Sue Wah Chin Building, Darwin

Sue Wah Chin building (The Stone Houses) on Cavenagh Street, Darwin,

Sue Wah Chin Building, Darwin

Image Courtesy of: Territory Stories

This stone building, built in the 1880s, is the only building associated with Darwin's nineteenth century `Chinatown' which still survives. It is also one of only a handful of nineteenth century buildings of any sort that survive in the Darwin City Centre. The building represents a phase in the development of the Northern Territory which saw the establishment and expansion of the Chinese community as a significant component of the Darwin community. It has close associations with the well-known Chin family, who have owned the building since the 1920s.

The Sue Wah Chin Building is a single storey building divided into five commercial premises. External and dividing walls are constructed of local porcellanite stone. External walls to the rear and the side are of coursed rubble construction, with tuck-pointed joints. The front wall was originally constructed in this fashion, with rendered frames around windows and doors. The entire front wall has now been rendered, with ruled lines used to imitate ashlar masonry. Each shopfront has an identical pattern of openings, with a central door and a window each side. The front verandah consists of a simple timber-framed awning supported on timber posts. The footpath is raised about 300mm above the level of Cavenagh Street. The footpath itself is of recent construction.

Sue Wah Chin Building received heritage listing from Heritage Council Northern Territory in 2007

Source: Heritage Council Northern Territory