Chesterfield Inn, once a rest stop for weary travellers on the road between Fremantle and Mandurah, has been included in the State Register of Heritage Places.
The inn dates back to the 1850s and has a long and colourful history.
It was occupied under licence by a who's who of the region's early prominent pioneering families including the Herberts, Hymuses and Chesters, and had links to later well-known families such as the Bells and Wards.
In its early years Chesterfield Inn was a licenced premises that accommodated travellers and housed the area's first post office. By the 1870s it was popular with local holidaymakers, particularly weekend hunters and fishers.
After the building was damaged by fire in 1912 the grounds were used for grazing and as a popular racing club. The property found new life a decade later housing a dairy business and, many decades later, as a youth hostel, before again being damaged by fire in 1992.
Chesterfield Inn was built using 'vuggy' (porous) limestone thought to have been supplied from the local quarry. The inn is located in the Gnaala Karla Booja region along Chesterfield Road, approximately 45 kilometres south of Perth.
In 2018, the building underwent stabilisation and conservation works that will enable reactivation in the future and add yet another chapter to the history books.
As stated by Heritage Minister David Templeman:
"The State Register of Heritage Places is reserved for those buildings and sites with significant heritage value that have shaped Western Australia's story, reflecting past design and building practices, celebrating former social trends and representing a way of life from eras gone by.
"From the 1850s through to early 1900s Chesterfield Inn was a well-known stopping place for travellers on the road between Fremantle and Mandurah. Nowadays we can travel between the two within an hour, so it is hard to imagine needing a place to rest stop on the way.
"It is important that we recognise places like Chesterfield Inn as they remind us of our modern-day comforts and how our city and urban community have evolved and grown."
As stated by Rockingham MLA Mark McGowan:
"Chesterfield Inn has links to families and individuals who were prominent in the early pioneering history of our State and is among several sites in East Rockingham, including Bell Cottage and Hymus House, that provide the area with a sense of history and permanence.
"I am pleased that another of our region's significant heritage buildings will now reside in the State's Heritage Register.
"This is a wonderful outcome for the local Rockingham community who have been so passionate in helping ensure we retain our important heritage places."
