Site History
The area now known as Subiaco was the homeland of the Noongar Aboriginal people and was first settled by Europeans when a group of Benedictine monks, whose founder came from Subiaco in Italy, named their monastery New Subiaco. When the Perth to Fremantle rail opened in 1881, the name Subiaco was adopted for a railway station near the monastery and later the nearby cluster of houses and businesses.
Today, Subiaco is one of Perth’s most sought after suburbs. Its vibrant mix of residential, commercial and recreation opportunities, combined with its proximity to the city, makes it a unique place to live, work and visit.
The Australian Fine China factory (AFC) was established on the China Green site in 1921 as the Calyx Porcelain Works and manufactured commercial and domestic china for 85 years. The China Green site has strong heritage credentials because the factory represented an important technical achievement, demonstrated a period of commercial pottery production from the inter-war period and employed mostly migrant workers with a high proportion of women and girls.
Although AFC closed its manufacturing operations in Subiaco in 2006, the company continues to market its products in Australia from Perth, but manufactures in Brazil.
To reflect the site’s significant historic and social values, the SRA and the Heritage Council of WA are working together to develop a Conservation and Interpretation Strategy to guide the development and tell the story of its pottery-making past.
Interpretation opportunities being explored include:
• Demonstration of the early building fabric through the retention of a portion of a wall from the humidity room – part of the original Calyx Porcelain Works;• Public art interpretation including the reuse of crockery in public furniture and displays; • Retention of selected mature trees;• Interpretation and display of factory equipment used in the preparation of china;• Retention of a kiln;• Representation of the site’s industrial history through the style of new buildings;• Street naming; and• Social history DVD including stories of past employees.