The home of the WA Rowing Club is a beautiful, heritage-listed 118-year-old building we are lucky to have. The club has a responsibility to maintain the building to ensure it remains a jewel on the Swan River foreshore. We have set a fundraising target taking a long-term view on the upgrades required to the building, including:

·        Boatshed structural works

·        Electrical upgrades

·        Accessibility – disability access and facilities, unisex facilities

·        Wet Area renovation

·        Window restoration

·        Function room refurbishment

The funds for this project must be provided by the club through donations, fundraising and in-kind support. Maintaining the front deck is a priority for the club to ensure a safe environment for club members, cafe patrons and the general public. Heritage funding will also be applied for this initiative.

West Australian Rowing Club has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:

• The place is the only surviving building on the Perth Swan River foreshore from a period in the first hundred years of the colony when river activities were a focus for the business, recreational and social life of the city;
• The place is the only remaining example of two storey piled timber boatshed architecture on the river and is representative of its building type and the turn of the century period;
• The place provides an architectural and historic statement within the Barrack Street jetty and river foreshore developments;
• The place has been in continuous use since its construction in 1905 as a rowing boatshed and club house providing recreational and social facilities for its members and other sections of the Perth community;
• The place houses the first established rowing club in Western Australia (established 1868);
• The place is significant to the development and activities of the State’s rowing fraternity and for the association of the Club with prominent members of the community throughout its history; and
• The place is significant in contributing to the Perth community’s sense of place through social, cultural and recreational use of the site.