Address: 3164 Balfour Avenue
Built: c. 1913
Householder: Thomas Palmer, deputy chief of policeThis Craftsman-style bungalow has a shallow-pitched roof, side-gables and a wide, shed dormer. It has a full-width front verandah with central front-facing steps; there is a boxed bay window on the right side of the house. The house is now covered in stucco and many Edwardian decorative exterior elements have disappeared. However, a dentil course under the porch is still visible and the front door is original. Some original woodwork inside the house has survived.
Work on this dwelling may have started at the end of 1912: a septic tank permit was issued for the property on 26 December 1912. The house appears on a fire insurance plan of the neighbourhood dated July 1913. The plan also shows an automobile garage on the property. Although the new dwelling was occupied in 1913, the final plumbing permit for the house was not issued until 4 August 1915. (Balfour Avenue was then called Emma Street. The name of the street was changed to Balfour Avenue in 1917.)
This was the home of Thomas and Kate Palmer and their children. The Palmer family had previously lived at 739 Kings Road and were enumerated there in the 1911 census. Thomas Palmer was deputy chief of the Victoria Police Department, a rank he had held since 1909. In 1915, he was nearly killed by a demented police constable. Palmer survived, according to a newspaper report, thanks to his “cool, controlled and courageous demeanour.” The episode occurred in the aftermath of an anti-German riot in downtown Victoria. The riot was sparked by news that a German U-boat had sunk the passenger liner Lusitania in the north Atlantic. A police constable assigned to crowd control was reprimanded by Palmer for drinking alcohol on duty. The aggrieved and still-intoxicated officer then attempted to shoot Palmer with his service revolver! Fortunately, the gun misfired and Palmer was able to overpower his assailant.
The Palmer family moved out of this house in 1916. The house was then occupied by Dr. Alfred Primrose Wells, a physician, and his family. There was a tragic connection between the two families: both lost sons in combat during the First World War. Roy Palmer, who had enlisted in the 88th Victoria Fusiliers at the beginning of the war, was killed in June 1916. James Bowen Primrose-Wells, who went overseas with the 48th Battalion, was killed in March 1918.