Although the
Trades and Labour Council (TLC) was established in Perth in 1891, finances to build a trades hall were not available until 1911, when
Alick McCallum became general secretary of the Australian Labour Federation, as the TLC was then called. Design and construction of the original trades hall building was largely due to the efforts of
Ernest Henshaw. The three-storey neo-Georgian building was erected at 80
Beaufort Street, the site of Perth's original
Scotch College. The foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister
Andrew Fisher on 8 August 1911. The hall was officially opened on 20 April 1912 by
John Scaddan, who was the
premier of Western Australia and a former trades hall secretary. In 1985 the building was sold and became the
Delaney Gallery. The
Heritage Council of Western Australia has listed it as
Heritage Place No. 8783: Delaney Gallery (Trades Hall). A 2010 photograph in the register shows that the name
Trades Hall has been reinstated above the portico. A new "Perth Trades Hall", at Unity House, 77-79 Stirling Street, was opened on
May Day 2000. It provided offices and meeting rooms for trade unions, the
Australian Labor Party and other community and political groups. The TLC, now known as
UnionsWA, relocated in 2007 to the CSA Building at 445 Hay Street, Perth. The
Western Australian Labor Party relocated to new headquarters on 54 Cheriton Street, Perth, alongside
United Voice. In 2013 the building was purchased by
CFMEU so that the building would once again be used for its intended purpose of trade union business. A significant renovation process was undertaken by union workers restoring the building as far as possible to its original condition, with modern facilities provided for staff. On 29 June 2014 the building was re-opened by Michael O'Connor, the national secretary of the combined CFMEU national divisions. At the official reopening he unveiled a plaque bearing the inscription "Back in the hands of those who built it". The building now not only houses the CFMEU, but is regularly used by like-minded organisations as a meeting venue. ==References==