Wowser at Cottesloe

The opening of the Jetty

In the very early days at Cottesloe beach, picnics on the sand, listening to live bands and strolling along the foreshore were more popular than swimming – there were no facilities for changing into swimsuits and full dress was common even in the summer heat – Early settlers brought with them English moral standards which meant modesty was highly valued. This prevented most from ever considering donning a bathing costume and entering the water where they may embarrassingly encounter others doing the same thing!

However, in March of 1899 – in readiness for the summer season, bathing bylaws were gazetted to ensure standards of decency were upheld.  One beach notice read: Regulation costume for men and women; dress of dark material — serge, flannel or flannelette extending over the shoulder to the knee. Those in swimsuits should not loiter on the beach or on the jetty. Crude bathing boxes provided some degree of privacy while changing into the obligatory cumbersome costumes.

Nevertheless during one incident, the Roads Board had to write to Mr Burt of Cottesloe regarding his sons who had been bathing without trunks, which was in violation of the bylaws. The temptation which came with living so close to the sea must have been too much for the young boys.

Two significant years in the early history of Cottesloe are 1905, when the Hotel Cottesloe was built, and 1906 when the jetty was constructed. By this time the popularity of the beach had increased considerably and so had the desire to be in the water swimming during the sweltering summer heat. To meet community demands more substantial bathing boxes were erected. Mr Page was a well-known provider at Cottesloe beach.

The jetty became a focal point for many activities on Cottesloe beach. The Roads Board framed bylaws to control its use and the first of the 14 rules was that forbid bathing from the pier. An additional bylaw was suggested – that bathers over 6 years of age shall be clothed from neck to knee.

In 1910 the Council decided to allocate space on the beach specifically for ladies and children under 12 years of age, thereby discouraging mixed bathing. However on 28 January 1917, the Sunday Times declared a “Wowser at Cottesloe” when members of both sexes were seen “jumping about in the water…these are the mixed bathers and some of the wickedest people”.

By 1925 it had been declared that ‘the costume to be worn on beaches be a two-piece costume, Canadian style, reaching from the neck to the knees in such a manner as to secure the observance of decency’. And as for scarlet or red costumes – definitely a NO NO!

During the 1930s the Council received numerous letters of complaint regarding improper dress being observed on the beach. Beach inspectors were deployed to ensure the beach bylaws were upheld. At the time Mayor John Black’s comments show that he was a very practical, progressive man:

“People can have little or nothing on and still be well behaved, and on the contrary they may be fully dressed and most objectionable. It is a time of changing fashion …”

By 1934 it was common for young men to ‘roll down’ the tops of their bathers. There were a few prosecutions but the Council was generally sympathetic to the local surfers. Unfortunately suits that were rolled down often became lost entirely when dumped from a wave and the unlucky surfer had to shriek to nearby females to keep away until they had reclaimed their bathers from the water!

In November of that year a new type of bathers appeared at North Cottesloe beach. The 2-piece for girls left uncovered the middle area of body between the two pieces. The costume was described in the Daily News in detail. The garment described was brown and white, backless, with strings tied around the neck and waist. The brief trunks fitted neatly to the figure, and newspapers predicted a short life for the two-piece.

Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 – 1950), Monday 19 November 1934, page 1

Many of the councillors, and the Mayor, were sympathetic to the changes but never the less were bombarded with complaints from indignant ratepayers.

The surfers’ problems were solved in 1935. In November of that year the newspapers carried the exciting headline – ‘Bare Torsos – Nedlands approval of male bathers’. The article advised that the Nedlands Roads Board had approved a beach bylaw permitting men to wear bathing costumes without tops, i.e. TRUNKS! The garments must be supported at the waist by a belt or braces and the legs must extend at least 3 inches.

West Australian, Saturday 19 December 1936, page 15

Even so, Cottesloe was hesitant to adopt the new bylaw, however by 1937 there was reference to bathing trunks becoming scantier and scantier.

Perhaps 1945-46 saw the most significant change in the history of the swimsuit. This was when the bikini made its appearance. It was the brainchild of Frenchman, Louis Reard, whose swimsuit was reported to be the smallest bathing suit in the world, not genuine unless it could be pulled through a wedding ring! By 1960, the bikini had become so popular that it was mass produced throughout Australia.

Just one year later in 1961, Swanbourne nudist beach was established. A far cry from the prudish morals prevalent at the turn of the century. Now it seems anything goes, and everyone enjoys the beach in an array of bather designs in the most vibrant of colours.

Adapted for publishing from The Cottesloe Society Newsletter

Rottnest Channel Swim

On 24^th January, 1924, a German visitor named Gerd von Dincklage-Schulenburg made good on a bet he had made over a beer a few days earlier and swam from North Mole in Fremantle to Natural Jetty in Rottnest becoming the first recorded person to complete the swim. Despite being warned of the dangers associated with the swim, mainly the cold, rips and of course sharks, Gerd was not discouraged and completed the distance in 9 hours and 45 minutes.

The Weekend Mail consequently offered cash prizes to better Gerd’s record and just two months afterwards in March 1956, the first competitive race was held. The add generated a lot of interest so the West Australian Amateur Swimming Association (WAASA) suggested an elimination race in the sheltered waters of the Swan River in order to ensure that participants were able to make the distance and were not putting themselves in danger. From the 22 registered entrants, only 9 completed the course. Two swimmers withdrew before the race and only 4 made it from the mainland to the island. Trevor Seaborn, Neil Earl, Les Stewart and Toby Regan all beat Gerd von Dincklage-Schulenburg’s time. Another race was planned for the following year but on the advice of the WAASA the swim was restricted to sheltered waters of the river. It wasn’t until April 1969 that another recorded swim took place. This saw English Migrant Lesley Cherriman become the first woman to complete the Rottnest Channel swim.

Numerous attempts were made between 1969 and and 1989, when in preparation for the 6^th FINA World Championships in 1991, the Rottnest Channel Swim Association was formed. The Associations’ priorities were to authenticate people who wanted to swim the Rottnest Channel, promote safety, to advise and encourage swimmers, in addition to collecting data from the crossings.

On 23^rd February, 1991, the second official Rottnest Channel race was held. At 5.30am, 16 solo swimmers left Cottesloe Beach and seven teams of four swimmers left at 6am. Only 12 solo swimmers completed the 19.7km crossing, however all 7 teams were successful.

Despite the ever present risk of hypothermia and shark attacks, by 1998 the Rottnest Channel Swim had become the world’s largest open water swimming event, with 1150 competitors.

In 2003, the RCSA introduced the Rotto Rehearsal, a 10km swim to trial which swimmers must complete in less than 4 hours and 15 minutes in order to qualify for the main event. There is also a Virtual Rottnest Channel Swim which provides opportunities for those who unable to attend or don’t wish to compete in open water to participate in a pool environment.

The event is steadily evolving and increasing in popularity, attracting numerous international competitors. Today, swimmers have a support boat manned with a trained crew to ensure the safety of the swimmers. Extensive training and briefings for swimmers and all volunteers help ensure the efficiency and success of the event. However the Rottnest Channel Swim still remains a gruelling endurance event and should only be attempted by experienced registered participants during organised Rottnest Channel Swim events.

“The lure of doing the Rottnest Channel Swim has always been that it captures people’s imagination, challenges their swimming ability and encourages a higher level of swimming fitness,” says Founding member and life member of the Rottnest Channel Swim Association (RCSA) Kevin Holtom.

Ref: http://rottnestchannelswimassociation.com.au/history/history-ofrcs/

That’s amazing!

Did you know that many years ago, 11, 000 to be exact, the Island of Rottnest was part of the mainland?  Its true!  The Swan River entrance is thought to have been just North of the Island.  Although the ocean has now engulfed Rottnest, the ocean between it and the current shoreline would have been lakes and undulating land.

When the polar ice caps started to melt, the sea level rose and filled in the land and lakes resulting in a shift of the shore line some fifty one kilometres west of Cottesloe.  Tide action and wind eventually created the duned shores we see today.

Taken from Cottesloe, a Town of Distinction by Ruth Marchant James, pg 3.

Photo by Jaymantri on Pexels.com

COTTESLOE POST OFFICE AND TELEPHONE EXCHANGE

Gold discoveries in the 1890s brought great wealth to the state, and saw Cottesloe develop as one of the prestigious suburbs of Perth. Its residents demanded better facilities, including a postal service.

On 20th March 1894 The West Australian reported that ‘A new Post Office has been established at Cottesloe. The mails close in time to be made up for the train leaving Fremantle at 8.30am and leaving Perth at 3pm.’ The location is unknown, but from 1895 Stationmaster Mr W. M. Richards undertook the handling of mail from the station platform. In 1897 a non-official post office operated at the store of Barry and Dendy on the corner of the Perth-Fremantle Road and Napoleon Street. Mary Ann Bradley was one of the earliest residents of Cottesloe, and recalled that the post office was in a back room of the shop.

The site chosen for the government’s official post office on the corner of Forrest and Railway Streets was adjacent to the railway station and across the road from a number of shops. In January 1897 tenders were called for the construction of a Postmasters’ Quarters, and in October for the construction of the Cottesloe Post Office and Telephone Exchange. The post office was built by Leggo and Clague for £1190. It is possible that the post office and quarters were combined into one building. The design was drawn by an architect at the Public Works Department, but it is not known who, as original plans have not been uncovered. The post office was built in limestone in the Victorian Georgian style of architecture. Although a domestic rather than civic design, it has become a local landmark due mainly to its conspicuous corner location opposite the railway station.

Miss Rachael Harris was appointed in July 1897 as the first Post Mistress at Cottesloe. The Cottesloe Telephone Exchange opened in July 1898 and had eighty-eight subscribers. This was the first telephone exchange built along the telephone cable between Perth and Fremantle. The first telephonist at Cottesloe was probably also a woman as it was the practice to employ women for this position.

Aerial wires and cables dominated the view of Forrest Street, 1915. Photo from National Archives of Australia: K1131, X117/1.

Outside the Cottesloe Post Office and Telephone Exchange, 1915.  Photo from National Archives of Australia: K1131, X146/1.

Prior to World War Two, Western Australia’s telephone system was linked by only one wire to the Eastern states. The outbreak of war created demands for additional services and a second wire was established in 1942. It was particularly crucial that good communications were established during the times that Prime Minister John Curtin was in residence in Cottesloe. He often used his home as an extension of his office and maintained contact with Canberra by letter, phone and telegram.

During World War Two, significant restrictions were applied to postal and telecommunications as part of the war effort. In early January 1944, whilst in residence at Cottesloe, John Curtin’s secretary went to Cottesloe Post Office for postage stamps and was informed that she was entitled to only five stamps because of the war time restrictions. On stating who the stamps were for she was told ‘it would not matter if he was the King of England – five is the allowance.’ Despite these restrictions Cottesloe Post Office would have provided a vital link between Curtin and Canberra and subsequently to allied countries.

Extract from Cottesloe Post Office & Telephone Exchange (fmr), Assessment Documentation, State Heritage Office, 2004.

After the Second World War it was apparent that the shopping focus of Cottesloe had shifted to Napoleon Street and the post office facilities were becoming inadequate. In 1946 a site was selected on the corner of Napoleon Street and Stirling Highway for a new Post Office, but it was not built until 1963, and officially opened on 18^th May, 1964.

From 1964 to 1985 the old Cottesloe Post Office was used by the Postmaster General’s Department as a line depot, office facility, equipment store, and workshop.

Cottesloe Post Office in 1962, just before it closed.

In the early 1980s, Cottesloe Council purchased the old Post Office for $145,000. It was refurbished by architects Scanlon and Associates and opened in 1986 for community use (aged care services). Now called TAPSS Community Care and operating as SHINE Community Services, the organisation continues to serve the municipalities of Cottesloe, Claremont, Mosman Park and Peppermint Grove.

The old Post Office has been altered internally and extended in 1997 and 2000. From the street it is still recognisable as the 1897 building with its truncated entrance and corner gable, and the veranda along both street fronts.

The old Cottesloe Post Office in 1996.

The building is listed on the State Register of Heritage Places as Cottesloe Post Office & Telephone Exchange (fmr). It has cultural heritage significance to the Town of Cottesloe and the State because it was the centre of postal communication in Cottesloe from 1897 to 1963. It was also the first telephone exchange in Cottesloe and only the third in the metropolitan area. The Post Office was particularly important during World War Two, as the local communications centre for John Curtin, Australia’s war time Prime Minister.

 

Some extra information about Cottesloe Post Office

• Cottesloe Post Office provided the first telephone exchange built along the telephone cable between Perth and Fremantle, opening in 1898.
• In 1900, the Cottesloe Exchange provided a temporary end point for Western Australia’s first submarine telephone cable to Rottnest Island. This connection existed for only a short period as the Fremantle Office was connected to the Cottesloe beach cable head by a specially constructed cable about a month later.
• Telephone wires and cables were progressively put under underground starting in 1906 with the Perth to Fremantle cable. Most wires in Perth were gradually taken down during World War One. (The 1915 photos above show the overhead cables in Forrest Street.)
• By 1921, the number of telephone subscribers in Cottesloe had risen to 846. The massive increase in subscribers led to an automatic telephone exchange in 1930, which was only the second automatic exchange in Western Australia.

LIDO PICTURE GARDENS AND CABARET

Perhaps some of Cottesloe’s long-term residents will remember The Lido Picture Gardens and Cabaret, a popular outdoor cinema and night club on the beach. It was built in 1935 for proprietor Lewis (Lou) Hatfield.

Did you know? A Lido is a public open-air swimming pool or bathing beach. The original Lido is a beach resort near Venice, Italy. The Italian word ‘lido’ means shore or bank. ‘Lido blue’ is a description for that particular colour that can transport your mind to the bright, clear, blue waters of the ocean.

The Lido was not the first picture gardens in the area. The Cottesloe Picture Company was established at Mudurup Rocks c1910, in a large building that was also an ice-skating rink. It was not a great success and the business closed in 1913. Although there was interest shown in reviving the picture gardens, eventually the building was dismantled, and the chairs and piano were sold. In 1916 the screen and operating house was set up between the first Indiana Tearooms and the Surf Tearooms. A one night trial run was held, but that seems to be the end of the first outdoor cinema on the beach.

In 1935 Lou Hatfield, who had operated the Cottesloe Picture Gardens on Stirling Highway since 1924, developed the Lido.  The architect was Howard Bonner, and F. J. Deacon was the building contractor. The complete building included a chemist’s shop, a cabaret and an open-air picture garden. The main entrance was at the corner of Forrest Street and Marine Parade. There was a large cabaret floor 20 metres long and 8 metres wide. Large windows along the whole of the Marine Parade frontage gave a beautiful outlook over the ocean.

A grand opening was held for the new Lido Picture Gardens on Friday 20^th December 1935 followed by the Cabaret opening on the Saturday night.

Promotional advertisement in The Daily News, 20 December 1935, p. 13.

The Daily News reported:

Combining in delightful fashion Oriental and nautical motifs, the New Lido open-air pictures and cabaret in Marine-parade and Forrest-street, Cottesloe, will be officially opened tonight by the Mayor of Cottesloe (Mr. J. Black). On a magnificent location fronting the ocean, and involving an outlay of about £8000, the new structure is a fine addition to Cottesloe’s architecture and to the range of entertainment which it offers.

Apart from its happy situation, which ensures that the cooling freezes of the ocean will greet patrons on even the hottest nights, the New Lido open-air pictures and cabaret are so designed as to give patrons the utmost enjoyment, and to allow them to have their entertainment in surroundings as picturesquely modern as effective.

The cabaret was leased by Mr. Tom Assender, who was well known in Perth’s cabaret circles. In addition to providing splendid facilities for dance lovers, the Lido provided ‘American and Continental suppers.’ The orchestra of four was under the conductorship of Mr. Harry Fellows.

Promotional advertisement in The Daily News. 20 December 1935, p. 13.

The open-air cinema was designed to give the effect of a Japanese garden. The main lighting scheme included soft ambers in Japanese lanterns and coloured lights around the proscenium arch over the screen. The entrance from Forrest Street led to ticket boxes in the foyer. At the side was a ‘refreshment garden’ for the patrons to enjoy during intervals.  The deck chairs and garden seating provided for up to 650 people. The newspaper proudly reported that the two ‘talkies’ machines which formed the equipment of the New Lido open-air pictures were Australian products, constructed by the Astor Radio Corporation of Australia.

Reproduced from Marchant James, R., Cottesloe: A Town of Distinction, Town of Cottesloe, 2007, p. 306.

Near Lido on Marine Parade was Hostel Manly, a very popular seaside guesthouse. One bonus of staying at Hostel Manly was that guests could see the Lido picture screen from the first-floor rear balcony. Hessian screens were strung up with rope to try to block the free view, but it was no coincidence that whenever a good film was showing, these ropes would mysteriously ‘snap.’

Complimentary pass for Cottesloe District Pictures.

In 1950 The Lido Cabaret was reinvented as Lido Coffee Lounge by proprietor J. A. Andrew. This was a new experiment in Sunday night entertainment. Mr. Andrew believed the public needed ‘a little relaxation after the Sabbath evening meal.’ He staged a show on Sunday evenings where patrons paid 2/6 for coffee and toast and could be entertained by an orchestra, vocalists, dancers and musicians. In the 1960s the cabaret was called The Lido Coral Room.

The Lido Picture Gardens operated until 1958. Like the Cottesloe and Mosman Park Picture Gardens, cinema popularity waned with the rise of television coming into our homes. The site of the former Picture Gardens is now a block of flats.

The corner building has changed so much that little of the original fabric remains.  It has housed various cafes and restaurants over the years, and is currently Il Lido Italian Canteen.

 

Picture Gardens

Picture Gardens were at their peak in Perth in the 1930s. In 1935 there were more than a dozen picture gardens in metropolitan Perth as seen by this newspaper advertisement, listing the films on show.

Ad from The West Australian, 27 December 1935, p. 12.

The Hatfields ran Lido as well as the Cottesloe and Buckland Hill Picture Gardens. The Cottesloe Picture Theatre was in Wells Hall on the corner of Leake Street and Stirling Highway. The outdoor cinema behind the building was added in the 1920s. In 1936, Lou Hatfield engaged architect Howard Bonner (who had designed Lido the previous year) to remodel the theatre in the Art Deco style. The building was demolished in 1964 to make way for The Grove shopping centre, now Cottesloe Central.

Cottesloe Picture Gardens, c1960.

Buckland Hill Picture Gardens in the Mosman Park Memorial Hall was leased by the Hatfields in 1937. The same two film programme would be shown at Cottesloe and Mosman Park on the same night; the reels were swapped over during interval. Lou Hatfield also substantially renovated this building, which reopened in 1939. It was later Camelot Reception centre and is now once again an outdoor cinema.

Mosman Park Roads Board Office and Cinema, 1939.

The Grove Community History would love to collect historical photos of The Lido Picture Gardens and Cabaret. Do you have any?

 

Cotte’s Lau

Ever wondered where the name Cottesloe came from.  This neat little bit of history reported in the February edition of the Civic Centre News in 1957 explains all.

Cottesloe Civic Centre

 

Cottesloe Civic Centre, located at 109 Broome Street, was built in 1898 by Judge Richard William Pennefather.  The estate comprises a two-storey, Spanish Mission style house of rendered stone, brick and concrete with a tiled roof, a hall and a single-storey dwelling within substantial landscaped walled gardens.

In 1911, ownership passed to Claude Albo de Bernales who named it ‘Overton Lodge’ after his house in London. The place became a large scale symbol of his success and wealth as an early mining speculator.

In 1936, De Bernales added Spanish and Italian style extensions and additions, including jarrah panelling and stone walled gardens. The transformation of the Federation Queen Anne style house into a Spanish Mission styled mansion reflected a shift in popular domestic taste.

Laurence Gadsdon, the Mayor of Cottesloe oversaw the purchase of the site by the Town Council in 1950 for $45000 after the departure of De Bernales back to England.

The site remains the home of the Town of Cottesloe and comprises Cottesloe Civic Centre and War Memorial Town Hall. It is and has been accessible to the public for almost 50 years and has been the setting for numerous community events. It has a pleasing streetscape setting, opulent buildings, and landscaped gardens.

The place is a familiar and popular part of Cottesloe heritage and contributes to the community’s sense of place.

Cowan of Cottesloe

Kindly donated to Community History by

Hilary Silbert: Founder Edith Dircksey Cowan Commemoration

When the people of Cottesloe consider their history, few will realise that one of Australia’s most significant women lived amongst them.

Who is she?

The lady on the fifty dollar note!

It was the result of a compromise that Edith Dircksey Cowan (born Edith Brown at Glengarry, Geraldton) came to live in Cottesloe in 1896. The beach side suburb had been named Cottesloe only ten years earlier. She arrived with her husband and children to live at “Bleak House”, situated on the south-western corner of Avonmore Terrace and Rosendo Street. Edith, who was to become the first women to be elected to any Australian Parliament, had rural origins and her husband James had enjoyed time in York and Grass Dale. The decision to move from their home in Malcolm Street, Perth to Cottesloe was to be near the hub of activities that had attracted the attention of Edith and still enjoy the rural atmosphere of the district. The family had been leaving their home for Albany to escape the summer heat, so now they could enjoy the sea breezes and the coastal pleasures of Cottesloe Beach. They had friends who had made the move and, though arduous, chose to travel to Perth some 8 miles, with Fremantle being 4 miles.

The first house built in the area in 1892 was “The Summit “owned by the Foulkes family in Avonmore Terrace, on the corner of Salvado Road. On the 4th of May, 1895 James Cowan, Esquire of Perth, had paid £35 to Adam Jameson and Daniel Kenny of Perth, Medical Practitioners and on the 13th April, 1896 he purchased the second parcel of land for £350 from Edward Hooley of Perth and Charles Dempster of Northam with a mortgage of £500 with interest at £7 per centum per annum.

In Rosendo Street the Cowans would have been neighbours of the families residing in “Belvedere”, the Campbells, and the Burt family in their summer residence, “Tukurua”. The Moseleys lived opposite on the south east corner of Rosendo Street and Avonmore Terrace and the Holmes, in “Banksia”, were on the corner of Salvado and Swanbourne Terrace, now Marine Parade. An interesting link to the neighbours for the Cowans was the fact that Francis Moseley was the Master and Registrar of the Supreme Court whilst James also worked in the legal field. Septimus Burt was the third party signature as the solicitor on Edith Dircksey Brown and James Cowan’s Marriage Settlement document on the 13th of March, 1890.

The property the Cowan family occupied was located on Section 78E Lot 6 and section 79E Lot 5 on the south west corner of Avonmore Terrace and Rosendo Street, Cottesloe Beach. The rates in 1905 (the earliest records available) were £1.17.6 and struck at sixpence in the pound. The person registered in the rate book as the owner is James Cowan, Police Magistrate. By 1906 the person rated is James Cowan and owner, Mrs E.D Cowan. It is noteworthy that Edith is named in the District Road Board Roll as the owner and was list as E.D not Mrs James Cowan as was the custom of the day. The Electoral Roll for the Claremont District dated July 25th 1908 shows all the family recorded as residing in “Bleak House,” Avonmore Terrace, Cottesloe. Only Helen aged seventeen, was unable to be registered. Avonmore Terrace was a new street, constructed in that year.

22 Avonmore Terrace on the corner of Avonmore and Rosendo Street, c. 1945.

So in the beginning of the Cowans in Cottesloe in 1896, the family consisted of Edith aged 35 and James aged 48, married seventeen years, daughters Dircksey (16 years ), Hilda Edith (13), Ida Marion (11), Helen May Burdett (5) and their son Norman Walkinshaw, aged 14.

To imagine the Cottesloe of this era: there were two trains a day, the coast road was named Swanbourne Terrace and householders built tracks through the bush at their own expense. Orchids and wild flowers were present in the bush and the broken ribs of shipwrecks were visible in the winter storms. Ships would travel quite close to the shore and drifts of coal smoke were visible. The train fares to Perth were single 1/2 (adult), 8d (child) and return 1/9 and 1/-. The railway connecting Fremantle to Perth had been opened in 1881 with fares based on 1 and 3/4 pence per mile for first class and a penny per mile for second class. Under three years of age was free and half fare was for children from three to twelve years of age. Cottesloe Station replaced Bullen’s Siding in 1896 and Cottesloe Beach Station was established as the neighbourhood siding. There were twenty two listings in the Post Office Directory for Cottesloe. In 1898 the Telephone Exchange opened with 88 subscribers on the list and in the same year there was the introduction of cabs. By 1901 the main gravel streets to the beach were laid, the first being Jarrad Street, and in 1903 electricity was connected.

As a lifestyle, the residents of Cottesloe Beach had parties, played croquet and had friends who would come for weekend visits. There was mixed bathing and bathing boxes soon made an appearance. There were bands and alfresco concerts held on the beach and pier. Cottesloe drew painters interested in seascapes and flowers. Edith was particularly interested in the etchings of H. van Raalte and acquired his works.

One local recorded event of the period: In 1900 Lady and Sir John Forrest opened the W.A Deaf and Dumb Institute. John Forrest was the Surveyor General in 1883 who was responsible for the streets and reserves in Cottesloe. The Cowans would probably have attended this occasion and they had a connection to the high profile couple: Edith was involved in the work of the Karrakatta Club with Lady Forrest, and the same Lady Forrest, as Margaret Hammersley, had been engaged to Edith’s uncle Maitland Brown. Fellow neighbours, Mrs Moseley and Mrs Holmes, were also involved with the work of the Karrakatta Club. Another event the Cowans were sure to have attended was the performance of the cantata, “The Errand of Flowers, “produced by the Cottesloe Branch of the Ministering Children’s League. It was performed to a packed hall in 1905 and Edith was a member of the committee. In addition, the family and their neighbours could well have attended the changeover ceremony from a Road Board to a Municipality on September 27th, 1907 with the other Cottesloe residents of the day.

During their years in Cottesloe, Edith and James travelled to Europe leaving their daughters to run the house. In December 1902 when James was earning £450 as a Police Magistrate the fare was £475. They returned in August 1903 having visited galleries, museums, plays and the theatre and been like many of the Western Australians of the period who travelled abroad. Edith believed the need to travel was educative, broadening ones horizons and lessening the sense of isolation. She travelled again to England and Switzerland whilst a resident of Cottesloe. In March 1912 she left on her own and arrived in London in April returning in February 1913. She was said to be carrying a letter of introduction that reflected her connections to every charitable movement in the city of the day.

In terms of education for the family, the girls attended Perth Girls’ School, formerly the Perth Colonial Girls’ School. It was local, being located in Irvine Street between Stirling Highway and View Street and was run by Miss Amy Best and Miss J.A Nisbet (who had succeeded Mrs Veal in 1887). According to Edith’s grandson and biographer Peter, the school had many names so it is probably the Cottesloe High School. Norman attended High School in Perth which became Hale School. It is possible the two youngest girls may have been amongst the first pupils of Cottesloe State School.

All the children lived at “Bleak House”, even as they entered their careers. In 1897 Dircksey gained a government exhibition having passed in eight subjects and in 1899 she gained a matriculation to the University of Melbourne, there being no local university. It is quite ironic that her mother was so involved with education at all levels and saw it as vital that, Dircksey would forgo her university place due to the expense for the family. She remained a public servant all her working life. She worked in the Supreme Court, as did her Avonmore Terrace neighbour, Mr Moseley. Hilda attended Claremont Teachers’ College and would have been one of the first students.

At the time of her residence in Cottesloe Edith was involved in the following activities:she was elected to the North Fremantle Board of Education in 1896 and became the Secretary. She was a delegate to the first conference of the District Boards in 1911.

In 1897 the Ministering Children’s League Convalescent Home opened in Cottesloe on the corner of Warton Street and Swanbourne Terrace. Edith was a member of the Executive from the foundation and Vice President for several years.

From 1905 to 1910 she was Vice President of the Karrakatta Club that she had helped found in 1894, it being the first women’s club in Australia.

She formed a branch of the District Nurse Society in Cottesloe because the area needed better medical services. She acted as President and continued until 1914. She helped found the Children’s Protection Society in 1906 and was a member of the Executive as Secretary. Son, Norman was the Honorary Solicitor from its inception. As a result of lobbying by Edith and others, in 1907 the first Children’s Court was established.

In 1908 she helped establish the first day nurseries. In the same year Edith sought to introduce sex education in schools. The year 1909 saw her involved with the formation of the Women’s Service Guild and was she was the Vice President until 1917. There was a branch in Cottesloe.

In 1912 the Cowan family returned to their home in Malcolm Street, Perth after sixteen years in the coastal district of Cottesloe Beach. As they left they would have observed the growth of the iconic pine trees now associated with Cottesloe. By then the trees would have had seven years growth, having been just eighteen inches high at planting.

Cottesloe Rate Books going digital!

They are almost done and looking amazing!  

Grove History

Very excited to announce that the Town of Cottesloe are funding the digitisation of the Rate Books and old Road Board minutes. Hopefully with the help of Carnamah Historical Society & Museum we can get them transcribed via their amazing Virtual Volunteering site so that the information can be unlocked and accessible to you guys online!!

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Discover Cottesloe Beach

Looking for some family outdoor fun this holiday. Pick up your free copy of Discover Cottesloe Beach Activity Quiz from the library and head off for some super sleuthing.

Cottesloe Beach Quiz