Empire Buildings

The Western Australian Bank, Albany, also known as the Haynes Robinson building, is a heritage listed building located on Stirling Terrace overlooking Princess Royal Harbour in Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. It was built in the Federation Academic Classical style and originally housed the local branch of the Commercial Bank of Australia. The two storey building has many features that are identical to those of the eastern neighbouring building. The building is constructed on a rusticated base, there are two entrance doors with classically derived casements made up of plain pilasters, cornices, scrolled brackets and tympanum. A pair of arched windows are found between the doors. A deep cornice was set above the entablature, there is an open balustrade at parapet level, with piers topped with urns at each end and a raised panel buttressed by scrolls and tympanum above. In 2000, the parapet level including the urns and tympanum were removed, and the entire building was painted.The two storey building has a symmetrical smooth rendered façade, with the lower floor finished in rendered ashlar. The paired groups of arched windows have classical pillars and prominent architraves. A number of classical motifs have been utilised to embellish the façade.The building was built in 1890 for the Commercial Bank during the Western Australian gold rush period when prospectors would disembark at Albany then travel further north.Plans were approved by May 1890 for construction with an estimated cost of £6000. The architect, John Talbot Hobbs, called for tenders early the following month for construction. The tender was awarded to J Hurst and son, with a bid of £6697, and they commenced construction of the building in late July of the same year. The contract also included the demolition of the existing single storey buildings on the site. Works on the building were completed in June 1891.In 1897 the Western Australian bank had taken over the premises from the Commercial Bank.In 2000, the Great Southern Development Commission offices were located within the building but were later moved to Pyrmont House. Currently the building is used for office space, including by the former member of Albany and now lawyer, Kevin Prince.

Albany House is a heritage listed building located on the corner of Stirling Terrace and York Street overlooking Princess Royal Harbour in Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The building was originally constructed as the Union Bank of Australia building, and completed in 1884. The banking chamber occupied the ground floor while the manager's residence took up the first floor.The two storey building was built in the Victorian Regency style; it is constructed from load-bearing masonry that has been rendered and painted. A rendered plinth at the base of the building is continuous around the main facade and is deepest at the truncated corner as the site slopes to the south. A single storey wing extends from the western side to the boundary with the London Hotel. The building has a dominant square form with a truncated corner, where the main entrance is located, at the intersection of Stirling Terrace and York Street. A decorative frieze stringcourse is found between the ground and first floors with further horizontal mouldings. The two street facades are identical and broken into bays by the pairing of the arched windows. The north facing balcony has timber flooring and a balustrade of cast iron panels. The building is topped with corrugated iron roofing concealed behind a parapet. Chimneys with moulded tops and a flagpole at the south east corner top the building.A branch of the Union Bank was opened in 1878 by the General Manager, John Franklin McMullen. The Commercial and National Banks both also had branches in the town. McMullen then acquired the present site in 1879. With the construction of the Great Southern Railway and the economic future of Albany looking secure planning started to construct new premises.The building was designed by architect George Charles Inskip in 1884. Inskip had also designed the Union bank buildings in Perth, Fremantle. Roebourne and Geraldton. Tenders for the Albany building were called for later the same year with the foundation stone laid in August. It was built by Charles Keyser, who also constructed Vancouver House, another heritage listed building further down Stirling Terrace.In 1945 the block was subdivided and the land behind the building fronting York Street was sold. The building had some renovations in 1950. The Union Bank and the Bank of Australasia merged in 1951 to form the Australian and New Zealand Bank. In 1970, the bank then took over the English, Scottish and Australian Bank and became the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and eventually moved to premises on Albany Highway. In 1973 the building was completely vacated and new premises were opened in Peel Place. Albany House was sold in 1975 to the Wyness family, then in 1976 to the Bellemore family, who renovated the building. QBE Insurance used the ground floor as offices in 1999.In 2005 the building received a A$5,000 grant from the state government to assist with the cost of preparing a conservation plan.

The London Hotel is a hotel located on Stirling Terrace overlooking Princess Royal Harbour in Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.The current building was built in 1909 for the sum of £7,000. The building was designed by architect J. Herbert Eales. The proprietor was Harry C. Sims, with work completed by contractor A. Thompson. It was built on the site of the Chusan Hotel which had stood on the site since 1849 and was rebuilt in 1871.When it was constructed the two storey brick built hotel was plastered and surrounded by large spacious balconies. The entrance hall was reminiscent of an English mansion; a 22 ft (7 m) by 20 ft (6 m) drawing room opened onto the balcony, as did the dining room of similar proportions. The public bars were located on the ground floor. Sims remained the proprietor of the hotel until 1918. In 1930 the hotel was put up for auction and was sold to E. S. Cowan, a local resident, for £7500. Following the death of Cowan the hotel was again put up for auction in 1935 and was passed in for £4,750. The property was subsequently sold privately to Mrs R. Ruse of Mount Barker.Kester Solomon, a professional gambler, took over the hotel in 2009 and transformed the interior, creating a European style coffee bar and a New York style cocktail bar. The hotel, now known as Liberte, has been refurbished with timber floors, regal wallpaper, mantelpieces and gilded mirrors.

St John's Anglican Church, also known as St John the Evangelist Anglican Church, is a heritage-listed Anglican church on York Street in Albany, Western Australia. The church is the oldest consecrated church in Western Australia, consecrated in October 1848.

The Jubilee Bandstand also known as Queen's Park Rotunda or Jubilee Rotunda is a heritage listed building located between Stirling Terrace and Proudlove Parade overlooking Queens Park, the Memorial Gardens and Princess Royal Harbour in Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The rotunda is a decorative open sided pavilion on a half ellipse design. It is built in a Federation Carpenter Gothic style, displaying use of timber craftsmanship, with elaborate balusters, posts, capitals, brackets and bosses. A curved granite retaining wall forms the base of the rotunda and steps lead down to Proudlove Parade. It has a central gabled entrance, facing Stirling Terrace, and is the only entrance to the rotunda. This gabled section appears to be a recently added item. A perimeter timber balustrades is continuous around the rotunda interrupted only at the entrance. Timber posts and beams support a timber framed, zinc clad roof.In 1890, the Mayor of Albany, John Moir, proposed that the embankment along Stirling Terrace be converted to parkland. The embankment on which the pavilion is located was a rubbish tip before the stand was built. The surrounds were converted to parkland, known as Queens Park, and were opened in 1897 to honour the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.Construction of the bandstand commenced in 1897. The bandstand was designed by Robert Greenshields and built local carpenter and joiner by Nobby Clark. The state government contributed £150, the council voted £90 with additional revenue raised by public subscription. It was opened in May 1898.The Chairman of the Bandstand committee was John Moir, who handed the bandstand over to the new Mayor, William Grills Knight.The rotunda was used regularly for events such as concerts, public addresses and ceremonial occasions such as the reception of the official party for Great White Fleet in 1908. In the late 1940s the covered entrance to the bandstand was removed and the size of the park was reduced when roads and parking bays were introduced into the area.Repairs to the bandstand were carried out in 1972, it was entered onto the Register of the National Estate in 1977, and in 1992 further restoration work was carried out on the bandstand.

The Albany Courthouse is found in the Albany Courthouse Complex, also known as the Albany Justice Complex, which is a series of buildings situated on Stirling Terrace and Collie Streets in Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Heritage buildings found on the site include the Albany Courthouse, Gaolkeepers House and Residence 1845.The courthouse was designed by George Temple-Poole and built by Charles Layton. It was decided to build the courthouse on the site of the old state school, which had to be demolished. Building commenced in 1896 with the laying of the foundation stone on 29 December 1896 by Frederick Piesse. The building was to take nine months to complete but was delayed in 1897 when the supply of bricks was exhausted. Construction was completed on 7 February 1898 and the building was opened the acting Premier, Edward Wittenoom. It is a two storey building made from granite and red brick with rounded front corners and granite arched convolute doorways. The roof is covered with grey tiles with brick chimneys which have terracotta tops. The building initially also contained a police station and later for offices for the Public Works Department.The court was the most expensive of the regional courts built during the gold boom, only Geraldton and Coolgardie courts, that were combined with other Government offices, having grander buildings. Even the courts in Perth had to wait until 1903 to outshine the Albany building when the Supreme Court building was completed.In 1908 a lockup and keeper's residence were constructed behind the court; in 1920 an internal wall was removed on the ground floor between offices for batter access for the clerk of courts. A garage and wood shed were added in 1945 and the building was connected to the town sewer system in 1957. Following the construction of a new police station in 1966 the police offices were taken over by the bailiff. A major renovation was carried out in 1978 with a second court room being added and the offices being redesigned.

Vancouver House, also known as the National Bank building, is a heritage listed building located on Stirling Terrace overlooking Princess Royal Harbour in Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The building is named after George Vancouver, who named King George Sound and Princess Royal Harbour and claimed the southern part of Western Australia for the British Crown in 1791.Tenders were called for in February 1881, and the building was constructed in 1881 by local builder Charles Keyser, who also built Albany House located further along Stirling Terrace. It initially operated as a branch of the National Bank but later was used as a cafe and food store and became a guest house in 2000.The building is of a Victorian free classical style and is part of a group of significant buildings along Stirling Terrace. It has two storeys with a single storey addition on the eastern side of the building. The symmetrical facade is divided into horizontal panels of stucco masonry. The portico entry bay has an arched doorway. The building is topped with a medium pitch corrugated iron roof with two moulded top chimneys.

Drew Robinson & Company building, also known as the Albany Light Opera Company building and Dylan's on the Terrace, is a heritage listed building located on Stirling Terrace overlooking Princess Royal Harbour in Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The building was constructed in 1880 and was originally owned by the McKail family. John McKail, a merchant and (briefly) member of parliament, had operated from a warehouse and woolstore on the site until his death in 1871. His family, trading as John McKail & Co., has the current building erected in 1880.McKail also built a wool store behind the building facing the opposite direction with the frontage along Frederick Street. In 1888, following McKail's death, the business and building were acquired by Charles Drew and John Robinson who had recently formed Drew, Robinson & Co.By 1902 the building was being used to house a cafe, the Central Coffee Palace. A fire, which resulted in damage estimated at £6,000, occurred later the same year. It was occupied by John Zervoothakis who was not injured. The neighbouring building, the White Star Hotel, was preserved only by the constant application of wet blankets to the woodwork. The fire gutted the building leaving only the facade and the side walls standing. It was rebuilt in 1903 and was used as a tobacconist, hairdresser, hostel and cafe.Thomas Wardle, owner of Tom the Cheap grocery chain, acquired the building in 1968 along with other with plans to demolish them and build a shopping complex. The building was also being used by the Albany Light Opera Company was housed in the building in the late 1970s before the building became empty and derelict. Acquired in 1980 by Gwen and Morris Blake the building was extensively restored and opened as a bookshop. The building was converted for use as a restaurant in 1987, initially known as Dylan's on the Terrace and now called Dylan's Cafe and Restaurant.A grant of A$57,600 was awarded to the owners of the building in 2015 for restoration work including painting the façade and verandah and installing a new verandah roof.

ANZAC Peace Park is a park in Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. It is located at the foot of the hill where York Street meets Princess Royal Drive. The park opened in 2010, and it is designated to commemorate the departure to the war front of soldiers who served in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during World War I.

Scots Uniting Church, originally known as the Scots Presbyterian Church, is a Uniting church located on York Street, the main street of Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.

The Albany Club also known as the Aberdeen House is a heritage listed building located on Aberdeen Street in Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. In Western Australia, only the Weld Club in Perth is older than the Albany gentlemen's club, which was established in 1894. No private club outside the metropolitan area has occupied the same building for so long.John Moir, who served as the mayor of Albany for four terms, built a new residence on Aberdeen Street in 1886; his wife died shortly before the residence was completed. Moir, who was also a founding member of the Albany Club, let it be used as a club facility from 1895 until 1939 when the club acquired the building. The Albany Club building later became heritage listed.The building has two storeys and is constructed of stuccoed brick and with a corrugated iron roof, designed in the Victorian Style with Italianate elements.In 2005 the building received interim heritage listing.Foundation members of the club include: Albert Young Hassell, John Moir, S. J. Haynes and W. H. Angove.

White Star Hotel is a heritage listed building that operates as a hotel in Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. The hotel is located adjacent to the Royal George Hotel on Stirling Terrace, once the commercial and social centre of town, overlooking Princess Royal Harbour. The building was named for the White Star Line, an important shipping and passenger line that once operated out of Albany.The current building was completed in 1910, built on the site of the former White Hart Hotel that was built in 1906 and demolished in 1910 to make way for the new hotel. Charles William Reddin owned and managed the hotel at this time. After being rebuilt the two storey building contained twenty-two bedrooms and various other common rooms and a large dining room. The downstairs area contained a larger dining room and the bar area, with large arched windows facing onto Stirling Terrace. The Stirling Terrace side of the building had a balcony with intricate timber balustrades. Reddin was still the hotel proprietor in 1916 but by 1919 George Marques was the proprietor.Clarence L. Braddock took over management of the hotel in 1939 and remained there until 1943.In 1993 the hotel was renovated again with the paint removed from the ground floor walls leaving exposed brickwork. The balcony has also been removed and replaced with a cantilevered canopy parapet.A brewery, called Tangleheads, was opened in the hotel in 2006. The brewery's unusual name is taken from the first brewery that was opened in by John Ward in Albany in the 1860s. Although Ward's brewery was called Ward’s Windmill Brewery it was colloquially known as Tangleheads after the beer's effect on its drinkers.In 2014 the hotel owners received a grant of A$52,788 for conservation and repairs as part of a revitalization project along Stirling Terrance in readiness for Anzac Centenary commemorations.