inHerit Logo

The Perth Mint

Author

City of Perth

Place Number

02166
There no heritage location found in the Google fusion table.

Location

310 Hay St Perth

Location Details

Local Government

Perth

Region

Metropolitan

Construction Date

Constructed from 1899

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type Status Date Documents More information
Heritage List Adopted 20 Dec 1985
State Register Registered 15 Dec 2000 Register Entry
Assessment Documentation
 Heritage Council

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type Status Date Documents
(no listings)

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type Status Date Grading/Management More information
Category Description
Register of the National Estate Interim 27 Oct 1998

Heritage Council
Survey of 20th Ctry Architecture Completed 01 Mar 1988

Heritage Council
Perth Draft Inventory 99-01 YES 31 Dec 1999

Heritage Council
Register of the National Estate Registered 27 Oct 1998

Heritage Council
Classified by the National Trust Classified 16 Nov 1989

Heritage Council
Local Heritage Survey Adopted 28 Mar 2023 Category 1

Category 1

Exceptional significance - Essential to the heritage of the locality. Rare or outstanding example.
Municipal Inventory Adopted 13 Mar 2001 Category 1

Category 1

Exceptional significance - Essential to the heritage of the locality. Rare or outstanding example.
Local Heritage Survey Completed\Draft Category 1

Category 1

Exceptional significance - Essential to the heritage of the locality. Rare or outstanding example.

Statement of Significance

The place has historic significance as part of the development of Perth and Western Australia and the state's first gold boom, as well as the gold industry for the last hundred years.
The place has exceptional rarity value as it is the most intact and longest lasting of the three nineteenth century Royal Mints established in Australia and the only one to continue in its original use.
It contains substantial evidence of the physical apparatus of an Imperial British branch of the Royal Mint from the period of self-government and Federation.
It has remained in use as a mint from its establishment in 1899 to the present day and is now the oldest branch of the Royal Mint operating in its original premises.
The place was designed by George Temple Poole, Chief Architect of the Public Works Department was his last design in that role.
The place has many associations with significant people in WA Government and the Royal Mint.
The place has aesthetic significance and contributes to the streetscape.

Physical Description

Two storey symmetrical building of large proportions with contrasting materials and textures. Large, strongly modelled arches, classical columns, loggias and verandahs distinguish this building. The Mint complex comprises a mix of building styles with an affix and a residence to the south of the site and industrial buildings in the northern section of the site. The office fronts out to a grassed forecourt contained by a stone and wrought iron fence on the street frontage.
Refer to Conservation Plan Palassis 1999 for details.

History

The Perth Mint was opened in 1899 as a branch of the Royal Mint, London, to refine the gold produced from the WA goldrush (1890-1910) and to mint gold coinage. The Perth Mint was the third branch of the Royal Mint to open in Australia in 1899, after Sydney and Melbourne respectively. The gold discoveries in the 1880s and 1890s led to a need for a mint in Perth so miners could get the correct value of the gold. The Premier Sir John Forrest wrote to the Agent General of the Colony so he could find out from the Colonial Office in London if a mint could be established in Perth. Approval was granted in 1894 and it was proclaimed as a branch of the Royal Mint in 1897. The building was designed by George Temple Poole and was one of his last designs for the Public Works Department. It was built by Atkins and Law in 1896-98 for 22,199 pounds. The foundation stone was laid by Sir John Forrest on 23 September 1896. The buildings consisted of residences for senior officers, office to receive gold, melting house and processing equipment, coining department and assay office where the value was determined. The mint operated continuously for over ninety years and in that time almost all of the gold produced in WA passed through its furnaces.
In 1989, a new refinery was established at Newburn, until that point operations at the refinery continued basically unchanged since the mint was founded. Coining machinery was principally hand operated and much of the plant and the craftsman's tools were close to original. The original refinery melt house is still intact. The Perth Mint's refinery is accredited by the London Bullion Market Association, the Tokyo Commodities Exchange and the Comex Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The identifying 'P' mint mark is unique to The Perth Mint and has been in use since 1899 in its coinage. The Perth Mint is the oldest ex branch of the Royal Mint operating and one of the oldest Mints operating on its original site.

Integrity/Authenticity

High integrity.
Medium level of authenticity as there have been internal changes to the building and it has been restored.

Condition

Good

Associations

Name Type Year From Year To
George Temple Poole Architect - -
Horace Seymour (Master of the London Mint) Architect - -
George Shenton Architect - -
J F Campbell Architect - -

References

Ref ID No Ref Name Ref Source Ref Date
3.75/310 COP Heritage Place File
Perth Mint Conservation Plan by Palassis Architects COP Corporate Library June 2000
R. Mc K. Campbell: The Perth Mint Factory Buildings - Conservation Report 1990 1990
Striking Gold 100 years of the Perth Mint - Mcllwraigh and Harris 1999

State Heritage Office library entries

Library Id Title Medium Year Of Publication
6379 High hopes. Book 2003
4657 The Perth Mint : conservation plan. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 2000
10090 Perth Mint - former courtyards. Archive record. Archival Record 2013
3362 Perth Royal Mint factory buildings conservation report. Heritage Study {Other} 1990
3544 90 golden years : the story of the Perth Mint. Book 1989
4437 Post haste the millennium: opportunities & challenges in Local Studies. Proceedings of the 2nd National ALIA Local studies Section Conference. Conference proceedings 1999

Place Type

Individual Building or Group

Uses

Epoch General Specific
Present Use GOVERNMENTAL Other
Original Use GOVERNMENTAL Other

Architectural Styles

Style
Federation Romanesque

Construction Materials

Type General Specific
Wall STONE Limestone
Roof TILE Terracotta Tile

Historic Themes

General Specific
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES Government & politics
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY Workers {incl. Aboriginal, convict}
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES Institutions
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY Resource exploitation & depletion

Creation Date

30 May 1989

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

14 Jun 2024

Disclaimer

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.