Windsor Hotel (Perth)
heritage listed building in South Perth, Western Australia
The Windsor Hotel is a heritage-listed building in South Perth, Western Australia. Designed by J. J. Talbot Hobbs, the building is of Federation Filigree style. Built in 1898, it is one of the earliest surviving hotels in Perth's southern suburbs. The Windsor is sited to take advantage of patrons visiting Perth Zoo, coming via ferry along the Swan River. Since its construction, the hotel has had several major renovations.
History
The Windsor Hotel was designed by prominent architect J. J. Talbot Hobbs, and built for George Strickland in 1898 at a cost of £4,050, equivalent to A$732,609 in 2022. The hotel opened on the corner of Mends Street and Mill Point Road at a time when the popularity of South Perth was increasing; by the mid-1890s the suburb was well established. In 1898, the Perth Zoo opened, along with a post office, which operated out of the hotel for a period of time. Part way through World War II, the Strickland family sold the hotel to Mary Thomas (later Mary Raine), who willed it to the University of Western Australia. Major works have taken place since the Windsor was constructed in 1898, with renovations carried out in 1962, 1965, 1970, the 1980s and 1991.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Windsor Hotel (Perth)” is heritage listed building in South Perth, Western Australia. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Windsor, Hotel and Perth, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “heritage listed building in South Perth, Western Australia” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q8024639. Authority coordinates are -31.973, 115.852. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1898, 2022, 1962 and 1965.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Windsor Hotel (Perth)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Windsor Hotel (Perth) primary sources, Windsor Hotel (Perth) archive and Windsor research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Windsor Hotel (Perth)”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Windsor Hotel (Perth)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.