Old Perth Fire Station
Encyclopedia
Murray Street, Perth
Murray Street is one of four main east-west roads within the Perth central business district.The street, the central portion of which has become a pedestrian mall, was named after Sir George Murray, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies from 1828 to 1830.It is the one main road in Perth that...
, at its intersection with Irwin Street, Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
The Fire Station was the first purpose-built fire station in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. It was opened in 1901 and continued in operation until 1979. The building now houses the FESA
Fesa
Fesa tricolor is a species of harvestmen in a monotypic genus in the family Sclerosomatidae....
Fire Safety Education Centre and Museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
.
Built form
The Fire Station was designed by Michael Cavanagh with Romanesque RevivalRomanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
stylistic influences and built around 1900. It is a two storey rusticated limestone and tile roofed corner building, and has a diverse facade with arches, turrets and recessed colonnades.
History
The Fire Brigade's original premises were located in the undercroft area of the Perth Town HallPerth Town Hall
The Perth Town Hall, situated on the corner of Hay and Barrack streets, is the only convict-built town hall in Australia.Designed by Richard Roach Jewell and James Manning in the Victorian Free Gothic style, the hall was built by convicts and free men between 1868 and 1870...
, for which they paid a nominal rent. In 1899 the Fire Brigades Board proposed that land be bought in the proximity of the Town Hall and a new Fire Station be built. In October 1899 it was reported that the Roman Catholic Bishop Gibney
Matthew Gibney
Bishop Matthew Gibney was born in November 1835 at Killeshandra, Cavan, Ireland. He studied for the priesthood at the preparatory seminary at Stillorgan and from 1857 at the Catholic Missionary College of All Hallows, Drumcondra, Dublin...
had offered some land at the intersection of Murray
Murray Street, Perth
Murray Street is one of four main east-west roads within the Perth central business district.The street, the central portion of which has become a pedestrian mall, was named after Sir George Murray, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies from 1828 to 1830.It is the one main road in Perth that...
and Irwin Streets, which was then purchased for ₤3,125. A list of architects was then submitted to the Board which on 26 October 1899 selected Michael Cavanagh, with the stipulation that the building he design not exceed ₤4,000. Michael Cavanagh, was an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
who came from Adelaide to Perth in 1895, attracted by the gold boom prosperity in Western Australia, forming his own architectural firm, Cavanagh & Cavanagh, with his brother James. Cavanagh also designed the Great Western Hotel (Brass Monkey Hotel), alterations to St Mary's Cathedral
St Mary's Cathedral, Perth
St Mary's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth, and seat of its Archbishop, currently Barry James Hickey...
, Mount Hawthorn
Mount Hawthorn, Western Australia
Mount Hawthorn is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Vincent.The Mount Hawthorn area was first selected for urban development in 1887. In the late 1890s part of it was purchased by a syndicate of Edward Wittenoom, a politician and pastoralist; James Hicks and C. L. W....
Hotel (Paddington Ale House), Fremantle Fire Station (1908), St Patrick's Basilica (Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
), Sisters of Mercy Convent (Bunbury
Bunbury, Western Australia
The port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...
) and remodelled the Archbishop's Palace. In the early 1900s Cavanagh was a member of the Perth City Council
City of Perth
The City of Perth is a local government area and body, within the Perth Metropolitan Area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government body is commonly known as Perth City Council. The city covers the Perth central business district and surrounding suburbs...
and a member of the Perth Fire Brigade Board. The building was completed in December 1900 and the Fire Brigade moved into their new premises on 1 January 1901.
By 1910, the Fire Brigade was finding it necessary to expand and decided that the No 1 Fire Station would have to be extended in order to accommodate extra plant, extra workshop accommodation, Boardroom and Officers` Quarters. The block adjacent to the Fire Station in Irwin Street was purchased from the Roman Catholic Church and the Board at a cost of ₤2,100 pounds. This block of land had a school building on it, so the building committee recommended that the Fire Brigade Staff (many of whom were skilled tradesmen) "...undertake the building of the workshops and lecture room with the old material available in the School". James (Jack) Learmonth Ochiltree was appointed as the architect for the additions (Ochiltree's firm, Ochiltree & Hargrave, went on to design a number of Inter-War Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
buildings in Perth). The additions to the building, consisting of new boardroom, offices, apparatus room, ambulance shed, store and chief officers` quarters, and was completed in 1914.
Current use
In 1979, the Perth Fire Brigade vacated the building, which was subsequently restored between 1983 and 1985. The external work involved re-roofing with terracotta tiles to match existing, reconstruction of a limestone arch which had been replaced with a concrete lintel to suit larger and higher engines and replacement of columns, mouldings and original doors which had been removed. Internal work included new timber stairs, toilets and a theatrette. New ceiling cornices and ceiling roses were installed to match the period and the existing. The building was reopened in 1985 as the Fire Safety Education Centre and Museum. In 2006 further refurbishment works were undertaken to address access by people with disabilities to the buildings and facilities.Heritage value
The Old Perth Fire Station building was entered into the Register of the National Estate by the Australian Heritage Commission on 21 March 1978 and was classified by the National TrustNational Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
(WA) on 1 December 1975. The building is also included on the City of Perth
City of Perth
The City of Perth is a local government area and body, within the Perth Metropolitan Area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government body is commonly known as Perth City Council. The city covers the Perth central business district and surrounding suburbs...
's Municipal Inventory and was interim listed on the State Register of Heritage Places on 13 March 1992. On 3 December 2008 the building was permanently listed on the Western Australian Heritage Register.