Commonwealth Bank of Australia Building
The Commonwealth Bank Building is a six-storey stone clad building built in 1930-1933. It was built for the Commonwealth Government of Australia as a state head office, banking chamber and other offices. Forrest Place had been created in 1924, a year after the General Post Office had opened.
Construction commenced in April 1930. The local timber firm of Bunnings supplied the jarrah timber, while stone was quarried from the Greenmount Quarry and transported by dray to the site. Finished in 1933, the Commonwealth Bank was officially opened on 22 March 1933.
The bank was fitted with a night safe, a new feature of banking practice in Perth. Safety designs included an automatic fire alarm, multiple locks on doors and the door to the safe deposit was constructed to “resist all known methods of attackâ€. As a government bank, its philosophy was to be a “bank for the peopleâ€, providing financial leadership in time of depression and banking facilities for pensioners, servicemen, the disabled and the public.
In 1986 Forrest Place was substantially changed to create a civic square with the GPO and Commonwealth Bank as key buildings. The same year, also saw the Commonwealth Bank returned to its 1933 look, while still allowing for modern air conditioning and computer banking facilities. Later, the building was converted for retail use, and today it hosts several stores, while remaining one of the most impressive facades in Perth’s Central Business District.
The Commonwealth Bank Building is a six-storey stone clad building built in 1930-1933. It was built for the Commonwealth Government of Australia as a state head office, banking chamber and other offices. Forrest Place had been created in 1924, a year after the General Post Office had opened.
Plans for the bank building were drawn up in 1929, shortly after the construction of the Commonwealth Bank Building in Martin Place, Sydney (1928). The Perth building was designed by the Commonwealth Department of Works in the Beaux-Arts style, which not only responded to the design principle in the similarly styled General Post Office, next door, but was also in the same style as the head office of the Commonwealth Bank in Sydney.
Construction commenced in April 1930. The local timber firm of Bunnings supplied the jarrah timber, while stone was quarried from the Greenmount Quarry and transported by dray to the site. Finished in 1933, the Commonwealth Bank was officially opened on 22 March 1933, by The Governor of Australia, E. C. Riddle, and the Chairman of Directors, Sir Robert Gibson.
The bank was fitted with a night safe, a new feature of banking practice in Perth. Safety designs included an automatic fire alarm, multiple locks on doors and the door to the safe deposit was constructed to “resist all known methods of attackâ€. As a government bank, its philosophy was to be a “bank for the peopleâ€, providing financial leadership in time of depression and banking facilities for pensioners, servicemen, the disabled and the public.
The Commonwealth Bank proved a handsome addition to the City. The work it provided during the Depression gave some hope to the community battered by the national crisis. No other bank in Perth was ever again to have such an impressive a building as its head office.
In 1978, the bank was under pressure to modernise its image to compete with newer banks in Perth. The banking hall underwent major changes to its interior with replacement of many of the original features with modern materials, the installation of air conditioning and carpeting of the marble floors. In 1986 Forrest Place was substantially changed to create a civic square with the GPO and Commonwealth Bank as key buildings. The same year, also saw the Commonwealth Bank returned to its 1933 look, while still allowing for modern air conditioning and computer banking facilities.
Later, the building was converted for retail use, and today it hosts a number of stores, while remaining one of the most impressive facades in Perth’s Central Business District.