Central Government Offices
1874, 1877, 1887 - Old Government Offfices and Treasury Buildings, Cnr St Georges Tce & Barrack Sts., Perth, WA The Government Buildings were erected in stages between 1874 and 1897. A third storey was added to the east wing in 1903 and the south and west sections in 1905. Between the east and west wings fronting St Georges Terrace is the section built as a General Post Office 1887-90. The north wing, the former Titles Office, fronting Cathedral Avenue, was built in 1896. Construction was supervised by Richard Roach Jewell, the Colonial Architect, until he retired in 1885 and then by George Temple-Poole.
This handsome three storey Treasury Building, sited in a prominent down town location in Perth, facing Barrack St, Cathedral Avenue & St Georges Terrace, is the south wing of the Government Offices complex of four buildings in Central Perth. The bricks are handmade, and are laid in the variegated colour chequer pattern brickwork typical of the colonial period. Constructed in three stages, the design of the complex features tendured pilasters and baroque motifs, and demonstrates a blending of restrained Victorian ornamentation with late colonial era features.
Historically, it housed many important government departments and activities, before being vacated and left to lie empty. A little known fact about the building is that is connected by a tunnel to the Perth Mint and The Supreme Court building and possibly the Railway Station. The tunnel was built in the days of the WA Goldrush to ensure the safety of gold brought to Perth from the goldfields in the 1890s, along with cash and documents.
Former Titles Office
The building known as the Titles Office, fronting Cathedral Avenue, was built in 1896. It forms the north wing of the Government Offices complex in Central Perth, and was the last of the four buildings in the complex to be built, and is the most picturesque. Construction was supervised by Richard Roach Jewell, the Colonial Architect, until he retired in 1885 and then by George Temple-Poole. The building is copybook Academic Classical, with its columns and balustrades on the upper levels facing Cathedral Avenue.
1874-97 - Former Government Offices Building, Cnr Barrack & St Georges Terrace, Perth, WA. A three storey brick complex which is architecturally a somewhat restrained interpretation of the Second Empire style. The buildings were erected in stages between 1874 and 1897. A third storey was added to the east wing in 1903 and the south and west sections in 1905.
Between the east and west wings fronting St Georges Terrace is the section built as a General Post Office 1887-90. The north wing, the former Titles Office, fronting Cathedral Avenue, was built in 1896. Construction was supervised by Richard Roach Jewell, the Colonial Architect, until he retired in 1885 and then by George Temple-Poole.
