Lawson Apartments are located at 2–4 Sherwood Court near the corner with The Esplanade, in

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 ...

, Western Australia. They are situated across the road from the

Esplanade Reserve The Esplanade Reserve in Perth, Western Australia was a heritage listed public space between Perth Water and the Perth central business district. It formed part of, and was occasionally referred to incorrectly as, the Perth foreshore and the Pe ...

and adjacent to the

Weld Club The Weld Club is a private male-only social club in Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1871 as a gentlemen's club, it is named after Frederick Weld, the chronologically first patron of the club and the Governor of Western Australia at the tim ...

History

The building, originally known as Lawson Flats, is an eleven-storey

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

apartment block, constructed in 1937, by the

Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society The Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society Limited, later Colonial Limited, and commonly known as Colonial Mutual, Colonial Mutual Life, and/or CML, was a diverse international financial services company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. ...

. It included a

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

and a private club, the Perth Club, at the lower three floors and apartments above. The building was designed by Sydney architects Hennessy, Hennessy & Co in association with local architect, Reginald Summerhayes for rental purposes as a companion piece to the neighbouring Colonial Mutual Life building (1936–1980) on

St Georges Terrace St Georges Terrace (colloquially known as "The Terrace") is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial road through the central business district. Its western e ...

. When constructed, the two Colonial Mutual Life buildings were amongst the tallest in Perth. Its landmark status and prestigious location catered for an exclusive market in multi-residential building stock not known in Western Australia prior to the Inter-War years. The design features Spanish Mission and

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

styled ornamentation, evoking some of the allure of Hollywood. Internally, the H-shaped plan form provides for four apartments per floor, arranged in pairs in the twin palazzi form towers. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the headquarters of the State Cabinet were located in the building.

Current use

The apartments were refurbished in 1986, following their sale by Colonial Mutual and they were subsequently

strata title Strata title is a form of ownership and housing tenure devised for multi-level apartment blocks and horizontal subdivisions with shared areas. The word "strata" refers to apartments being on different levels. Strata title was first introduced ...

d and sold off individually in 1987. Four residential apartments are located on each floor, levels 3 to 10, inclusive. The Perth Club premises, located on the Ground floor and levels 1 and 2, became the home for the

Karrakatta Club The Karrakatta Club is a female-only women's club in Perth, Western Australia. Established in 1894, it was the first women's club in Australia. History The Karrakatta Club was founded in 1894 by members of the St George Reading Circle. The St G ...

with part of the ground floor shared with Balthazar, a fine-dining restaurant. The club relocated to the Lawson Apartments in 1986, following the sale of its former club premises on

, before moving to ANZAC House in October 2020. Currently, the former Karrakatta Club premises are being refurbished for use by the new members only clu
Lawson Flats

Heritage value

The building was classified by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

on 4 May 1981 and included on the

City of Perth A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

's Municipal Heritage Inventory on 20 December 1985. The Building was placed on the permanent

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

on 25 March 1986 and was permanently listed on the State Register of Heritage Places by the

Heritage Council of Western Australia The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the Government of Western Australia agency created to identify, conserve and promote places of cultural heritage significance in the state. Prior to its creation, considerable variance in policy and ...

on 1 December 1995.

References

External links

Historic photographs – Lawson Flats
{{coord, -31.9566, 115.8582, display=title, format=dms Art Deco skyscrapers Art Deco architecture in Western Australia Landmarks in Perth, Western Australia State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Perth The Esplanade (Perth)