Old Boans Furniture Factory to have interim heritage listing

7/5/96

The Old Boans Furniture Factory, the last remaining link to East Perth's industrial history, is to have its heritage values recognised.

Heritage Minister Richard Lewis said the factory, also known as the Boans Warehouse, would be placed on the State Government's interim Register of Heritage Places.

Mr Lewis said the Boans factory, on the corner of Saunders and Glyde Streets, was best known today as the venue for a wide range of arts and entertainment activities, including many Artrage events.

It was not known exactly when the building was constructed. However, it had a rich history stretching back to the early part of the century.

"The factory has strong links to Boans Limited, which was established in 1896 in Wellington Street, Perth, as a general retail store," the Minister said.

"When the store was extended through to Murray Street in 1912, furniture was one of the new departments. This included imported furniture and furniture made by Boans at its factory.

"It produced bedroom furniture, including mattresses, dining and kitchen furniture as well as having cane-ware and upholstery sections."

By the 1930s, the factory included a bulk store and dispatch section fronting Brown Street.

After World War II, the Boans city store bakehouse was shifted to East Perth, which operated alongside a butchery producing all Boans' smallgoods and sausages.

When television was introduced to Western Australia in about 1959, additions were built to house a television assembly area.

Mr Lewis said by the early 1970s, Boans management shifted its emphasis to buying high quality furniture rather than producing its own. The factory was geared mainly to produce shop fittings and in 1976 a new distribution centre was opened in Cannington.

"The Boans enterprise was later sold to Myer and the factory is the only building left in WA carrying the Boans name," Mr Lewis said.

"This is a tangible reminder of a retail chain which was a major contributor to retailing in WA from the 1900s.

"The Boans factory is also evidence of the development and change that has occurred within the industrial neighbourhood of East Perth.

"With the disappearance of the gas works, sewerage treatment works and brickyards, the factory is the last remaining landmark in East Perth that indicates its industrial history."

The Boans factory is currently being adapted for residential use by the Fini Group.

Media contact: Bronwyn Hilman 222 9595 or 221 1377