Image
Camera IconImage Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Yes there will be cake: Anzac Cottage celebrates 101 years

Julian WrightEastern Reporter

THE historic and iconic Anzac Cottage turns 101 years old on February 12.

The Mount Hawthorne building on Kalgoorlie Street was constructed in one day in 1916 by 200 community members as a home for a returned wounded soldier and his family and a memorial for people who had lost their lives in Gallipoli.

Friends of Anzac Cottage member Anne Chapple, who is overseeing the celebrations, has close ties to the building – her mother Marjorie Williams (née Porter) was born in the front bedroom 96 years ago.

PerthNow Digital Edition.
Your local paper, whenever you want it.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

While celebrations won’t be as big as last year’s which marked a centenary, Ms Chappel said there would still definitely be cake.

“Last we did a whole weekend’s worth of celebrating and I think I am still recovering,” she said.

“This year will be one afternoon; I will be doing two guided tours and there will be birthday cake and old fashioned games for children.”

She said while the City if Vincent and Lotterywest had assisted financially to fix the cottage up throughout the years, upkeep was an ongoing process.

“We got some money last year to dress it up a bit, but we have some left over and we planning to paint a pigeon mural on the garden shed,” she said.

“We are hoping to have it completed by the middle of this year.”

The cottage is open the public on Sunday, Feb

ruary 12 from 1pm to 4pm.wth guided tours at 1.30pm and 2.45pm.

Anzac Cottage timeline

–       Site cleared on January 29, 1916

–       Cottage built on February 12, 1916

–       Officially opened on April 15, 1916

–       Ownership transferred to City of Vincent with a lease on a peppercorn rental arrangement by the Vietnam Veterans Association of Western Australian in 2006

–       Celebrates 100 years in 2016