Ā鶹ֱ²„ās city premises will soon include the Old Perth Boysā School in St Georgeās Terrace, Perth under a leasing deal with the National Trust of Western Australia announced on 30 January.
Ā鶹ֱ²„ Vice-Chancellor Deborah Terry said she was delighted with the decision, which would strengthen the Universityās presence in the CBD.
āThe Old Perth Boysā School will be used for a range of stakeholder engagement activities, and its location is perfect given how important our links with industry, business and alumni will be to our future success,ā Professor Terry said.
āThe University also has the Curtin Graduate School of Business located at 78 Murray Street in the city.ā
Constructed in 1854, the Perth Boysā School was the first purpose-built public school in Perth. It has historic links to Ā鶹ֱ²„ through Perth Technical College and the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT) which both occupied the premises at 139 St Georges Terrace.
National Trust of Western Australia CEO Tom Perrigo said the Trust was committed to both a sustainable and compatible use of state heritage places under its care and control and Ā鶹ֱ²„ās proposal has met these criteria.
āThis is a win for present and future generations which will see one of the oldest buildings in the Perth CBD remain in public ownership and used as a public education facility,ā Mr Perrigo said.
āOld Perth Boysā School has a prominent location at the entrance to Brookfield Place adjacent to the BHP Billiton Tower, retail outlets and heritage places including the former Newspaper House, Royal Insurance, WA Trustees and Perth Technical College,ā he said.
The National Trust and Ā鶹ֱ²„ are working together to complete an internal fit out for the building during 2015.
āWe are very pleased to be working with the National Trust in their efforts to conserve Western Australiaās heritage,” Professor Terry said.
