the factory then changed hands many times, becoming a chicken hatchery and, later, a reserve building for wa newspapers ltd during world war ii when there were concerns that the paper's st georges terrace building might be bombed. several editions of the "daily news" were printed there. after the war it became the offices of the department of transport and the civil aviation authority. later, the royal w.a. institute for the blind occupied it, establishing its blind school and providing housing for the children who attended. when the building again became vacant in the 1970s, it was used for rehearsals by the west australian opera. in november 1992, the property was assessed under the heritage council criteria adopted in 1991, and listed on the interim register. it was eventually resold and developed into apartment accommodation, retaining the external structure and gardens.