The National Hotel is on the corner of High and Market Streets

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 ...

. Originally built as a shop in 1868, it was occupied by the National Bank in the early 1880s. When the bank relocated in 1886, the building became the National Hotel.

Original building

The site was originally occupied by a single storey shop in 1868 which was run in 1869 by Abraham Moise Josephson (who was later a successful pearl merchant). During the early 1880s the building was occupied by a branch of the

National Bank of Australasia The National Bank of Australasia was a bank based in Melbourne. It was established in 1858, and in 1982 merged with the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney to form National Australia Bank. History In 1858, Alexander Gibb, a Melbourne gentlema ...

. In 1886 the branch relocated to a premises in High Street opposite Sandover's store. Later that year the building was converted into a hotel retaining the name as the National Hotel. The site and building was then owned by John J. Higham, a local merchant and businessman. William Conroy became the first landlord of the National Hotel on 6 September 1886, but ceased this occupation less than a year later when at 12:45am on 24 June 1887 he confronted Councillor John Snook in the

Fremantle Town Hall Fremantle Town Hall is a town hall located in the portside city of Fremantle, Western Australia, and situated on the corner of High, William and Adelaide Streets. The official opening, on 22 June 1887, coincided with the celebration of Victoria ...

. Conroy shot Snook in the jaw. Snook subsequently died three months later. Conroy was tried and hanged for his murder. In 1891 Higham sold the property to Mr. James E. Hagan. In 1895 the building underwent a major reconstruction, with F. W. Welford taking over as proprietor. Quotes an advertisement in the Fremantle Register of 7 June 1895.

New (extant) building

The hotel was subsequently acquired by Michael and Daniel Mulcahy who came to Western Australia to prospect for gold and enjoyed great success, going on to become prominent hotel proprietors and pastoralists. In 1902 they enlisted the architect Louis Pearce to prepare plans to rebuild a more modern and commodious hotel, worthy of its position in the centre of Fremantle. The original two storey hotel was to be replaced with a new hotel of five storeys including a basement. The hotel was to be constructed of stone and brick with stone forming the foundations and the lower portions of the walls with the brick above. The plans included a right-of-way from Market Street, and balconies totalling in length and about in width. The wall height was , extending to from the ground to the top of the dome, the flag pole being a further high. Internally, there was to be a total of between 50 and 60 rooms with provisions of ceilings on the ground floor to ceilings on the other floors as well as spacious stairways and corridors. The basement contained a large kitchen, three cellars two wine store rooms, a scullery, storeroom and servants' dining room. ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'' in 1902 stated that "The architect has, throughout, apparently, striven to produce something which will reflect the highest credit upon his profession, and when the building is completed, it should form a valuable addition to the architecture of Fremantle." The National Hotel was anticipated to cost between 7,000 and 8,000 pounds. By 1907 M. Byrne had taken over as proprietor of the hotel. Michael Mulcahy died in July 1917 and his brother, Daniel, died in June 1925 with the hotel remaining in the family ownership. By 1948 ownership had changed to Mr. T. Dean who also owned the Central Hotel in Perth. In 1953 the building underwent further changes, and in 1975 the top floor was destroyed by fire. In 1995 the owners commenced extensive restoration work with the facade and 1st floor balconies, in 2007 while closed and nearing completion of redevelopment work the building was again set on fire resulting in substantial damage. In 2009 the building was sold to Carnegies, an international hospitality chain. Since then the building has been the subject of restoration efforts; the first stage reopening occurred in December 2013 with the remainder including a roof top restaurant due towards the end of 2018.

Timeline

References

{{reflist High Street, Fremantle Market Street, Fremantle Hotels established in 1886 Hotels in Fremantle 1886 establishments in Australia Western Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate Fremantle West End Heritage area State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Fremantle