| Westpac Building | |
|---|---|
Westpac Bank building 2013 | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Federation Academic Classical style |
| Location | 32°03′19″S115°44′36″E / 32.05526°S 115.743405°E |
| Address | 22 High Street |
| Town or city | Fremantle |
| Country | Western Australia |
| Current tenants | University of Notre Dame Australia |
| Construction started | 1892 |
| Completed | January 1893 |
| Opened | January 1893 |
| Cost | £5,590 |
| Client | Western Australian Bank |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 2 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Talbot Hobbs |
| Main contractor | J.Hurst & Son |
The former Westpac Building, also known as the Challenge Bank Building and the Western Australian Bank Building, is a heritage listed building located at 22 High Street on the corner with Mouat Street in the Fremantle West End Heritage area. It was one of many commercial buildings constructed in Fremantle during the gold boom period in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
High Street is the main street running through the City of Fremantle, Western Australia. The street passes by historic landmarks, including the Round House, the Fremantle Town Hall, and the Fremantle War Memorial, through the Fremantle West End Heritage area and through two town squares. Trams operated along High Street for 47 years, between 1905 and 1952. Running east–west, High Street continues as Leach Highway, a major arterial road, at Stirling Highway, linking Fremantle with Perth Airport although the stretch of road between Stirling Highway and Carrington Street is known locally—and signed—as High Street.
Fremantle West End Heritage area is a designated heritage precinct in Fremantle, Western Australia.
Design of the building commenced in 1891, by prominent architect, Talbot Hobbs. Construction commenced in 1892 and the building was initially known as the Western Australian Bank, that bank requiring new premises in Fremantle. The building has two storeys with a banking chamber and offices. It was completed in the Federation Academic Classical style of architecture with zero setback from the footpath. [1] The building frontage has an ashlar effect on the ground floor and limestone foundations. The parapet has a pediment with a central decorative arch with "AD 1891" featured in stucco. The front entrance is covered by a pediment and is flanked by pilasters with brackets above. There are engaged Corinthian columns on the first floor and engaged low piers below the windows; the first floor has stucco arched sash windows with keystones. Corinthian columns are on the first floor exterior with piers below the windows; the windows on this floor are set in stucco arched sash frames with keystones. [1] The building has a 78-foot (24 m) frontage along High Street and a 66.5-foot (20 m) frontage along Mouat Street. It is built from brick on a Melbourne bluestone base. [2]
Lieutenant General Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs, was an Australian architect and First World War general.
A sidewalk or pavement, also known as a footpath or footway, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade (height) and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb. There may also be a median strip or road verge either between the sidewalk and the roadway or between the sidewalk and the boundary.
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:
In March 1892 Hobbs had designed the plans for the building and was calling for tenders to complete the building works. [3] The old premises for the bank were demolished and construction commenced in April 1892, with the building contract being awarded to J.Hurst and Son at a cost of £5,590. [2]
The building was completed and opened in January 1893. [4] [5]
In 1927 the Western Australian Bank merged with the Bank of New South Wales, [6] and the building became known as the Bank of New South Wales building. The branch manager, Lionel Wesley Walker, was found shot at South Beach later the same year. [7] In 1982 the Bank of New South Wales merged with the Commercial Bank of Australia to form Westpac Banking Corporation, who retained ownership until 1999. [8]
The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known commonly as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia, being established in Sydney in 1817 and situated on Broadway. During the 19th and early 20th century, the Bank opened branches first throughout Australia and Oceania. It merged with many other financial institutions, finally merging with the Commercial Bank of Australia in 1982 to form the Westpac Banking Corporation.
The Commercial Bank of Australia was an Australian and New Zealand retail bank which merged into the Bank of New South Wales bank in 1982, to form Westpac. In New Zealand it was one of the partners in Databank Systems Limited, formed in 1967–68 to provide computer resources for New Zealand trading banks.
The University of Notre Dame Australia acquired the building in 2000 for A$1.5 million to use it as a health college. [9]
The University of Notre Dame Australia is a national Roman Catholic private university with campuses in Fremantle and Broome in Western Australia, and Sydney in New South Wales. The university also has seven clinical schools as part of its School of Medicine located across Sydney, Melbourne, and in regional NSW and Victoria.
