P&O Building (Perth)

The former P&O Building is a heritage-listed building in Perth, Western Australia.^[1]

P&O Building
Alternative names	Orient Lines Building Malaysian Airlines Building
General information
Architectural style	Inter-war functionalist
Address	56-60 William Street
Town or city	Perth
Country	Australia
Coordinates	31.95387°S 115.85706°E / -31.95387; 115.85706
Current tenants	Malaysian Airlines
Completed	1930
Inaugurated	16 September 1930
Renovated	1991
Cost	£A 42,000 (equivalent to A$3.9M in 2022)
Client	Orient Steam Navigation Company
Technical details
Floor count	7
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Waldie Forbes
Architecture firm	Hobbs, Smith & Forbes
Main contractor	E. Allwood
Western Australia Heritage Register
Type	State Registered Place
Designated	22 November 2005
Reference no.	4587

Site history

The site of the building formerly housed three separate shops at 56, 58 and 60 William Street. It was built to house the Orient Steam Navigation Company, one of the two major passenger and cruise liner companies serving Australia between late 1800s and 1970s.^[2] It was officially opened by the Governor of Western Australia Sir William Campion on 16 September 1930.^[3][4]

Architecture

It is a seven-storey steel framed office building, clad in Donnybrook stone and rendered brick. It was designed in the Inter-war Functionalist style by Waldie Forbes of the Hobbs Smith & Forbes architecture firm, at a cost of £41,073.^[2]