Harold Boas OBE (27 September 1883 – 17 September 1980) was a

town planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...

and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

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 ...

. Boas designed many public buildings in and around

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and was an influential

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community leader. He served as an elected member of the

Perth City Council Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

on three separate occasions, presided over the

Metropolitan Town Planning Commission The Metropolitan Town Planning Commission was created in 1922 by the Victorian state government to provide advice for the planning and development of the city of Melbourne, Australia. It produced the first comprehensive urban development strategy f ...

and was the foundation president of the

Town Planning Institute The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the professional body representing planners in the United Kingdom, and Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the built environment. Founded in 1914, the institute was gran ...

of Western Australia.

Biography

Early life

Boas was born on 27 September 1883 in

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, the third son of noted Minister and

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Abraham Tobias Boas Abraham Tobias Boas (25 November 1842 – 20 February 1923) was a rabbi of a Hebrew congregation in Adelaide, South Australia. Biography Early life Abraham Tobias Boas was born at Amsterdam, the Netherlands, son of Tobias Eliesar Boas, rabbi, an ...

(1842–1923) and his wife Elizabeth, née Solomon. After being educated at Whinham College and

Prince Alfred College , motto_translation = Do Brave Deeds and Endure , established = 1869 , type = Independent, single-sex, day & boarding , headmaster = David Roberts , chaplain = Reverend ...

he was apprenticed to architect Edward Davies between 1899 and 1904 and later studied at the South Australian School of Mines and Industries.

Move to Perth

In June 1905 he moved to Perth where he initially joined architects M. F. Cavanagh & Austin Bastow and later Oldham, Boas, Ednie-Brown & Partners with whom he stayed for many years. On 29 March 1911 Boas married Sadie ("Sarah") Cohen at the Brisbane Street Synagogue in

Architecture

With his partners, Boas designed many public and private buildings around Perth including the open-aired King's Picture Theatre (1905), the Nedlands Park Hotel (1907), Radio station

6WF ABC Radio Perth (call sign: 6WF) is the on-air identifier of a radio station located in Perth, Western Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and broadcasting at 720 hertz, kHz amplitude modulation, AM. It is the flags ...

(1924),

Edith Dircksey Cowan Memorial The Edith Dircksey Cowan Memorial, formerly known as the Edith Cowan Memorial Clock, is a clock tower at the entrance to Kings Park in Perth, Western Australia. It was built in 1934 as a memorial to Edith Cowan, the first female member of any ...

(1934), the

Emu Brewery The Emu Brewery was a brewery in Perth, Western Australia, which traced its history to the first decade of the colony. Founded in 1837 by James Stokes as the Albion Brewery, it was located beside the Swan River on a block bounded by Mounts Bay ...

(1938), the Adelphi Hotel,

London Court London Court is a three and four-level open-roofed shopping arcade located in the central business district in Perth, Western Australia. It was built in 1937 by wealthy gold financier and businessman Claude de Bernales for residential and commer ...

(1937) and the

Gledden Building The Gledden Building is an Art Deco office building in Perth, Western Australia. The building was constructed on land that had been bequested to the University of Western Australia by surveyor Robert Gledden. Site and brief The building is loca ...

(1938).

Public life

Boas served on the

during 1914–16, 1926–42 and 1944, representing the South Ward. He was chairman of the State government's Metropolitan Town Planning Commission from 1928 to 1930 and was a member of the Town Planning Association of Western Australia from 1914. Boas chaired the City of Perth's town planning committee in 1930–33 and 1938–42, and was foundation president of the

of Western Australia in 1931. He was an inaugural member of the State division of the Town Planning Institute of Australia. In 1932 Boas stood unsuccessfully for the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

as an anti-secessionist candidate during the debate prior to the 1933 secession referendum. He founded and edited the ''Australian Jewish Outlook'', a short lived

anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the modern State of Israel, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the region of Palestine ...

monthly, in May 1947. However, the periodical went out of circulation after little more than a year as Boas had overestimated the level of support for it. He was president of the local branch of the

United Nations Association A United Nations Association (UNA) is a non-governmental organization that exist in various countries to enhance the relationship between the people of member states and the United Nations to raise public awareness of the UN and its work, to promot ...

, representing Australia and the

Executive Council of Australian Jewry The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, or ECAJ, is an official peak national body representing the Australian Jewish community. It the umbrella organisation for over 200 Jewish organisations across Australia which are ECAJ's constituent or affi ...

at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

conference in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

in 1950.

Later life

In 1969 he was awarded an OBE in 1969 for service to town planning and to the Jewish community in Perth. Boas died at Subiaco on 17 September 1980.

Honours

The Harold Boas Gardens in West Perth (formerly known as "Delhi Square" up to 1975–76) are named in his honour.