Guide 3: Townsville Fences

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Introduction

This brochure provides a guide to the reconstruction or restoration of the fences which were an integral part of the Townsville House. A separate guide has also been produced by the Townsville City Council to assist in the reconstruction of the gardens of the houses or to restore substantially intact original gardens.

Prior to starting on the conservation of fences, Guides 1 and 2 in this series should be read carefully and understood - if you are not sure about something, please contact the Heritage Unit of the Townsville City Council for assistance.

Guide 1 in the series of The Townsville House provides details on the subject of conservation and why it is important that any conservation (or restoration as it is commonly known) should be to the highest standard achievable.

Guide 2 in the series explains the methods to be followed to trace the history of your house. The history of your house will be relevant to the contents of this brochure as it will establish the era to which the fence relates.

An early view of North Ward - even though houses varied in form and size, all had picket fences which collectively tied the streetscape together. (James Cook University of North Queensland Collection)

Why do houses have fences?

Houses generally had fences for a variety of reasons such as to define the owner's territory and to keep the children in and livestock out. In Townsville's case, they also served to exclude, from the yard, the wandering herds of goats in the area that could do a great deal of damage in a short space of time to the vegetable patch or the flower garden.

Although the houses had a variety of appearances, the fences often served to present a unified streetscape by all being of simple timber pickets painted a light colour. As a general rule, decorative fences were normally provided to the footpaths only, the other boundaries of the allotment being fenced with the less expensive wire mesh.

The Townsville Fence

Form and Appearance

'Wandella', an early Townsville residence - the photograph was obviously of the house, but the fence is included in remarkably clear detail. (John Oxley Library Collection)

Townsville fences took a variety of forms. Fences in the workers' suburbs were generally of timber posts and rails with timber pickets. Timber gate-posts and corner posts sometimes were of large sections of timber with decorative tops while the remainder of the posts, more often than not, had tops which matched the shape of the picket tops.

The height of the fences was generally in the range of 110-120cm with occasionally some higher. The line of the tops varied from concave curves, convex curves, inclining from the posts for two or three pickets and then level or simply straight.

Some of the more affluent residents, such as those on Melton and Stanton Hills, chose cast iron palisade fencing. Palisade fencing consisted of flat metal rails spanning between rendered brick piers with metal rods through the rails and cast iron spearheads on top of the rods. At the base of the fence, between the piers, were usually rendered brick plinths. There were also rare examples with wrought or cast iron panels between the piers.

Gates usually matched the fences in material and general form. Timber picket fences usually had timber framed gates with the picket details reproduced in the gates. In palisade fencing, the gates would usually reflect the details of the fence metalwork.

The tops of timber pickets came in a variety of shapes. Common shapes included pointed, curved each side and pointed (usually referred to as 'Gothic') with the tops rounded off in some examples, curved each side with a scallop added at the edges (sometimes called 'spearhead'), double curved each side with rounded tops and just plain square cut.

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Development over the years

Even most of the grandest of Townsville residences still only had a fence of timber pickets rather than the more expensive brick with iron panels (John Oxley Library Collection)

Even the most modest of dwellings had fencing - note the diamond shaped post tops and the side fence of bush poles and K-wire mesh (James Cook University of North Queensland Collection)

The fences of Townsville underwent a renaissance of form in the early part of the 20th Century. Many of them changed from standard picket fences to having precast concrete posts and concrete bases with a variety of infill panels.

Infill panels ranged from timber pickets (which could have actually been the earlier pickets cut down and reused), through to wrought iron with iron or mesh infills, and simple pipe frames with mesh or chainwire within the frames.

The gates generally matched the fence panels when the panels were metal. When the fence panels were of timber pickets, the gates seemed to have been either pipe framed with wrought iron decoration and wire mesh, or completely of wrought iron.

The reason for this development in fence designs is unclear. It is known that Townsville suffered quite severe flooding, especially in such suburbs as South Townsville and Railway Estate, prior to flood mitigation work. It is also known that many original picket fences were victims of the flooding as the water would dam up behind the fences and push them over or even wash them away.

Perhaps the flooding, together with the deterioration of the timber fences through dry rot and termite attack, enticed owners to adopt more durable materials such as concrete when rebuilding their fences.

It appears that the concrete fence materials started quite a fashion in Townsville. There was a proliferation of the fence form throughout the city, even in suburbs where it would seem that floodwaters would be very unlikely to have had any effect.

Still later in the history of Townsville, possibly in the 1940s and 1950s came the plain 'Cyclone' fencing of full pipe framing and chainwire mesh. While they were no doubt very economical, such fences did little, by their very transparent appearance, to retain the continuity of the streetscape provided by the more solid fences.

Conservation of the Fence

Research

If you have read Guide 1 in this series and have undertaken the research on the history of your house recommended in that guide, you may have been fortunate enough to uncover some photographs of your house from early in its life.

Any photographs thus found may also provide quite clear evidence of the type of fence, its height and the components which went to make up the fence. This information will be invaluable for the faithful reconstruction of your fence.

However, it is important to investigate any later fence forms that may have existed. Neighbours or previous owners may also be able to provide valuable knowledge to assist in a full understanding of the changes made to your fence over time.

If it is found that the fence was elaborate - for example, a cast iron palisade fence - and you want to reconstruct it, it would probably be wise to seek the assistance of a conservation consultant to prepare drawings and specifications for the work.

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Physical Investigation

A well preserved Townsville fence - the fence pickets, the valance battening beneath the house and the stair balusters all in crisp white present a unified tropical appearance (Ralph Power Associates Pty Ltd)

If the fence is missing, there will obviously be little in the way of physical evidence to guide its conservation.

There may, however, be evidence below ground that may assist. For example, careful excavation along the alignment of the property may produce the remains of the original fence posts. Although not always the case, it was usual that the posts were spaced at approximately 240cm centres which may provide a starting point when measured from the side of a surviving path.

The existing fence may be original but has become dilapidated over time. In such cases, before it is taken apart for repair or reconstruction, make a sketch of the fence noting the heights, the line of the top of the pickets and so on. Take some photographs, both close-up and distant. All this will provide a record to work to later.

If yours is the type of fence with concrete posts and bases and most of the fences in the street are similar, it would be appropriate to retain that type of fence. Conversely, picket fences could be chosen if that type is typical in the vicinity or if most of the earlier fences are missing.

It is important that the fence provided suits the era of the house - for example, a Victorian fence would not suit a 1930s house just as a 1930s fence could look totally out of place in front of a Victorian residence.

It is also important that the fence should not be too elaborate or fancy for the house or for the area in which the house is located. For example, the workers who lived in the suburbs simply could not afford iron fencing and therefore its erection to the front of a worker's cottage today would be out of place.

The fence should not be too high - 120cm should be the maximum - so that the scale is correct and the house behind can still be appreciated. If privacy is required for the rear yard, consider a higher screen fence further back beside the house, say in line with the main core section of the house.

Materials

A Townsville fence in need of conservation - a couple of new pickets, some extra nails, a check of the timber rails, a good paint job and perhaps a concrete cap on the post should put it right (Ralph Power Associates Pty Ltd)

If there is sufficient of the fence remaining, reconstruction or repair should involve using material, for example timber species and sizes, which are the same as the existing.

When the fence is missing, then the species for reconstruction of a timber fence should be hardwood of appropriate durability. If hardwood pickets are not available, the treated pine pickets now common could be used but ensure that they are of good quality and painted as soon as possible.

Metal components in a fence may have corroded over time. Provided the metal is sound and can remain, there are good products available, such as rust convertors, with which to treat the corrosion.

If brick piers are cracked and unstable, or if concrete components have cracked or spalled, i.e. rusting of the reinforcement has caused the concrete to fracture, bringing in professional tradesmen for repairs would be advisable.

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Further Reading

Woods Bagot Pty Ltd and Dorothy Gibson-Wilde, Urban Conservation Study, prepared for the Townsville City Council, December 1993

N.S.W. Department of Planning, Getting the Details Right - Restoring Australian Houses 1890s-1920s, The Flannel Flower Press, 1989

National Trust of Australia (Victoria), Fences & Gates C.1840-1925, Australian Council of National Trusts, 1988

Ian Evans, The Australian Home, The Flannel Flower Press, 1983

Ian Evans, Restoring Old Houses, The Macmillan Company of Australia Pty Ltd, 1979

Balwant Saini and Ray Joyce, The Australian House - Homes of the Tropical North, Lansdowne Press, 1982

This brochure has been prepared for the Townsville City Council by Geoff Morton, Cultural Heritage Consultant, in association with Ralph Power Associates Pty Ltd.

For advice on various technical aspects of house conservation, please refer to the series Conserving the Queensland House, prepared by the National Trust of Queensland, and available from the Heritage Unit of Townsville City Council or from the National Trust Centre, Castling Street, West End.

For more information, please phone 4727 9000 or contact the Special Projects Unit.

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