Acquisition by Swan Brewery and subsequent history
On 3 February 1927, the brewery's directors approached the Swan Brewery to sell Emu's assets. Swan proceeded with this acquisition of the Emu Brewery, and continued to operate it as a separate business from Swan's own operations. Arthur Jacoby was appointed as the general manager of both breweries.
During the 1930s, a significant amount of land was reclaimed from the river, and the brewery lost its river frontage. Also, between 1936 and 1938, a new brewery building designed by Perth architectural firm Oldham, Boas and Ednie-Brown was constructed on the site. Constructed in the Art Deco style, this new building replaced the old Stanley Brewery building.
The building was built from reinforced concrete and steel, and was visibly divided into two halves: one with windows to allow in a maximum of daylight, and the other with no windows at all, to exclude daylight. A central tower housing a lift and staircases delineated the two areas. A border frieze at the top of three of the building's sides depicting different stages in the brewing process was designed by John Oldham and executed by sculptor Edward F. Kohler. An image of the 1938 building featured on Emu beer labels for over fifty years.
"Unlike the dark and dingy interiors usually associated with the older type of breweries, the Emu Brewery will be finished to secure brightness, airiness and a maximum of natural light."
"Distinguished by its simplicity of line in the vertical style and the absence of overhanging cornices it is an outstanding example of modern design as applied to industrial building."
The Emu Brewery continued manufacturing on the site until the late 1970s, when production of both the Swan and Emu brands was shifted to a factory in Canning Vale. After this, the Emu Brewery building was left derelict. In 1991, the Emu Brewery was the "last major industrial structure" in Perth's central business district.
Despite having been placed on the Register of the National Estate, the complex was allowed to fall into disrepair. The Art Deco Society of Western Australia was set up in 1987 to lobby for the protection of Perth's art deco heritage, including the Emu Brewery. After heritage minister Jim McGinty refused to place the building on the Western Australian Register of Heritage Places, the building was demolished starting in late 1991 and ending with its implosion on 23 February 1992.
Subsequent plans to build high-rise offices or apartments on the site consistently fell through for almost a quarter of a century, leading to the site being labelled "seemingly jinxed". Eventually, in 2017 the first of three towers planned as part of a development called Mia Yellagonga was completed. Called Karlak, this tower has 32 levels and is the new headquarters for Woodside.
