Image-Fremantle Train Station-957
Image-Fremantle Train Station-286
Image-Fremantle Train Station-191
Image-Fremantle Train Station-987
Image-Fremantle Train Station-667
Image-Fremantle Train Station-499
Image-Fremantle Train Station-512
Image-Fremantle Train Station-323

TRAVEL BACK IN TIME

Fremantle Station was commissioned in 1905, designed by William Dartnall, Chief Engineer of Existing Lines of the Railway Department The construction contractor, S.B. Alexander completed the station in 1907, at an estimated cost of £80,000, including goods sheds, running sheds, and the laying out of the marshalling yards.

ARRIVING IN STYLE

The station was built in the Federation Free Classical style and features Donnybrook stone construction on the façade with red face brick infill panels, with ornate wrought-iron station gates in the arched entry to a grand-hall style covered station

PROTECTED HERITAGE

The station was classified by the National Trust in 1974, a conservation plan prepared in 1999, and entered into WA's Register of Heritage Places in 2001. It remains one of the busiest train stations in Perth more than 100 years on.

"There are four separate ticket windows, separate offices provided for the receipt and despatch of luggage, and special provision has been made for handling the large quantity of fish that passes through the station. The lavatories are of the most modern design… which should leave nothing wanting for the convenience of the travelling public.”
— The Daily News, 1 July 1907

1 / 4
Image-Fremantle Train Station-641
Image-Fremantle Train Station-839
Image-Fremantle Train Station-607
Image-Fremantle Train Station-347
The clock was ticking to be ready for the station’s centenary.

TRAVEL BACK IN TIME

Fremantle Station was commissioned in 1905, designed by William Dartnall, Chief Engineer of Existing Lines of the Railway Department The construction contractor, S.B. Alexander completed the station in 1907, at an estimated cost of £80,000, including goods sheds, running sheds, and the laying out of the marshalling yards.

ARRIVING IN STYLE

The station was built in the Federation Free Classical style and features Donnybrook stone construction on the façade with red face brick infill panels, with ornate wrought-iron station gates in the arched entry to a grand-hall style covered station

PROTECTED HERITAGE

The station was classified by the National Trust in 1974, a conservation plan prepared in 1999, and entered into WA's Register of Heritage Places in 2001. It remains one of the busiest train stations in Perth more than 100 years on.

"There are four separate ticket windows, separate offices provided for the receipt and despatch of luggage, and special provision has been made for handling the large quantity of fish that passes through the station. The lavatories are of the most modern design… which should leave nothing wanting for the convenience of the travelling public.”
— The Daily News, 1 July 1907

Image-Fremantle Train Station-862
Image-Fremantle Train Station-734
Image-Fremantle Train Station-965
Image-Fremantle Train Station-496
The clock was ticking to be ready for the station’s centenary.

AN ICONIC FREMANTLE LANDMARK

Located in Fremantle’s West End Conservation Area, InHerit describes the station as having a ‘high degree of authenticity with much original fabric remaining’, historically linked with Fremantle’s maritime history and gold-rush days as a thriving 20th century port town. In 2005, a program of staged conservation and restoration works began to return the station to its former glory in time for the station’s centenary. Colgan’s works were carried out in accordance with the approved Heritage Conservation Plan.
Stage 1 involved the restoration and conservation of the main entry area and the clock. We carefully removed the paint from the stonework, before restoring or replacing the Donnybrook Sandstone where required. Our carpenters restored the timberwork around the clock, before repainting and adding the gold leaf to the station's iconic lettering.
Read more +
Image-Fremantle Train Station-194
Image-Fremantle Train Station-596
Image-Fremantle Train Station-495

The final touch of Stage 1 was to restore the base of the flag pole and the pole itself, above the entryway and painting of the seated swans made by Fremantle plasterer-modeller Walter Burvil under the direction of the WA Heritage Council.

“This project is part of the Gallop Government’s commitment to protecting WA’s unique built environment.” — Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan
Image-Fremantle Train Station-544
Image-Fremantle Train Station-350
Image-Fremantle Train Station-391

In 2011, the second stage of the project required us to restore the balance of the facades both externally and internally. The team painstakingly repointed all the classic red brickwork, repairing and repainting all timber windows and doors.

We undertook re-roofing and ceiling repairs using period-appropriate pressed metal and ornate plasterglass, including the ceiling roses — all while the train station remained fully operational.

Image-Fremantle Train Station-304
Read more +
Image-Fremantle Train Station-258
Image-Fremantle Train Station-268
NOTABLE SMALL AND LARGE DETAILS

The painting white of the entryway’s swans caused some consternation to members of the public in 2007, with many approaching the PTA to say they should be ‘re-painted’ black. However, 1907 photographs show them as white or rendered stone, and investigations revealed remnants of white paint on the swans under their 1950s black acrylic paint.

While some disagreed with the ‘change’, fewer notice the bigger picture detail: that the station is itself, unfinished. In fact, the second half of west wing, with its proposed grand dining hall, was never completed in line with original 1907 architectural design.

AWARDS & RECOGNITON

2012

Winner of MBA Excellence Awards - Best Historic Restoration and Renovation

Project Contributors
Architects

Philip McAllister Architects (Stage 1)
Bernard Seeber Architects – Jonathan Strauss (Stage 2)