Lance Holt School is an alternative primary school in the West End, at 10 Henry Street. It is named after the founder, Lance Holt, who set up three 'alternative' schools in 1970: Moerlina School (now in Brockway Road Mt Claremont), Foothills School, Guildford (now Corridors College, Midland), and this one.
LHS website:
The original Lance Holt School was founded in 1970 by the educational pioneer Lance Holt, with 21 students in a building in North Fremantle. Four years later, the school moved to its current home at 10 Henry Street in the heart of Fremantle's West End.
The building in North Fremantle was [[../churches/stannes.html|St Anne's church]] (according to Gary Burke, who also started a school in North Fremantle, so he would know). It was decommissioned, but is now a (Croatian Catholic) church again, and also a Croatian community centre.
Moerlina School website:
Moerlina began as Lance Holt School Claremont in 1974. Moerlina's first 'home' was the Members' Pavilion in the Claremont Showgrounds. The entire school was packed up every Friday night and re-established every Monday. In 1977 the School moved to the Homecrafts Pavilion. At the same time, the Lance Holt School dissolved their association and thus Moerlina came into existence.
The Lance Holt School building at 10 [[../westend/henry.html|Henry St]] was built in 1892, and later was the Federal Coffee Palace (a hotel without a liquor license). The warehouse and offices were apparently built for [[../people/webster.html|Philip Webster]], and were later occupied by various tenants until the City bought it in 1972. The School has occupied it since 1974 and owned it since 1985.
[[../bib.html#davidson|Davidson]] 2007:
Development on the Lance Holt site has a timeline similar to many Fremantle blocks. There were two stone houses there in the 1840s, and a shop and confectioner's in the 1880s; the Federal Coffee Lounge was built in 1892 at the start of the gold rush boom. The building was a warehouse holding jams during the Second World War, then housed a printer before being bought by Main Roads for its Henry Street highway project. ([[../bib.html#davidson|Davidson]] 2007: 275)
Heritage Council:
History
Original town lot granted in 1830s to R. Wardell. By the 1880s a house and a shop had been constructed on the lot, the latter was the Federal Coffee Palace from 1892. In 1899 a two storey office and warehouse was constructed which housed a variety of merchants and tradesmen. Records are unclear as to whether the coffee shop remained on the premises after the construction of the new building.
From 1950 to c1970 the building was Adams Electric and Port Printing Works. In 1972 the building was purchased by the Council and was occupied by Main Roads Dept and the City of Fremantle Planning Dept.
In 1973, Lance Holt school took out a lease, and in 1985 bought the building for $120,000 from the council. Alterations were carried out in 1994 and 1997. Alterations were carried out in 2001-02 by Philip McAllister Architect. Classified by National Trust 11/9/2000.
A Heritage Assessment was prepared in June 2009 by the City of Fremantle for a DA submission to Council for the proposed addition of a multi purpose hall to be located on the southern side of the school building at the rear of the courtyard and alterations to internal bathrooms on the first floor of the existing building. It is also proposed to include a door opening on the southern elevation towards the rear of the site.
Currently (2013), Lance Holt school.
Physical Description
The original two storey building including half basement at ground level is constructed in the Federation Free Classical style of architecture. The building has a zero setback from the pavement and central staircase leading to the main entrance. There are external metal stairs on the south side and there is a courtyard and playground on this side of the site which has two suspended concrete slabs.
The ashlar rendered façade features a tall decorative parapet with engaged pilasters and the central timber doors entrance with timber sash windows to the first floor. The ground floor and sub-basement floor façade features arched recessed timber framed windows. There is an additional storey in corrugated iron set above and back from the façade parapet and brick additions at the rear which are not original.
Statement of Significance
Lance Holt School, comprising a two-storey brick commercial building in the Federation Free Classical style, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
the place is occupied by Lance Holt School Inc. the State’s oldest community school, and provides evidence of a shift in educational philosophies in the 1970s towards more community-based education and school administration;
the place was constructed in 1892 as Federal Coffee Palace, at a time when commercial premises in Fremantle were rapidly expanding in response to the economic boom and population expansion resulting from the Gold Rushes;
the Lance Holt School, comprising a two-storey brick commercial building in the Federation Free Classical style, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
the place is a good example of a modest commercial building in the Federation Classical style, with a stuccoed façade featuring a parapet and classical mouldings; and,
the place contributes to the predominantly Federation streetscape of Henry Street, and to the character of the wider historic precinct of Fremantle’s West End.
The playground, rear extensions and internal modifications to the upper floor are of little significance. There are no intrusive elements.
History podcast
In 2020–22 the school produced five podcast episodes of 50 Years of the Lance Holt School (audio attached here to guard against linkrot):
- 2020 April 30: Welcome to the 70's
- 2020 August 5: Welcome to the 80's
- 2020 November 3: Welcome to the 90's
- 2021 July 27: Lance Holt School in the 2000s
- 2022, March 18: Welcome to the Lance Holt School in the 2010s
References and Links
Davidson, Ron 2007, Fremantle Impressions, FACP.
LHS website.
Moerlina School website.
Personal note from Garry Gillard: I served (not very effectively) as Chairman of the Lance Holt School Council for the second half of 1992. My former wife, Jennifer Nash, was the Principal of Moerlina School (years tba). Our two daughters were both students at Lance Holt School, though they completed their primary school education at Spearwood Alternative School (principal: Kevin Gillan, who is now married to Jenny Nash) before both being awarded scholarships to St Hilda's Anglican Girls School.
Don Whittington was another chairman I happen to know. Megan Kirwan-Ward succeeded me.
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 16 August, 2015 and hosted at freotopia.org/schools/lanceholt.html (it was last updated on 15 May, 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.