall, the ornate timber screen being the only division.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Pebbles, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1308, Heritage Overlay HO35". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 "The Pebbles Bungalow (National Trust list), Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1308". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Pebbles (local government list), Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1308, Heritage Overlay HO35". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
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