The Peninsula Hotel is a heritage-listed former hotel in Maylands,

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. Located at 221 Railway Parade opposite Maylands railway station, it was constructed in 1906 by owner Friederich Liebe. The historic Edwardian-style hotel was saved from demolition in the 1970s, becoming a space for several community groups, and later a Dôme cafe.

History

The Peninsula Hotel was constructed in 1906 to serve the rapidly growing population of Maylands. The area had flourished following the opening of a station on the Midland railway line, around 1898–1899, which serviced Mephan Ferguson's factory that made pipes for the

Goldfields Water Supply Scheme The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme is a pipeline and dam project that delivers drinking water, potable water from Mundaring Weir in Perth to communities in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields, particularly Coolgardie, Western Australia, Coo ...

. The builder and owner of the hotel was Friederich Liebe, a well-known builder who had previously worked on Queen's Hall and His Majesty's Theatre. By April 1906 construction was well underway, as noted by the local press. The hotel was a well-known landmark in the 1920s and 1930s. It was the start and end points of the Beverley to Perth Cycle Race, initiated by Percy Armstrong. Liebe owned the hotel until his death in 1950, when it became Albert Klein's per Liebe's will. It was soon bought by the Swan Brewery Company in April 1952. By the 1970s, the ageing Peninsula Hotel was in need of renovations. Swan Brewery decided in 1973 to build a new tavern on the adjacent site, to better cater for the modern drinking culture. They planned to demolish the hotel, and replace it with a car park. The Western Australian branch of the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

attempted to convince the company in mid-1973 to preserve the historic hotel, but failed to do so. The Peninsula Association, an independent group of people interested in conserving the hotel, formed around this time; in 1974, following a large public meeting, the association got the company to agree to postpone demolition, pending a feasible proposal for the building preservation and future use. This is one of the earliest examples in Perth of a historic building being saved through public outrage. The hotel was classified by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

on 16 September 1974, and given a permanent entry on 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 Heri ...

on 21 March 1978. It was listed on the

State Register of Heritage Places The State Register of Heritage Places is the heritage register of historic sites in Western Australia deemed significant at the state level by the Heritage Council of Western Australia. History In the 1970s, following its establishment of the N ...

on 23 September 1994, by which time the building was in use as the base of multiple community groups "for social activities and community development". The building was also listed on the

City of Stirling The City of Stirling is a local government area in the northern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth about north of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of and has a population of over 223,000, making ...

's municipal inventory on 17 June 1997, and transferred to the

City of Bayswater The City of Bayswater is a local government area in the Western Australian capital city of Perth, about northeast of Perth's central business district. The city covers an area of and had a population of 69,283 as at the 2021 Census. The Cit ...

(along with the suburb of Maylands) on 1 July 1998. Dôme Coffees Australia took over the hotel, as a cafe and their corporate headquarters. They won an award for the restoration in the 2013 Western Australian Heritage Awards.

History

References

Further reading