The Old Customs House is a building in

Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

that was built in 1908 to house the main branch of the Customs Department of Western Australia. It is one of only a handful of extant Customs Houses in the state; others are in Albany, Broome, Cossack, and Geraldton.

History

It was built on the corner of

Cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

and Phillimore streets on the site of the old railway station, a location selected by

William Lyne Sir William John Lyne Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG (6 April 1844 – 3 August 1913) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1899 to 1901, and later as a federal cabinet minister under Edmund Barton ...

(and recommended by the Fremantle Citizens League). William Hedges also lobbied in support of the location. An earlier idea of renovating the old Post Office building for Customs' use was scrapped. On 18 September 1907, the state government allocated £7,500 (of the total projected cost of £10,000, equivalent to in ) to be spent on construction in the following year. The architectural plans were prepared by the State's

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

under the supervision of the Principal Architect,

Hillson Beasley Hillson Beasley (30 April 1855 – 7 October 1936) was an English-trained architect who relocated to Australia, executing his major buildings in Melbourne (1886–96) and Perth (1896–1917). In his later career he was the Principal Architect ...

. The building construction was undertaken by a local firm, Ashman and Warner, under the supervision of Mr Sefton of the Public Works Department. The two storey building is constructed of brick on a base of Cottesloe

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. The heavily moulded

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

s and facings were constructed from

Donnybrook stone Donnybrook stone is a fine to medium-grained feldspathic and kaolinitic sandstone found near the town of Donnybrook, Western Australia. It originates from the early Cretaceous (144-132 MYA) and features shale partings and colour variations ...

, which was chosen in preference (due to lower cost, and better weather resistance) to Sydney freestone. Western Australian timbers were also used. The Postmaster-General decided not to open a telegraph office in the new building, because one already existed close by.

Current use

In 1986 the building was used to house the Fremantle Arts Foundation (FAF), with the creation of eight artist's studios. The FAF was established by the State Government to provide a cultural component to

1987 America's Cup The 1987 America's Cup was the twenty-sixth challenge for the America's Cup. The American challenger '' Stars & Stripes 87'', sailed by Dennis Conner, beat the Australian defender '' Kookaburra III'', sailed by Iain Murray, in a four-race swe ...

Defence. The building was subsequently purchased by the State and managed by the Foundation. In 1992 FAF changed its name to the Artists Foundation of Western Australia Ltd (AFWA), providing support for visual artists through statewide delivery of professional development, support and advocacy services. In 2004 AFWA was rebranded and now trades as Artsource. The building housed the WA Circus School until 2017, and currently accommodates 24 artist's studios.

Heritage value

The building was classified by the

National Trust of Australia (WA) The National Trust of Western Australia, officially the National Trust of Australia (W.A.), is a statutory authority that delivers heritage services, including conservation and interpretation, on behalf of the Western Australian government and co ...

on 28 October 1974 and was placed on the

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

on 21 March 1978. The building was formally listed on the State Register of Heritage Places by the

Heritage Council of Western Australia The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the Government of Western Australia agency created to identify, conserve and promote places of cultural heritage significance in the state. Prior to its creation, considerable variance in policy and p ...

on 23 April 1999. It is also listed on the

City of Fremantle The City of Fremantle is a local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the south of Perth, Western Australia. The City covers an area of , and lies about southwest of the Perth central business district. History ...

's municipal heritage list.

References

{{Subject bar , auto=y , portal1=Western Australia , portal2=Architecture , portal3=Modern history Phillimore Street, Fremantle Cliff Street, Fremantle Customs houses in Australia Buildings and structures in Fremantle State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Fremantle Donnybrook stone buildings Federation Free Classical architecture in Australia