Lumpers Cafeteria

This 1940s building is now known as C.Y. O'Connor Centre. It was also known as the Security Centre. It required the demolition of the 'First and Last Store in Australia', Mr Rochefort's refreshment room and tobacconist shop.

In the 2000 Masterplan the building is "not deemed to warrant assessment"—which actually means it's not deemed to warrant retention. It was assessed as such.

Jack Kent 1991 assessment for the City:
EXISTING BUILDINGS ON VICTORIA QUAY
BUILDING NUMBER 1
C. Y. O' CONNOR CENTRE/SECURITY OFFICE
HISTORY
The C. Y. O'Connor Centre was constructed in c. 1942 adjacent to the Immigration Office, following the demolition of the Refreshment Shop, as shown on FHT Drawing ARP Plan of Essential Services dated 1941. It was built at approximately the same time as the Boom Defence buildings to the west of Victoria Quay and together, being constructed in brick, represent a change in construction of the wharf buildings. However, no archival evidence was found to date to provide full appreciation of the historical background of the building construction and evolution.
A Railway Wharf Office (built c. 1925) was also on the same site next to the Refreshment Shop prior to the C. Y. O' Connor Centre being constructed.
CONSTRUCTION
The C. Y. O' Connor Centre is constructed in brickwork with a clay tile roof. The timber joinery is largely intact although enlargement of some windows has since occurred.
ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
Aesthetically, the C. Y. O'Connor Centre/Security Office does not readily conform to the coherent utility of the remaining wharf architecture. Its visual links with Victoria Quay defence operation warrants further investigation as well as further historical research before its full cultural significance can be determined. Jack Kent, co-author - with David Hutchison, Agnieshka Kiera, Russell Kingdom, Larraine Stevens, Tanya Suba, 1991, Victoria Quay and its Architecture its History and Assessment of Cultural Significance, City of Fremantle.

John Dowson 2001:
Immigration and Tourism Precinct: Wharf Labourers' Amenities Building
Built during World War Two in 1945 on express command of the Prime Minister to reduce labour disputes at the wharf, this amenities centre for port workers is here pictured not long after construction with an appetising menu that included Corned Mutton and Baked Rabbit, with American Orange Pie to follow. The wharfies moved from here to North Wharf by 1974 and this building became known as the C.Y. O'Connor Centre. The Port Authority intends to demolish this part of the precinct of immigration buildings, but it would be useful in the future and would help the formation of an immigration museum and tourist facility for this historic precinct.

Central entrance on the southeastern side of the O'Connor Centre.

Photos of the interior of the cafeteria by courtesy of Alan Pearce, Fremantle Ports, in Facebook.

References and Links

Dowson, John 2001, Fremantle: the Immigration Story, Fremantle Society.

Fremantle Society [John Dowson] 2000, Twentieth Century Immigration through Fremantle.

Hutchison, David, with Jack Kent, Agnieshka Kiera, Russell Kingdom, Larraine Stevens, Tanya Suba, 1991, Victoria Quay and its Architecture its History and Assessment of Cultural Significance, City of Fremantle.

Peters, Nonja 2004, [[../fhs/fs/3/Peters.html|'The immigration buildings Victoria Quay 1906-1966']], Fremantle Studies, 3: 40-52.

Fremantle Ports website.

See also: [[../organisations/lumpers.html|lumpers]].

Freotopia

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 17 May, 2022 and hosted at freotopia.org/port/cafeteria.html (it was last updated on 22 October, 2023), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.