The Old Perth Boys School, located at 139 St Georges Terrace,

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, is the earliest government school building in Western Australia. The single-storey limestone building was designed by

William Ayshford Sanford William Ayshford Sanford, DL (1818– 28 October 1902) was a landowner, naturalist and Liberal Party politician, who served as Colonial Secretary of Western Australia from 1852 to 1855. Sanford was born in 1818, the son of Edward Ayshford Sanfor ...

in 1852 and is a significant example of a colonial building constructed in Perth from the mid-nineteenth century.

Built form

The Old Perth Boys School was designed in an early

gothic revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style. It is a single-storey limestone building with a steeply pitched roof (originally shingled) and narrow vertical windows. The building, which closely resembles a church, had a wing added to the north in 1865 and another to the south in 1868. The shingle roof has been covered with corrugated iron sheeting, and the bell tower and spire have been removed.

History

The Perth Boys School was established in 1847, despite not having a permanent school building. The school occupied an assortment of vacant places, including the Old Court House. The location selected for the permanent school building was originally the site of a water-powered flour mill operated by

Henry Willey Reveley Henry Willey Reveley (1788–1875) was a civil engineer responsible for the earliest public works at the Swan River Colony, the foundation of the state of Western Australia. Life Reveley was the son of Willey and Maria Reveley (later Gisborn ...

, the civil engineer for the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...

Construction of the school began in February 1853 and was completed 27 September 1854. The school was designed by William Ayshford Sanford, Colonial Secretary from 1852 to 1855, during which period he was also chairman of the board of education with an interest in schools. Sanford designed both the Perth Boys and

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 ...

Boys schools. Sanford was a member of the

Cambridge Camden Society The Cambridge Camden Society, known from 1845 (when it moved to London) as the Ecclesiological Society,Histor ...

and was an amateur architect with a passion for ecclesiastical architecture and, as a result, the school resembles a gothic-revival-style church. The cost of constructing the building proved greater than expected. The additional expense was attributed to the boggy ground and the need for extra foundations. The building was a long, narrow structure with an east-west axis. It proved to be too small; the small windows made the interior too dark, and it reportedly lacked ventilation. A gallery (which is no longer extant) was then constructed at the western end. In 1865, a small southern wing was added and, two years later, a northern wing was constructed. For a number of years, the school had an average of 200 students but, in 1894, due to an increase in population attributable to the gold rush, the figure increased to 346. Additional facilities were constructed in a temporary timber extension at the eastern end of the school to accommodate additional students. At the same time, plans were underway for a new Perth Boys' and Girls' School on James Street, which was completed at the end of 1896 and to which the students were relocated. The building was incorporated into Perth Technical College in 1900. In 1976, the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

restored the front fence adjoining St Georges Terrace. In 1977, the place was used as offices for the headquarters for the

National Trust of Australia (WA) The National Trust of Western Australia, officially the National Trust of Australia (W.A.), is a statutory authority that delivers heritage services, including conservation and interpretation, on behalf of the Western Australian government and c ...

, with the Trust undertaking conservation work to the stone walls in 1978. In the 1990s, the building operated for use as a retail shop for the National Trust of Australia (WA) and included a bookshop and restaurant. In 1995, the retail outlet was converted for use as a cafe by a private organisation. The Trust re-roofed the building in 2000–2001.

Current use

The building is owned by the

National Trust of Western Australia The National Trust of Western Australia, officially the National Trust of Australia (W.A.), is a statutory authority that delivers heritage services, including conservation and interpretation, on behalf of the Western Australian government and co ...

and was used as a

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

and

wine bar A wine bar is a tavern-like business focusing on selling wine, rather than liquor or beer. A typical feature of many wine bars is a wide selection of wines available by the glass. Some wine bars are profiled on wines of a certain type of origin, ...

. In 2015,

Curtin University Curtin University, formerly known as Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, ...

announced it had signed a lease with the National Trust of Western Australia to use the building for a range of shop-front activities. Curtin, working with the National Trust, completed an internal fit-out of the building in 2017 creating a University outstation for course activities in the central business district.

Heritage value

The Old Perth Boys School building was entered into the

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 ...

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 ...

in March 1978 and is classified by the National Trust (WA). It was permanently entered on to the State Register of Heritage Places on 13 March 1992.

Built form

History

Current use

Heritage value

References

Further reading