Forrest Place

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View north along Forrest Place from Murray Street towards the railway station.
View north along Forrest Place from Murray Street towards the railway station.
The General Post Office building was completed in 1923, a year before Forrest Place itself was created.
The General Post Office building was completed in 1923, a year before Forrest Place itself was created.[1]
The Commonwealth Bank building stands on the corner of Murray Street and Forrest Place.
The Commonwealth Bank building stands on the corner of Murray Street and Forrest Place.

Forrest Place is a pedestrianised square located within the CBD of Perth, Western Australia. The street was created in 1924 [1], and has a history of being a focal point for significant political meetings and demonstrations.

Contents

[edit] History

Named after Sir John Forrest, the first Premier of Western Australia, Forrest Place was for most of its history a roadway between the Perth railway station and Murray Street.

It was originally a plot of land issued to Patrick Farmer 1840, and after various uses and before Forrest Place was constructed an arcade between Wellington and Murray Streets existed on the site and was known as Central Arcade.

Prior to the building of Forrest Chase complex (containing Myer and numerous other retail stores), the central building on the eastern side of Forrest Place was the Padbury Buildings (built in 1925[2] and demolished in 1986-1987). While the buildings on the east side have changed a number of times in the street's 82-year history, the General Post Office (completed in 1923 [3]) and the Commonwealth Bank building (completed 1933 [1]), both designed by John Smith Murdoch in the Interwar Beaux-Arts style and faced with Donnybrook sandstone, have endured significant change around them.

[edit] Parades, meetings and rallying place

In the 1940's returned soldiers marched through Forrest Place. [4]

It was a meeting place and focal point for political meetings in the 1950' s through to the 1980's [5]considerable use was made of the steps of the Post Office being above the roadway level. There were clashes with police during the battle of Forrest Place on the 11th of June 1966.

The attempt to defuse the political nature of the space and ban meetings in Forrest Place was carried out by Charles Court, on the 18 November 1975, when his government used Section 54B of the Western Australia Police Act to ban meetings. Considerable numbers of demonstrations resulted from this ban. This was later repealed by the Public Meetings and Processions Act of 1984.

Forrest Place became a large paved area with the closing of the roadway in the late 1987[6] It still links Wellington Street and Perth railway station with the Murray Street Mall, but the addition of steps to the northern end prevents vehicle thoroughfare.

[edit] Uses

Forrest Place is used in many ways throughout the year, including cultural displays, children's activities and parades, and contains the City of Perth visitors centre [7].

Plaque from the 1923 dedication
Plaque from the 1923 dedication

[edit] Transport

Nearby transport facilities include:

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Commonwealth Bank Building. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved on July 31, 2006.
  2. ^ Padbury Buildings. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved on July 31, 2006.
  3. ^ General Post Office. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved on July 31, 2006.
  4. ^ Edmonds, Jack (editor) (1976) Swan River colony : life in Western Australia since the early colonial settlement, illustrated by pictures from an exhibition mounted by West Australian Newspapers Ltd. as a contribution to celebrations for the state's 150th year Perth : West Australian Newspapers, 1979.ISBN 0909699208 - page 79 - Ninth Division troops March 24 1943
  5. ^ Edmonds, Jack (editor) (1976) Swan River colony : life in Western Australia since the early colonial settlement, illustrated by pictures from an exhibition mounted by West Australian Newspapers Ltd. as a contribution to celebrations for the state's 150th year Perth : West Australian Newspapers, 1979.ISBN 0909699208 - page 95 - Gough Whitlam - 1974,
  6. ^ Photo WA Library collect 1987 demolition
  7. ^ Forrest Place. City of Perth. Retrieved on July 31, 2006.

[edit] Original title and later map of site

  • Mason, John. Title of Perth town lot V 17, 1840 Issued in his name, 3 Nov. 1840. (Mason, John -- Archives - Battye Library)
  • Australia. Dept. of the Interior.(1911) Perth new G.P.O. site: Plan of existing buildings. Plan Nos. D663 and D664.(Signed by Hillton Beasley, Chief Architect). (Australian Archives)

[edit] Further reading

  • Conole, Peter.(2002) Protect & serve : a history of policing in Western Australia Scarborough, W.A. : Western Australian Police Historical Society. ISBN 0957953526 - see specially pp.343-348 regarding the problems of 54B for the police service.
  • Gregory, Jenny. (2003) City of light: a history of Perth since the 1950s Perth, W.A.: City of Perth ISBN 0959463240 - see specially pp.124-130 concerning the political history of the space.