Vietnamese Buddist Temple

Statement of Significance

Buddhist Temple, Chua Cha’nh - Gia’c, is an important place of worship for the Vietnamese Buddhist community. It is the headquarters for the Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Western Australia. Religious celebrations are conducted at the site every three months. It is one of the few Buddhist Temples located in Perth.

Physical Description

A simple modern brick building with a symmetrical front, incorporating tall glazed panels and door openings, and hipped roof with gable roofed lantern/skylight. An entry porch projects from the centre front of the building. A brick pier fence with iron rail infill defines the front lot boundary. A brick pier fence with iron rail infill defines the front lot boundary. The front forecourt is paved. None apparent.

History

The bed of Lake Thomson was used for farming and market gardening until the 1880s when parcels of the land were sold off. A number of subdivisions were carried out in the early 1890s, and developed rapidly during the population boom of the gold rush period. One section of the land, comprising Money, Lindsay and Monger streets and Robinson Avenue, was subdivided by Harry Anstey in 1892. It was advertised at the time as being one of the most centrally located developments in Perth. Money Street was first listed in Wise's Post Office Directories in 1895. The area was occupied by working class and lower middle class residents and No. 45 was a small brick house built in 1898 and occupied by an engraver. It was more modest than most of the other dwellings in the street and one of the few semi-detached. It was listed in the City of Perth rate books in 1900 as being owned by J. George (who also owned No. 47) and at that time it was occupied by A. Curtis, a railway employee. The capital value of both properties was ₤65. The subject place was first listed in the Directories in 1900 with Miss M. McIntrye in residence. Later C.D. Baker, a painter, resided there and two longer term occupants were Mrs Mary Hayden (1911-1918) and William R. Holden (1919-1942). In 1949, the last year of the Directories, the resident was Mrs Marjorie Hammond and the owner was Pearl Divine. Immigration to Western Australia began in the late 1880s and included Chinese miners and others who arrived during the gold rushes. Many later worked on market gardens in the Vincent area. During the 20th Century, various new waves of migrants occupied the inner city area, including Middle Eastern and Russian Jews, Southern Europeans and Asians. Each contributed to the development and evolution of the area. Following the end of the Vietnam War (1962-1975) many of the new arrivals were refugees from Vietnam. In 1975 the RAAF began evacuating the first civilian refugees and orphans (Operation Baby Lift) and following the end of the War, Australia began accepting a stream of refugees. Others, desperate for asylum but unable to gain admission by legal means, attempted to gain admittance by landing on Australian shores '“ often aboard very rickety and unsafe craft. They were soon labeled 'boat people' or 'asylum seekers' and they have attracted some dramatic media coverage from time-to-time. In Vietnam about 85% of the population practice Mahayana Buddism, which is believed to have originated in India. It is one of the two primary schools of Buddism, which emphasize the historical teachings of Buddha. In 1990, the Vietnamese community constructed a Buddhist Temple at 45 Money Street (they had owned the site from at least 1987). A shrine erected in the temple garden, which depicts a four-headed Thai Buddha, was a gift from a Thai national. In 2008 this building was one of four such places for Buddhists around Perth's suburbs. The other three were the Perth Meditation Centre in Subiaco, the Sagaramudra Buddhist Temple in Carlisle and the Zen Group of WA.

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