Bateman Hardware

Bateman Hardware was the earliest hardware shop established in Western Australia (and the second-oldest commercial enterprise of any sort),[1] and until its demise in the 1980s was the longest-running.

The business was founded by John Bateman in 1834 on property that he bought in the second round of land sales in the nascent Swan River Colony.[1] This land on Henry Street was to be the home of J. & W. Bateman Ltd. for the next 150 years. Initially it was a shipping and warehousing business (including lighterage and river transport), and 1840 is given (in a 1951 company prospectus) as the "early start of trading, with the help of his young sons, John and Walter".[1] The first item had been sold in 1834, a grindstone possibly belonging to "the implements valued at £55" that Bateman brought to the colony on board Medina.[2]

In 1895 the company built a new warehouse and office building (the Union Stores Building[3]) on the corner of High and Henry Streets.[4] This extended 120 feet (37 m) along High Street and 104 feet (32 m) along Henry Street. It was designed by local architect Herbert Nathaniel Davis.