Five years prior to the construction of the church a brick hall (designed by Andrew Oswald Wilson) was built adjacent to the church's site, as the congregation was growing too large for their earlier Havelock Street hall,[1] where they had been for nearly 17 years.[2] That earlier site was sold to the Catholic community, and the Hay Street land purchased from them for the purpose of constructing a church, hall, and manse.[3]
The church is named after Daniel Ross, who was minister of the West Perth Presbyterian congregation until his death in 1917. It was completed in 1917 at a total construction cost of £4,147.
Senator Agnes Robertson was a longtime member of the church, teaching the girls' Bible class and becoming one of the first women to serve as a lay preacher.[6]
Plaques on the walls describe the dedication and West Perth Heritage Trail text:
Dedication
This stone was laid
by the Right Honourable Sir John Forrest
P.C., G.C.M.G., L.L.D..
Assisted by Lady Forrest
15th July 1916.
The West Perth Presbyterian Church was first
established in Havelock Street in 1898. However, as the
congregation swelled during the gold boom years of the
1890s and early 1900s, it was found to be too small.
The Ross Memorial Church was built during the First
World War (1914 - 18), largely as a result of the efforts of
the Reverend Ross, who died only a few months after its
completion in 1917.
^"WEST PERTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH". The Daily News. Vol. XXXII, no. 11, 886. Western Australia. 29 July 1913. p. 3 (THIRD EDITION). Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"WEST PERTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH". The Daily News. Vol. XXXII, no. 11, 885. Western Australia. 28 July 1913. p. 8 (THIRD EDITION). Retrieved 16 August 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
