.png)
Tranby Buildings - History
C. E. Manthorpe & Co was previously located at the site of 90 King Street, with their 57ft x 49ft brick building. It had been constructed with an iron roof, heavy jarrah flooring and large windows and doors. Upon selling the building at auction, it was demolished to make way for the current Tranby Buildings.
Whilst little can be found on C.E. Manthorpe or his company, he worked as an accountant and general agent, operating from Tannatt Chambers in Fremantle in 1899. It’s later recorded that he worked as the Secretary for the Adelaide Cement Co Ltd in 1914.
In January 1906, C.E. Manthorpe took over the business of produce auctioneers and salesmen from Stanley C Sutton. This would see them selling chaff, grain, potatoes, fruit and poultry on a daily basis from the railway yards.
Tranby Buildings
Designed by architect Edwin Summerhayes and constructed as a two storey building for W. J. Cotton, Grocers and Produce Merchants, the third storey was added at a later date.
Tenders were advertised in January 1906 by Summerhayes for the construction of three warehouses on the corner of Wellington and King Streets.
Edwin Summerhayes (1868-1944) was born in England before he immigrated to Australia during the gold rush era. He first established his architecture practice in Coolgardie before later entering into a partnership with Harold Boas to form Oldham Boas Ednie Brown and Partners. In the years leading up to his retirement in 1934, he worked with his son.
As a founding member of the West Australian Institute of Architects, which was established in May 1896, Edwin designed numerous buildings, including the Mechanics Institute, Rechabite Hall and the Harper’s Building.
He was also a Freemason, member of the Claremont Municipal Council in 1904 and during WW1, he served as a major in the 44th Infantry Battalion.
Edwin Summerhayes (1868-1944)
The Paolucci Group
Ray and Sylvia Paolucci bought the rather dilapidated Tranby Buildings in 2006.
The success story of The Paolucci Group began when Ray immigrated to Australia as a 15 year old from Italy, unable to speak a word of English. Upon marrying Sylvia, who was born in Australia to Italian-Hungarian parents, the couple kick started their business careers, importing and exporting steel and wrought iron for which Ray designed gates for his clients.
The couple went on to construct units and invest in real estate, which led to their current focus of investing in commercial properties.
The Paolucci Group is registered as a private property group, specialising in the acquisition & development of industrial & commercial property. Whilst both Ray and Sylvia are listed as Directors of The Paolucci Group, Ray is the sole director of another company, called Tintedoils Pty Ltd.
The Trustee for The Paolucci Group's ABN appears to have first been registered on 01 September 2002 and cancelled on 24 May 2016.
Paolucci Investments Pty Ltd was first registered in Western Australia on 29 February 2016 but appears to be carrying on business in Victoria, which is the same for a few other businesses and company names that may have been registered by the family.
Tintedoils Pty Ltd is listed as being first registered on 15 November 2006 and continues to be active.
Old Faithful Bar & Grill
Established on 15 May 2014 by Jan Kulski (husband of Diana Paolucci) and Talmage Andersen from the Ezra Pound Stable, it served food inspired by America’s south. Sometime later it was co-owned by Ray and Sylvia together with their son Rob, who was given full ownership of the venue in 2017.
Reviews before 2018 are many and positive, particularly for their slow-cooked food like, "flawlessly seasoned, tender cut licked with the flavours of fire".
Between 2018-2019, their reviews certainly took a hit, possibly the result of their second venue opening in Fremantle and potentially stretching resources. Common complaints ranged from the increased cost of meals, its quality and taste, dirty tables that weren’t clean for hours at a time and poor service.
The King Street venue closed on 3 February 2024.
Dilettante
Diana Paolucci, daughter of Ray and Sylvia and brother to Rob, graduated in fashion textiles at TAFE and flew to Paris with her mother to "buy some of the world's edgiest brands" for a store called Dilettante she would open in 2007 from the Paolucci building.
It came as a result of her parents being unable to rent out the commercial space, therefore offering it to Diana who jumped at the chance to open her own store.
She continued travelling to Paris four or so times a year to continue purchasing collections and observing trends. The store has since moved to Bay View Terrace in Claremont.
