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Walk 4

From Fremantle Walks by David Hutchison, 2006, pp. 90-138. (See also facsimile version.)

The West End could be walked in one day, but this would not allow time to linger and examine the buildings at leisure.

The walk starts at the Esplanade end of Cliff Street and then follows Phillimore, Mouat, Henry and Pakenham Streets in turn, with excursions into High Street and several smaller street

Many buildings in the West End are now owned by Notre Dame University. This is indicated by the initials NDUA.

As noted in the 'Brief History', many West End buildings had their verandas removed and, in some cases, their ground floor facades altered. The original styles can be seen on upper storeys.

Marine Terrace

Water Police Station and Quarters

Architect: John Grainger, Chief Architect, Public Works Department
Builder: Herbert Abbott

On the corner of Marine Terrace and Cliff Street. When built in 1903 as offices and quarters for the Fremantle Water Police, this building, in Free Federation Classic style, to would have been close the original foreshore. It replaced an earlier building on the site, which had been used by the police since the establishment of the force in 1851. The Imperial Water Police were charged with ensuring the safety of shipping in the port and preventing the escape of convicts. The force came under the control of the Colonial Government in 1885. Subsequently, the building was used as a sailors rest, and the office section was used by the Architectural Division of the Public Works Department from 1937. From 1958 the building provided low-cost inner-city housing. In 2004 it was divided into six strata titles for mixed residential and commercial use.

Cliff Street

Former Convict Establishment Commissariat

Architects and builders of earlier components: Imperial Convict Establishment

This complex of handsome limestone buildings houses the Shipwreck Galleries of the Western Australian Maritime Museum. The earlier parts were constructed, in the main, by convicts. On entering, the visitor will be in the oldest part of the building, which was constructed in 1852 to answer the urgent need of the recently arrived Imperial Convict Establishment for a store. The stone walls and simple brick arches provide an evocative background for the displays of artefacts from the wrecks of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Dutch East Indiamen.

A 'new store' was built to the north in 1856, but this was reconstructed in 1896. Part of the 'B Store', to the left of the entrance gallery, was added in 1860-61. A Drum Store, built in 1895-96, has been modified by converting the first floor into a mezzanine, to allow for the reconstruction of part of the hull of the Batavia, which was wrecked on one of the Abrolhos Islands, off Geraldton, in 1629.

Parts of the complex, not open to the public, house offices and work areas for staff of the Maritime Archaeology and Conservation and Restoration Departments.

The separate building, on the street frontage, also of limestone, is enhanced by tuck-pointed brick quoins. It was also built in several stages: the central portion in 1852 for offices for the Convict Establishment; the other parts in c. 1894, c. 1896 and 1897. This building houses offices and a function centre. Below one of the windows on the left of the facade can be seen a mailing slot. This section was used as a post office from 1879 to 1890. In front of the central entrance is a small area paved with Yorkshire flagstones. Thousands of these were imported in 1859 to construct pavements in Fremantle.

When convict transportation ceased in 1868 the activities of the Convict Establishment were wound down progressively. The commissariat was handed over to the Colonial Government in 1878 and, in the following year, the buildings were converted into a customs house and bonded warehouse. The Customs Department moved to a new building in Phillimore Street in 1904, and the complex was gradually taken over for use by the government stores and some other departments. The Stores Department vacated the buildings in 1977 and the building was transferred to the Western Australian Museum for conversion into a maritime museum The first stage of restoration was completed in 1979 and the last stage (the former customs house) in 1986.

These galleries are devoted to displays of artefacts recovered from Dutch and colonial shipwrecks by maritime archaeologists. The reconstructed partial hull of the Batavia is a centrepiece. On display against the wall is a replica of a stone portico, prefabricated in the Netherlands, and intended to be erected at the entrance of Batavia Jakarta Castle. The original is now on display at the Midwest Regional Museum, a branch of the Western Australian Museum, in Geraldton.

Other important relics on display include the Vlamingh Plate, and the Gudrun and Samuel Plimsoll figureheads.

The red brick wall on the opposite side of the street marks the site of a limestone, shingle-roofed post office (1899) designed by the influential government architect George Temple Poole. Unfortunately, it was demolished in 1965 before Fremantle began to consciously conserve its heritage.

Old Shoreline Heritage Trails

Note the special buff-coloured bricks in the pavement in front of the Maritime Museum, some bearing symbols in blue of marine life. They are part of the Old Shoreline Heritage Trails that you will see along Croke Street, Marine Terrace (near Henry Street) and parts of Cliff and Phillimore Streets. They mark the former sea and river shorelines. At five point on the trail there are blue mosaic bollards, designed by potter Joan Campbell, that mark major topographical features. They are located at the corner of Essex Street and Marine Terrace, Anglesea Point, Point Marquis, Arthur Head and at the end of Market Street near the Railway Station.

Commercial Building

Architect: attrib. J.J. Talbot Hobbs
Nos. 2-4 Croke Lane - at the seaward end.

A warehouse was listed on this site in the 1891 rate book. The site was owned from 1893 to 1902 by the stock and shipping merchants Dalgety Company, which later relocated to the corner of Phillimore and Cliff Streets. In 1933, the building was bought by Western Star Milling and the rear section was converted to a four mill. The building was sold to the biscuit manufacturers Mills and Wares in c. 1966; it continued in use until the closure of the latter and was converted to residential apartments in 1986.

Down a lane beside this building are two limestone facades, one of them with a simple form of Dutch gable. They may be the only surviving facades from the 1830s and may have been part of the original Shenton Building.

Cliff Street

Elder Shenton & Co Building

Architects: J J Talbot Hobbs (1903), Allen & Nicholas (1957)

At Nos. 37-45 Cliff St, on the corner of Croke Lane. The site featured a number of buildings from as early as 1868. One of them housed the Fremantle Literary Institute and Working Men's Association. George Shenton bought the site in c. 1881 and had new offices and a warehouse constructed on the site in 1883. In 1896 he commissioned the building of a new two-storey facade along Cliff Street for existing buildings. In 1903 a new warehouse and cellar were built, the former designed by J J Talbot Hobbs. The upper part of the facade of the building was removed c. 1925 and four separate buildings on the site were amalgamated. Renovations were designed in 1957 by Allen & Nicholas and, in 1992, the upper storey was converted into residential apartments. In 2005 the offices of the local newspaper the Fremantle Herald were also housed in it.

Lilly's Building

Architect: Herbert Nathaniel Davis
Nos. 34-42 Cliff St. There was a stone house on the site as early as 1844. Captain James Lilly acquired the property in 1880 and operated a business there. He was known as the 'Father of Western Australian Shipping', as he operated the first regular mail service between Western Australia and the other states, and was later manager of the Adelaide Steamship Service Company and co-founder of the Fremantle Gas and Coke Company. An earlier two-storey building was demolished to make way for the existing building in c. 1894. Lilly died in 1903 and the property was managed by his executors. The building was bought by the City of Fremantle in 1973, and demolition was scheduled. Public pressure from the Fremantle community and a National Trust of Australia (WA) covenant enabled it to be saved. It was bought by Peter Grace in 1977 and used as an art gallery for two years. Renovations for this purpose were carried out by Grace and architect Richard Longley. Part of the building is used for residential accommodation.

McDonald Smith Building

Nos. 22-32. The Vincent Family rented a cottage and warehouse on the site in the 1870s and 1880s. The buildings were acquired by Captain Lilly for a time, and it was owned by J E McDonald and Smith from 1961 until the 1970s and then Tompkins and Company took it over as their general store.

Samson Building

Architects: J J Talbot Hobbs (1892), F W Burwell (1898)

No. 31. Lionel Samson, who arrived in the colony on the Calista in 1829, is believed to have been one of the first three people to take up allotments in Fremantle in September 1829, when surveys were completed. In that year he was granted a spirit merchant’s licence and began to operate a wine, spirit and grocery business in a small cottage. He was the acting postmaster in 1830. During a trip to England in 1842, he married Fanny Levi, whose grandfather founded the London Stock Exchange. His son, W F Samson, took over the company after his death in 1878, and the business remained in the family’s hands until recently. Possibly no other business in Australia remained in the one family on its original site continuously for about 170 years. The original cottage and an office building were destroyed by fire in the 1890s. W F Samson commissioned the architect J J Talbot Hobbs to design a new warehouse and premises which were built in 1892. The building was extended six years later, to a design by F W Burwell.

Part of one of the original buildings ('Fanny Samson's House') survived the fire and now houses a company museum.

Facade of the Liebler Building

Nos. 21-29. The building was also known as the Reckitt and Colman Building and is believed to have been constructed in the 1880s or 1890s for the Samson family. The facade was to be demolished in 1967 but, due to two Fremantle identities—Alec Smith, then owner of the Fremantle Hotel, and the cartoonist Paul Rigby—it was saved.
In 2018 it was renovated, with the doors and windows openings restored.
The site behind the facade is a car park, tho NDUA has plans for a building there.

Facade of the Fremantle Tramways Car Barn

Architect: J H Eales. Builders: Abbott & Rennie

No. 1 High Street, west of the Liebler facade. The Car Barn was designed by J H Eales, trams began operating from it in 1905 and the system was fully operational by April 1906. Eventually Fremantle Metropolitan Tramways had four major routes: to South Beach; via High and Marmion Streets to Marmion to the east, with a branch to Fremantle Cemetery, to Bicton via Adelaide Street and Canning Highway and to North Fremantle via Adelaide Street and Stirling Highway. The tramways powerhouse was on the foreshore near Arthur Head. Trams stopped running in 1952. The block of apartments, built in 1986, retains only the facade.

Intersection with High Street

Former Bank of New South Wales Building

Architect: Wilkinson and Smith

On the south-east corner at No. 7 High Street. This was constructed for Captain W M Owston in 1899, and he operated a branch of the bank there until 1916-17. It has a superb carved jarrah ceiling, typical of the sober opulence of older banks. On the top of the facade are scallop shell mouldings, a decoration found on other buildings in the West End. Now NDUA Comms Lab and academic offices.

Former Union Bank

Architects: Robertson and Inskip (Melbourne)

Diagonally opposite, at No. 4 High Street. The original building on the site was Captain Daniel Scott’s residence. The Union Bank of Australia purchased it in 1881 and operated in it until the present building was constructed in 1889. The monogram ‘UB’ can be seen above the doorway. The Church of England bought it in 1930 for use by the Flying Angel Mission to Seamen. The Seamen’s Chapel, next to it, was built in 1937 and functioned until the 1960s; it was deconsecrated after 1966 when the church sold the former bank building and moved to new premises in Queen Victoria Street.
It is now Notre Dame building 32: Arts & Sciences.

Hotel Fremantle

Architects: Wilkinson and Smith

On the north-east corner, No. 6 High Street. This was built in 1898-99 for Bacon Forrest Co. At the rear part of W D Moore's house survives, converted for use as a kitchen. During the defence of the America’s Cup, the hotel was headquarters for the New Zealand team. At that time application of a heavy surface coating masked the texture of the limestone and detail of the stucco mouldings. It lacks its original corner turret and flagpole. The garden area to the north was created in 1986.
It is now the NDU Chancellery.

Two buildings of interest are on the north side of High Street, beyond the Fremantle Hotel.

Tannatt Chambers and Cellars Building

Architect: E H Deane Smith

Nos. 8 and 10. The architect E H Deane Smith designed several idiosyncratic buildings in the city. Tannatt Chambers was built in 1900 and the Cellars Building probably at about the same time. The former has unusual 'Moorish' architectural elements. The latter was originally known as Craig's Chambers and housed various business enterprises, including the ‘Roo on the Roof’ restaurant in the basement, which was opened in the 1960s by the popular press cartoonist, Paul Rigby, who later moved to the United States where he worked for an American newspaper. It is said that, not long after the building was opened, a sailor was found in an attic room with his throat cut and the murder was never solved. Various owners of the building have claimed that the man’s ghost still haunts it.

>> Return to Cliff Street.

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Former Dalgety's Building

Architect: J J Talbot Hobbs

At the north end of Cliff Street. This handsome building—also known as Barwil House—was erected in 1902 for the merchants and shipping agents Dalgety & Co., and is associated with the Bond Store at the rear. J J Talbot Hobbs was a distinguished army officer during World War I as well as a leading architect, achieving the rank of Lieutenant General. He was knighted in 1918.

Dalgety and Company was a major shipping agent and stock and trading firm. In 1927 the firm sold the building to Elder Smith and Company, who remained owners until 1982, and it became known as Elder’s Building. World War II saw it taken over by the Australian Navy as its administration and intelligence headquarters. It recently housed the Norwegian shipping company, the Wilhelmsen Line, owners of the Tampa, which was involved in the rescue of refugees from a sinking vessel near Christmas Island in August 2001, which became a major political issue at the federal elections later that year. This building is one of the most intact in the West End. The entrance lobby off Cliff Street has a handsome jarrah staircase and panels of pressed metal on walls.

It is now the property of the Mediterranean Shipping Company.

Atlas Chambers

Opposite the former Dalgety’s Building, at Nos. 6-8. This building is of unusual design for this part of Fremantle, with its window awnings and a pair of tall pyramidal roofs. The awnings and roofs were tiled at one stage, possibly in place of shingles. This gave them a heavy appearance. The tiles have been replaced with corrugated iron. The site was owned by the Helpman family from 1855 to 1881. From 1880 to 1882 a printer, James Pearce, leased buildings on the site, and in c. 1882 W F Samson bought the property and used it as additional premises for Lionel Samson & Son. From 1901 it was let to Margaret Currie and a Miss Smith who ran a boarding house and restaurant there. The Samsons sold the property to the Municipal Tramways in 1903, which, thirty years later, became the Fremantle Municipal Tramways and Electric Light Board, which continued to own it until 1951. It was then acquired by Elder Smith and Company and leased to Robert Laurie and Company. It was sold back to Lionel Samson and Son in 1968.

Phillimore Street was completed in 1897 to become the main thoroughfare to the Railway Station and Victoria Quay. The section west of Mouat Street is a significant precinct, as recognised by Kenneth Browne, editor of the United Kingdom Architectural Review, who wrote, in 1979:

[In Fremantle] against the generally sober arrangements of the streets and dignified buildings , many expressive deployments are achieved which add up to the town's personality. Noteworthy among these is the spatial sequence experienced in Phillimore Street.

Here the edge of a street grid has been sliced away and creates an unfolding townscape  Though not forming an enclosed static space like a square, the angling of facades slows down the forward movement of the eye, prevents space leak and creates a sense of place. In addition, the narrower approach masks, until the last moment, what is happening around the near corner where a grid road enters unexpectedly and creates a satisfyingly square determination to the main run of buildings. This is admirably echoed in the architecture of the end stop.

Altogether this is a remarkably distinguished assembly of buildings, in which architectural rhythm, expressed in the looping repetition of arches, the curved corners and the strong vertical run of pilasters perfectly complements the placing of the buildings and creates a memorable image. (Quoted in Campbell, 1980.)

Most of the buildings that border it on both sides were built in the decade when port trade burgeoned following the opening of the Inner Harbour. The building line on the southern side follows the original shore of the river, marked by the special bricks in the pavement. It is for this reason that the edge of the street grid ‘has been sliced away’. The buildings on the north side are on reclaimed land. The street was originally wider to allow for manoeuvring horse-drawn wagons. Requirements of modern traffic have resulted in realignment of the kerbing.

To maintain the sequence for walking the West End, the buildings are described from the seaward end of the street, although visitors may like to emulate Kenneth Browne and approach from the other end.

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Former Dalgety's Warehouse and Bond Store

Architect: J J Talbot Hobbs. Builder: W H Vincent

No. 1, at the west end of the street. The rear section, with frontage on High Street, was the Bond Store. The buildings date from 1902-03. Elder Smith and Company also acquired this property in 1927. Lionel Samson and Son purchased it in 1970-71 for use as a bond and liquor store and used it until 1985. It was then sold and has been converted into residential apartments to the design of the architect Ralph Hoare.

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Former Weighbridge

In the middle of the roadway. A transport weighbridge was first installed on this site, near the entrance to the Inner Harbour, in 1897. It was, at first, leased by N Harris and Company, but the City of Fremantle took over management in 1901. The brick office, built in 1921 by Albert Holmes, replaced an earlier timber building. A new weighbridge was built in 1924, and a carriers’ shed adjoining the office in 1934. The reserve was vested in the City of Fremantle in 1959; the weighbridge closed in 1984, when the main entrance to the quay was moved. In 2005 it was leased to Scoot Freo, which hires out Scoot cars and scooters.

>> The buildings along the south side, starting at Cliff Street.

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Phillimore Chambers

Architects: Wilkinson, Smith and Wilson

Nos. 2-4 Cliff Street and No. 11 Phillimore Street. This brick and stucco building, completed in 1899, incorporates some of common Fremantle-style elements. Note the engaged Corinthian columns. Various tenants included Howard Smith Steamship Co. and the Norddeutscher Lloyd shipping line.

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Dock Buildings

Architect: E H Deane Smith

Nos. 13-15. This office and warehouse building was built for the architect, who owned the property, in 1898-99. From 1903 it was owned by a prominent Fremantle businessman, Frank Biddles; the tenants were principally shipping and commercial agents. The premises were owned and occupied by Sumpton and Sons from 1934 until the 1950s. Two single-storey apartments were constructed at the top of the building, designed by Brian Klopper. The stucco scrollwork on this building is similar to that on other buildings in the West End, including the P & O Building and the Railway Station.

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P&O Building

Architect: C L Oldham. Builder: S B Alexander

Nos. 17-19. Built in 1903 for the Australian Union Steamship Navigation Company. A monogram of its initials (AUSNC) can be seen in the pediment at the top. The company established a regular service between Western Australia and the other states in 1893 and opened an agency in Fremantle in 1897. It flourished, having a monopoly of trade routes between the east and West coasts. However, the establishment of the State Shipping Service by the state government, and the influence of the new federal government’s regulatory shipping body, caused its business to decline. The company was taken over by the Peninsular and Orient Shipping Company (P&O) in 1914. Like others in the precinct, this building reflects the confidence created by burgeoning port trade. Its style, with deep arcaded verandas, is similar to several other buildings in the West End, including the Cleopatra and Orient Hotels. The Customs Department was housed in this building from 1903 to 1907.
2005: P&O, Danish Consul, and NDUA College of Nursing.

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Horse Trough

In front of the P&O Building. It was built in c. 1924 when horse teams were used for transport of goods to and from the port. It stopped being used in 1949-50 and, in the early 1970s, was converted to a garden bed.

>> Turn to the buildings along the north side.

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Former Customs House

Architect: Hilton Beasley, Chief Architect, Public Works Department. Builder: Aslin and Warner

At the entrance to the quay. This building is on the site of the first Railway Station and ‘The Green’. It was built in 1908 of brick and Donnybrook stone, and was the first purpose-built building for the Customs Department in Fremantle; its construction reflected the increased traffic for the Inner Harbour. Further work on the building was carried out in 1927 and 1966. In 1986 the Customs Department shifted into the new Commonwealth Offices, prior to the Americas Cup Defence. Since then, this building has been used for arts and theatrical performances and, in 2005, housed Artsource. The facade was restored recently.

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McIlwraith Building

Architects: Oldham and Cox

Nos. 10-12. This has also been known as Scottish House and Patrick’s Building. It was built for the shipping company  of McIlwraith and McEachern in 1919. It has an assured facade of Donnybrook stone, and inside retains the original timber and leadlight partitions. The company head offices were here to the 1950s, although there were other tenants. In 1996 six flats on the upper level were converted into three larger units, under the direction of Forbes and Fitzhardinge.

Hudson Building

No. 14. This was built in 1922 for Charles Hudson, an insurance agent. After his death, in 1851, the building was sold and various shipping companies have since occupied it: Cunard Line, Australind SS and the Western Australian Shipping Association Ltd. In 1989 it housed the business of Danzas Wills (formerly George Wills and Co.). Restorations and alterations in c. 1996 were under the direction of Slavin Architects.

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Chamber of Commerce Building

Architects: Allen and Nicholas

No. 16. Built for the Fremantle Chamber of Commerce and opened in 1912, its design, constructed in brick with a tile roof, can be compared with the former Trades Hall, which was designed by Allen. The facade is typical of the period: highly symmetrical with a recessed central entrance, brick columns and a floral ornament in the tympanum. It was extended in 1956 and renovations and improvements were carried out in 1986 and in 1994-95. In 2005 it was still in use by the Chamber of Commerce.

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Old Fire Station

Architects: Cavanagh and Cavanagh. Builder: J. Lake?

The first fire station was at the intersection of Mouat and Croke Streets. This station was built in 1908. It was occupied by the United States Marines during World War II and was converted to a restaurant in 1977, but was vacant in 2005. The new Fire Station is to the east of it. [In 2019, the old station is backpackers' accommodation.]

Mouat Street

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His Majesty's Hotel

Architect: T Anthoness. Builder: Mr Taylor

On the corner, Nos. 2-8. This was built in 1890 on the site of an earlier pub, His Lordship’s Larder, a single-storeyed, yellow-painted building. The new hotel—more genteel in style—was obviously built to take advantage of the increased passenger liner trade. It was restored substantially in 1999. 2005: NDUA School of Religious Education, School of Teaching and College of Education.

Howard Smith Building

1-5 Mouat Street. It was built c. 1900 for a shipping company founded by Captain William Howard Smith in 1854, which was originally a freight and passenger service between Melbourne and Geelong. After changing the name of the company to Howard Smith and Sons, it expanded its operations to include Western Australia in 1894.
2005: purchased by NDUA.

consulate

Former German Consulate

Architect: E H Deane Smith

No. 5. This is the most idiosyncratic of this architect's buildings. It was built in 1903 for William de Lacy Bacon. It also housed the German Consul, Mr L Ratazzi, a Wine and spirit merchant, and an accomplished linguist and brilliant orator, who was also the Italian Consul. He was interned when World War I started. He also represented the German shipping line Norddeutscher Lloyd, one of the earliest companies to make Fremantle a regular port of call. It was the first shipping line to deliver mail to Fremantle; other lines, at that time, delivered mail to Albany. The textured, rusticated stonework of the building is not common in Fremantle. The German connection may explain the design, which has echoes of old Bavarian architecture. At the outbreak of that War, NDL ships in Australian ports were commandeered and at the end of the war, they were retained by Australia as part of war reparations and used to found the Australian National Line. There was a nightclub here during the 1990s.
2005 NDUA.

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Adelaide Steamship House

Architect: Oldham and Eales (1900), F G B Hawkins (1947-48). Builder: C Coghill

Nos. 10-12. As the Adelaide Steamship Company’s business expanded it needed a permanent office in Fremantle, so bought this site and commissioned the building, which was completed in 1900. The ground floor has granite plinths, rusticated walls and broad Doric pilasters, false balustrades under windows framed with heavily moulded pilasters supporting a pediment. The cornice is heavily moulded, with a balustraded parapet. In 1947-48, after severe fire damage, extensive work was carried out under the direction of F G B Hawkins. In 2005, No. 12 was a private residence.

The adjacent building, No. 14, was also used by Adelaide Steamship Co. It shares some elements of style, including Italianate stucco details, with No. 12. In 2005 a  penthouse under construction may prove intrusive in the streetscape.

Intersection with High Street

This intersection has buildings representative of several aspects of the city s industry and commerce.

wa bank

Former Bank of New South Wales

Architect: J J Talbot Hobbs

On the north-east corner, at 22 High Street and 18 Mouat Street. This former bank building, completed in 1892, for the Bank of Western Australia, is a fine example of Fremantle's neoclassic buildings. It was later occupied by the Bank of New South Wales (now known as Westpac Bank). The ground floor has an ashlar effect above limestone foundations. The decorative parapet has a pediment featuring a decorative arch with ‘AD1891’ in stucco. The entrance has a pediment supported by pilasters; the first floor has engaged Corinthian columns, with engaged pillars below the windows. This building may be compared with another former Bank of New South Wales further east in High Street; the latter has similar elements of style but the engaged columns on this building are more slender.

commercial bank

Former Commercial Bank Building

On the north-west corner, at 20 High Street. The Habgood family had a five-roomed cottage here in the nineteenth century. After Robert Habgood’s death in 1882, his wife sold the vacant portion of the property to the National Bank of Australia in 1884. The bank appears not to have been built until 1902. In 1960 the architects Hobbs Winning and Leighton designed renovations.

>> Move west along High Street.

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Former Bank of Australasia Building

Architects: Wilkinson and Smith, possibly a junior member of the firm, W J Waldie Forbes

No. 18 High Street. The Bank of Australasia was formed in New South Wales in 1835 but did not open a Perth office until 1895. Construction of this building was completed in 1901 and extensions were added in 1909. With its Federation Academic Classical style, it is one of the more handsome buildings in this section of High Street. The style reflects the nineteenth-century concept of banks as solid, reliable and conservative. The bank operated here until 1959 and then leased the property to the Commonwealth Government Marine Branch of Lighthouse and Navigation Services. The Commonwealth Department of Commerce was housed here from 1941 and so was the Department of Supply and Shipping from 1950. When the Marine Branch moved out in 1970, the building was earmarked for disposal, but this did not happen. It has since housed various organisations including the America's Cup Secretariat.
2005: NDUA School of Physiotherapy.

>> Return to the intersection.

Owston's Building

Architect: F W Burwell. Builder: R Rennie

On the south-west corner at Nos. 9-23 High Street. It was built in 1903 for Captain Owston, a pioneer shipowner—he founded the shipping firm of Pearse and Owston. Owston died the same year, after commissioning the building. The former Sandover buildings were demolished to make way for it. The property was inherited by his grandson William Mason Owston. The ground floor facade is not original. One of the early occupants was Watsons Ltd, a smallgoods business, which was so successful that it opened several other stores in Fremantle and Perth under the name Watsonia. The building housed the Waterside Workers Federation, which purchased it in 1955. The federation subsequently moved to a new building in North Fremantle. In 2005 part of the building housed Notre Dame University's College of Business; at the other end of the building is the Roma Restaurant, established by Frank Abrugiato and his family in c. 1940 and still operated by the family.

P&O Hotel

Architects: Cavanagh and Cavanagh (1890s), Allen and Nicholas (1930s)

On the south-east corner at 25 High Street, on the site of an earlier small hotel owned by the Pace Family. After the death of Mrs Pace—whose husband had died earlier—this hotel was managed by Mrs Scott and Pat Hagan and named the Victoria, although sailors who frequented it called it the ‘Cockpit’. In the 1890s it was purchased by Bernard O’Connor and Timothy Quinlan who commissioned a new building, which was completed in c. 1896. It demonstrates the architects’ liking for an exuberant style with a brick and stucco gabled facade. In the 1930s it was owned by the Bahen family, who held it for forty years. In 1938 they commissioned architects Allen and Nicholas to design internal alterations. Its verandas, removed in the 1960s, were reinstated in 2002, although, unfortunately, its clock tower, demolished in the 1930s, has not been restored. 2005: NDUA student accommodation.

>> Return to Mouat Street.

26mouat  28mouat

Nos. 26 and 28

Little is so far known about the history of these two buildings. There was a house on the site of No. 26 in 1880, occupied by Pat Hagan, proprietor of the Victoria Hotel. In 1900 the Strelitz brothers purchased the site, demolished the house and built a warehouse. In 1976, the silversmith, Eric Carr, had No. 28 converted into a house and residence; it received a Fremantle Heritage Award in 1983.
Both buildings are now used by NDUA.

Strelitz Building

Architect: J F Allen

No. 30. This was built in 1897. The Strelitz brothers pioneered direct trade between Europe and Western Australia and had an agency for Alfred Nobel’s Hamburg Explosive Company with agencies and magazines in the Goldfields. In 1897-98, Herbert Hoover — later President of the United States of America — was in the state to evaluate mines for an American company, Berwick, Moering and Co., which had offices in this building. Hoover returned in 1904 as a partner in the company. As German nationals, the Strelitz brothers were interned during World War I but remained owners until 1920 when it was bought by George Evans who established the first paint manufacturing business in the state. The building has Free Classical details on the facade and heavy modelling of stucco decoration. The lyre, symbol of Apollo, the god of fine arts, is incorporated, possibly to represent the brothers’ interest in fine arts. Both were patrons. Richard Strelitz brought St Petersburg china from Russia for the Western Australian Art Gallery.
2005 NDUA.

     

Notre Dame University Buildings

Nos. 17-25, extending from Owston’s Building on the west side, are now occupied by Notre Dame University. The building at Nos. 17-19 was built in c. 1887 for William Sandover, a merchant who occupied it until 1923. Symington and Cameron, merchants, occupied it from 1948 to 1956 when it passed to Goldsborough Mort & Co. Nos. 21-23, originally a warehouse site, is now a pleasant tree-shaded, brick-paved area. No. 25 was the site of an old picture garden and a row of six cottages. The Batemans built a warehouse in the 1880s, which was demolished in 1937, and the cottages in 1942.
2005: NDUA School of Management, Marketing and Media, School of Accounting and Finance, Foley Hall, Reception.

bateman

Former Bateman's Hardware Store

No. 32 on the east side. This was the major hardware store in Fremantle until the 1970s. It now houses Notre Dame University’s Library. The University has restored and adapted its buildings with restraint; this also has a paved courtyard.

Former Drill Hall

Between Croke Street and Marine Terrace. A former Army Drill Hall now used by Notre Dame University as a lecture hall and function centre.
2005: NDUA (in Croke Street wing) School of Behavioural Sciences, School of Arts and Letters, and College of Arts.

Former Court House

Architects: Public Works Department. Builder: J J Harwood and Sons

At the south-West corner with Marine Terrace. This cruciform building was completed in 1884. It has massive walls, up to 60 centimetres thick, and has cells in the basement. The large portico, of three arches with a large pediment, is reminiscent of the Palladian style, perhaps intended to convey the dignity of the law. This building was used by the Uniting Church for some years.
2005: NDUA Courthouse.

[[Fremantlewalks/organisations/freemasons.html|]]

Former Freemasons Temple

On the opposite corner, at No. 26 Marine Terrace. In 1841 Western Australian Freemasons obtained a charter from the Grand Lodge of England giving them the right to establish a lodge in the state. The Fremantle Lodge was the second to be established, in 1865. The building was constructed in c. 1876, and is therefore one of the oldest extant buildings in the West End; an example of the Victorian Regency style, although it has been altered. The Freemasons used the building until 1958. The building was then sold to the Navy Club and the eastern section was added. In 1985 the Italian America’s Cup syndicate negotiated to use the upstairs rooms for their private club.

At this time there were extensive alterations, mainly internal. The Navy Club moved to other premises in 1995. In 1995 new owners partially restored the facade during further renovations, and the original part of the building was used as a restaurant until 2002. The meeting hall within the original building was relatively intact in 2005, but might be affected by a proposed development.

>> Move to Henry Street.

 HENRY STREET

Former Warehouse

No. 52. An unusual building with relatively massive columns. The first record of a building is in 1880, an auction room, which later became a bonded warehouse, the property of Charles Manning. Offices and stables were added by 1900. Manning sold the property in 1921 and there were several occupants until the building passed to city council in 1970, which sold it in 1995 when it was converted into residential apartments.

W D Moore Buildings

Architect: J McNeece (1906). Builders: Abbott and Rennie

Nos. 42-46. This is a significant site. As Kent, Kiera and Dawkins (1988) have shown, it retains evidence of stages of development from the 1830s in business, the economy, building technology and architectural style. The oldest building, dating from the 1830s, is a three-storey storehouse in the rear courtyard. It was built by George F Johnson, but the occupant is unknown. In a wall of an early building are strange stones, probably ballast from sailing ships arriving from England. The property became part of a larger property from 1855 to 1855, when it was purchased by William Tanner. Samuel Moore—a brother of the attorney-general, George Fletcher Moore—operated as a merchant on the site from 1842 to 1845. Until 1862 it remained in Moore’s deceased estate, but the occupant is unknown. For the next six years J H Monger Jr and William D Moore, Samuel’s son, conducted business as merchants, but Moore later operated on his own. His company flourished in a wide range of activities: merchandising, timber, pearling, fish canning, shipping, flour milling and agencies. William’s son, George F Moore, took over the business in 1900 and built a series of additions, surrounding the old house with new offices, stores and a warehouse. The present facade must date from this time. George died in 1935 and the business was managed by his eldest son, John H Moore, until 1945, when his younger brother, Frederick H Moore, took over. Soon afterwards, the firm began to manufacture windmills and, in 1955, moved to premises in O‘Connor, after over a hundred years on this site.

The use of the buildings, under new owners, from 1956 to 1965 is unknown. From then until 1985 the property was owned by Stevenson Transport. With a special America's Cup grant this property was bought by the City of Fremantle and the buildings were restored in 1986-87. Restoration and conservation was preceded by detailed analysis, by the architect Jack Kent, to ensure its validity.

In 2005- the buildings are used as an art gallery and for commercial purposes.

Former J & W Bateman Buildings

No. 47, corner of Croke Street. This is one of the Bateman family’s extensive holdings. John and Walter Bateman’s business was established in 1860, initially involved with the shipping industry. The business expanded and they became ship chandlers, wholesale grocers, shipping and insurance brokers, wine and spirit merchants and ironmongers. They had branches in Perth and Kalgoorlie. By the 1910s a substantial two-storey facade enclosed the premises, which then occupied about 5575 square metres on a site of 1.2 hectares, which would have included the buildings from No. 47 as far as the Orient Hotel. There is now a courtyard behind No. 45.
2005: NDUA School of Law, Prospective Students Centre and Marketing Office, St Joseph’s Hall and Community Relations Office.

D & J Fowler Building

Architect: F W Burwell

No. 38. This is the most imposing building in this section of the street. D & J Fowler was one of the chief wholesale merchandise firms in the state when this site — which extends through to Pakenham Street — was redeveloped in 1900. The main frontage is in Henry Street; with a bold, massive stuccoed facade which features rusticated pillars with foliated capitals and panelled and moulded bases supporting the main entablature which incorporates moulded architraves, a frieze and cornice. The balustrade with piers and pedestals still bears the name of the firm. The large gateway — 5.5 metres wide — was designed to admit 2 loaded wagons. During the 1980s and 1990s it was occupied by the Fremantle Furniture Factory.
2005: NDUA School of Medicine.

Former Sadlier's Customs Agency

Nos. 34-36. A pair of semidetached cottages and a store building were on this site in the 1840s. A warehouse was built on part of the site in 1880 and was bought by W D Moore, the merchant, in 1881 and, two years later, he built a second warehouse for machinery. It was essentially a roofed open space and modern apartments were built within the space in 1992, to a design by architect Brian Klopper. At that time rendering that had obscured the facade brickwork was removed.

Colonial Cottage

Between Sadlier’s and Union Stores. This was built as a cottage and warehouse for the Bateman family in the 1890s. It was bought by Union Stores in c. 1902 and remained in their ownership until 1972. The City of Fremantle bought the remaining facade in 1981 and had the cottage restored during 1995-98 using a National Estate grant.

Intersection with High Street

Union Stores Building

Architect: J McNeece

On the south-east corner of the intersection at Nos. 41-47 High Street. The building was commissioned by John Bateman and completed in 1895; a second storey was added in 1902, probably after purchase by Union Stores. The stucco embellishment of the facade includes engaged Corinthian columns, pediments, string courses and entablatures: elements that can also be seen on other West End buildings. This building was also restored, in 1986, with the aid of an America’s Cup grant. Restoration, supervised by the architects Duncan, Stephen and Mercer, included reinstatement of the verandas.

Orient Hotel

Architects: Cavanagh and Cavanagh. Builder: Atkins and Law

At the south-western corner at 59 High Street. On this site, from 1851, was the Emerald Isle Hotel where, in 1876, the escape of six Fenian prisoners was planned. The Fenians were members of a secret society plotting the end of British rule over Ireland. They recruited many Irishmen serving in the British Army to their cause; as soldiers they were liable to the death penalty for mutiny. Seventy-two Fenians arrived on the last convict transport, the Hougoumont, in 1868. John J Breslin arrived in Fremantle from America in November 1875 and took a room at the Emerald Hotel. He arranged for six Fenians to escape to south of Fremantle, on Easter Monday 1876, where they were picked up by boat and taken to an American whaler, the Catalpa. This vessel was able to avoid capture by the colonial steamer, the Georgette, which pursued it.

The former hotel, which was renamed the Club in 1888, was demolished in 1902-03. The proprietor, Thomas O’Beirne, commissioned the new (existing) building, which was considered one of the superior hotels at that time. The hotel underwent various restoration works in the latter half of the twentieth century, most extensively in 1995 when the two-storey verandas were replaced.
2005 NDUA.
In 2019, the levels above the ground floor are being operated as a backpackers hostel.

Adelec Building

Architect: F W Burwell. Builder: J McCracken

Opposite the Orient Hotel at 28-36 High Street. This was originally known as Fothergill’s Building, as it was constructed for the Fothergill estate. It has had various occupants.

Cleopatra Hotel

Architect: J H Eales. Builder: H C H Carter

Next to the Adelec Building at 24 High Street. This site was originally occupied by the Crown and Thistle Hotel (1868). Pearse and Owston bought the building in 1881 and leased it to Captain E H Fothergill, an English shipowner who previously carried lead ore from the mine near Geraldton to the smelter in Adelaide in his sailing vessel the Cleopatra. He decided to settle in Fremantle. At that time, he bought the hotel and renamed it after his ship. Fothergill was mayor in 1909-10. The hotel was demolished in 1906 and the existing one built the following year. It has a highly decorative facade. On the first and ground floors, banded piers and stucco arches form loggias. The hotel had a number of owners during the twentieth century and underwent some changes.
2005: Edmund Rice Centre, and NDUA.

Marich Buildings

On the north-east corner, Nos. 38 to 50 High Street. There was a shop and residence on part of this site in 1844 and the Royal Hotel operated from one building. Other buildings were constructed during the 1880s and 1890s which had various occupants at a time when the site was owned by Edward Brockman. The property was then bought by Nicholas Marich and remained with his family until 1991. A development was proposed in 2005 for these buildings and for Nos. 28-20 in Henry Street adjoining.

>> Return to Henry Street.

Lance Holt School

Architect: Phillip McAlister (2001-02)

No. 10. The Federal Coffee Palace operated on this site from 1892. The commercial and warehouse premises are believed to have been built for Fremantle businessman, hotelier and investor Phillip Webster. The place had various occupants including Adams Electric and Port Printing Works (from 1950 to c. 1970). The building was purchased by the City of Fremantle in 1972 and housed a Main Roads Department office and the city’s Planning Department.

 Since 1974, it has been occupied by Lance Holt School Inc., an alternative community primary school established in 1970. It is the state’s oldest community school. The school bought the property in 1985 and has carried out various alterations and renovations to facilitate its use as a school and to preserve the site’s heritage.

The rest of the eastern side of this section of Henry Street is occupied by a large complex constructed in the 1980s — during preparations for the Americas Cup — for housing various commonwealth government departments. The complex occupies a large site bounded by Henry, Phillimore and Pakenham Streets and incorporates older buildings and the facades of older buildings including the former Falk and Co. warehouse.

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Former Falk Building

Architect: F W Burwell (1896, 1903). Builder: James Brownlie (1903)

No. 2, on the corner of Henry and Phillimore Streets. When land was reclaimed from the river for railway construction in the 1880s, development on this site became possible. Until 1986 the property was owned by Mr Harrod. It was purchased in 1898 by Mr Gallop, but Lilly and Co. were the registered proprietors. A new building was constructed in 1888-89 for P Falk & Co. to F W Burwe1l’s design. Burwell was responsible for substantial additions in 1903; he was probably responsible for the gracefully curved facade which is all that remains of the original building.

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Facade of former Frank Cadd Building

No. 33 Phillimore Street, next to the parking area, opposite the Falk Building, which, in 2005 occupied Nos. 35-37. The original building at No. 33 was built in 1890 for J M Ferguson, importers and general merchants. It was occupied by Henry Wills & Co. from 1911-1925. In 1925 Frank Cadd Company — Customs and Shipping Agents — occupied the site, when there was a complex of buildings.

Only the original facade of the building at No. 33 survives; the new building behind was completed in c. 1987.
2005: NDUA School of Philosophy and Ethics and College of Theology.
2019: Part of Notre Dame University's School of Health Sciences, together with a new Marcus Collins building to the east on what was a carpark.

PAKENHAM STREET

Former Tolley & Co. Bond Store

No. 1. It is believed that this was built for the wholesale wine and spirit merchants, Tolley & Co. in c. 1901. At that time the firm’s headquarters was in a nearby building, the facade only of which survives at No. 5. The building has an unusual timber-planked basement floor, the possible removal of which was under debate in 2005.

Beyond the Tolley Building, the facades only of 5-9 survive. In 1984 the properties were demolished, except for their facades, to house commonwealth offices.

Facade of former Seppelts Building

No. 5. John Gallop, a fruiterer and, later, proprietor of the King’s Theatre, owned the lot in 1880 when there was a dwelling on it. In 1893 he built a warehouse. He owned the property until c. 1898. From 1897 it was occupied by Tolley & Co. as their head office. A second storey was added in c. 1901 and extensions to the north of the building enclosed the laneway leading to the rear. The existing facade was probably built at this time. From 1912 it was owned by Seppelt and Sons Ltd., also wine and spirit merchants.

Facade of former Seppelts Building

Architect: Joseph F Allen

No. 7. A Mrs McCann owned and occupied a house on this site in 1880 and is believed to have extended it to use as a boarding house. She sold it in 1887 to Fay Lawrence who used it until 1904 when the Strelitz brothers purchased it. In 1907 they erected a two-storey office building for the Vacuum Oil Co. In the same year they bought other lots to expand their warehouse premises, which extended through to Henry Street. Food manufacturers Patterson & Co. bought the Vacuum Oil Co. in 1916 and sold the property to Elder Smith & Co. in 1950. Seppelts bought it in 1968 for storage of wine and spirits.

Facade of former Marine House

No. 9. M Higham and Sons owned a dwelling on the site in 1880. It was extended in 1887. In 1904 the Strelitz brothers constructed a new building on the site. Since then it has had various owners, including the Fremantle Provedoring/Shipstores until the 1980s.

Warehouse

Architects: Allen and Nicholas (1929)

No. 8, on the corner of Short Street. On this site, in 1858, Charles Alexander Manning had a large building erected, which dominated the town. It was known as Manning's Folly. He had intended it to be a sanatorium for officers of the British Army who had been in India — one of Stirling’s arguments for establishing the colony was that it could serve as a rest and recreation centre for service officers and civil servants in India, but none took advantage of Manning’s venture. Manning, who was Chairman of the Fremantle Town Trust (1859-67), had a private observatory on the roof of the building. He founded the Fremantle Volunteer Defence Force in 1861, and died eight years later. The building was occupied by Wallace Bickley, a businessman, and later by Tolley & Co. In 1928, because of its poor condition, it was condemned and demolished. In 1929 a warehouse was constructed on the site for John Lysaght (Australia Pry Ltd), manufacturers of goods including corrugated iron sheets. Alterations were carried out in 1946 and also in the 1970s.
In 2018 this is Quest Apartments.

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Former Terminus Hotel

Architect: J H Eales

No. 18, on the north-east corner with Leake Street. This was built as the Pearlers Hotel in 1887. Nine years later it was leased to Swan Brewery Co., which subsequently purchased it. The name appears to have been changed to the Terminus Hotel then. In 1989 it was bought by Homeswest to provide budget accommodation. The building was refurbished to provide thirty-two lodging rooms with a medical centre on the ground floor.

[[Fremantlewalks/hotels/victoria.html|]]

Former Victoria Coffee Palace

No. 11. ‘Coffee palace’ was the common name for a temperance hotel in Australia in the nineteenth century. This one was built in 1895 and is now used for backpackers’ accommodation operated by YHA Australia Hostelling International. They also operate in the adjoining Willshire and Feely Building (No. 15).
[Since 2015, no longer a backpackers hostel.]

Intersection with High Street

Mason's Buildings (Former Commonwealth Bank)

Architect: J McNeece. Builder: J Anderson

Nos. 66-70 High Street, on the north-east corner. This has been known as the former Commonwealth Bank Building, but the bank did not own the building until 1925. Part of the site (No. 66) appears to have been part of E H Fothergill's estate. From 1882 until 1921 the property was owned by Frederick Mason, alias May, a jeweller and entrepreneur. This two-storey building was built in 1908 as four shops with residences above. Its neoclassical style is ‘softened’ by the plump proportions of the engaged columns. Unfortunately, in 2005, one section of the facade was painted a different colour, disturbing its unity; the awning and shopfront for that section are not original.

Pearse's Building

Next to the bank building, at Nos. 72-78 High Street. James Pearse bought the property in 1899 and it remained in his family until 1945. Wilkinson and Middleton, a tailoring company, moved into the buildings in c. 1900. Both of the partners were born in Ballarat but moved to Fremantle in the 1890s, perhaps attracted by the gold boom. The business prospered. They shared the building with other tenants, including the Singer Sewing Machine Company and several commercial agents. The balcony was altered in 1945. The building's exuberant style may reflect the optimism of the gold boom.

Commercial Hotel

Architect: J McNeece. Builders: Bradley and Rudderham

No. 80 High Street, next to the Pearse Building. An earlier hotel, the Albert, operated on the site from 1869.

The proprietor, Captain Thomas, was one of the first arrivals in 1829; he also had a shipping business. The hotel was known subsequently as the Southern Cross and as the Exchange. That building was demolished in 1907, after Thomas’s death, and the present building was completed in 1908. It was subsequently owned by the Castlemaine Brewery, from 1920, and by the Swan Brewery from 1930 to c. 1972. It has recently been converted to backpacker accommodation.

>> Return to Pakenham Street.

Former Bank of Adelaide Building

No. 64 High Street, on the north-west corner. This was built for the bank in c. 1910. It now has two-storey colorbond additions on top, straddling Nos. 62 and 60 as well. The details of the original building include a crenellated cornice on the parapet and ashlar effect on the ground floor and engaged ashlar effect pilasters.

Central Chambers

Architect: F W Burwell (1906), Duncan, Stephen and Mercer (1991). Builder: R Rennie

On the south-east corner at Nos. 61-63 High Street. This is one of the most impressive of Burwell's buildings. William Pearse, who arrived in the colony in 1830, established a butcher's shop and premises on the site; he prospered by gaining contracts to supply merchant ships bound for the Cape of Good Hope with salted meat. The original shop was demolished in 1906 to make way for the present building, which was completed in 1907. One of its first occupants was a printer. New owners, J and W Bateman, in c. 1956 had a new facade erected, but the original was restored in 1991 during renovations under the direction of the architects Duncan, Stephen and Mercer. The highly decorative first-floor facade features ‘Central Chambers’ in stucco, a parapet with balustrade and five highly decorative pediments. Pilastered and stucco arched windows have decorative stucco above and engaged piers below. The original entrance is between the shops and has stained-glass leadlight highlights. The awning is not original.

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Ajax Building

Architect: J McNeece (part, c. 1908)

On the south-west corner, at Nos. 49-59 High Street.

On this site the Stags Head Inn was opened in 1834. The inn was rebuilt in 1848, and by the 1880s a boarding house, shops and dwellings had also been constructed. The building was sold to John Church, whose company became a substantial enterprise with bulk stores in Pakenham Street. The present building appears to have been built in two stages: in 1900 and c. 1908 — the latter to the design of J McNeece. From 1955 to 1981 it, together with adjoining buildings, was occupied by a furniture retailer, who commissioned internal renovations in 1958 to the design of Eric Moyle.

>> Continue along Pakenham Street.

John Church Bulk Stores

Nos. 21-23. This two-storey building was constructed in 1900 as bulk store for John Church and Co., merchants and ironmongers. It was purchased by J W Bateman in 1930 and continued as a warehouse. In the 1990s it was converted to mixed commercial and residential, under the direction of architect R Hawkin.

Next to the above is the Pakenham Street frontage for the Sadlier's development, and further on is the rear frontage for the D J Fowler Building (nos. 33-35).

>> Deviate into Bannister Street.

Bannister Street Craft Works

Nos. 8-12. The earliest part of this brick building was a wine store and stable for George Alfred Davies, erected in 1893-94. It was enlarged to provide two warehouses, cellars and stables. Walter Mews rented the premises from 1910 for the manufacture of confectionery. Various owners included the RSL Wyola Club. In 1978 it was proposed to demolish it for use as a car park. A local businessman, John Dethridge, and architect Brian Klopper leased the building and restored it in 1979. In the following year, the craft workshops were opened.

Next to it is a complex of modern brick buildings, made partly of recycled materials, designed by contemporary architect, Brian Klopper. The new buildings blend harmoniously with the old.

Fremantle Club

Nos. 7-15, on the opposite side of the street. Stanley Beer House was the first building on the site. In c. 1906 it was replaced by a new hotel, owned by the Swan Brewery Co., the Duke of York. By 1939 it was in use as the Club Giovane Italia, an Italian club. During World War II, when Italy was allied with Germany, the club was renamed the Fremantle Club.

 >> Return to Pakenham Street.

Warehouse

No. 56, on the corner of Nairn Street. The first building on the site, built in 1887, comprised offices and warehouses for W D Moore. From 1883 to 1912 it was used by confectionery manufacturers. It was then occupied by C H Fielding, a wool broker and, from 1924, was used by Westralian Farmers as a skin and hide store. In 1971 it became a workshop and store for a ship repairer, and subsequently a panel beater. It was altered in 1986 to provide a design studio and showroom for Porter and Partners and for the operations of Central Oyster Supplies. In the 1990s it was converted to apartments.

>> Turn into Nairn Street.

Semi-detached residences

Nos 3 and 3a. Little information is available about this building. It appears to have been constructed in the Federation period when Fremantle was being substantially rebuilt as a result of the gold rushes.

[[Fremantlewalks/buildings/eureka.html|]]

Former Eureka Mill and Warehouse

No. 6. W D Moore bought the property in 1864. Possibly in partnership with W E Marmion, he established the Diamond Flour Mill on the site in c. 1870. That mill was burnt down and a new mill built in 1876, and known at that time as the Phoenix Mill. The property was bought by Fremantle Milling Company in 1891 and renamed the Eureka Mill. The company moved to Cottesloe in 1905. In 1950 the former mill and warehouse were used by Westralian Farmers Ltd as a woolstore. In the 1980s the building was altered to house a restaurant with accommodation on the upper level, and in the 1990s the former warehouse was converted to apartments.

In 2005 new developments were under consideration for part of the area between Bannister and Nairn Streets.

Terrace Cottages

Nos. 8-12. This row of three cottages was built c. 1880. In the early nineteenth century the property was owned by the Eureka Mill proprietors, and from c. 1908 to 1926 by Arthur E Davies, a funeral company director, whose firm continued to operate at the corner of Market and Bannister Streets until 2004.

No. 13 (originally 11 and 13). The two four-roomed cottages were built in 1886 for William Back. John Bateman bought the property c. 1899 and it remained in his family until c. 1920, although in partnership with Frederick Hollis from c. 1910. No. 15 became a lodging house in 1876 as did 13a ten years later. In 2005 the cottages were used as offices.

Nos. 16-18 [14-16?]. The first building on the site was a cottage for the Higham family, built between 1873 and 1880. In the late 1880s a new owner, Edward William Davies, a prominent Fremantle businessman, demolished the cottage and had two semi-detached six-bedroom townhouses constructed. The property remained in the Davies family until 1940. In 1983 the residences were restored by the architect Carl Payne and extensions were added in 1995.

>> Return to Pakenham Street. New development was in progress in 2005 in the section between Bannister and Nairn Streets. The other side of this section contains mainly recent buildings.

COLLIE STREET

Former Oceanic Hotel

On the corner at No. 8 Collie Street. The date of the present building has not been determined. This property belonged to William Owston Jr in 1886 and comprised the Welsh Harp Inn and three cottages. After his death in c. 1899, the inn remained in use as a hotel, being renamed the Collie Hotel in 1900. A few years later the name was changed to the Oceanic Hotel. The building was converted to residential accommodation in 1952 and, in c. 1980, was purchased and occupied by the Rajneeshi ‘orange people’. It has reverted to commercial use.

[[Fremantlewalks/buildings/tradeshall.html|]]

Former Trades Hall

Architect: J K Allen

 No. 6. The triple-8 emblem at the top of the building identifies the Former Trades Hall. This signifies the objectives of unionists when it was built in 1904: eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation and eight for sleep. Trades Hall was opened in 1907 and remained the headquarters of the Fremantle Trades and Labour movement until the early 1960s. It was vacant from 1962 to 1968 when it was auctioned. Until 1974 it was the Old Trades Music Hall, offering variety entertainment. From 1974 until 1986 it was a restaurant, including one operated by the orange people known as ‘Zorba the Buddha’. It now forms part of the Esplanade Hotel and is used as a convention centre.

The funeral of Tom Edwards (see pp 56-7, 176) set out from here in May 1919.

Esplanade Hotel

Architect: Oldham and Eales (original building)

On the other side of Collie Street is the original Esplanade Hotel (1897), now part of a larger development. The site was allocated to Thomas Henty in 1830.

The original building was another typical Australian hotel of the period, a two-storey red-brick building with verandas sweeping around the corner. In 1985 it was still relatively intact. Its elegant corner turret reminds us of similar turrets lost from some other buildings. The red brickwork has now been painted cream and the style of the building has been used for the large new extensions along Marine Terrace to Essex Street.

The southern part of the site of the modern hotel contained a warehouse owned by Captain Daniel Scott, the harbourmaster. When the first transported convicts arrived in 1850, the warehouse was used as temporary accommodation.

The original hotel, as it was opposite the Former Trades Hall, was naturally a favourite working man‘s pub. Lumpers used to sit on the ground, under the shade of the Moreton Bay fig opposite, waiting a call-up for work at the harbour. The union leader, Paddy Troy, had wooden benches placed on the veranda where the men could sit more comfortably. The benches have been retained.

Freotopia

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 27 December, 2018 and hosted at freotopia.org/fremantlewalks/w4.html (it was last updated on 4 December, 2021). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.