Esplanade Reserve (inc Allan Green Conserv, Alf Curlewis Gardens, & Florence Hummerston Day Care Centre (fmr))

The Esplanade Reserve was a public space between Perth Water and the Central Business District. Developed through reclamation, and formally established in 1880 as a reserve, the area was taken back by the State Government in 2012 to enable development of Elizabeth Quay.

As Perth grew in the 19th century, recreational use of the foreshore and river increased. In 1862, Perth Municipal Council set aside an area to the west of the William Street jetty, as a practice wicket for the town’s cricket club. Use of the river frontage continued, with the founding of the Western Australian Rowing Club boatshed and jetty, located between Pier and Barrack streets. A formal recreation ground was created in 1873 in East Perth, on what is now known as Wellington Square. However, it was not popular until the 1890s when more people moved into the area.

The Esplanade was increasingly developed in the 1870s as mud dredged up from the river bottom expanded the surface, along with dumping of street sweepings. As a result, the shoreline was extensively modified by landfill when compared with its pre-European state.

By 1879, the State Government decided to hand over the Esplanade to Perth City Council, but more work needed to be undertaken before the council would accept it. This included fencing the area to keep out stray cattle which were destroying the newly planted trees.

Eventually, in 1880, it was handed to the City of Perth in 1880 to be used “for the inhabitants of Perth for recreation purposes forever”.

The first major event held on the Esplanade was the 1881 Intercolonial Exhibition, and in 1885 the first Perth City Baths were established at the end of the reserve. Meanwhile, Esplanade Reserve continued to be a popular recreation and celebratory venue. For example, the granting of responsible government to Western Australia was proclaimed at Esplanade Reserve in 1890, and was witnessed by 6,000 people. The Perth Bowling Club green was established directly across from the Esplanade Hotel in 1895, and appears regularly in images created to promote the hotel.

During the Depression of the 1930s and during later times of social unrest, Esplanade Reserve has been used as a rallying point for protesters before they marched through the city streets. Open air religious meetings, band concerts, picture shows, and political meetings were held on Esplanade Reserve from the 1930s into the 1970s.

Constructed in 1928, a kiosk operated for many years as a tea room. Although it had various uses over the next decades, it was operating as a Chinese restaurant shortly before being relocated in 2012 as part of the Elizabeth Quay development.

A memorial to Lt General Sir James Joseph Talbot Hobbs was erected on Esplanade Reserve in 1940. Hobbs had arrived in Western Australia in 1887, and became both an established architect and a significant military leader. Following his death in 1938, the Hobbs State Memorial Fund was established. A competition to design a memorial was held and the winning design unveiled on Armistice Day, 11 November 1940, by Lt General Sir James Mitchell.

In the 21st century, the State Government decided to develop the Esplanade Reserve as Elizabeth Quay. The Talbot Hobbs memorial, a feature of Anzac Day ceremonies for over sixty years, was relocated to the entrance of the Supreme Court Gardens. The Esplanade Kiosk was dismantled and rebuilt, brick by brick, as a kiosk on the island feature in the new inlet.

Today Elizabeth Quay is a focal point of activity for residents and tourists in Perth, and although the Esplanade Reserve is no longer there, the site continues to be a place for people to gather for entertainment and recreation.

Western Australian Times 23 September 1879