Westend/phillimore.html
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Phillimore Street
Sir John Phillimore (1781-1840) served in the Peninsular War (1807-1814). He had nothing to do with Fremantle - or even Australia. I don't know who named the street. Kate Caldwell (1933) writes: 'Possibly after Sir John Phillimore of the Royal Navy 1781-1840), who served during the Peninsular War. Streets were frequently named after officers with whom the Governor may have served at various times.' By 'Governor', does Caldwell means James Stirling? He left the colony in 1838, and I doubt that Phillimore Street could have been identified that early. It could not come into existence until enough of the river had been filled in, and Cliff, Mouat, Henry and Pakenham Streets all ended at the riverbank. Kate Caldwell (1933) suggests the reclamation was carried out by convict labour and therefore after 1850, if she means transported convicts. Reece & Pascoe claim that 'it had been reclaimed by the voluntary labour of the townspeople in the 1840s'.
West to east. Click any image to see it in a larger size.
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Dalgety's Warehouse and Bond Store, 1901, is the first building from the west in both Phillimore and High Streets (1 Phillimore becomes 2 High St). Elder Smith owned it from 1927 until Lionel Samson bought it in 1971. Then in 1983 it was sold, and was later converted into apartments.
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Former weighbridge in the middle of the road with the Google car passing, built in 1921 at the Cliff/Phillimore corner, in the middle of a roundabout system. In Council documents it's called '2 Phillimore St'. Council had approved 2018 that it be repurposed as a bar, but in 2021-3 it's a bike hire shop.
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Behind the weighbridge are the two Dalgety's buildings with the bond store at 1 Phillimore St on the right. Dalgety's Building, aka Elder's Building, cnr Cliff and Phillimore Sts, until recently housed the Wilhemsen Line offices. The Mediterranean Shipping Company moved into it in 2016, having refurbished the building (again).
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Dalgety/Elder/Wilhemsen/MSC Building, corner of Cliff and Phillimore Sts. The 1902 Dalgety building, aka Elder building, Wilhemsen building, Barwil House, and now MSC building, on the corner of Cliff and Phillimore Streets was designed by J.J. Talbot Hobbs, the land having been purchased from Perth Mayor George Shenton between 1886 and 1888.
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Phillimore Chambers, 1899, at 11 Phillimore St and 2-4 Cliff St. Tenants included shipping companies. Designed by Wilkinson, Smith and Wilson, architects, 1899. (Heritage Council)
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Dock Buildings, at 13-15 Phillimore St. Built for its architect, E.H. Deane Smith, in 1899. Frank Biddles owned it from 1903, then Sumpton and Sons 1934-50s. Brian Klopper designed two apartments in the upper floor. It's "... a fine example of a Federation Free Classical style building, with elaborate stucco decoration above the ground floor level, that makes a significant contribution to the streetscape." (City of Fremantle)
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The P&O Building, 17-19 Phillimore St, dating from 1903, was built for the AUSNC (the Australian United Steamship Navigation Co), the initials of which can be seen in the pediment. 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.
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On the other side of the street, the 'Old' Customs House, 1907/8, at 4-8 Phillimore St stands where the first Railway Station and, before that, The Green used to be, on land reclaimed from the river, at the entrance to Victoria Quay. Customs moved into the new Commonwealth offices at 41 Phillimore St before 1987, and the building has since been used by artists, and arts organisations like Deckchair Theatre and the WA Circus School.
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The McIlwraith Building, 1919, at 10-12 Phillimore St, has also been known as Scottish House and Patrick's Building.
The building housing the shipping company McIlwraith McEacharn Ltd., known as Scottish House, was erected in 1917/1919. The company was established in London in 1875 by two Scots, Malcolm Donald McEacharn and Andrew McIlwraith. In 1893 they set up business in Henry Street.
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Hudson House, 1922, 14 Phillimore St. Built 1922 for Charles Hudson (1865-1949), who came to WA from Adelaide to join Sandover & Co, before establishing his own business as an insurance agent. Hudson was involved in many local clubs and societies. The Hudson Building was occupied by various shipping companies over the years, such as Cunard Line, Australind SS & WA Shipping Association Ltd. In 1989 it was occupied by Danzas Wills, formerly George Wills & Co. (Heritage Council). In 2022, it is (short stay) Harbourside Luxury Apartments.
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The Chamber of Commerce, 16 Phillimore St, 1912, still in use as such. In 1853 the Western Australian Chamber of Commerce was founded. The Chamber originally met at premises in Henry Street before the Phillimore Street premises were constructed. The current Chamber building was designed by Joseph Allen [Allen & Nicholas] and reflects the type of commercial structures erected in Fremantle during the expansive gold boom years. It is a two-storey brick building with cement dressings on the front elevation.
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Back on the south side of the street, the horse trough on the corner of Phillimore and Mouat Sts was built in 1924. It was a garden bed for some decades but is now available again for horses - tho there is usually no water in it. See older photo below.
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The Frank Cadd Building at 33 Phillimore St, 1890, known later as Fares House, was built for an importer, J.M. Ferguson.
The new part of the NDU School of Health Sciences building is adjoining, on the corner of Henry Street.
On the other, western side is His Majesty's Hotel, on the corner of Mouat Street.
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The new building of NDU's School of Health Sciences (35?) Phillimore St on the corner with Henry St, on Lot 55. It was designed, like another two or three of Notre Dame's new buildings in the West End, by the firm of Marcus Collins, who died in 2015. In 1844, site of Heard's boatshed, Lots 55-56.
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The Old Fire Station, 1908, was the Bengal Restaurant from 1977 until recently; it is now accommodation for backpackers. The current fire station is the next building to the east.
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The current fire station, next door and to the east of the old one.
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The Jebsens Building, formerly the Robert Harper Building, is at 49 Phillimore St, on the corner with Pakenham St.
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Library:
View of Phillimore Street looking West, c. 1906. The railway is on the right with the old railway station in the background at the foot of Mouat Street. On the left is the site of Uglyland, used in later years as a fun fair to raise money for charity. Behind is Tolley & Co. Ltd. (Lot 97, No 1 Pakenham Street), a bonded warehouse. Tolley and Co occupied the lot from 1901 to 1910/1911. The bonded warehouse carried an immense stock of wines and spirits, using a hydraulic lift and crane to facilitate handling.
The rocky ground on the left in the c. 1906 photo is now the lawn of Pioneer Park. This part of Phillimore St is not yet built. The present Railway Station will be just behind the unknown photographer. At this time the railway station was down where the 'old' Customs House is now, right background. The street heading left in the middle of the photo is Pakenham Street: the Tolley's building (with the name on it in the photo) is still standing - tho the one to the right of that is long gone. (SLWA photo, from Facebook. Click/tap for large size.)
Now the street has been built and the new railway station. Uglieland, with its twin towers, is on what is now Pioneer Park, so the photo was taken after 1922 and before 1936. Look at all the trees on Elder Place! It used to deserve its name as a 'place' (piazza/square).
The same photo reproduced differently.
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Similar view from the same vantage point (perhaps the tower of the Harbour Trust building?), but nearer 1936 than 1922. From Roel Loopers from Freo Ports from WA Newspapers from SLWA. The building with the chimney right background is Fremantle Gas and Coke.
Photo courtesy of Fremantle Ports (via Roel Loopers): photographer and date tba
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The horse trough in this 1935 photo seems to be the same one that is there in 2021 - tho it is now not in the middle of the street, as the area to the left is now grassed. I'm pleased to see the original name, Dalgety, on the Dalgety building. Click/tap to enlarge.
Photo courtesy of Roel Loopers, 4 August 2021, showing the 'lunchbox' on the top of the Dalgety building, put there by the MSC - not the architect!
References and Links
Caldwell, Miss K[ate], 1931, 'Fremantle street names', Early Days, vol. 1, part 9: 45-57.
Reece, R. & R. Pascoe 1983, A Place of Consequence: A Pictorial History of Fremantle, FACP.
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 28 September, 2014 and hosted at freotopia.org/westend/phillimore.html (it was last updated on 19 November, 2023). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.