Local Government
Perth
Region
Metropolitan
114 Murray Street Perth
114-116 Murray St
Pindawa Building
Perth
Metropolitan
Constructed from 1903
| Type | Status | Date | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| (no listings) |
| Type | Status | Date | Documents |
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| (no listings) |
| Type | Status | Date | Grading/Management | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | ||||
| Local Heritage Survey | Completed\Draft | Category 3 | ||
| Local Heritage Survey | Adopted | 28 Mar 2023 | Category 3 | |
The place has historical significance as a two-storey warehouse showroom dating from 1903. It has aesthetic significance for the Inter-War Functionalist style façade and contributes to the visual quality of the streetscape. The place is a representative example of a commercial building constructed in Perth during the period of development and consolidation following the gold boom.
Two storey building with the name Pindawa Building on the façade. The façade is broken into sections with three banks of windows. The front doors are centred and there are two re-entrant doors. A window is located on either side of the façade from the re-entrant doors.
Until the 1880s the town centre was characterised by the establishment of small cottages, shops and small businesses and was rural in character. The expansion of commerce following the discovery of gold in the 1890s put pressure on land in the centre of Perth with the result that many of the residential buildings located in the inner city were replaced with commercial buildings during this time, and the centre of Perth was substantially rebuilt. Murray Street was established along with St. Georges Terrace and Hay Street as one of the main streets of Perth from the time of colonisation in 1829 when the Perth Town Lots were surveyed and planned out. Post Office directories show that the building at 114 Murray Street was originally General Electrical Engineering Company’s technical offices and warehouse, built in 1903. It was No. 122, changing in 1908, at which time it was run by Hugh Edminston and Co, electrical and mechanical engineers. By 1920 the building was the Cyclone Fence Company showrooms at No. 114, whose factory was at Lime, Brown and Royal Streets, East Perth (in 2022 this is a car park). Off the street at the rear (No. 116) were other factories and businesses. For example, in 1930, Cyclone Fence Co was the front building, and at the rear was Julian Bros. cabinetmakers, and F. T. Wimble and Co, printers and furnishers. In 1936, the Pindawa Building (No. 114-116) was established; which is the likely date for the façade of the 1903 warehouse being altered and the lettering added. The same tenants occupied the buildings (Cyclone Fence Co and Wimble and Co) with land agents Davidson and Sons added. More research (including rates book search) will determine if the name is related to the Pindawa Pastoral Company established c. 1927 by Mr and Mrs B. F. Mitchell. Pindawa Station imported and bred Merino pedigree rams near Canna, a railway siding on the Wongan Hills-Mullewa railway. Canna was originally called Pindawa, after the Aboriginal (Yamatji/Wadjarri) name for a well 8km to the west. There was a considerable demand for Pindawa Rams throughout the 1930s. By 1940, the tenancies in the Pindawa Building had changed from a manufacturing and industrial focus, to auctioneers, a watchmaker and a dancing studio. The State Records Office holds plans of ‘Pindawa House’ that were submitted to the Public Health Department as part of the dance studio application. In 1940 the rear building was still Wimble and Co, as well as stores for the Defence Department. In 1949, the last year of publication of the Post Office directory, the Pindawa Building was occupied by the auctioneers and dance studio, with Wimble and Co still in the rear building. The Metropolitan Water Supply Survey plan (1943) shows the street front building was two floors. The rear was three storeys with a basement. Aerial photos show it had a twin gable roof and was about the same size as the Pindawa Building. It was demolished in early 2006 for carparking. Aerial photos also show that between 1989 and 1995 the Pindawa Building was reroofed. In 2022, the Pindawa Building is occupied by a retail charity shop.
Medium level of integrity. Medium level of authenticity.
Fair - Good
| Ref ID No | Ref Name | Ref Source | Ref Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cons 4156/25 | Metropolitan Water Supply Survey Plans | State Records Office of Western Australia | |
| Sunday Times p 34 - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5831887 | Trove | 8 May 1927 | |
| Aerial Photographs | Landgate | ||
| The West Australian p 3 - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47186920 | 31 March 1942 | ||
| Landgate WA Geographic Names: https://www0.landgate.wa.gov.au/maps-and-imagery/wa-geographic-names/name-history/historical-town-names#C | Landgate | ||
| Sunday Times p 7 - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58222836 | Trove | 4 October 1925 | |
| The Northern Producer and Morawa and District Advertiser p 1 - http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article257468845 | Trove | 18 Nov 1933 | |
| Cons 5094 Item 0618/15-16 | Public Health Department of WA, “Dancing Studio - Pindawa House - Murray Street, Perth – plans” | State Records Office | |
| Visual Assessment | |||
| Post Office Directories | State Library of Western Australia |
100 Year Old Building Project 194836/18.
Individual Building or Group
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