With the gold boom drawing more people to Western Australia, the company recognised that there was an opportunity to supply land for residential houses in the capital city, where many of the families of miners were establishing homes.

In 1895 a 700-acre freehold building estate was purchased by the company in Perth. The directors’ report at the time noted that the advantages of this astute purchase were that:

“The Eastern Railway passes through it, the High Road from Perth to Guildford intersects it and a considerable portion has a frontage to the Swan River, commanding fine views of Perth and the Darling Ranges”.

The estate was purchased for just over £5,000 and today comprises the well-known suburbs of Mount Lawley and Maylands, both of which can be considered as real estate gold mines.

Although the gold mining and real estate activities were profitable, the company looked to diversify its interests. However, the forays into other endeavours, such as copper mining in Tasmania and acquiring the patents for printing photographs directly onto tiles, proved to be unsuccessful.

Between 1903 and 1921 Gold Estates became one of the biggest landowners in Perth – acquiring estates totalling 4,700 acres at what must be considered nominal prices when compared to the value of these properties today. These estates were progressively subdivided and sold. For example, Castle Hill Estate, located in the suburb of Bicton and adjacent to the Swan River, was purchased for £8,000 in 1921 and subdivided into more than 600 house lots and then sold. This was the real start of what has become a legacy of successful property acquisition and development which has spanned more than a century.

These early days of property development were very different to today as there was little government intervention and fewer restrictions. However, in 1933 the directors’ report noted that there were significant changes underway with the introduction of the Land Act 1933:

“The development of new estates in Western Australia has entirely altered as the result of an Act passed by the State Government. The board understands that under the terms of this Act it will, in future, be impossible to place any new property on the market for sale piecemeal without first complying with certain stringent requirements, one of which is the construction of roads to provide access to every lot on the estate.”

This was the start of government authorities passing development expenses on to developers and today sewers, water, drainage, footpaths and electricity have been added to the list of requirements.

Although the changes introduced by the government made business far more complex, Gold Estates’ Chairman and major shareholder Major D. D. Milne ensured that the company stayed focused on purchasing land in Western Australia, which he determined was more favourable than land in any other part of Australia.

In 1993 the first stage of the Thomsons Lake Private Estate was released for sale and since then more than 2,000 blocks have been developed and sold.

A significant milestone in the area was realised in 1999 with the opening of the first stage of the Gateways Regional Shopping Centre (now known as Cockburn Gateway Shopping City).

This site, comprising over 20 hectares, formed part of the original rural land parcel acquired by the company and over the next 15 years the land was successfully rezoned and recognised as Perth’s next major regional retail centre.

The planning and development of this project was managed by Richard Noble & Company and culminated with the successful sale of the property to Perron Investments in October 2000 for $37.5 million.

In April 2000 the Foreign & Colonial Pacific Investment Trust resolved to dispose of its Australian property assets. This move presented an ideal opportunity for Richard Noble & Company to facilitate a management buyout and introduce new investors to the opportunity to participate in a long-established and reputable land development company.