Old Perth Boys School and Perth Technical College

Child Places

• 02116 Perth Technical College

Statement of Significance

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The following statement, is taken from the gazetted permanent State Register Entry for the place, as the reasons for its cultural heritage signficance: Old Perth Boys School & Perth Technical College, comprising the Old Perth Boys School (1854), the first purpose-built public school in Perth, as well as the Perth Technical College (1910), an early civic educational centre, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons: + the place comprises well designed examples of Victorian Academic Gothic and Federation Gothic style buildings, exhibiting a high standard of traditional craftsmanship and an understanding of the Gothic design ethos; + the place includes Old Perth Boys School, one of the oldest extant government school buildings in the state and a rare example of the practise of designing educational buildings along the lines of a traditional Gothic church; + the place is a rare and striking remnant of Victorian and Federation era buildings along St Georges Terrace that demonstrates the development of this street in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries from colonial outpost to the central administrative and commercial hub of the state; + the place demonstrates the development of the government provision of education, both elementary and technical, which was a reflection of the government’s overall development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries; + the place demonstrates the development of heritage consciousness in the state, both buildings spared from demolition and redeveloped to serve new purposes through the activism of the National Trust (Western Australia); and, + Perth Technical College was designed by Hillson Beasley, chief architect at the Public Works Department, and constructed by William Atkins, who built a number of significant government buildings during the early Twentieth Century. Old Perth Boys School was designed by Superintendent of Public Works Richard Roach Jewell, who is similarly responsible for a number of civic buildings in Perth and Fremantle. The internal modern fitouts and interpretation, electrical and other services, and surrounding structures associated with the Brookfield Place development are considered to be of little significance to the place.

Physical Description

Stone and iron building with Gothic arches and steeply pitched roof. Bell towers over the entrance forms the western wing of the former Perth Technical College (1910).

History

Perth Boys School was completed in 1854 and is the oldest government school in WA. The building was extended in 1860 with the construction of a gallery. In 1865 the southern wing was added and in 1868 the northern wing was constructed. In 1897 the boys school was moved to a new site between James and Roe Streets and the building was taken over by the Perth Technical College.

The building is currently used by the National Trust of Australia (WA).

Integrity/Authenticity

Low level of integrity.

Medium level of authenticity as it is substantially intact. Restored by the National Trust.

Condition

Very good

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.