1901, P&O Hotel—Fremantle, Australia
Posted by: 
Ianatlarge
S 32° 03.330 E 115° 44.604
50H E 381374 N 6452722
A classy gold rush era, hotel, now university, in Freo city.
Waymark Code: WMGN1M
Location: Western Australia, Australia
Date Posted: 03/22/2013
Views: 6
This is a classy looking hotel, well restored, now used by the new University of Notre Dame, in Fremantle City. Above the main entrance is the year, in very small script (I could not discern the date from the street, my zoom lens was required). The year was 1901, an optimistic time for Western Australians, the year of federation, an economic boom, and good times ahead.
Fremantle is a city in southern Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. It is the harbour city of the State capital, the city of Perth. From Fremantle a never ending stream of consumer items sweeps into Perth. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829. Precisely a century later it was declared a city. It has a population of approximately 25,000, though there is an urban sprawl connecting the two cities. In addition to freight, Fremantle is a tourist destination. It is replete with older buildings, backpacker hostels, restaurants, and tourist sites.
The city is named after Captain Charles Howe Fremantle, the English naval officer who had pronounced possession of Western Australia, and who established a camp at the site in 1829 (the first fleet). The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for Fremantle is Freo.
From the state heritage website:
(
visit link)
The place is historically significant as hotel representing the development of Fremantle’s Old Port City from the gold boom period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The place is a fine example of a Federation Filigree style building, with elaborate stucco decoration that makes a significant contribution to the streetscape. The place is a significant landmark in the Old Port City of Fremantle. Significant for associations with property owners Connor and Quinlan and architects Cavanagh and Cavanagh.
A highly decorative and prominent two storey corner former hotel; expressing the boom of the gold period. The main entrance is on the truncated corner and the bull nose verandas have extensive iron lacework) and columns (probably not original). The decorative parapet has balustrade, columns and five large pediments featuring stilted arches with columns and decorative stucco. The corner of the parapet has the remains of a dome featuring the name The 'P&O Hotel' in decorative stucco; the columns and roof are no longer intact. The multi paned windows have stucco architraves.
The Victoria Hotel (c1870) was a smaller hotel which stood on the site of the current P & O Hotel. It was kept by Mrs Scott, widow of a sea captain, and Pat Hagan. It was a favoured place for deep sea skippers, the bar known as the 'Cockpit' fitted out in nautical style.