Rita Artelaris and Vi Galatis

Reminiscing Napoleon Street, Cottesloe

Napoleon Street looking east towards Leake Street, Cottesloe 1935
Copyright the Grove: No 104160

Rita Ártelaris and Vi Galatis descended from families who migrated to Australia from Greece. Their families ran businesses next door to each other in Napoleon Street in Cottesloe. Rita’s family ran the local fish and chip shop Cottesloe Fish Supply at No 22 and Vi’s family ran the Denis & George Greengrocers at No 24.

Viola or ‘Vi’ Galatis was born in Newcastle Street in Perth in 1935. Her parents were Evangeline and Denis Gelatis. Her mother was born in Perth to a migrant Greek family. Her father was born in Greece and migrated to Australia in 1923. Vi’s parents met through a small Island Greek community and were married in 1934. Vi’s father had opened the Napoleon Street Greengrocer business one year earlier in 1933. He had a cousin with a similar business in Claremont and decided to buy the shop in Cottesloe.

Rita was born Margarita Kanakis on 15^th March 1935 in Devonleigh Hospital in Cottesloe. Her parents were Dimitri or ‘Jim’ Kanakas and Clementine Kanakas. Both were born on the island of Ithaca in Greece. Rita’s father migrated to Australia in 1910. Their marriage was arranged by proxy and her mother came out to marry her father in 1933. Rita’s father opened his shop on Napoleon Street in 1922. Peter Ventouras joined him a few years later. Vi’s family shop ‘Denis and George’ was a Greengrocers selling fruit, vegetables, and soft drinks. “Nothing else,” said Vi. The produce was stacked neatly on the shelves and the fruit was polished. Vi remembers oranges and lemons were sold by the dozen and everything else was sold by the pound in weight. People were discouraged from touching and the delicate fruit was kept behind the counter. The cheaper fruit which was smaller or of inferior quality would be placed on the counter and the higher quality fruit would be displayed out of reach. There was an old-fashioned cash register denoting pounds shillings and pence, and scales sat at each end of the counter. Vi remembers the cash register would not add together the customers purchases. Her father would tally the customers purchases in the margins of old newspapers then enter the total into the till.

The counter was on one side of the shop whilst on the other side were wooden fittings with bins for vegetables. Potatoes, onions, and carrots were on the bottom and leafy vegetables were on the top. The shop was particularly busy in summer, and they were well known for their produce. Vi recalls people would travel from other suburbs to shop there.

Vi remembers a cat lady would sometimes visit the shop in the evenings when she was there with her mother. Vi said, “The lady used to come out to the back of the shops with a pair of scissors and she would go to Rita’s scrap bins, this was in the very old days when I was quite young, and she would go clip, clip, clip, with the scissors and all the cats would come running as she chopped up the fish. She must have lived somewhere in Station Street or near there. My father wasn’t too fond of her.”

Rita’s parents owned the fish shop, Cottesloe Fish Supply. Rita remembers one side of the shop had the fresh fish counter and ice in the window to display the fresh fish. The other side of the shop sold fish and chips. There were three or four tables for dining in customers. The shop sold a large quantity of fresh fish. Rita recalls the shop had a very good reputation with people coming from all over the metropolitan area to visit the shop. They had many regular customers and knew them by name.

The potatoes were bought from suppliers. They would be dirty, and a machine would wash and cut the potatoes into chips. A dozen chips would be produced from each potato. Before the electric machine was introduced this would have been done by hand. The most popular types of fish were snapper, cobbler, and mullet. Mick the butcher used to go fishing and people from Mosman Park used to bring in fish to sell. They sold local caught fish and crabs.

The shop used to be open six days a week from early to eight o’clock at night. Friday nights were remarkably busy, and from 4 pm until 7:30 pm, people would queue and catch up on weekly news. Shellfish was popular at Christmas and Easter. The shop used to deliver every Friday to the deaf school and to a couple of private schools in the area. The office of the Western Australian newspaper would also place an order. The shop used to order flour from the Eureka flour mill in Cottesloe. The flour would be delivered in sacks for the batter. In those days Rita recalls, people used to have fish regularly on Fridays, now people eat fish every day of the week.

Rita and Vi remembered Napoleon Street as being very different from now. They recalled ladies would come and do their shopping in twin set and pearls. Cottesloe in those days was a vibrant place. Napoleon Street was the place for people to congregate. They would stand in the street and chatter.

Amongst the early shops on Napoleon Street, which Rita and Vi remembered, was Davey & Son newsagents at No. 17-19, which had operated since 1929. There was Allans the chemist at No. 34, Freecorn the grocers at Nos. 28-30. There was also Buchanans drapery shop on the corner at No. 2. They recall there was always a deli where Vans now is, Brass tearooms run by a mother and son were also there at one time. Vans did not arrive until later. There was Evans electrical store at Nos. 46-48 which sold electrical appliances and Clarkson’s hardware store at No. 40, two doors down from the Bank of New South Wales at No 42. There were also butcher shops.

The butcher shops had a big white chopping board and there was always sawdust on the floor. Rita recalls that all of them had it. Vi remembers the butcher cut the meat by a handsaw or a knife on request. Rita said, “In those days, in the piggeries, the pigs were fed on anything… The pig men would come around to the back of our shop and collect all the insides and all the bits and pieces of the old fish… that is where they all went… We used to put it into tins …and the pig men would come around and collect it all and feed all the pigs with it. That is why my husband never ate pork and neither would I!”

Rita and Vi’s parents did not make many changes to the shops when they ran them but did put in coolers after the war in the early 1950’s. Vi’s parents sold their shop in the 1950’s. when it was bought firstly by Sam Radunovich, who Vi recalls did not stay for very long, and then by a man called Bruno. Bruno owned the shop from the mid-1950s until her brother bought it in the late 1990s. Vi and Rita both fondly recall that Bruno was special to Napoleon Street. The shops were open from 9 am to 5.30 pm Monday to Friday and would close early on Saturday afternoon. Around 2pm on a Saturday Bruno would regularly go up and down the street on Saturday afternoon calling out his specials; foods he could not keep until Monday. They said he loved talking to people.

When the Boatshed markets opened, Rita and Vi said they eventually took the food shops away from Napoleon Street. The Boatshed was a change in concept. People wanted to shop out of hours. The shops on Napoleon Street used to close at midday on Saturdays and close at 5.30 on weekdays. The boatshed in contrast was open seven days a week and open until seven or eight o’clock at night.

Rita and her husband Tony Artelaris took over her family’s business in 1959, after her father passed away. Rita said, “We bought it and completely renovated it front and back… We shut it down for three weeks or so. Everything was completely new. We had the shop until our two sons (Stathi and Dimitri) took over, and semi-retired about 1979.” Meads took over the shop in 1993. Vi trained at Claremont Teaching College and became a teacher working at both Cottesloe and Mosman Park Primary Schools. Rita and Vi remember Cottesloe as a wonderful place to grow up in. They recall It was a lovely supportive community. Vi recalls that many Greeks who grew up in Lake Street in the Perth area were severely harassed because they were Greek. They do not recall that happening in Cottesloe. Vi recalls it was pretty rough during the war because they mixed up Greeks with the Italians who they didn’t really like very much.” Rita said, “We were not discriminated against at all down here. Not at all.

Napoleon Street, Cottesloe circa 1962
No 101358: Copyright The Grove

Winifred ‘Win’ Wordsworth Bisset

Old Cottesloe Tennis Club 1930”s
Copyright the Grove: No. 100640

Win was born Winifred Wordsworth Marshall in Bunbury in 1917. She was named Wordsworth after the nineteenth century English poet William Wordsworth. Her great grandmother Elizabeth Wordsworth was a niece of the poet. Win’s father grew up in Kalgoorlie, his parents migrated from Stranraer in Scotland. He was a journalist and influential in the newspaper industry. He made many powerful connections including Prime Minister John Curtin and mining entrepreneur Claude de Bernales. Win’s mother was Gladys Lawler Chapman. Unlike her mild-mannered father, Win’s mother was bold and fearless. She became the first female passenger to fly across Australia.

Win lived for most of her life on Ocean Road (now known as Curtin Avenue) in Cottesloe. She remembers her early life in Cottesloe and some of the local people in the area. She was particularly fond of Joan Haesler who taught her parents Ballroom dancing. Joan also taught Win, and later Win’s daughter Laura, ballet. Win said, ‘’I was no good. She used to get hold of my leg and say, ‘Come on darling, you can do it’ and shove like mad. My family thought it would improve me but it didn’t make any difference at all.’’ Win attended Cottesloe Primary School, and from the age of twelve, Methodist Ladies College.

Win was passionate about music and a talented pianist. She played the piano daily for most of her life. She was awarded a musical scholarship and moved to London to study. However, during this time, relations between the European powers deteriorated, eventualizing in the Second World War. Win volunteered as a VAD nurse and with the London Ambulance Service. During her time in London, she also met and married her first husband Teddy. He worked for Special Operations in France, fighting alongside the French resistance movement. Unfortunately, Teddy was killed in 1942. Win reluctantly returned to Australia with her mother and baby daughter Laura.

She followed her father into journalism and became the Australian Women’s Weekly representative in Perth. She said about that time, ‘’I was everything from dogs body to journalist.’’ She was noticed by Frank Packer and after a difference of opinion between Packer and Viv Courtenay, Win was given a generously sized office suite in Newspaper House on St Georges Terrace. Win said Packer saw her as a person of significance. By the 1950’s Packer was a major player in the world of Australian newspapers and magazines. Win had firmly cemented herself into the journalism scene in Perth. She was asked to undertake several Women’s Weekly world tours overseas and helped ensure they were a great success. This success, in no small way, due to her ability and commitment to ensure the guests socialized and enjoyed themselves. Win worked for the Women’s Weekly for 31 years.

She eventually retired and move to Swanbourne. One of her most prized possessions was her grand piano. After removing the legs and lid from the piano, the removalists managed to haul the piano up to her second floor unit where it was reassembled. She and the staff had a party to celebrate. She continued to play the piano into her retirement. Win sadly passed away on 27^th February 2013.

Arthur ‘Gidge’ Carter

The Carter Family
Copyright The Grove: No 100336

Arthur or ‘Gidge’ as he was known was born Arthur Norman Carter on the 6^th of January 1936 in Lucknow Hospital in Claremont. He said, “My mum tells me that she was reading a bit of a book about a little pixie, and it was called Gidget or something like that and when I was born, she must’ve said, ‘Oh, he looks like a little gidget’ and the name stuck. My parents never called me anything else but Gidge my whole life and all my friends and everybody that knows me call me Gidge and have done all my life.” His father Ernest Norman Carter was on the board of directors for the Thomas & Co flour mill which was an important source of employment for people in the local area. Gidge reminisces about life in Cottesloe both before and after the Second World War and describes the mill and the prominent role his father played in its success and longevity.

Gidge lived at 43 Eric Street in Cottesloe and attended both North Cottesloe and Cottesloe primary schools. The area was much less built up in those days and children would spend many hours playing in the vacant natural bush blocks. They were affected by the arrival of the Second World War and regularly took part in air raid practices and played in the trenches which were dug in the streets in case of enemy attacks and possible invasion.

The Thomas & Co mill was an important part of the local economy and both his parents worked there at one time. His father made his way from office boy to company accountant to managing director. He was responsible for the mill at a critical time in the mill’s survival, diversifying products and the company’s interests.

Steam trains were a common feature in Cottesloe delivering wheat to the mill and carrying passengers. Motor vehicles were uncommon. The cinema and an entertainment park on the Cottesloe foreshore were popular forms of entertainment. Churches also played a large part in community life.

Today’s Cottesloe was recognisable to Gidge with the predominantly unchanged appearance of the beach front, the survival of houses where old friends used to live, and the continuity of street names and roads. However, the popularity of the motor car, the increased building development and the passing of family-owned shops to modern retail has changed the face of Cottesloe town forever.

EDITH DIRCKSEY COWAN FOLLOWING IN HER FOOTSTEPS

by Hilary Silbert

Edith Brown, c. 1876: http://purl.slwa.wa.gov.au/slwa_b4879341_2)

Now why would a memorial committee fight for two years to commemorate someone, and even face litigation and court to achieve their goal? Well, the answer is, that they thought that the person at the centre of the controversy was amazing, worthwhile and had a lifetime of achievement. That person was the woman on the $50 banknote…Edith Dircksey Cowan. 

The memorial that caused such division is the Edith Cowan Clock Tower, at the entrance to King’s Park, West Perth. It is the most significant memorial to a woman in Australia and was unveiled two years after Edith died, on June 9th, 1934. 

March 12th, 1921 was the day Edith changed the face of society, forever. A hundred years ago, she stood for election along with three other women. It was the first election women could legally stand, and twenty two years after women had the vote. For Edith it was entirely natural: you achieve the right to vote, so, of course you stand for parliament. Edith Dircksey Cowan, OBE., JP., became Australia’s first woman parliamentarian, and was right up there, in the early days of woman in Parliament, in the world. She only decided to stand four weeks before Election Day, she stood against another member of her own party, and to the shock of everyone, she was successful. She knew it was a tough nut to crack, so she even designed a brooch that she gave to her supporters. 

Edith, who came from a property outside Geraldton and was an orphan by aged 15, managed to quietly build a track record of achievements that few could hope to emulate. She was founding organisations such as Women’s Service Guild, RSPCA, Karrakatta Club, Ngala, to fight for our first maternity hospitals with trained midwives, advocate for women officers in court and become one of the first women justices. She wanted married and unmarried mothers treated equally, sex education be taught in schools, and believed men and women could work collaboratively. 

At 59 years of age, married and with five adult children, Edith rewrote history. As Australia’s first woman in any parliament, she just happened to live across the road from the West Australian Parliament. She was the elected member for West Perth, and even beat the Attorney General. She walked across the road to attend. Fortunate that, because there were no female facilities, so she came home to use the bathroom. That did not stop her having the Speaker’s Gallery open to women for the first time, and achieving two private members bills. Quite an achievement for a first term parliamentarian. Society changed again, thanks to Edith being responsible for the Women’s Legal Status Bill, in 1923. Only ninety eight years ago, could women enter the professions, for the very first time. This affected all the society of the day: men, women, daughters, sons, husbands, wives. 

Edith came from pioneering background: one grandfather was the first Colonial Chaplain, Reverend John Wittenoom. Her belief in the necessity for education for all was inherited from family. She was well read, well travelled and believed that organisations were greater than the individual. She was an excellent speaker, and served her community all her life. Her home in Malcolm Street, was the location of many meetings, and was a place to gather. She and her daughter, Dircksey, were founders of the Royal WA Historical Society. 

If you visit the Edith Cowan Clock Tower, it is a short walk to see the tree Edith planted because she was on the 1929 Centenary Committee, when WA celebrated one hundred years. Down the hill, in Malcolm Street, is the site of her two homes: number 31 and 71. 

So, here is to you, Edith Dircksey Cowan, née Brown. Thank you for changing our lives in a thoughtful and positive way. May we all recognise and acknowledge your contribution.

THE BROWN FAMILY

Edith Dircksey Brown was born on 2 August 1861 to Kenneth Brown and Mary Eliza Dircksey Wittenoom. Edith was one of five children born to the couple. Mary sadly died during the birth of her 6th child in 1868. Edith was just 7 years old.

Kenneth Brown https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Brown-27857

Mary Eliza Dircksey Wittenoom https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wittenoom-18

Kenneth married his second wife, Mary Ann Tindall in 1873. By 1875 the marriage showed signs of distress. There are numerous accounts of public quarreling. Sadly in January of 1876 Kenneth ended the troubled marriage by shooting Mary. Brown was found guilty of willful murder and sentenced to death. He was hung at Perth Gaol that same year leaving Edith an orphan at the tender age of 15.

THE COWANS OF COTTESLOE

Despite the trauma and public humiliation associated with her father’s execution, Edith married James Cowan in 1879. Edith was just 18 years old and James was 31.

Edith on her wedding day, 1879
Parliament.wa.gov.au

Edith went on to deliver four daughters and a son between 1880 and 1891.

The Cowan family portrait, c. 1892
https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au

The Cowan family moved to “Bleak House” on the corner of Rosendo Street and Avonmore Terrace in Cottesloe in 1896.

Current house on the site of Bleak House, courtesy Hilary Silbert.

A TIRELESS CAMPAIGNER

Impressively while raising a family of 5 children, Edith had already commenced her advocacy for women’s rights. This tireless campaigner contributed to the establishment of Mercy House, a refuge for unmarried mothers which was ultimately opened in 1890. Edith was also a co-founder of the WA branch of the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals which was established in 1892.

The original Mercy House. Photo copyright Ngala

In 1986, James and Edith commenced a tour of Europe. That same year Edith founded the oldest Women’s club in Perth – The Karrakatta Club.

Just two years later, Edith campaigned for state education and was elected to the Education Board of North Fremantle. By 1902 Edith had founded the National Council of Women, a body dedicated to the advancement of women in the community. Another two years and Edith was serving as an associate member of The Ministering Children’s League. An organisation established to support children’s charities and encourage children to do ‘a good deed a day’ to help those less fortunate than themselves.

CPM04559 – League Prayer Card – The Grove Library collection

A further two years and Edith had founded The Children’s Protection Society: a volunteer service aimed at ensuring illegitimate children (and their mothers) were not abandoned by their fathers and that those children were cared for and did not become wards of the State.

By 1909 Edith had assisted in the founding of the Women’s Service Guilds of Western Australia: “a core feminist connection for the exchange of feminist strategies and ideas with international feminism for much of the twentieth century. While typified as conservative, the Guilds anticipated many radical trends and were at the forefront of activism which challenged the political and social boundaries that excluded women from participating fully in society. They worked to raise the status of women and improve the welfare of children, primarily through legislative reform and initiated a wide range of campaigns on local, national and international levels.” The Guilds saw the education of women as the most effective way to improve women’s legal status.

Ref: www.womenaustralia.info

Another two years and Edith became a delegate at the 1st Conference of the District Education Boards where she proposed the establishment of secondary education. Around this time James and Edith moved to 31 Malcolm Street in West Perth.

31 Malcom Street, West Perth

With the outbreak of World War I in 1914 Edith’s work turned to the troops. During this period, around 330,000 Australians went overseas to fight for Britain. Almost two thirds of them were either killed or wounded. Edith began to raise funds for the Red Cross and became the Chairperson of Red Cross Appeal Committee. She also worked to set up Soldiers’ Welcome Homes and through these institutes arranged help for those returning from war. For this patriotic support Edith was awarded the Order of the British Empire [OBE] in 1920.

Edith Cowan n.d.

That same year, Western Australia passed legislation allowing women to stand for parliament. At the age of 59, she stood as the Nationalist candidate for the Legislative Assembly seat of West Perth because she felt that domestic and social issues were not being given enough attention. She won a surprise victory, defeating Thomas Draper, the Attorney General, who ironically had introduced the legislation that enabled her to stand. Edith was the first woman to be elected to an Australian parliament. She campaigned for women’s rights while in office, pushing through legislation which allowed women to enter the professional workforce and succeeded in giving mothers an equal right over matters relating to their children. Reference.

The Inaugural Speech

Edith Cowan, 1921

The centenary of Edith maiden speech in Parliament is on 28th July 2021. Hilary Silbert explains the significance of this momentous occasion.

“I stand here today in the unique position of being the first woman in an Australian Parliament.”

Edith Cowan was given the honour of moving the Address-in-Reply speech, which is the response to the Governor’s Opening of Parliament. The seconded to the speech was C.G. Latham.

In stark contrast, she was not given the usual protocol of an uninterrupted Maiden or Debut Speech.

A total of eight politicians interjected during her speech, including Premier James Mitchell. She was interrupted fourteen times, with one Member speaking five times.

There was an artillery salute of nineteen guns fired in King’s Park to mark the Opening of the Eleventh State Parliament, by His Excellency, Sir Francis Newdegate. The number of visitors at Parliament House, West Perth, was unprecedented.

Edith’s entire speech can be read HERE

During her time in office, Edith introduced numerous bills to Parliament. In 1922 she introduced the Administration Act Amendment Bill and the following year the Women’s Legal Status Bill.

The Administration Act Amendment Bill 1922

Mrs COWAN (West Perth) [28 July 1922]

In moving the second reading said: I have been asked to move this Bill in the interests of the mothers of Western Australia. They are anxious to be placed on exactly the same footing as the father in the case of sons or daughters dying intestate. I think we all now realise that no man wishes his wife to be on any different footing from himself, that is, when he comes to think about the matter. I feel sure the House will be with me in regard to this Bill, more especially when hon. Members realise it is the earnest desire of women to be placed on an equal footing with men in this respect. The measure merely asks for equality between husband and wife.

Reference

The Women’s Legal Status Act 1923

Mrs. COWAN (West Perth) [5 September 1923]

In moving the second reading said: I am bringing forward this Bill at the instance of the women of the community through their various organisations. We are desirous of having women put on a reasonably fair footing in point of holding offices and positions now closed to them. The Bill amends the law in respect of women’s disqualifications. Probably I shall be told that the Interpretation Act would meet all our difficulties. But so far from its doing that, every time women desire admittance to any further professions or posts, some special Bill has to be brought in to amend the Interpretation Act. If the Bill before us is passed, we shall not have to be continually coming to Parliament in order that women may be admitted to various functions and offices from which they are now debarred. Similar legislation has been passed in Great Britain and in New South Wales. In other parts of the world also women are admitted to many professions and avenues of employment not open to them in this State. For instance, everybody thought our Interpretation Act covered equal citizenship, really a matter enabling women to sit in Parliament. It was thought the Interpretation Act would have sufficed, because it is there prescribed that the masculine gender includes the feminine gender. Yet to enable women to sit in this Parliament you had to amend the Act, making it clear that the word “person” included female as well as male. For instance, we feel it is desirable that women should be admitted as barristers. There is nothing in the Barristers’ Act to prevent it, but when application was made to admit a woman the judges held that the Act did not originally intend that women should be admitted. We were told by Judge Parker that if the Legislature desired that a women should be capable of being admitted as a practitioner of the court, or indeed if the Legislature desired that a woman should be capable of being admitted as a practitioner of the court, or indeed if the Legislature intended to make women eligible for admission to the court, they should have said so in express language as, he believed, had been
done in New Zealand.

Reference

Sadly Edith lost her seat at the 1924 election and failed to regain it in 1927. She continued campaigning and working for the community, co-founding the Royal West Australian Historical Society in 1926 and sitting on the working committee for WA’s Centenary Celebrations in 1929.

The Magic of 100 and 1000

By Hilary Silbert

Who would have thought that the numbers 100 and 1000 would have anything to do with acknowledging the century of the election of Edith Dircksey Cowan, Australia’s first woman parliamentarian, and one of the first in the world?

March 2021 was 100 years since Edith Cowan was in the unique position of such an historic first. March 2021 was another state election for Western Australia. Here is where the numbers come in. Twenty one women were newly elected to the State Parliament, and into both Houses (Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council), this bringing the total number of women in WA Parliament to move from 93 to pass 100, for the first time in history.

With this new additional group of women MPs, it pushed the number of women in all Australian Parliaments (Federal, State and Territory) to over 1000. So a century to achieve a hundred female politicians in the Western Australian Parliament and one hundred years from Edith Cowan’s historic election, to achieve 1000 women in Parliament across the nation.

Edith’s Legacy

The Edith Cowan Clock Tower is found in Kings Park.  It was built in 1934 to commemorate her achievements.  It was the most significant memorial ever dedicated to a women in Australia at that time.

The $50 bank note, 1995 and 2018

St George’s Terrace plaque. In 1979 a plaque dedicate to Edith was laid in St George’s Terrace to commemorate the State’s 150th anniversary.

Australia Post Stamps, 2021

Australia Post 2021 provided by Hilary Silbert

Edith Cowan University

The Story of Edith Cowan by Edith Cowan University: YouTube

And a multitude of exhibitions and websites!

Lance Hopkinson, Hilary Silbert and Sindy Dowden at the opening of “FOLLOWING IN HER FOOTSTEPS”
Image courtesy of Lee Tate

This is our tribute to the woman who worked so tirelessly for the rights we, as women, enjoy today.

Thank you Edith!

Death in Cottesloe

1940’s

Curtin Avenue South, Cottesloe
No.101865 The Grove Library

Around 11 am on Sunday 4^th September 1949 Dr Alexander Walters and Dr Bercov were urgently called to an address on Cottesloe Avenue (now known as Curtin Avenue) in Cottesloe, to examine an 18-year-old female. By the time they arrived, the girl was dead. The police were notified and when they arrived at the scene Detective Sergeant F E Jones described the bed she was lying on as “saturated with blood”. Her body was sent to Royal Perth hospital for an autopsy. Who was responsible and what were the circumstances surrounding her death?

The last time Dr Walters had seen the girl, later identified as Joan Lorraine Stamp, was on the 19^th August. She had been fit and healthy and he had confirmed her suspicions that she was pregnant. She had been in a relationship with Percival Norman Foxon for two years and they had been engaged since February. Foxon later said that they had discussed the pregnancy and Joan had said that she “wasn’t too keen” on telling her mother. He agreed to help her find someone to terminate the pregnancy. He mentioned their situation to his work colleague John Maxwell Rees, who said he might know of someone who could help. This someone was John Leslie Cullen. They met with Cullen on Saturday September 3^rd at Perth Railway Station. Cullen then drove them with Rees to his house on Newcastle Street in Perth. Foxon and Rees sat in the lounge room while Cullen took Joan into a nearby bedroom to perform the abortion. Before she went into the bedroom Joan told them she was frightened. Afterwards, on the advice of Cullen, Foxon and Joan stayed at Foxon’s mother’s place nearby for a few hours. His mother was away for the weekend and would not know what they had done. Later in the day they decided to return to Foxon’s residence on Curtin Avenue in Cottesloe, arriving there around 7.30pm. By this time Joan was complaining of pains in her stomach and went to lie down on Foxon’s bed.

Later that evening at 11.30 pm Foxon’s landlady Mrs Vera Bainbridge Winter returned home with her daughter from a trip to the movies. Foxon asked her permission for Joan to stay the night as she was not feeling well. She agreed and Foxon carried Joan to an unoccupied bed upstairs. Sometime later she aborted a male child and Foxon buried it in the backyard of his lodgings. Just after midnight Foxon went to bed and was awoken in the early hours of the morning by his landlady who said she had given Joan some water. Foxon went to see Joan and saw that she was pale. She insisted she did not need a doctor and after giving her some more water he went back to bed. At 8.30 am he went upstairs to see her again, she still looked pale and there was a large amount of blood in the bed. He went to Claremont to retrieve a change of clothes from her mother’s house. When he returned Joan’s condition had further deteriorated. Alarmed, he returned to Claremont to fetch her mother and telephoned for a doctor. Up to this point Joan had insisted she did not want a doctor to examine her. A doctor had not arrived by the time he had returned with Joan’s mother. Joan was now unconscious. He urgently rang again telling the doctor to hurry. By the time doctors arrived it was too late. Joan was already dead. The autopsy confirmed the doctor’s suspicions. She had died from haemorrhaging and shock, presumably due to the botched abortion.

The police interviewed Foxon who told them what had taken place, and that afternoon Cullen was arrested. He was charged with murder: the crime of killing an unborn child and the crime of abortion.

In 1949, abortion was illegal in Australia. Women with unwanted pregnancies found themselves in a perilous situation, particularly if they were not of independent means. Pregnancy in unmarried women was seen as shocking and shameful. It was common for families to disown their daughters. According to academic Dr Jo Wainer once a family found out that a woman had died while having an abortion, “they simply fell off the family tree. Often they were never spoken of again.” It would have been extremely difficult for a woman to go ahead with the pregnancy without financial or social support or a willing partner to stand by them. For many, the only answer was to abort. This was extremely dangerous. Many abortionists were not medically trained. Cullen was a truck driver. Many were men, and more interested in financial rewards than in the woman’s health. However, in this case Cullen did ask Foxon to call him the following Monday to let him know how Joan was.

Joan was so afraid of telling her mother about the pregnancy and the possible consequences of being cut off from her family that she was willing to put her life in the hands of a stranger. Foxon on the other hand thought abortions were common and an easy solution saying, “the way you hear of these things going on, it sounds just like having toothache.” He did not seem to provide Joan with another viable alternative.

Cullen denied he had performed the abortion despite the evidence against him and pleaded not guilty. He knew what the possible consequences of a conviction could be. However, he was lucky. The verdict at the trial was manslaughter rather than murder, and the jury issued a strong recommendation for mercy. Cullen was sentenced to five years imprisonment. The judge told him he was very fortunate as in his opinion he was “no novice at abortion.”

It would have been a painful, lonely death for Joan. A once healthy young woman, who, faced with the prospect of a pregnancy outside of marriage, believed her only way out was to have a backstreet abortion.

Abortion began to be legalized in some form in Australia in 1969, although there were conditions attached. The abortion could only take place if doing so would preserve a woman’s physical or mental health. Medical Assessments were needed to verify this. Over the years, the states gradually relaxed this ruling. However, it was not until March of this year that all states in Australia had finally removed abortion from the criminal code. It is now no longer deemed a crime. However, access to abortions still varies between states, particularly after 20 weeks gestation.

Cullen, Foxon and the societal attitudes of the time could all have been seen as playing a part in Joan’s death in addition to Joan herself: Cullen who performed the procedure; Foxon who seemed to let her down in terms of support and critical care when she most needed it; and society at large. The prevailing thoughts and attitudes around that time culminated in Joan’s belief, she felt she had no other alternative and pushed her to act as she tragically did.

Crime in the Suburbs

1930’s

Cottesloe Pier
No 101778 The Grove Library

On the morning of Monday, 25^th October 1937 a man’s body was found floating in the shallows of Cottesloe beach, near to Cottesloe Pier. The body was found partially clothed; the trousers were missing and two handkerchiefs were tied around the neck. One was tightly tied. The man was later identified as Michael Anastasas, aged 34. How the body came to be there was a mystery. Was it a case of murder, a fatal accident or suicide?

Michael Anastasas was Greek by birth and had arrived in Australia twenty years before. He lived at 121 Lake Street, Perth with his wife and four children. According to his wife they were happily married. He was employed as a Manager for National Fisheries Ltd. A van embossed with the company logo was found parked on Marine Parade, near to Forrest Street, across the road from Cottesloe Pier, the morning the body was discovered. Inside the vehicle were found two handwritten notes written in pencil. The first note said, “We loved each other and did not know what to do.” The second note said, “She said she was fond of me and that she loved me and wanted me to go and see her.” Some people surmised the notes were written in part by a woman and maybe there would be another body. Michael’s brother was convinced foul play was the reason for his brother’s death, saying Michael, “had no financial or domestic worries…He had been in good health and had no excuse to take his life.” He had last seen Michael on Friday afternoon at Michael’s place of work. However, putting together Michael’s last known movements from witness statements given at the inquest, another picture emerges.

Michael was last seen by John Kikeros, a fellow employee of National Fisheries, on Saturday 23^rd October, when he assisted Kikeros with loading his truck with supplies for a trip down to Albany. Kikeros was about to drive Angelo Silverton, the Managing Director of National Fisheries, down to Albany for an important business meeting. They were expected to be away for a couple of days and Kikeros said that Michael had told him not to rush back, he need not return until Monday afternoon.

Koutsoukis, an old school friend and a driver employed by National Fisheries, said he last saw Michael at 6pm on Sunday 24^th October at the Hellenic Club on Wellington Street, Perth. He said Michael was, “in good health and seemed quite normal. He drove me to my home at 7pm in the National Fisheries van which was later found at Cottesloe. When he left me, he said he was not going out again. He intended to stay at home for the night.”

Around 7.50pm Michael purchased some chocolates from John Aris on Murray Street, Perth. John had known Michael for thirty years and he last saw him around 8pm when Michael gave him a ride home. Michael returned home just after 8pm. He then told his wife he was going to the club about an employee and soon left. This was the last time he was seen by his wife. A neighbour of the couple later told police that he had spoken to Michael as he was getting into his vehicle and that Michael had mentioned to him that he was going for a drive.

Earlier, Kikeros and Silverton concluded business in Albany much quicker than expected. According to Kikeros, Silverton wanted to stay in Albany that night and return on Monday, but Kikeros persuaded him that they should return that day. They left Albany at 3pm. They reached William at 7.30pm and Silverton again said he was tired and that they should stay overnight, but Kikeros wanted to press on saying he was not tired. They arrived back at Silverton’s home around 10pm. Later, during the inquest, Kikeros was repeatedly questioned if it was at his suggestion or Silverton’s that they returned that night. He repeatedly said that he suggested it.

According to Silverton, when he arrived home, he saw a light on and faces at the window. When he entered the house one of the faces was that of his wife, the other was of Michael Anastasas. Silverton said an argument took place and he hit Michael before Michael managed to flee the house. He chased after Michael, but Michael managed to drive off. He remembered Michael to be fully clothed at the time.

Silverton continued to search for Michael. Mrs Anastasas said he visited her home three times during the evening and twice again on the morning of October 25^th. In the morning, when he came to collect the money for the market store, he told Mrs Anastasas he hadn’t seen Michael and had been “looking for him all night.” He also explained to her that he had seen Michael the previous night with his wife, when he arrived back unexpectedly from Albany.

Angelo Silverton
Copyright Trove; Mirror, Perth, Saturday 30 October 1938
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75450138

Michael Anastasas
Copyright Trove; Sunday Times, Perth, Sunday 31 October 1937 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58793352

During the inquest, Silverton was repeatedly questioned about his possible involvement in Michael’s death. He was the last person to see Michael alive and had cause to do him harm. He had also deliberately misled police and reporters when first questioned. The coroner concluded that this was well-meant in a mistaken belief it would avoid unwelcome publicity into his private life. In her witness statement, Mrs Anastasas thought that Michael and Mr Silverton were friends. Mr Silverton had in fact carried on paying Michael’s wages in the weeks following his death.

At the inquest a police handwriting expert Detective-Sergeant A V Penrose said that, in his professional opinion, the two notes found in the van were written by the one person, and that person was Michael Anastasas.

A doctor who examined Michael’s body concluded that he died from drowning, rather than strangulation and that the two handkerchiefs could easily have been tied by Mr Anastasas himself before jumping off Cottesloe Pier. Mrs Anastasas confirmed that the handkerchiefs belonged to Michael.

Putting together witness statements, it seems likely that Michael drove to Cottesloe Pier sometime after being confronted by Silverton. The notes were written by him, probably that evening, as a pencil was found in the coat pocket he had been wearing. It seems likely that believing that his relationship with his wife, his friend and his job were all about to come to an end, he jumped off the pier with the intention of drowning himself. The loss of them all was too much for him to bear and he decided to end his own life. His body was found by Mr Melvin at 9.30 the next morning. The coroner at the inquest concluded that, “behind him were the remnants of a shattered friendship and the loss of a good job. He died by his own act.” A sad end to a man who seemed to be admired by colleagues and friends alike.

Cottesloe Pier no longer exists today. Finally completed in 1906, it gradually decayed over time, despite various efforts to repair it. In August 1952, what was left of it was blown up using Gelignite.

NEW!!!! Cottesloe Beach Heritage Trail

 

Now that Covid-19 restrictions have lifted, why not take the family and stroll the foreshore of your suburb. We have a heritage trail for each of the suburbs, Cottesloe Foreshore, Mosman Park and Peppermint Grove. Learn about yesteryear and the landmarks which make our home so special. There are plenty of cafes along all the routes so what are you waiting for, download our free app from Google Play and Apple iTunes. Grove Heritage Trails

Sculptures by the Sea

Sculpture by the Sea is the brainchild of David Handley AM, who saw the need for a free accessible visual arts event which evokes a sense of community. In 1997 with the support of Waverley Council and sponsors the first exhibition took place in Bondi, Sydney.  It was entirely manned by volunteers and almost all of the sponsorship money was allocated to artist awards.  With no way of financing security the first exhibit was limited to a single day.  Despite the short duration, 25000 people attended the 1997 exhibition providing the impetus for future shows.

It would be a further eight years before the show travelled interstate. Cottesloe Sculpture by the Sea was launched in March 2005 and has attracted thousands of residents and tourists alike transforming the beach and foreshore into a hive of colour and activity. It is the State’s largest outdoor sculpture exhibition.

Plagued by financial difficulties from the onset both at Cottesloe and Bondi, it looked like the Cottesloe event had run its course in 2019, despite an attendance of 210,000.   Fortunately the generosity of the Bendat Family Foundation and a number of Perth philanthropists, known as Angel Donors, has secured a future for the event until 2022.

David Handley explains the significance of the Cottesloe event,” “Perth has embraced Sculpture by the Sea like no other city, the exhibition not only has a significant artistic, cultural, education, tourism and economic impact on Perth and WA but it brings great joy to its people and the thousands who travel from interstate and overseas each year to visit the exhibition.”

Ref: https://sculpturebythesea.com/about/history/

https://artsreview.com.au/sculpture-by-the-sea-to-return-to-cottesloe-in-2020/

Easier times, before Covid-19

Want to reminisce about easier times, here is the Civic Center News from March 1952. We will be posting a new magazine each week to keep you amused.

MARCH 1952

TUKURUA

This grand limestone house at 7 Rosendo Street is set back on a large block on the corner of Marine Parade, and was built at the end of the 19^th Century. It is an example of the large houses which were common in the area during a time of wealth and prosperity. Originally built as a summer residence for the Honorable Septimus Burt and his family who were a prominent Perth residents at the turn of the century. Septimus Burt became the first Attorney General in the first responsible government in Western Australia.

 

The original contractor for the house was Bunning Brothers. Further work was carried out between by 1901 to 1904, including the addition of a second storey, by the famous Architect and local Cottesloe resident at the time, J. Talbot Hobbs. The house remained in the family until 1933 when it was leased to Mr and Mrs Cass who operated a boarding house there. By 1939 the couple were in a position to purchase the property. The house was used to accommodate refugees from Singapore during World War 2, the property being divided into separate apartments complete with bathrooms and kitchens.

 

The house was not returned to its original layout after the war and was inherited by Mrs Cass’ daughter Dorothy with a clause that the house should not be altered in any way thereby ensuring retention of the original features. The house was classified by the National Trust of Australia in 1979 and entered the Register of the National Estate in 1982. Dorothy lived at the property until 1993 when she was moved to a care facility but her long time friend Mr Ted Smith remained. He lived in a small portion of the house, clearing the rest of the rooms and closing up the rest of the property. Upon Mrs Cass’ death the house was bequeathed to Mr Smith who lovingly restored the property in the early 2000s. Mining Magnate Andrew Forrest bought and developed the property in 2015.