William Bold
Encyclopedia
William Ernest Bold (6 May 1873 – 25 November 1953) was an influential and long-serving town clerk of Perth, Western Australia
. He is generally acknowledged to be the founding father of town planning in Western Australia.
near Southport
, Lancashire
. After education in Lancashire and the Haberdashers' School in London he was an apprentice electrical engineer on the Forth railway bridge at Queensferry, Scotland, in 1888 to 1890. After returning to London he taught himself shorthand
and worked as a clerk-typist with an Australian mercantile firm in the Baltic Exchange
. He migrated to Western Australia in 1896 at the suggestion of a relative living in Fremantle
.
candidate, who resigned ten days later. Bold's reappointment in an acting capacity in April 1901 was approved only after long debate and a close vote. On 30 September he was appointed town clerk, the youngest in any Australian capital.
of Joseph Chamberlain
and expanded the size and improved the quality of city staff and streamlined its operations. He became a driving force in policy formation, preparing detailed reports for councillors and intervening in council debates. By 1905 some regarded him as the real mayor.
Bold is described in the Australian Dictionary of Biography
as an advocate of “municipal socialism
”:
s, a redeveloped civic centre similar to Chicago's, and an overall plan on 'City Beautiful' lines. The 'Greater Perth' movement made some progress during World War I when Leederville
, North Perth
and Victoria Park
voluntarily joined Perth; but the inner western suburb of Subiaco
remained independent. In 1917, on Bold's recommendation, the 526 hectare Limekilns Estate in the western suburbs, by land already owned by the city, was bought. Sir James Mitchell's state government passed the City of Perth Endowment Lands Act in 1920 which enabled the council to develop and sell land in its trust. In the mid-1920s the council, at Bold's suggestion, invited architects to design satellite towns on the new lands. Floreat Park, Wembley Park and City Beach
owed much to Raymond Unwin
's writings and the 'City Beautiful' movement. The designs clearly showed the effects of Bold's 1914 tour with its parkways, boulevards, playing fields and gardens. Early homes there were functional and cheap enough for the thrifty worker, for Bold was a strong advocate of 'national efficiency'. In 1928 the first Australian town planning Act was passed by state parliament. It owed much to the Town Planning Association of Western Australia, established in 1916, and whose principals were Bold, Carl Klem, and the architect and city councillor Harold Boas
. In 1930 Bold and Boas persuaded the council to establish a town planning committee.
in 1937 enhanced the city foreshore but public criticism of his administration culminated in 1938 in a Royal Commission
. One critic was David Davidson, Perth’s first town planning commissioner, who alleged health and building regulations were not being observed and that there were too many slums.
Bold was awarded a C.B.E. in 1948.
and later at St Aidan's Presbyterian Church, Claremont. He was also a Rotarian and, at one time, a Freemason.
; they had three children. He died at Tresillian Hospital, Nedlands
, on 25 November 1953 and was cremated. His estate
of £7927 was left to his family.
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. He is generally acknowledged to be the founding father of town planning in Western Australia.
Early life
Bold was born at BirkdaleBirkdale
Birkdale is a village and district in the southern part of the conurbation of the town of Southport, within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, though historically in Lancashire, in the north-west of England. The village is located on the Irish Sea coast, approximately a mile away from...
near Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. After education in Lancashire and the Haberdashers' School in London he was an apprentice electrical engineer on the Forth railway bridge at Queensferry, Scotland, in 1888 to 1890. After returning to London he taught himself shorthand
Shorthand
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed or brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphē or graphie...
and worked as a clerk-typist with an Australian mercantile firm in the Baltic Exchange
Baltic Exchange
The Baltic Exchange is the world's only independent source of maritime market information for the trading and settlement of physical and derivative contracts...
. He migrated to Western Australia in 1896 at the suggestion of a relative living in Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
.
Western Australia
In Perth Bold worked briefly with a merchant, and in the same year of his emigration he was clerk-typist to the town clerk of the city of Perth. He became acting town clerk on 27 November 1900, after H. E. Petherick was forced to resign. The council initially rejected his application for the vacant office and appointed a MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
candidate, who resigned ten days later. Bold's reappointment in an acting capacity in April 1901 was approved only after long debate and a close vote. On 30 September he was appointed town clerk, the youngest in any Australian capital.
Town clerk
Bold used as a model the technically-efficient BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
of Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
and expanded the size and improved the quality of city staff and streamlined its operations. He became a driving force in policy formation, preparing detailed reports for councillors and intervening in council debates. By 1905 some regarded him as the real mayor.
Bold is described in the Australian Dictionary of Biography
Australian Dictionary of Biography
The Australian Dictionary of Biography is a national, co-operative enterprise, founded and maintained by the Australian National University to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's history....
as an advocate of “municipal socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
”:
He and the mayor T. G. Molloy, a kindred spirit, partly convinced and partly tricked the council in 1908 into buying out the Perth Gas Co., which produced both gasGasGas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
and electricityElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
; a costly and controversial purchase at the time, it eventually proved a valuable asset to the city. In 1912 Molloy and Bold also fought hard to secure the tramways company, but were outmanoeuvred and outbid by the Scaddan Labor government.
Planning strategies
In 1914 the council sent Bold on a tour of Britain and North America to gather information about municipal experiments and improvements. On his return he refined his 'Greater Perth' concept to include satellite garden and seaside suburbSuburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s, a redeveloped civic centre similar to Chicago's, and an overall plan on 'City Beautiful' lines. The 'Greater Perth' movement made some progress during World War I when Leederville
Leederville, Western Australia
Leederville is a locality within the City of Vincent within the Perth metropolitan region of Western Australia.It is home to Aranmore Catholic College, The Schools of Isolated and Distance Education, Central Institute of Technology Leederville Campus and St Mary's Church.-External...
, North Perth
North Perth, Western Australia
North Perth is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Vincent.This old, established suburb just three kilometres north of Perth’s CBD is a place of mainly solid brick homes built from the early 1900s, many of which are now undergoing extensive renovations in line with the...
and Victoria Park
Victoria Park, Western Australia
The Town of Victoria Park is a Local Government Area of Western Australia. It covers an area of 17.62 km² in metropolitan Perth, the capital of Western Australia. The Town of Victoria Park maintains 154.55 km of roads, a little over 1 km² of parks and gardens and has a...
voluntarily joined Perth; but the inner western suburb of Subiaco
Subiaco, Western Australia
Subiaco is an inner western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, situated to the north west of Kings Park. Its Local Government Area is the City of Subiaco.-History:Prior to European settlement the area was home to the Noongar Indigenous people....
remained independent. In 1917, on Bold's recommendation, the 526 hectare Limekilns Estate in the western suburbs, by land already owned by the city, was bought. Sir James Mitchell's state government passed the City of Perth Endowment Lands Act in 1920 which enabled the council to develop and sell land in its trust. In the mid-1920s the council, at Bold's suggestion, invited architects to design satellite towns on the new lands. Floreat Park, Wembley Park and City Beach
City Beach, Western Australia
City Beach is a beachside suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the Town of Cambridge. Its postcode is 6015. The term "City Beach" is also used to describe a specific beach located within the suburb of the same name....
owed much to Raymond Unwin
Raymond Unwin
Sir Raymond Unwin was a prominent and influential English engineer, architect and town planner, with an emphasis on improvements in working class housing.-Early years:...
's writings and the 'City Beautiful' movement. The designs clearly showed the effects of Bold's 1914 tour with its parkways, boulevards, playing fields and gardens. Early homes there were functional and cheap enough for the thrifty worker, for Bold was a strong advocate of 'national efficiency'. In 1928 the first Australian town planning Act was passed by state parliament. It owed much to the Town Planning Association of Western Australia, established in 1916, and whose principals were Bold, Carl Klem, and the architect and city councillor Harold Boas
Harold Boas
Harold Boas was a town planner and architect in Western Australia. Boas designed many public buildings in and around Perth and was an influential Jewish community leader....
. In 1930 Bold and Boas persuaded the council to establish a town planning committee.
Later career
In the 1930s Bold’s ideas were less successful. The creation of Riverside DriveRiverside Drive
A number of cities around the world have a Riverside Drive.In the United States:*Riverside Drive *Riverside Drive *Riverside Drive *Riverside Drive...
in 1937 enhanced the city foreshore but public criticism of his administration culminated in 1938 in a Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
. One critic was David Davidson, Perth’s first town planning commissioner, who alleged health and building regulations were not being observed and that there were too many slums.
Bold's contention that there had been only minor irregularities was accepted, but the commission recommended immediate revision and updating of the by-laws. Though it described him as 'very efficient and conscientious', the report recognized that in pursuing his 'City Beautiful' ideals he had become a little careless in his administration of the central city area. In his long typescript reminiscences, written in 1944, Bold did not mention the royal commission, though it had dominated his life at the time. At the request of the mayor and council, he deferred his retirement through World War II and, although ill, resigned only after he had trained a successor.
Bold was awarded a C.B.E. in 1948.
Other interests
Bold was organist and choirmaster at the Hornsey Road Methodist Church, London, from 1892-1896. He was assistant organist at St. George's Cathedral, Perth, and from 1897 organist at Wesley Church, PerthWesley Church, Perth
Wesley Church is at 75 William Street at its intersection with Hay Street in Perth, Western Australia. It is one of the oldest church buildings and one of few remaining 19th-century colonial buildings in the City of Perth.-Built form:...
and later at St Aidan's Presbyterian Church, Claremont. He was also a Rotarian and, at one time, a Freemason.
Family and estate
Bold married Nellie Cooper on 9 October 1907 at ClaremontClaremont, Western Australia
Claremont is a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia on the north bank of the Swan River.-History:Prior to European settlement, the Noongar people used the area as a source of water, for fishing and for catching waterfowl. In 1830, John Butler, a settler, set up an inn at Freshwater Bay to...
; they had three children. He died at Tresillian Hospital, Nedlands
Nedlands, Western Australia
The City of Nedlands is a Local Government Area in the inner western suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, located about west of Perth's central business district...
, on 25 November 1953 and was cremated. His estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
of £7927 was left to his family.