Three Perth buildings to be entered on heritage register

23/12/95

Heritage Minister Richard Lewis today announced that three buildings in Perth would be entered permanently in the State Register of Heritage Places.

The Gledden Building in Hay Street, Lawson Flats in The Esplanade and The Deanery in St George's Terrace had been placed on the Register by the Heritage Council of Western Australia.

Built in the 1930s, the Gledden Building held the distinction for nearly 25 years of being the city centre's tallest building.  It is also the only high-rise inter-war deco office building in Perth.

"An exceptional example of the integration of art and architecture, the Gledden Building shows a contemporary concern for the civic value of public art," Mr Lewis said.

"It contains decorative friezes of WA flora and fauna, designs which were included following a competition."

The Gledden Building is associated by name with Robert Gledden, mining surveyor, property entrepreneur and philanthropist, who endowed the University of WA with the Gledden Bequest.

The university commissioned the landmark building.

Lawson Flats, home to some of Perth's richest and most famous names, has also been entered on the register on a permanent basis.

Prominent Western Australians to live in the building include former Premier Sir Hal Colebatch, pioneer engineer Mr Geoffrey Drake-Brockman, and journalist and lawyer Horace Jackson QC.

"Perhaps more well known today as the home of the exclusive Luis' Restaurant and the Karrakatta Club, the Lawson Flats building is a unique combination of a prestigious apartment block and an architecturally impressive city landmark," Mr Lewis said.

"As an eleven-storey building, it is a rare example of a late 1930s, multi-storey inner-city residential development."

Built in 1937, the building was regarded as the first luxury apartment block in Perth and a signal that the city was starting to recover from the Great Depression.

Lawson Flats is currently used for short-term residential and business tourism purposes.

The third premises to be entered permanently in the State Register of Heritage Places is The Deanery.

Attached to St George's Cathedral, it was formerly the site of the Old Perth Gaol and was built in 1859 as a residence and office for the first Dean of Perth, the Reverend George Purves Pownall.

"The building cost £900, an amount comparable with some of the nearby homes of affluent colonists," Mr Lewis said.

"Ticket-of-leave men were employed to build the Deanery, which was used as a residence for more than 90 years with only minor alterations made to it during that time."

The Deanery was restored in 1979, winning the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Award for restoration and/or recycling in 1984.

Media contact:  Bronwyn Hillman 222 9595 or 221 1377