Old Perth Fire Station

Old Perth Fire Station (Fire Brigade No. 1 Station) is located at 25 Murray Street, at its intersection with Irwin Street, Perth, Western Australia

The Fire Station was the first purpose-built fire station in Western Australia. It was opened in 1901 and continued in operation until 1979. The building now houses the Fire & Emergency Services Education and Heritage Centre.

The Fire Station was designed by Michael Cavanagh with Romanesque Revival stylistic influences and built around 1900. It is a two storey rusticated limestone and tile roofed corner building, and has a diverse facade with arches, turrets and recessed colonnades.

The Fire Brigade's original premises were located in the undercroft area of the Perth Town Hall, for which they paid a nominal rent. In 1899 the Fire Brigades Board proposed that land be bought in the proximity of the Town Hall and a new Fire Station be built. In October 1899 it was reported that the Roman Catholic Bishop Gibney had offered some land at the intersection of Murray and Irwin Streets, which was then purchased for ₤3,125. A list of architects was then submitted to the Board which on 26 October 1899 selected Michael Cavanagh, with the stipulation that the building he design not exceed ₤4,000. Michael Cavanagh, was an architect who came from Adelaide to Perth in 1895, attracted by the gold boom prosperity in Western Australia, forming his own architectural firm, Cavanagh & Cavanagh, with his brother James. Cavanagh also designed the Great Western Hotel (Brass Monkey Hotel), alterations to St Mary's Cathedral, Mount Hawthorn Hotel (Paddington Ale House), Fremantle Fire Station (1908), St Patrick's Basilica (Fremantle), Sisters of Mercy Convent (Bunbury) and remodelled the Archbishop's Palace. In the early 1900s Cavanagh was a member of the Perth City Council and a member of the Perth Fire Brigade Board. The building was completed in December 1900 and the Fire Brigade moved into their new premises on 1 January 1901.

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