A big hullabaloo was recently made when it was reported that Bob Hawke’s West Leederville family home was being listed as a rental property for $900 a week.
The 1920s red brick and tile house on Tate Street was purchased by the state government for $1.45 million in 2020 and handed over to the National Trust in 2023.
“In preserving this national asset, we are keeping alive a powerful symbol of Bob Hawke’s rise to one of this country’s highest offices, from a seemingly ordinary childhood in Western Australia,” Premier Roger Cook said at the time.
“Bob Hawke’s House will also be a place where visitors can learn about his life, his political career and the values and principles he held dear.”
National Trust chief executive Julian Donaldson said they were also pursuing a zoning change so they could list the property on Airbnb, potentially raking in hundreds a night.
The earnings would be used to preserve the property, he said.
But one keen Examiner reader was eager to bring to the public’s attention that this is not the first childhood home of Bob Hawke to be turned into overnight accommodation.
Byford local Dennis, who used to reside in South Australia, brought in a photo of the birthplace of Bob Hawke – a quaint cottage in Bordertown.
“I knew the house very well,” he said.
“And I think your readers might like to know of its existence.”
The house was built in 1884 and was originally used as a bank.
Over the past two decades, it was used as an office for UnitingSA and then a Centrelink agency.
Bordertown’s ‘Hawke House’ was bought by the Tatiara District Council in 2021, and rather than turning it into a museum, they decided to make it a bed and breakfast.
After a three-year renovation, the house was officially opened to welcome guests from May last year. And is currently listed for $275 a night.
