WEST KIMBERLEY PLACE REPORT - Department of Sustainability ...

Derby initially developed as service and export centre for livestock, and then later as
an export centre for zinc and lead, servicing the nearby Fitzroy Crossing mines.
Research on these towns demonstrates that neither Derby or Fitzroy Crossing meet
threshold for National Heritage listing.
The town site of Broome at Roebuck Bay was gazetted in 1883. By 1884 Broome was
connected to the outside world by a steamer service and by 1890 the town had some
buildings and services for the pearl shell industry, a police station and a customs
house.
Before the First World War, Broome was well established as a town with a mosque,
state and convent schools, a government hospital, a hospital for Japanese and by 1921
it was connected to Perth by an air service. The dominant industry in Broome was the
pearl shell industry. The function of Broome as a pearling port influenced the town's
characteristics. In particular the alignment of the town's road grid with Roebuck Bay
and the segregation between worker and manager housing is evident. The use of
corrugated iron buildings (mostly pre-Second World War) with verandahs and
balconies is also a noticeable town feature. This character continues to be reinforced
by modern infill development.
The Urban and town planning thematic heritage study (City Futures 2007) notes that
regional Western Australian towns of the late nineteenth century tended to be
'piecemeal', lacking originality in terms of town planning. Of the towns Broome,
Derby and Fitzroy Crossing, Broome has an evolved visual character based on the
dominant architecture of the town which is formed from a corrugated iron
architectural style. Of particular note in Broome are a number of small scale workers
cottages and shops illustrating this style. These buildings have now become gentrified
in response to the increasing tourism to the area. More recent infill development
within the town is also modelled on the corrugated iron character of architecture.
Research indicates that Broome's historic streetscape areas could be important as
many of the corrugated iron urban landscapes have been lost elsewhere in Australia.
Corrugated galvanised iron as a material was introduced into Australia by about 1850.
Portable iron buildings were also imported for use in the gold mining towns of
Victoria in the 1850s.
Curving and corrugating of iron sheets was undertaken in Australia in the latter half of
the nineteenth century. The metal was a popular material used in the construction of
rainwater tanks and verandah roofs. It became commonplace in vernacular and
industrial architecture in the second half of the nineteenth century and from 1890-
1910 improved steel making methods led to the replacement of iron by steel. Its use in
remote areas is also noted.
Galvanised iron buildings in many towns were replaced after the Second World War
and the material was recycled for other purposes. Some places do however still retain
some of this built fabric. Pine Creek (Northern Territory), the Oxide Street Precinct
(Broken Hill) and areas of workers cottages in Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie, for
example, retain corrugated iron housing, often referred to as 'tinnies' or 'tin towns'.
Some of these areas are conservation precincts.
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