McNess Royal Arcade
McNess Royal Arcade was built for one of Perth’s greatest philanthropists, Charles McNess. Extremely shrewd with money, He famously claimed he would never buy a tram ticket for three pence, if you could save a penny and walk the extra distance.
He was born in England in 1853 and arrived in Perth when he was 30. He started up in business as a tinsmith and ironmonger. In 1897, he commissioned architect William Wolf, who later designed His Majesty’s Theatre to draw up plans for a new building.
McNess Royal Arcade was an imposing building of a basement and three storeys. The architecture was described as being Italianate, in the Corinthian order. The basement, which extended under the whole building, was a restaurant, dining rooms, and a billiard room. On the ground floor were seventeen shops, with a façade running from Hay Street into Barrack Street.
After World War I, he began his philanthropic works, providing £20,000 for relief of unemployment during the Depression. He also donated the money for the McNess Hall in Pier Street, for use by the Presbyterian Church. He was knighted in 1931 by Governor William Campion, and died in 1938 at his son’s Mount Lawley home.
McNess Royal Arcade was built for one of Perth’s greatest philanthropists, Charles McNess. Extremely shrewd with money, He famously claimed he would never buy a tram ticket for three pence, if you could save a penny and walk the extra distance.
McNess was born in England in 1853 and arrived in Perth when he was 30. He started up in business as a tinsmith and ironmonger, with a single-storey building at the corner of Barrack Street and Hay Street, opposite the Town Hall. This was where he was later to build his arcade. The business was successful, and with his legendary care for money, McNess soon found himself reasonably wealthy.
In 1897, he commissioned architect William Wolf, who later designed His Majesty’s Theatre to draw up plans for a new building. Wolf was born in New York, and claimed he trained as an architect in Germany, which was probably not true. He gained a degree of notoriety whilst working in Melbourne by colluding with local builder, telling him what the winning bid for tenders would be and then certifying substandard work.
Despite Wolf’s dubious background, he was a brilliant architect, and McNess Royal Arcade was an imposing building of a basement and three storeys. The architecture was described as being Italianate, in the Corinthian order. The basement, which extended under the whole building, was a restaurant, dining rooms, and a billiard room. On the ground floor were seventeen shops, with a façade running from Hay Street into Barrack Street.
On either side of the arcade were entrances leading to the top floors by means of a grand staircase, leading to the first and second floors with 25 offices each. The interior of the arcade was lit by skylights extending the whole length of the building, although electric light was laid on throughout.
McNess was said to have been a sober and retiring gentleman who spent very little on himself. After World War I, he began his philanthropic works, providing £20,000 for relief of unemployment during the Depression. He also donated the money for the McNess Hall in Pier Street, for use by the Presbyterian Church. His gifts also included money for the upkeep of the State War Memorial, and the formation of a McNess Housing Trust to provide homes for needy families.
In recognition of his charity work, he was knighted in 1931 by Governor William Campion, for which McNess returned to Perth from his home in Melbourne. Lady McNess died in 1937 and Sir Charles donated £11,500 to construct the Lady McNess Memorial Drive in the Darling Ranges. The next year, on 22 June, McNess died at his son’s Mount Lawley home.
West Australian 24 December 1897
Sunday Times 19 October 1919
Truth 25 May 1930
West Australian 5 June 1931
Daily News 13 September 1950