ARCADES PROJECT

As of May 2025 Trinity Arcade in Perth was the only arcade left in Western Australia’s capital with any original features still remaining. The other half dozen vintage arcades have either been modernised or, in the case of the oldest 19^th century arcade, subsumed in a modern-day shoe shop and pub, with just the façade remaining to public view.

One gentleman’s outfitter’s began operating in Perth in 1895, though this pre-dates the building of Trinity Arcade, so, although they look the oldest business still open in the arcade, they didn’t start up as an arcade business.

Some of the leadlight windows, both above old shop units and at the two ends of the arcade, giving indications of where the arcade leads: to Trinity Church – are the original features, and the tiled flooring looks pretty old too, even if it does not date from the 1920s, when the arcade was first built.

My pick of the arcade’s past

In the 1920s Madame Besse would take in old fur skins and restore them with dying and reshaping into stylish clothes. Irene Hosiery would repair laddered silk stockings around the same period.

One writer in 1937 spoke of the floral garden in the middle of Trinity Arcade: “Though thousands of people pass through it every day, there is never any sign of broken or plucked flowers or other vandalism.”  It was a haven for those weary of the dinginess of many city buildings, the writer said.

The church hall in the centre of the arcade used to be a place where local office ‘girls’ would “eat, buy a cup of tea for twopence, read, talk or sew during the lunch hour,” but after renovations to the hall, it never re-opened as a place for refreshment due to new food hygiene rules, so the ‘cut lunchers’ had to venture out and find new places to spend their hour.

Sources for the above stories all from the National Library of Australia database Trove, and specifically: 1) (The West Australian, 5 February 1937); 2) (Daily News, Perth, 10 February 1950).

What memories do you have of visits in years gone by?

Have you got any good stories to add on the past of this arcade?

What’s your favourite shop in the arcade today?

Have you seen this arcade in any films or books?

Is there a website for this arcade?

Yes, Trinity Arcade has its own website, with updates on the businesses operating out the arcade units and some nice photos, but no history. Link to the website here.