The Palace Hotel

Ever since being redeveloped into a modern bank, the only interest in the old Palace Hotel is now 6.50% on a twelve month term deposit.

The Palace Hotel was constructed in 1895, and was one of the most elegant hotels in Australia. It was built using dense machine made bricks imported from Melbourne.

The hotel is an example of Victorian style architecture. Some of the Victorian features included the ornate dome on the roof, and the cast iron balustrades around the facade.

Mr John de Baun, an American who made his fortune from mining, built the hotel based on a design by architects, Porter and Thomas. The Palace Hotel was closed in 1981, and is now used as business offices.

The Palace Hotel (1895). Not to be confused with
the Bank West Tower, which some readers may
have noticed in the background.

Site History

Even though the Palace Hotel may no longer be totally original, it still stands on a historical corner of the city. Licensed premises had operated on the site from 1829 to 1981. The first building was known as the "King's Head Hotel", and was established during the initial year of the Swan River Colony. In 1831 the hotel was acquired by Mr William Leeder, who shaped the premises into the most popular hotel in Perth. He organised the best parties in the colony, and the building soon became known as "Leeder's Hotel". In 1845 extensions were made to the hotel, to incorporate the first masonic lodge in the colony. It then became known as the "Freemason's Tavern".

The Freemason's Tavern in the 1870's. You can see the spire of the Wesley Church (left) & two of the three Masons out the front.

It was not until 1894, that the Leeder Family sold the building to Mr John De Baun. He had some big ideas for the old tavern, which involved demolishing it, and constructing the most opulent hotel in Australia.

The William Leeder Entrance.

Joint Pain

In a nice touch, the William Street entrance to the Bank West Tower was named in honour of Mr William Leeder. It was always going to be difficult to discreetly blend the two building styles. Some say you can even see the join line from space. In a strange coincidence the join line of the 1845 masonic extension, was also clearly visible on the roof of the old building!

Beer on the left - Freemasons on the right.

The 1845 Masonic Join Line.

So just how did Perth end up with a replica facade of the old Palace Hotel, and an imposing 52 storey skyscraper in its backyard?

Surely we must have learnt from the debacle of the Pensioner Barracks demolition in 1966. Not quite. The community was concerned enough to form a body known as the "Palace Guards". These guys fought to save the old hotel from potential developers. They formulated most of their strategies in the front bar. Despite their gallant efforts, and the recognition of the building by the National Trust (WA), things didn't go to plan.

A popular solution raised during the front bar meetings.

DEMOLITION 101

Perth demolished most of its heritage buildings between 1960 and 1990. The mineral boom of the 1960’s, and corporate empire building of the 1980’s were the main culprits. However during the 1890’s even more of our early architecture hit the dirt. The driving force was the Gold Rush in Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. During this period of increased wealth, and infrastructure expansion, most of Perth’s early colonial buildings were raised to the ground. The demolition of Leeder’s Hotel, to construct the lavish Palace Hotel was a typical example of this progress.

Old Perth prior to the demolition of the 1890's.

Old Perth prior to the 1890 demolition.

We cannot be too critical of the public attitude during the 1890’s. The colony was still struggling, and the sudden economic boom was an opportunity to establish a foundation for the future. The first series of colonial buildings were generally a mixed collection of wooden structures, built under difficult conditions. Replacing them with newer, more substantial buildings was a no brainer decision during prosperous times.

Admittedly we can still look at the Palace Hotel. However the Six Million Dollar Man has more original parts. Even the Heritage Council cannot pick the fake bits from the real thing. Here are a few hints. The cupola on the roof is real, and so are the cast iron balustrades around the facade. The south facade is moderately original, but not so on the west side. It starts off real at St Georges Terrace, and becomes progressively fake as you walk up to the William Leeder Entrance. The external walls located in the Bank West atrium are entirely fake. The internal rooms have been redeveloped to accommodate a modern bank. These are also fake, and you'll need to take out a 25 year home loan to check them out. In heritage terminology the Palace Hotel has a very low degree of integrity.


The William Street facade, showing the cast iron balustrades.	View from inside the Bank West Tower atrium.	The cupola on the roof.

The Palace Hotel was used as a bargaining tool by the developers of the office tower. It was originally to be retained as a working hotel, however the State Labour Government acquired an indirect financial interest in the development, and approved its use as a bank. The development also exceeded the acceptable plot ratio in the town planning scheme. This is the ratio of the total floor area of the building, to the area of the site it is to be built on. The preservation of the old Palace Hotel was a trade-off to the developers. They received a plot ratio concession, and were allowed to increase the height of the office tower. However once the building was completed it looked too high! The developers had secretly built some extra floors. Unable to let the extra levels, the new Heritage of Western Australia Act (1990), was used to solve the problem. The plot ratio from a government owned site on Barrack Street was transferred to the office tower. This suddenly made it all acceptable! Some Perth City Councillors of the era also had pecuniary interests in these developments. Two brave councillors reported on these inconsistencies, but were silenced by a Supreme Court writ from the Lord Mayor. The entire process was rather dodgy, and some important lessons were learnt. Never again would a Perth heritage building be used as a bargaining tool, to increase the personal wealth of some greedy entrepreneurs.

Today, the old Palace Hotel is like a $10 Rolex watch. It might look good from a distance, but you'll never fool your friends. It is essentially just a three storey facade, with a massive skyscraper in the beer garden. It is still worth a look, if only from across the road.

Location: The corner of St Georges Terrace and William Street, Perth. Find the Bank West Tower, and then look down.

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