Noalimba Accommodation & Conference Centre

Statement of Significance

The place illustrated the purpose built facilities that were designed, built and developed to accommodate State sponsored migrants in Western Australia;
The combination of buildings, the space around the buildings, and the mature plantings contributed to a significant cultural landscape; and,
The place has social and cultural significance for those whose first experience of life in Western Australia began as migrants accommodated at the place.

Physical Description

A former migrant reception centre, designed on campus planning principles in a very simple Late Twentieth Century Perth Regional style, constructed in sand lime bricks, with concrete tiled roofs and located in a generous landscaped setting, was built in 1968, as the Noalimba Reception Centre.. Accommodation Block 12 and an additional store and bakery room were built in 1970, and additions were made also to the existing store. The place was demolished in about 2003.

History

In 1964, because of a severe shortage of skilled labour in Western Australia, the State Government established a permanent Western Australian migration centre in London to nominate migrants under sponsorship of the State. There was a dramatic increase in migration to Western Australia in the period of the mining boom in Western Australia, 1966-71, with the highest annual net migration to the State since the gold boom of the 1890s. In late 1967, plans were drawn by the Architectural Division of the Public Works Department of Western Australia, signed by the Principal Architect, l. J. Walters, for Bull Creek Migrants Hostel to be built for the State Department of Immigration. The plan shows seven two storey brick accommodation blocks to be built at the first stage, with scope for five future accommodation blocks. The Government decided that because of the negative connotations of the word ‘hostel’, the new Reception Centre would be named Noalimba, an Aboriginal word meaning ‘belonging to all’. In 1968, Noalimba Reception Centre was built at a cost of $1.55 million, as a reception centre to accommodate British migrants to Western Australia, who had been sponsored by the Government of Western Australia, in the initial period following their arrival in Australia. The place was ‘designed to give privacy and flexibility to family units of any size.’, with the seven two storey accommodation blocks providing family accommodation, comprising a bed sitting room interconnecting with a bedroom.

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This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.