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The Bousfields Buildingat 97-99 High Street was built in 1897.
Hutchison:
Bousfields Building. Architect: C.L. Oldham. Nos. 97-99. Samuel Pearse, a confectioner and baker, had a dwelling, sheds, shops and bakehouse on the site in 1895. In 1897 the original buildings were demolished and a new building was begun, owned by William de Lacey Bacon until c. 1904. Alexander Wright purchased it three years later and remained its owner for forty years.
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From the Facebook page "Fremantle As it was, As we were" (Peter Vinci). No source given there. ... I've just found it's SLWA and c. 1950. I hope the Library will allow me to leave this image here.
There were various occupants in the first half of the twentieth century; the photographer Charles Nixon had his studios here from 1901. Ownership of the two halves of the building was divided, Frank Bousfield owning No. 97 and Arthur John and Arthur Noble No. 99. Caris Brothers jewellers acquired the latter half later and installed a new shopfront to the building in 1966. The Bousfield family retained an interest in the property until the 1990s. Bousfield's Menswear was established by [[../people/bousfieldthomas.html|Thomas Bousfield]] at 82 High Street and also in Market Street (by 1912), moving to this building in 1938. The business was inherited by Thomas’s son Frank; he worked for forty-five years in the store until his retirement. The business still trades under the original name, but was bought by two long-term employees in 1988.
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Google Maps capture 2019
I hear in 2022 that the Bousfield business is to be terminated.
In 2024 the building has been renovated, with a new shopfront perhaps a bit more like it was in the 19th century. Photograph of the unfinished work by courtesy of Roel Loopers:
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Heritage Council (Inherit): COMMERCIAL BUILDING, 97-99 HIGH STREET
History
... Early buildings on this site were demolished in 1897. The records indicate new buildings constructed for Mr Walter de Lacy Bacon who owned them until 1904-5 when Alexander James Wright took tenure. Wright remained owner until after World War II when Frank Bousfield, Arthur John and Arthur Gordon Noble took over the properties.
Currently (2013), Bousfield's Menswear is still in the building.
Physical Description
Two storey corrugated iron hipped roof and painted brick and rendered building with parapet. The first floor façade has tall casement windows with transom lights and stucco architraves (centre window in filled) flanked by decorative pilasters. The ground floor has an awning over the shop fronts (probably not original).
Statement of Significance
The place is of historic significance as an example of a commercial building in the Old Port City of Fremantle dating from the gold boom period in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The place is significant because, when viewed from the street, it is a substantially intact example of a commercial building which contributes to the very significant Old Port City of Fremantle. Awning and shop fronts are not significant.
References
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on Anzac Day, 2020 and hosted at freotopia.org/buildings/bousfield.html (it was last updated on 27 January, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.