Old Police Lockup & Boab Tree

Author

Shire of Broome

Place Number

00294

Location

22 Carnarvon St Broome

Location Details

Other Name(s)

Pilgrim Music

Local Government

Broome

Region

Kimberley

Construction Date

Constructed from 1896

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type Status Date Documents
Heritage Agreement YES 12 Aug 2003 HCWebsite.Listing+ListingDocument
Heritage List Adopted 28 Aug 2014
State Register Registered 12 May 2000 HCWebsite.Listing+ListingDocument, HCWebsite.Listing+ListingDocument

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type Status Date Documents
(no listings)

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type Status Date Grading/Management
Category
Register of the National Estate Permanent 18 Apr 1989
Classified by the National Trust Classified 07 Jun 1983
Municipal Inventory Adopted 28 Aug 2014 Grading A

Parent Place or Precinct

00291 Chinatown Conservation Area

Physical Description

The single storey concrete building has a gable roof clad with corrugated iron. It is rectangular in form with four cells adjacent to a corridor along the other side.

History

Police Lockup was constructed in 1896 as part of the police station, police quarters and courthouse. The cells were used to hold prisoners awaiting trial or in police custody. Most of the early occupants were either Aboriginal, a deserter from a ship or a pearl thief. Aboriginal prisoners were chained to steel rings set in the concrete floor to prevent escape at night. In 1897, Police officer Herbert Thomas planted the Boab Tree near the corner of the police quarters he was occupying with his wife, to commemorate the birth of his son, Frederick, on 3 March. Thomas was transferred out of Broome a few years later. Frederick Thomas was killed at Pozieres on 28 July 1916, and in 1920, Herbert Thomas returned to Broome as Inspector and senior officer. He died in December that year during the race riots, after remaining on duty for three days without eating or sleeping. In 1965, a new police station was built on another site. Everything except the Lockup and the Boab tree were removed from the site. The Lockup was occupied by the Historical Society as a museum until 1981, then by a community radio station, and a blacksmith business and café, and more recently galleries.

Integrity/Authenticity

Modifications: Minimal interventions for adaptive re-use.

State Heritage Office library entries

Library Id Title Medium Year Of Publication
9600 Broome: maps and places of heritage interest. Heritage Study {Other} 0
8335 Historic buildings of the Kimberley region of W.A. Book 1988
7323 A conservation analysis and conservation plan for the former police lockup at Broome, Western Australia. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 1993
7995 Old Police lockup and Boab tree, Broome. Conservation management plan. Heritage Study {Cons'n Plan} 2006

Place Type

Individual Building or Group

Uses

Epoch General Specific
Other Use Transport\Communications Comms: Radio or Television Station
Present Use COMMERCIAL Shop\Retail Store {single}
Original Use GOVERNMENTAL Police Station or Quarters
Other Use EDUCATIONAL Museum

Architectural Styles

Style
North-West Vernacular

Construction Materials

Type General Specific
Other TIMBER Other Timber
Wall CONCRETE Other Concrete
Roof METAL Corrugated Iron

Historic Themes

General Specific
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES Law & order

Creation Date

30 May 1989

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

31 Mar 2021

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.