Art Gallery Administration Buildings (Police Barracks, Police Headquarters, CIB Administration)

The Art Gallery’s Administration building was originally constructed as the Police Barracks (or Quarters) in 1905.  It was part of a significant collection of justice buildings located in this precinct that also comprised the former Police Lock-up/Gaol (which became part of the WA Museum), the old Perth Court of Petty Sessions Courts (now the AGWA Centenary Gallery) as well as the Swan Barracks (which housed the military) located to the north across the road on Francis Street.  The Police Barracks were built at a time when the police force was expanding owing to the growing population and wealth being generated in WA by the Gold Boom which began in the 1890s.  

The two storey Donnybrook stone and tile roofed building was designed by Chief Architect of the Public Works Department, Hillson Beasley.  It is a fine and rare example of the Federation Romanesque style, designed by Beasley specifically to harmonise with the Museum and Library building across the road on James Street, designed by his predecessor, George Temple Poole, and built in 1897/1903.  The typical features of this architectural style include the pillow shaped rock faced Donnybrook sandstone construction walls, and the symmetrical arrangement of pavilions, arcades and fenestration which all together give the building a strong and yet simple statement owing to its domestic scale, having been originally a residential building.   

The police force as we know it today was established in WA in 1851.  In the early days of European settlement, law and order was carried out by civilians appointed by the Governor who were recruited as honorary constables and supervised by a sheriff and chief constable.  As the colony grew, individual men were more formally appointed as paid constables as required both in the city and in regional towns and areas.  

The contract for the building of the Police Barracks was let to C. H. Carter in February 1904 for a price of almost £12000.  It was built on the corner of Beaufort and James Street, with James Street being the main frontage.  The construction of the Barracks was completed in June 1905.   It was constructed of Donnybrook Stone on the outside walls and bricks to the interior walls.  Originally the roof was clad in green Vermont slates.  It also had a row of dormers along the roof to provide ventilation to the dormitories however these were later removed when the roof was retiled.    

On the ground floor, the eastern wing housed the residential accommodation for the sub-inspector in charge, which included a sitting room, dining room, three bedrooms and a kitchen.  The central portion comprised the reading rooms/library and a police museum which were entered via the arcaded piazza, and to the back of this was the recreation room/billiard room and gymnasium which opened onto an 8ft verandah.  In the west wing was the mess-room, kitchen, scullery and storerooms.  The first floor was accessed via two staircases that came off the back verandah.  On this floor were the dormitories of 4-6 beds each and bathrooms.  Outhouses for washing and other utilities were in the rear yard.  Stables for police horses were also provided in the yard, and both the policemen and the horses underwent rigorous training and drills there.   

When it first opened about 30 policemen moved in, although there was accommodation provided for up to 70 men.  Prior to the Police Barracks being built, there was no accommodation provided for single policemen, instead they were given a lodging allowance.  Once the Barracks were completed, the lodging allowance was discontinued and it became compulsory for single constables to live in the Barracks. The building of the Barracks was therefore not just viewed as a cost saving exercise but also a more effective way of managing and supervising the police force.  However, it was possibly not considered much of a cost or labour saving exercise by the policemen themselves who lived there and subject to costs, rules and regulations.  The men had to pay a weekly rent for their room which had to be shared with 4 or even up to 6 other men, they were required to keep the place scrupulously clean, remove all their slops and sweep and scrub their rooms, shop for food and do their own washing.   They also paid for a cook, and also provided all the equipment in the recreation room by fundraising.  Finally, there was a curfew in which they had to be in the Barracks by 11pm, unless special permission had been received otherwise. 

In 1950, it was announced that the remaining 30 single policemen still living in the Barracks would have to find alternative accommodation so that the building could be converted into offices for various departments of the Police force, in particular the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), traffic branch, accounts and district offices to alleviate the current overcrowded conditions particularly at the Police Courts.  All the files and records formerly housed in the police records office in Beaufort Street were also relocated to the Barracks.  The conversion was completed and ready for occupation in 1952.   

In 1975, the new Police headquarters near the causeway in East Perth were completed and police operations moved to there.  A memorial statue of two policeman who were murdered in Kalgoorlie in 1926 that once stood in front of the Barracks was also relocated to East Perth.  Located next to where a new main Art Gallery was being planned, the following year the former Barracks was refurbished and adapted for the Art Gallery administration staff, including offices, laboratories, educational facilities, theatrette and boardrooms.  Substantial internal alterations were carried out to accommodate these functions, however the external appearance of the building remained mostly unchanged, apart from the roof cladding and the loss of the dormer windows along the roof.   The conversion of the Barracks into the Art Gallery’s Administration Building, as well as the building of the new Art Gallery in 1979, coincidently connected to the next major resources boom in WA after gold: the nickel boom of the 1960/70s, which also brought new people and new wealth to Western Australia.   

Western Mail 14 September 1901 p. 15 

Western Mail 19 July 1902 p. 29 

Truth 12 October 1907 p. 6 

West Australian 23 May 1950 p. 11