Faces of Mandurah photographic exhibition bridges generation gap

THE Faces of Mandurah photographic portraiture exhibition on Mandurah Bridge is this weekend.

The exhibition will be part of the Mandurah Arts Festival launch on Saturday, November 2. There will also be a community picnic and film screening at the launch.

The aim of the Faces of Mandurah portrait project is to bridge the gap between generations.

Swan View resident Carolyn Bates and her mother Heather LeVaux are both part of the project, having had their portraits taken and providing their stories of the bridge.

Mrs Bates said she had fond memories of coming to Mandurah in her childhood.

“My Nan and Grandad used to own a house in Mary Street and I’d visit every school holidays, either with Mum or with my cousins,” she said.

“I used to come to the Kanyana Carnival too – that was a fun time and very similar to the now Mandurah Crabfest.

“I remember seeing the second Mandurah Bridge being built when I was only six.”

Mrs LeVaux said she was seven when she first came to Mandurah camping.

“I was seven the first time we came down,” she said.

“It was a dirt track from Fremantle to Mandurah, and we were packed to the roof with camping gear.

“We loved the trip going through – we used to get bogged in the soft ground and we had to get out and put bushes under the wheels to get it going again.”

The women said they loved Mandurah, with Mrs LeVaux going back 91 years and Mrs Bates going back 72 years of regularly visiting Mandurah and enjoying the holidays.

Mrs Bates’ son has a house in Dawesville, so they are still coming down for holidays.