There are many buildings around Fremantle that have been connected with the wool trade and storing wool.
Roughly from north to south:
- Dalgety Woolstores, now Heirloom apartments.
- Elders Woolstores, part of which became the Woolstores Shopping Centre and the other part lies derelict (as of 2024).
- Primaries Woolstores on South Terrace between Grey and Russell Streets.
- Beaconsfield Woolstores, on Clontarf Road and Naylor Street.
Elder Place/Beach Street
Wikipedia:
Fremantle Woolstores were at least four large buildings on the southern side of Fremantle Harbour, in Fremantle, Western Australia. They included: Westralian Farmers, Elder Smith and Co, Goldsbrough Mort [1926], Dalgety and Co. The larger two operations were Elders Woolstore and Dalgety Woolstore.
Aerial photo courtesy SLWA #262306PD: Aerial Surveys Australia & HRRC 1968, Aerial photographs of the Elders-G.M. Woolstores, Fremantle, 22 Nov. 1968.
The two large blocks are from Queen Street to Goldsbrough Street, then to James Street. (At the bottom left is the 1889 Wesley Church on Cantonment/Market Street. In the middle of the photo, at the other end of the woolstores, is the 1898Australia Hotel.)
The bottom (south-western) block was demolished c. 1985 in favour of the Woolstores shopping centre (Coles etc.), which has now in turn been demolished 2022. The other one is currently a derelict 'heritage building'.
Further to the north-east, the large black building is the Dalgetys woolstore.
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The Elders Woolstore is visible in this photo, extending from Queen Street to Goldsbrough Street on Elder Place, named for the company/building (it was formerly called Bay Street). It is behind the trees to the right of middle (rear) of the photo. On the right-hand (western) end of that site was the Woolstores shopping centre opened October 1986, demolished 2022.
The twin towers in front of the woolstore were the entrance to [[../organisations/uglymen.html|Uglieland]] on the corner of Market and Phillimore Streets - the street running through the centre of the photo. Uglieland was on the site now occupied by Pioneer Park - mostly, but partly by the Stateships building which unfortunately survives because it houses a puppet theatre of all things.
I got the photo from the internet (sorry I didn't note the source) from a site to do with railways - as the left hand side of the photo above shows the Fremantle railway yards and the current station. Note the pedestrian bridge across to the wharf. The building with the cupola on the right still stands; on this site it's called the Robert Harper building. Uglieland ceased to exist about 1936, so the photo is from before that. The railway station is from 1907.
Heritage Council register excerpt:
Elders Wool Stores is part of a complex of multistorey brick buildings bound by Cantonment Street, Elder Place, Goldsbrough Street and Parry Street, Fremantle. The complex was constructed for Goldsbrough Mort and Co. Pty Ltd (later Elder Smith-Goldsbrough Mort Ltd) in three developmental stages. 1927, 1950-1956 and 1969-1970.
Heritage Council page for Elders Wool Stores, 38 Cantonment Street.
History
Cantonment Street appears on Surveyor-General Roe’s earliest maps, and used to continue as Cantonment Road to Cantonment Hill, until this section was renamed as Queen Victoria Street in 1892 to avoid confusion.
In 1916 the British Government contracted the Australian Government to take over the entire wool consignment. The first woolstores (south) was built by Elder Shenton, originally Stock and Station agents. In 1918 the company became Elder Smith & Co.
In 1924 Goldsborough Mort Ltd (GM) was established in Fremantle, and in 1927 built the first stage of the north woolstores on Goldsborough St. Prior to 1927, the location comprised a Church of England Rectory, a duplex with sheds and stable, 8 terrace houses and a large stone residence. The rectory was sold to Goldsborough Mort Ltd (GM) in 1925 for £13, 000, and relocated to the corner of Queen & High Streets. Other lots were acquired by GM as the north woolstores expanded.
The north woolstores were built in stages from 1927 (Builder J. Hawkins & Son), 1936-38, 1950-56 (Architect Hobbs, Winning & Leighton, Builder Hawkins & Son), 1962-63, 1969-70 (Architect Hobbs, Winning & Leighton, Builder D. G. Plunkett Pty Ltd). In 1963, Elders Smith merged with GM to become Elders-GM. In 1968-69 a linking bridge was built over Goldsborough Street between the north and south woolstores on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors. The woolstores ceased operations in 1982, after handling 9,703,315 bales of wool.
The south woolstores were purchased in 1984 by Fremantle businessman Joe Rotondella for $3.5m, and the building and bridge was demolished in 1985 for a new shopping complex and carpark.
In 1987 the north woolstores were used for the America's Cup Ball. In 1989 Australian Wool Corporation used it for storage. There were proposals to demolish in 1985 and 1987. In 1991 Homeswest purchased the north woolstores from Heytesbury Holdings, for development as residential units, which did not eventuate, and the woolstores lay vacant.
In 2001 the building was partially demolished for apartments and currently (2013) remains vacant.
Physical Description
Multi storey brick building which has a parpeted roof and multi paned windows. Some have been vandalised and there is grafiti on the brickwork.
For further information refer HCWA's Register of Heritage Places documentation.
Photo courtesy SLWA: 014484PD: Dalgetys Wool Store, Fremantle, 1927 at State Library of Western Australia. This is now (2022) 'Heirloom Apartments by Match'. (Sounds like Arpège by Lanvin :)
Woolstores Shopping Centre/Mall
The Woolstores Shopping Centre was built in 1985 after the demolition of the 'southern' woolstore, the one between Queen and Goldsbrough Streets. According to the Heritage Council (above), "The first woolstores (south) was built by Elder Shenton, originally Stock and Station agents. In 1918 the company became Elder Smith & Co." It also states that, "The south woolstores were purchased in 1984 by Fremantle businessman Joe Rotondella for $3.5m, and the building and bridge was demolished in 1985 for a new shopping complex and carpark."
Woolstores Shopping Centre cnr Market/Queen Street (1985-2022), photo Terry Parsons, Google Maps, October 2016.
Demolition 2022, photo courtesy Roel Loopers.
In July 2022, it is announced that the derelict Elders store has been sold by Marilyn New to Adrian Fini's Hesperia.
City of Fremantle:
The City has welcomed the announcement that Perth-based property group Hesperia has acquired the historic Elders Woolstores building. The giant heritage-listed building stretches between Cantonment Street and Elder Place in Fremantle's East End. It was originally built in 1927, with later stages added after World War II. It’s been largely vacant since the 1970s. Hesperia plans to commence a wide-ranging community engagement process with local stakeholders later this year.
References and Links
See also the Heritage Council Register entry for the Elders Woolstore.
Heritage Council page for Elders Wool Stores, 38 Cantonment Street.
Woolstores.com.au website for the 2023 development.
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 29 January, 2022 and hosted at freotopia.org/buildings/woolstores.html (it was last updated on 15 April, 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.