History

The Premier Hotel was built in 1894 by a gentleman named Edward McLarty. He bought the mail coach run between Perth, Bunbury and Vasse in 1888 from the then government. When the railway was opened in 1893, Edward auctioned off the mail coaches and subsequently built the Premier Hotel.

Edward McLarty was the father of Sir Duncan Ross McLarty, a decorated war hero and former Premier of Western Australia from 1947 – 1953. The original building was built with two storeys with a single storey wing at the rear.

It stands in spacious grounds on the right bank of the Murray River and corner of South West Highway (formerly George Street) and Williams Road. The second storey was built with a large L shaped veranda that faced both roads.

The first floor veranda was covered by a bull nosed tin roof and featured an ornate balustrade with valances and brackets between each wooden post. A large entablature, rendered with cement and adorned with the name Premier Hotel, topped the building..