CBH Grain Silos

Statement of Significance

CBH Grain Silos, a concrete grain storage facility, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
• the place is a surviving element of the on-going development and change at the Port ofFremantle;
• the place exhibits landmark quality by virtue of the scale and location on a relatively unobstructed site;
• the place is an example of the development and technical achievement in the 1940s and 1960s of the design and construction of large scale, concrete structures for the handling and storage of grain, in this case prior to transference to shipping for export;
• the place is historically relevant, in particular in the Western Australian wheat industry, a produ ct which has
been one of the State's primary exports since 1900, and in the important role played by Co-operative Bulk
Hatldling in the industry of grain handling and export in the 1940s and 1960s;
• the place constitutes a surviving, if redundant, element developed by Co-operative Bulk Handling for the receiving and exporting of grain out of the Port of Fremantle;
• the place, being a strategic site, has association with WWII operating as the Navy's war port signal station; and,
• the place contributes to the social history of the Port and the intangible values derived from the people who
managed and operated the silos from the 1940s until closure in 1998.

Physical Description

CBH Grain Silos is located at North Quay, the northern side of Fremantle Inner Harbour, adjacent to berths 8, 9 & 10.

CBH Grain Silos comprise a bank of I 0 concrete silos, the Hospital Silos, at the northern end of the group, connected at
rooflevel by a Conveyor Gallery to Elevator Tower or Terminal Working House and a bank of 48 concrete Silos.

History

Assessment 1999
Construction: 1943, 1964
The period from 1900 to the 1920s was a time of rapid growth for the wheat industry not only in Western Australia, but in Australia as a whole. The bulk handling of wheat was first considered in Western Australia in 1913, when it was recognized that the traditional bagging of wheat had become cumbersome and costly. Delayed by the outbreak of World War One, in 1929, interest in bulk handling again came to the forefront. The scheme involved the use of horizontal grain storage instead of the traditional vertical cells and the conversion of bagging machinery to bucket elevators that could travel up and down the sheds.

The vertical silos at Bunbury marked a change in storage design however it was not until CBH Ltds modernisation
plans (1950s-1970s) that delivery and receival points began to take on this form}

In 1943, the Australian Wheat Board, financed by the Federal Government, constructed a hospital silo at Fremantle. The silo held 8,500 tons and its purpose was to fumigate the grain before it was shipped.2

In 1943, the Australian Navy's Port War Signal Station was moved from the Fremantle Harbour Trusts signal station on Cantonment Hill to the top of the Australian Wheat Boards hospital silo. The silo provided commanding views of Gage Roads, Cockburn Sound and Fremantle Harbour.

Since 1961, CBH Ltd had been investigating the possibility of developing a site at Cockburn Sound, due to the realisation that Fremantle limited depth of water was unsuited to the larger modem grain ships. It was only due to requests from the Fremantle Port Authority that CBH Ltd decided to stay at North Quay and, as a result, constructed the 48cell vertical silo block. The new Fremantle Grain Terminal (CBH Grain Silos) began operations on 18 May 1964 and, on 14 September 1964, was officially opened by State Premier, the Hon. David Brand, MLA.3 Designed by consulting Engineers MacDonald Wagner & Priddle of Sydney, the Fremantle grain terminal was constructed at a cost of £3,250,000 and bad the capacity to store 4,000,000 bushels of grain. It also included provisions for cleaning, fumigating, aerating, weighing and bagging wheat as well as dust control measures.

The Fremantle Grain Terminal (CBH Grain Silos) remained the centre of CBH Ltds export of wheat up to 1976,
when work was completed on the company's huge new grain terminal at Kwinana.

In 1979, it was decided that the operation of both Kwinana and Fremantle was uneconomic. From 1979, Fremantle became a receival point for grain and the wheat was railed to Kwinana for shipping (the Fremantle Grain Terminal 's shipping facilities were no longer used).

As a part of strategic planning, negotiations were undertaken with the State Government with regard to the development of a new Metropolitan Grain Centre to replace the grain .facilities at Fremantle. Work was completed on the new centre in time for the 1997/1998 season. As a result of this centre, the grain silos at Fremantle became obsolete and the last grain deliveries to the terminal occurred in June 1998. By this time, demolition and removal of the Transfer Galleries bad already occurred, making way for container cargo.

In July 1998, CBH Ltd transferred their buildings over to the Fremantle Port Authority. In February 1999, CBH Grain Silos is not in use.

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.