The City of Perth Library and Boffins Books are proud to present an author talk with Richard Offen as he speaks about his new book Lost Perth. Rediscover a wide range of Perth's cherished buildings and institutions, from the trams on city streets to cavernous 1930s cinemas and department stores that no longer find customers.
Can't make it? We'll happily have a copy of Richard's new book 'Lost Perth' signed for you. Simply contact us by phone, email, online or visit us in-store and we'll take care of the rest.
In 1901 Federation transformed Western Australia from an independent colony to a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, and Perth gained the status of capital city. Originally funded by agriculture, the discovery of gold gave it the finances to transorm itself from a modest country town to a prosperous commercial city with great civic buildings to match.
Perth has grown on the back of a series of resource booms from a Victorian gold town into a dynamic and progressive city. But along the way, and in the rush for growth, many grand old buildings and Perth institutions have been swept aside.
Taking the losses in chronological order, Richard Offen (author of the best-selling Perth Then and Now) catalogues the beloved buildings and Perth institutions that time and progress have seen them disappear.
Lost Perth includes: Josie's Cottage, First Government House, Padbury Building, Royal Perth Yacht Club, Regent Cinema, Mitchell Building, trams, steam trains, William Street Level Crossing, Esplanade Hotel, Emu Brewery, Dalkeith Hot Pool, Coolbaroo Club, the Christian Brothers School and the East Perth Gasometer.
Richard Offen retired in 2017 after 13 years as executive director at Heritage Perth. During that time he was able to immerse himself in the history of Perth and Western Australia and has helped dispel the urban myth "Perth has no history". In retirement, he writes, still takes walking tours of the city's historic sites and is a popular lecturer on the subject. Richard also remains a regular broadcaster on both radio and television. He was the co-author of the National Trust book The Living Coast and penned the captions for a book of aerial photographs of the British coast entitled Coastline UK. In his spare time, Richard is on the Board of the Anglican Schools Commission, Deputy Chairman of the Swan Bells Foundation, on the Board of the Young Australia League, Secretary of the Sharpe Trust and a Churchwarden at Christ Church, Claremont.
