The former Tarantella Night Club building, also known as the German Consulate and Norddeutscher-Lloyd Building is a heritage building located at Mouat Street in the

Fremantle West End Heritage area Fremantle West End Heritage area is a designated heritage precinct in Fremantle, Western Australia. The City of Fremantle nominated the area in 2014 for inclusion in the State Register of Heritage Places to the Heritage Council of Western Au ...

. The building dates from the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

boom period in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and is of historic significance.

Description

The building is an unusual use of stone and

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

Romanesque architecture, especially in Fremantle where the stucco ornamentation of the Free Classical style dominates. The building occupies all of the lot area and stands alone, separated from adjacent buildings by laneways. It has a narrow frontage and steep pitched gable, the height of which is further accentuated by a castellated tower crowned with a tiled, pyramidal roof and spire. The facade is divided into three bays and has semi-circular arches on the ground floor and above the windows of the floors above. The front facade is dominated by rough cut rock faced

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and other stone details.

Bluestone Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including: * basalt in Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand * dolerites in Tasmania, Australia; and in Britain (including Stonehenge) * fe ...

central columns and plinths have been used on the ground level with freestone brackets supporting the string course at level above. An arch motif is used to decorate the gable.

History

Plans were drawn up by the

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 ...

Edward Herbert Dean Smith for William De Lacey Bacon for offices and warehouse to be built at the site in 1902. Bacon was a local investor who had acquired the land in 1901. The three storey stone building was completed in 1903. The first tenant in the building was L. Ratazzi & Company, a general merchant specialising in wine and spirits, who were also the main representative for

Norddeutscher Lloyd Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of t ...

Imperial German Mail Steamers. The company were operating from the building by February 1903. Laurman Ratazzi was also the Imperial German Consul and later became the Italian Consul. Prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it was rumoured that Ratazzi used the attic in the building to spy on movements in

Fremantle Harbour Fremantle Harbour is Western Australia's largest and busiest general cargo port and an important historical site. The inner harbour handles a large volume of sea containers, vehicle imports and livestock exports, cruise shipping and naval vi ...

. Following the outbreak of war Ratazzi was

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

and the company's activities were suspended. After the war the building was occupied by various shipping businesses. In 1951 it was purchased and occupied by Dickenson's Transport Agency. In 1971, L.H. & A.E. Webb acquired the building. In 1984 the building was leased by Jose Faria and Jose Rebelo, who operated the Tarantella night club at the premises. It was at this time that the ground floor internal walls were opened up making a large open space used as a dance floor and bar area. In 1986, Joe Faria and his partner, Joe Rebelo of Lanham Holdings Pty Ltd, purchased the building, and the nightclub continued to operate there, and in 1992 the building was purchased by Fabray Pty Ltd, a division of Fini Homes. On Friday, 13 February 1993, the night club finally closed and the building was converted for residential use. , the building houses a

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

References

{{commons category-inline Mouat Street Heritage places in Fremantle 1903 establishments in Australia State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Fremantle

Description

History

See also

References