The Esplanade Hotel is a hotel located opposite

Esplanade Park Esplanade Park is a park located at the Esplanade area within the Downtown Core district of Singapore. History Built in 1943 when Singapore was ruled by Japan, the Esplanade Park is one of the oldest parks in Singapore. The park was redevelope ...

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. The building stands on the site of the first building used for housing convicts transported from Great Britain in 1850.

History

The first building here was a warehouse built by Daniel Scott, the first harbour master and the first chair of the town council. This building was pressed into service as temporary home for the first 75 convicts who arrived in 1850 from Great Britain. The convicts lived here whilst they worked to build a convict establishment that would, in time, be called Fremantle Prison. This connection is remembered by the current hotel who call their restaurant the "Harbour Master".The Esplanade Hotel, Fremantle
, accessed 23 August 2013 A later building on the site was a two-storey dichromatic brick dwelling with a

shingle Shingle may refer to: Construction *Roof shingles or wall shingles, including: **Wood shingle ***Shake (shingle), a wooden shingle that is split from a bolt, with a more rustic appearance than a sawed shingle ***Quercus imbricaria, or shingle oak ...

roof and a two-storey

verandah A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''veran ...

that addressed the waterfront. It was built in 1875 and was known as 'Cranworth House'. It was occupied by Philip Webster (an

auctioneer An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

) from 1879 until 1884, when it was purchased by Mr. H. J. Saw for £4,500. In 1884 the building was extended along Marine Terrace to the corner of Collie Street and renamed the 'Hall of Commerce'. The extension was built with locally quarried limestone and the shingled roof and verandah were continued in the new portion of the building. In 1895 the building was used as a hotel for the first time by William Meadly, who leased the premises from George Hubble and applied for the first hotel license. In 1896 following renovations to the existing building, ''The Esplanade Hotel'' opened its doors. In 1903 the building underwent significant alterations, designed by Joseph Herbert Eales, reorganising the interior structure and renovating the facade with the inclusion of an ornate dome shaped corner turret, new windows, verandah balustrades and a decorative parapet. A new corrugated iron roof replaced the original shingles. The building has undergone significant changes over time. In 1985 the building was enlarged by the owners, Winterbottom Holdings Ltd, in preparation for the anticipated influx of visitors for the

1987 America's Cup The 1987 America's Cup was the twenty-sixth challenge for the America's Cup. The American challenger '' Stars & Stripes 87'', sailed by Dennis Conner, beat the Australian defender '' Kookaburra III'', sailed by Iain Murray, in a four-race swee ...

. The company invested $14 million to renovate and extend the hotel. The extensions were bigger than the original hotel building increasing the capacity to 140 bedrooms, providing function and convention facilities, a 130-seat restaurant and swimming pool. In 1991 the hotel was sold to Camellia Holdings Pty Ltd, for $12.27 million, who undertook further expansions and renovations to the hotel in 1996, spending $20 million on the improvements. In 2002, Camellia Holdings Pty Ltd undertook a further $14 million expansion of the hotel's convention and accommodation facilities. Completed in October 2003, the hotel's capacity was increased to 300 bedrooms and a new convention centre. Further refurbishments occurred in 2005, 2006 and 2009. In January 2013, the hotel was acquired by Primewest Management for $88.5 million, and Rydges Hotels & Resorts were appointed to manage the property. It is now known as the Esplanade Hotel Fremantle by Rydges.

Heritage value

The Esplanade Hotel was entered into the Register of the National Estate by the

Australian Heritage Commission The Australian Heritage Commission (AHC), was the Australian federal government authority established in 1975 by the ''Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975'' as the first body to manage natural and cultural heritage in Australia until its de ...

on 21 March 1978. On 9 May 1997 it was placed on the permanent State Heritage Register. It was included on the

City of Fremantle The City of Fremantle is a local government area in the south of Perth, Western Australia. The City covers an area of , and lies about southwest of the Perth central business district. History The City of Fremantle is named after Charles Frem ...

's Municipal Heritage Inventory on 14 October 2000.

References

{{reflist 1896 establishments in Australia Hotels in Fremantle Hotels established in 1895 Marine Terrace, Fremantle Western Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Fremantle