Buildings/p&o.html
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P&O Building
17-19 Phillimore St, 1903
The P&O Building, 17-19 Phillimore St, dating from 1903, was built for the Australian United Steamship Navigation Co, the initials of which, AUSNC, can be seen entwined in the pediment.
Photo courtesy of Fremantle Ports (via Roel Loopers): photographer and date tba, c. 1900? The largest sign on the building is that of George Wills & Co., tho the name of the Australian Union Steamship Navigation is above the entrance. Also in the building at that time were McIlwraith McEacharn, who would soon, in 1919, have their own building on the other side of the street: Scottish House.
Wikipedia:
The former P&O Building, also known as the Australian Union Steamship Navigation Company building, is a heritage-listed building in Phillimore Street in the west end of Fremantle, Western Australia.
Following the opening of the deep water port in Fremantle in 1897 many shipping and transport companies acquired land in the area and commenced building offices and warehouses.
The Australian Union Steamship Navigation Company acquired land along Phillimore Street and constructed the existing building there in 1903.
The principal architect of the building was Charles Lancelot Oldham, who designed the two-storey, brick and stone structure in the Federation Free Classical style with an imposing facade and arches around a large centrally located pediment. The ground level has a recessed colonnade entrance porch while the upper storey has a recessed colonnade arcade with balustrading. There are horizontal shadow lines on the ground floor and with a balustrade parapet and a triangular stuccoed central pediment. The initials AUSNC, for the initial owner, can be seen on the pediment.
The steamship company was taken over by P&O in 1914 after the state Government took away the company's monopoly by forming the State Shipping Service.
The building was listed with the National Trust in 1974.
In 1996 the Danish Consul and the shipping company Maersk had offices on the upper floor while the University of Notre Dame business school occupied the ground floor
The building is currently occupied by the School of Nursing and Midwifery of Notre Dame University. The University spent A$2.78 million on refurbishing both the P&O and the neighbouring Howard Smith Building prior to moving in. The architect for the renovation was Marcus Collins and the builder was Bill Fairweather. Wikipedia.
Heritage Council:
P&O Building, a two-storey, Federation Free Classical style, brick and stone office building, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
it is one of several shipping offices erected in Fremantle following the opening of the deep water port in 1897, and in response to the growing prosperity of the State as a result of gold discoveries;
the aesthetic qualities of its facade imparted by the rhythm and grouping of the arches balanced about the dominant centrally located pediment and the bold treatment of the arcades;
it contributes to a streetscape of historic buildings of the same period and similar architectural style; and, it is a fine example of the architectural design of prominent architect Charles Lancelot Oldham. (Heritage Council)
References and Links
Heritage Council
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 5August, 2016 and hosted at freotopia.org/buildings/p&o.html (it was last updated on 18 March, 2024). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.