Town Lot 418

97-99 High Street, south side, between Market and Pakenham Streets.
The earliest owner of Lot 418 recorded by [[../hitchcock.html|Hitchcock]] (1929) was Mary Ann Bateman.
At the end of 2022: adultshop.com, Bousfields (closed 2023).

In 1855, Mrs Sarah Spencer, after the death of her husband, boatman [[../people/spencerjohn.html|John Spencer]], applied for a hotel licence for her property on Lot 418. The hotel had no name. After he drowned, a subscription was taken up to help her support her seven children.

Hitchcock 1919, describing the situation as he recalled it was in 1869:
Next to Higham’s was the jeweller’s shop of a Russian Jew named Rosenberg.
Next door was a baker’s shop, kept by a Mr Downs; and then a sailors boarding house, kept by James Freeman.

In 2023, Lot 97 had been the premises of Bousfield's menswear since 1938, but closed that year, probably at the same time as the building, Lot 418, nos 97-99, was sold 27 July for $1,850k. In 2024 it is being refitted. Adultshop continues as the tenant in no. 99.

Streets of Freo shows some of the more notable occupants as having been Mary Ann Bateman 1829-1837, J. Spencer 1855-1859, Mrs William Pearse 1876-1878.
No. 97:
The Railway Institute Club 1898, T. H. Day, baker 1899, Occident Chambers 1902-1910, Ronald G. Oldham architect 1903-04, Occidental Club 1905-06, Bateman Ltd. 1933-38, T. P. Bousfield mercers 1939-2022.
No. 99:
Charles Nixon photographer 1900-01, Alfred Charlton photographer 1908-09, Vanduara Tea Rooms 1911-12, Cabin Tea Rooms 1913-37.

References and Links

Hitchcock, J.K. 1919, [[../books/hitchcock1919.html|'Early Days of Fremantle: High Street 50 Years Ago']], Fremantle Times, one of a series of articles on 'Early Days of Fremantle' publ. 21 March - 20 June 1919.

[[../hitchcock.html|Hitchcock]], 1929.

Streets of Freo, Museum of Perth.

Fremantle History Centre. Look for the PDFs called:
Purchasers of Fremantle Town Lots 1829-1837
Purchasers of Fremantle Town Lots 1855-1879

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 2 December, 2022 and hosted at freotopia.org/lots/418.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.