The State Library of Western Australia

Keepsake: Petronila Lemisio-Poasa - Pa Hi Atu (Fishing Lure)

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 08:58:23 GMT

Petronila's keepsake is a hand-carved mother of pearl fishing lure (Pa Hi Atu) made by Papa Fofo Poasa, her father-in-law.

Papa Fofo Poasa hand-carved this traditional fishing lure with his son, Himona Poasa, the week before Himona suddenly passed away in February 2023. They carved the Pa Hi Atu in their home in Mandurah, Western Australia, using mother-of-pearl shells from Broome.

Pa Hi Atu translates to fishing lure to catch the bonito (type of fish). Papa Fofo Poasa is one of the few Tokelauan traditional carvers in the world. Tokelau is a small, dependent territory of New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean consisting of three atolls.

Petronila's husband, Himona, regularly caught fish in the Mandurah Estuary and distributed them to his community's elders and families according to the Tokelau traditions. The fishing lure is a special heirloom because it was made with love and represents the relationship between father and son.

As part of the State Library of Western Australia’s exhibition Keepsake: Cherished Family Mementos from the Collection, we asked The Chin Wagon to create a podcast series collecting stories from members of the public about their family treasures and heirlooms. Scrabble boards, cookbooks, medals, fishing lures, trinkets and tools. Why are these items so important to the people that hold onto them?

The Chin Wagon is a mobile recording studio designed to capture WA’s stories. Run by much-loved storytelling collective Barefaced Stories , The Chin Wagon provides a fun, cosy hearth for people to share their most treasured memories, tall tales or embarrassing spills. Andrea Gibbs interviewed seven members of the public in this mini podcast series. Each fascinating story is only 3 to 4 minutes long.

Keepsake exhibition runs at the State Library of Western Australia until 4 February 2025.

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Keepsake: Amber Blake – 1970s Scrabble Board

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 07:25:31 GMT

Amber's keepsake is a much loved and very used 1970s Scrabble board game in the original box. Her family took an annual holiday to Rottnest Island, marking the years on the board (70s to 90s) and added the odd landline phone number in "graffiti". Back then, the Rottnest Island showers were salt water from the ocean and all food was BYO. Amber fondly remembers zero-screen holidays full of family tournaments, charades, sandcastles, rides, a few dramas and the game of Scrabble!

Keepsake exhibition runs at the State Library of Western Australia until 4 February 2025. Amber appears in the video below.

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Keepsake: Suzanne Franklin - 1927 Railway Ticket

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 05:07:41 GMT

Suzanne Franklin's keepsake is a picture of her great-great-grandmother, Alice Franklin, the Lady Mayoress of Perth and an unused leather-bound railway ticket to the official opening of Parliament House in 1927.

Alice's husband, James Thomas Franklin, was the last Mayor of Perth and the first Lord Mayor of Perth. In 1927, James and Alice were invited to the grand opening of Parliament House and given first-class railway tickets with sleeping berths from Sydney to Canberra and then Canberra to Perth. Many events and newspaper articles were written about them leaving for this historic event.

The tickets went unused. A few days before departure, their eldest son George, 48, was run down on Bulwer Street while on his way to work. Alice and James stayed by his side in the hospital. George passed away two days later. On the day they were meant to be leaving, they buried their son.

A week later, they went to the opening of Parliament House to represent Western Australia and meet the Duke and Duchess of York, who they would soon be hosting in Perth.

On the State Library website are pictures of James and Alice Franklin and the royal visit to Perth.

Keepsake exhibition runs at the State Library of Western Australia until 4 February 2025.

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Keepsake: Cheryl Burton - Gold Kangaroo Brooch

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 04:51:51 GMT

Cheryl Burton was adopted in 1962 and immigrated from the UK in 1967. Her mother didn't know she would be giving Cheryl up for adoption until the birth and had mere moments to say goodbye.

In 1990 when Cheryl was 28, she flew back to meet her mother for the first time. Cheryl's keepsake is a gold kangaroo brooch she gifted to her mother when they first met. Her mother never wore the brooch but kept it as a prized possession. Upon passing, she left Cheryl many items and personal treasures under her bed, including the brooch.

Keepsake exhibition runs at the State Library of Western Australia until 4 February 2025.

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Keepsake: Anne Chapple -Grandfather's WW1 Medals and Anzac Cottage

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 08:37:51 GMT

Anne Chapple's grandfather's WW1 medals are an extraordinary keepsake as they signify the beginning of the Anzac Cottage story. Her grandfather was considered an older recruit (30s) and served in the 11th Battalion, C Company, who were amongst the first who landed on the shores of Gallipoli during World War 1 (WW!). He was wounded on the first day and then deemed unfit to serve.

He was one of the first returned wounded soldiers to Mt Hawthorn. Due to his leg injury, he was unable to work and worried the family would lose their borrowed home. A neighbour from the Mt Hawthorn Progress Society heard his story, and the society decided to build a "practical memorial" honouring the soldiers who fought in Gallipoli and double as a home for Anne's grandfather and his family. The community rallied and donated money, goods, furniture, skills and labour.

Mt Hawthorn was largely still forest, so a busy bee cleared the land. Later, a procession of 75 horses, carriages and cars took the building materials to the newly cleared site.

In one day, on 12 February 1916, over 200 people helped build the outside of the cottage, four thousand people watched, the Police Band kept them entertained and the Ladies Patriotic Guild brought them lunches and refreshments.

Anzac Cottage still stands today. The State Library Collection has a souvenir booklet about the memorial house with pictures detailing the event and construction. You can view a PDF in our catalogue or the photos on the website.

Keepsake exhibition runs at the State Library of Western Australia until 4 February 2025.

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Keepsake: Gerry Coleman - Great Granddad's Utility Knife

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 08:31:04 GMT

magine the first time you ever see an airplane and it crashes into the ocean.

Gerry's keepsake is his great-granddad's utility knife, which was gifted to him for saving the life of a world-renowned and revered Australian test pilot, Harry Hawker, in 1913.

Harry Hawker was the chief test pilot for Sopwith Industries; this was only 11 years after the Wright brothers flew the first-ever successful airplane flight. Harry Hawker and his copilot (mechanic) Harry Cauper (also Australian) were test-flying a biplane over the Bay of Loughshinny in North County Dublin, Ireland, when they crashed into the sea. Gerry's great-granddad, Frank Ryan, was a local fisherman who rowed out and rescued them.

No one in the community had ever seen an airplane. The next day, when a team tried to salvage the airplane, it was gone, except for one spark plug; the fascinated locals had stripped it for souvenirs.

The local Lord of the Manor, Roger Palmer, gifted Frank a special engraved utility knife for his service. Gerry's father handed the utility knife down to him. Gerry's father inherited it from his mother (Gerry's grandmother), who got it from her dad, Frank, the hero fisherman.

Keepsake exhibition runs at the State Library of Western Australia until 4 February 2025.

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Keepsake: Sophie Vowles - Grandma’s Cookbook

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 08:21:21 GMT

Sophie's keepsake is her husband's grandma's handwritten cookbook. Joan Patricia Vowles lovingly added to this cookbook over forty years (1950 -1990), and Sophie inherited it when she passed away in 2006.

The cookbook is made out of a notepad and filled with delicately handwritten recipes and poems, resplendent with butter, egg and oil stains. The recipes come from friends, family, church group members, and cutouts from cereal boxes and magazines. There are recipes for cakes, puddings, sauces, jams, relishes and pies. Ticks appear next to the recipes she likes and crosses next to the ones that didn't work out.

Sophie has made many recipes from the cookbook, but perhaps not the Veal with Bananas. Her favourite recipe is the light ginger cake with golden syrup (or treacle) amd a hint of lemon. The recipe is at the bottom of the page.

Sophie was interviewed and published in Coles Magazine in March 2021 after posting a few recipes from the cookbook in the Coles Cooking Club Facebook Group.

Joan Patricia Vowles (nee Keeping) was born in Narrogin in 1917 and lived in Tincurrin, a small town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The town has a street called "Keeping" named after her father, Walter. Joan became a hairdresser, moved to Perth in 1935, married in 1938 and had three kids (Patricia, Rupert and David). She loved a good chat and her secret to a good cheese and tomato sandwich was celery salt.

Keepsake exhibition runs at the State Library of Western Australia until 4 February 2025.

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Game Changers: No Longer Invisible (with Tracy Wheeler)

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 09:00:00 GMT

Tracey Wheeler is an early champion of women in soccer, representing Australia in our national team the Matildas, first as a midfielder, and later as a goalkeeper. She made her international goalkeeping debut against New Zealand in 1989, and has played 55 international matches for Australia, including three games at the 2000 Olympics.

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Game Changers: Kicking Goals Together (with Katelyn Smith)

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 09:00:00 GMT

Katelyn is an award-winning goalkeeper for the ParaMatildas. Founded in 2019, the ParaMatildas is Australia’s first national team for women and girls with cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury and symptoms of stroke. Katelyn recently won the inaugural ParaMatildas Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Tournament after a silver medal winning run in their first international Women’s World Cup campaign in 2022.

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Game Changers: See it to Believe it (with Thembi & Ischia Brooking)

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 09:00:00 GMT

Soccer runs through the Brooking family’s veins. Thembi and her daughter Ischia both play soccer, while Thembi’s husband coaches. After migrating from Zimbabwe to Perth, Thembi started out playing soccer in an area of Perth where there was less opportunity for young girls to play and is now proud to see that changing for her daughter, Ischia, who is playing at an elite level with the Junior Matildas.

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Game Changers: Joining a Legacy of Champions (with Tash Rigby)

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 09:00:00 GMT

Growing up in Margaret River and not truly taking soccer seriously as a career, Tash took an unusual route to becoming the current Captain of the Perth Glory Women’s League, replacing former captain Sam Kerr in 2019. Tash believes in making space for others to lead through their strength, and is honoured to join a movement of strong women paving the way for future generations of soccer-lovers.

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Game Changers: An Equitable Pitch (with Mikayla Lyons)

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 09:00:00 GMT

Marilyn has the great honour of being the first West Australian female referee to crash into the male-dominated game in the late 1970’s. She progressed quickly from officiating schools’ football to State League, and in 1992 became the first woman to run the line in a National men’s Soccer League game. Marilyn also had the line for the 1992 Australia-Brazil youth international friendly.

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Game Changers: The Lady Referee (with Marilyn Learmont)

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 09:00:00 GMT

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Game Changers: Hidden Talent in Small Places (with Lydia Williams)

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 09:00:00 GMT

Goalkeeper for international Women’s Super League clubs and Australia’s national team the Matildas, Lydia is a proud Nyungar woman who grew up playing in the red dirt of Kalgoorlie, a small town north-east of Perth, before moving to Canberra to pursue her career in soccer. She has been inducted into the Aboriginal and Islander Sports Hall of Fame.

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Game Changers: Pass the Ball On (with Ann Odong)

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT

In the lead-up to Perth hosting some of the games for one of the world's largest sporting tournaments, the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, we hear stories from local women who rose up against inequality and stereotypes to champion the game of soccer as far back as the 1970s. We hear from elite athletes past and present considered to be the best in the game both locally and globally; and from community role models who are courageously making soccer more accessible and equitable for future generations of women, young girls and newcomers of all genders to the game.Sports media journalist Kris Marano sat down and heard why self-belief, sacrifice and strength is what it takes to become a champion of soccer.The Game Changers oral history collection was produced and developed by the Centre for Stories for the State Library of Western Australia. Together, we are sharing stories that reflect our state’s rich heritage, diversity and history.

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Game Changers: Take a Chance on Me (Sandra Brentnall)

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT

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Game Changers: 100% Myself on the Field (with Jaime Page)

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT

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She’ll be Apples: The WA women shaping the orchard industry

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 06:27:11 GMT

She’ll be Apples reveals the hidden backstory of the Lady Williams apple and the role of cultivator and innovator Maud Williams, who is truly at the core of Western Australia’s multi-million dollar apple industry.In this podcast, we hear from Maud’s family about frugal post-war regional life and know her passion for a particular apple tree that would create an indelible foundation for WA’s internationally renowned apples, including the Pink Lady and Bravo.We meet Lyn Green, who as a little girl, created the Lady Williams name and leading contemporary entrepreneurial women like Newton Orchards Director Nic Giblett, who is growing and rethinking the apple industry in fresh ways.Author Jon Doust introduces us to the genetic complexity of apples, while Dr Helen Cripps reflects on her father’s legacy and the role of women in agriculture.This curious and pomiferous yarn from Gina Pickering proves it's crunch time for women’s history. At the same time, Australian Catholic University historian Susan Broomhall reminds us the archive, more often than not, holds the answers. We just need to ask the right questions.This podcast shares a significant West Australian story not previously well-known. The podcast, photographs and other related material interviews have recently been donated to the State Library’s West Australian collections and are available online through the State Library catalogue.This podcast was commissioned by the Australian Catholic University, researched by Professor Susan Broomhall and written and produced by Gina Pickering from Latitude Creative Services.

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Left Right Out: Queer Disclosure

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 04:42:54 GMT

Left Right Out exposes the challenging legacy of how LGBTQ stories have been represented by our State’s cultural institutions, the State Library of Western Australia, the Western Australian Museum, and the Art Gallery of Western Australia. Left out of the archives altogether, overlooked, undescribed, or actively silenced – LGBTQ history has not been well recorded, preserved, nor exhibited by the State’s cultural institutions in the past.Today, our cultural institutions are grappling with the challenge of making this history visible in collections and exhibitions. Alec Coles, CEO of Western Australian Museum, comments on the role of WA Museum Boola Bardip and continuing consultation taking place with the wider LGBTQ community. Curators from the Art Gallery and State Library are actively addressing these gaps through collection development and public programs.This podcast brings together interviews with prominent West Australian artists and curators, including Alan Muller and Jo Darbyshire, who discuss the importance of queer history being represented by our cultural institutions. Dax Jagoe, a young trans activist, reflects on what it means for young trans people to see their experiences represented.In the context of the 2017 referendum for same-sex marriage, this podcast explores a critical moment in the history of LGBTQ rights and the positive steps that cultural institutions are making. Welcome to Rare Stories from the West – a State Library of Western Australia podcast series. Through these podcasts, we hope to unearth tales of Western Australia’s past and present. Left Right Out: Queer Disclosure is the last of three podcasts produced by Gina Pickering. Part 1 - Walking on Water: Spirit of the Swan Coastal Plain, and Part 2 - On the Frontline: Rare Women of the West are available on SoundCloud and the State Library of Western Australia website.Podcast created by Gina Pickering - Latitude Creative Services and commissioned by the State Library of Western Australia.

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On the Frontline: Rare Women of the West

Thu, 25 Nov 2021 05:17:40 GMT

On the Frontline reveals the stories of two women who are significant voices in the story of the Swan River and its people. Mary Ann Friend and Fanny Balbuk each had very different experiences of colonisation. Until recently, their stories were little known.Through her journal of a voyage to Hobart with an account of the settlement on the Swan River (1829-30), Mary Ann Friend provides a glimpse into the living conditions, the environment of the river, and encounters with Noongar people. Fanny Balbuk, born around 1840, was a prominent Whadjuk Noongar woman who lived through the devastating impacts of colonisation. Whadjuk Noongar Elder, Marie Taylor, recounts the story of Balbuk’s life and her legacy.This podcast explores how the State Library is helping to preserve their stories and why shining a light on the women’s stories of the Swan River Colony is essential today.Podcast created by Gina Pickering - Latitude Creative Services and commissioned by the State Library of Western Australia.You can view a digital copy of Mary Ann Friends journal, read a transcript or watch a short documentary on the State Library of Western Australia Catalogue.

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Walking on Water: Spirit of the Swan Coastal Plain

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 07:46:09 GMT

Welcome to Rare Stories from the West - a State Library of Western Australia podcast. Through these podcasts we hope to unearth tales of Western Australia’s past and present. Walking on Water: Spirit of the Swan Coastal Plain is the first of three podcasts produced by Gina Pickering.The Walking on Water podcast explores the significance of the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River) in the creation of the city of Perth. The podcast features Aboriginal elders Noel Nannup and Marie Taylor explaining the Aboriginal history of the river through the Waugal creation story on Whadjuck Noongar Boodjar (now metropolitan Perth) and a cultural evocation of the river through the words of poets Dr Nandi Chinna, Jennifer Kornberger and Daniel Hansen.The environmental context of the river is explored and then the first historical and colonial perceptions of the Swan River by Freycinet and Stirling in the early nineteenth century are discussed. This content roots Derbarl Yerrigan at the heart of any discussion of Perth from its Aboriginal origins to its place at the heart of our twentieth-century multicultural and diverse city, showing why the river is such an important influence for the State Library in its role of telling the story of Western Australia. Podcasts created by Gina Pickering - Latitude Creative Services and commissioned by the State Library of Western Australia.

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