.png)
Stewart & Lloyds Tubemakers
(Writeup and photos in progress)
Steel and tube manufacturer Stewart & Lloyds (Australia) Pty Ltd established its North Fremantle headquarters and manufacturing complex at 140 Stirling Highway in 1957. The site later became known as OneSteel following the company's restructuring in 2000.
Some property databases incorrectly record the buildings as having been constructed in 1975. Historic records and the City of Fremantle's heritage assessment (p.148) instead show the original administration office was constructed between 1956 and 1957. The main factory warehouse was added in 1962, followed by an amenities building in 1963 and extensions to both the office and warehouse in 1972.
The early years
Lloyd & Lloyd Ltd of Birmingham established its Western Australian branch in September 1901, opening a warehouse in Queen Street, Fremantle. The company manufactured wrought-iron tubes and fittings and entered the Western Australian market because there was a regular demand for its products that local suppliers were not always able to meet. George B. Brown was appointed local manager.
In December 1902, Lloyd & Lloyd amalgamated with the Glasgow engineering firm A. & J. Stewart and Menzies, together with the associated Clydesdale Tube Company. The combined business became Stewarts & Lloyds Ltd, with capital of £1.4 million. As both of the principal companies already maintained branches in Sydney, their existing Australian operations continued under the new Stewart & Lloyds name.
Fremantle engineering workshop:
-
Lloyd and Lloyd Ltd, Queen Street, Fremantle (now 177 High Street) - Office, bulk store and engineering workshop.
-
Stewart and Lloyds Ltd, Queen Street, Fremantle (now 177 High Street) - Office, bulk store and engineering workshop.
-
Construction of a new bulk store and engineering workshop on the corner of Lord Street and Marine Terrace.
-
The new engineering workshop operated from 41 Price Street (formerly Lord Street).
-
The same workshop continued to operate from 1 Price Street following the renumbering of Fremantle's street addresses (now 109 Marine Terrace).
-
A second engineering workshop operated from 2 Price Street, directly opposite the original premises (now 108 Marine Terrace).
These workshops appear to have remained in use until the company relocated to its purpose-built North Fremantle headquarters and manufacturing complex at 140 Stirling Highway in 1957.
Although the company operated engineering workshops in Fremantle from the early 1900s, they were not manufacturing steel pipes from raw materials. Before Australian pipe manufacturing, Stewart & Lloyds mainly imported finished steel pipes, tubes and fittings from Britain before storing, distributing and adapting them for local customers.
Work carried out at the workshops included:
-
storing and distributing imported steel pipes, tubes and fittings;
-
cutting pipes to the required length;
-
threading and machining pipe ends;
-
fabricating pipework and fittings;
-
assembling products for individual projects;
-
carrying out engineering and blacksmithing work;
-
modifying and repairing imported products; and
-
supplying the mining, water supply, harbour and general engineering industries.
Kalgoorlie locations:
-
1903-1915: Mines Chambers, 24 Boulder Road.
-
15 Macdonald Street (stores).
-
17 Macdonald Street (manufacturing).
-
34 Boulder Road.
Office locations
-
Surrey Chambers, 97 St Georges Terrace, Perth.
-
886 Hay Street, Perth.
-
959-961 Hay Street, Perth.
By 1949 the company described itself as manufacturers of black and galvanised steel tubes, steam tubes, Victaulic joint pipes, boiler, ammonia, hydraulic and casing tubes, steel plate and other steel products, supplying industries throughout Western Australia.
Manufacturing operations
The history of Stewart & Lloyds in Australia dates back even earlier. Steel pipes and tubes had been imported into Australia since the early nineteenth century before Lloyd & Lloyd established a sales office in Sydney in 1882.
Steel pipe manufacturing began in Australia in 1934, when Stewart & Lloyds partnered with BHP to establish a continuous weld pipe mill near the Newcastle Steelworks.
A continuous weld pipe mill is a factory that manufactures steel pipes from flat strips of steel. The steel is gradually rolled into a tube and welded along its length, allowing large numbers of pipes to be produced quickly and efficiently.
Four years later, Stewart & Lloyds (Australia) Pty Ltd and Tube Investments Ltd of Britain jointly established British Tube Mills (Australia) Pty Ltd at Kilburn in South Australia.
Construction of the Kilburn factory began in 1939, with tube production commencing on 27 September, only days after the outbreak of the Second World War. Initially equipped with one weld mill and six drawbenches, the factory supplied steel tubing for aircraft guns and naval boilers before rapidly expanding throughout the war. By 1940 the number of drawbenches had increased to sixteen, enabling the production of around 30 million metres of steel tubing by the end of the war. During this period the factory also manufactured components including Sten gun barrels, artillery trail legs and gas cylinders used in vehicles operating on producer gas during wartime petrol rationing.
July 2023
Tubemakers of Australia Limited
In 1946, Tubemakers of Australia Limited was established as a holding company to consolidate the Australian interests of Stewart & Lloyds, BHP and Tube Investments. The company diversified beyond steel tube manufacturing, producing components for Australia's growing automotive industry following the introduction of the Holden in 1948. Over time its products expanded to include motorcycle frames and rims, LPG and gas cylinders, hydraulic tappets, refrigeration tubing, electrical components, golf shafts and defence equipment. Tubemakers became one of Australia's largest steel manufacturers before restructuring and listing publicly in 1969.
BHP maintained a significant shareholding in Tubemakers throughout the following decades before acquiring full ownership in 1996. The business was later restructured, with Tubemakers Water operating across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, while Tubemakers Oil and Gas operated from Kembla Grange in New South Wales. OneSteel was established by BHP in 2000, with the North Fremantle site becoming widely known under the OneSteel name.
William Adams & Company also became part of Tubemakers when it was absorbed into Tubemakers of Australia Limited on 7 December 1983. Originally established in 1884, William Adams had opened its first Perth office in Murray Street in 1911 before becoming one of Australia's largest distributors of steel and aluminium products, machine tools, construction equipment, power transmission systems, earthmoving equipment and materials handling equipment.
Stewarts & Lloyds (Australia) Pty Ltd itself underwent numerous corporate name changes over its long history before eventually becoming AWI Holdings Pty Ltd. Originally registered in 1929, the company traded under various forms of the Stewart & Lloyds and AWI Holdings names before its Australian Business Number was cancelled in 2017. The company was formally deregistered in March 2026, marking the end of almost a century of corporate history in Australia.
Demolition approval
The North Fremantle administration building was designed by prominent Perth architect Geoffrey Summerhayes and constructed between 1956 and 1957. Recognised as an important example of Post-War International Style architecture, the two-storey office featured steel frame construction, reinforced concrete wall panels, large areas of glazing and a distinctive entrance foyer and staircase influenced by the International Style. Heritage assessments have described the building as comprising cubiform forms, smooth wall surfaces, contrasting textures and generous glazing.
The complex continued to evolve over time. The main warehouse was added in 1962, an amenities building followed in 1963, and in 1972 the administration office was extended by two matching bays while the warehouse was enlarged.
The City of Fremantle's Local Heritage Survey identifies the office building as having considerable cultural heritage significance, recommending a Level 2 management category, where conservation is considered a priority. The larger warehouse and industrial buildings were not considered to possess the same level of heritage significance.
Demolition approval for the site originally required the Summerhayes-designed office building to be retained and incorporated into any future redevelopment because of its architectural significance and contribution to the history of the site. However, later planning identified that part of the building sits within the future Stirling Highway road widening reservation, meaning its long-term retention became increasingly unlikely.
Redevelopment
Redevelopment plans for the 3.11-hectare site propose replacing the former industrial complex with a mixed-use residential and commercial precinct. The proposal includes apartment buildings ranging from six to twenty-three storeys, three-storey townhouses, approximately 12,650 square metres of commercial space, retail and food tenancies, entertainment and recreation uses, communal health and wellness facilities, shared office space, new laneways and public open space.
Ownership of the property has changed several times during the site's transition from heavy industry to redevelopment. SAS Global Mosman Park Ltd purchased the property in March 2007 for a reported $61 million before selling it to Guangdai Australia Investments in April 2010 for $30 million. Guangdai Australia Investments later sold the property to Octennial Holdings Pty Ltd, which subsequently sold it to McCabe Capital Pty Ltd on 12 July 2021 for $44 million. McCabe Capital Pty Ltd was registered in April 2021 and operates through the McCabe Capital Unit Trust.
The large warehouse building was demolished in February 2025. Although the Summerhayes-designed office building had originally been intended for retention, it too has since been demolished.
