Pensioners’ Barracks, Perth, Western Australia ca. 1870-1880
By Remembering the Past Australia / March 11, 2022 / Australia / 0 Comments
Place:
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Date:
ca. 1870-1880
Historical Information:
This image is part of the Colonial Office photographic collection held at The National Archives UK.
Designed by Richard Roach Jewell, the Barracks was originally built 1863-1866 to house the Enrolled Pensioner Force which came to Australia as guards on convict ships and were given small land grants in return for part-time guard work. The bulk of convict work moved from Fremantle to Perth in the 1860s, so there was a need to accommodate many Enrolled Pensioners and their families.
Jewell designed the three-storey building in Tudor style that resembled a medieval castle. The building was brick, rather than more expensive stone, and horizontal lines were emphasised by using lines of paler colour bricks underneath the windows. The roof was made of timber shingles. The building was finished in 1866 and was later extended to house an additional 21 families. Each family apartment had two rooms, each about 13 feet by 11 feet, with at least one fireplace. The outbuildings included a cookhouse, firing range and gun-room, wash-house, stores and stables, and a fives court (for a ball game played with the hands) constructed later. [Fremantle Stuff]
Description:
Showing the Pensioners’ Barracks, Perth, Western Australia. Original photo ca. 1870-1880.
From the collection of:
